Consumption of predefined 'Nordic' dietary items in ten European countries – an investigation in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Issue 12 (3rd March 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Roswall, Nina; Olsen, Anja; Boll, Katja; Christensen, Jane; Halkjær, Jytte; Sørensen, Thorkild IA; Dahm, Christina C; Overvad, Kim; Clavel-Chapelon, Françoise; Boutron-Ruault, Marie C; Cottet, Vanessa; Teucher, Birgit; Kaaks, Rudolf; Boeing, Heiner; von Ruesten, Anne; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Oikonomou, Eleni; Vasilopoulou, Effie; Pala, Valeria; Sacerdote, Carlotta; Mattiello, Amalia; Masala, Giovanna; Peeters, Petra HM; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H Bas; Engeset, Dagrun; Skeie, Guri; Åsli, Lene A; Amiano, Pilar; Jakszyn, Paula; Ardanaz, Eva; Huerta, José M; Quirós, José R; Molina-Montes, Esther; Nilsson, Lena M; Johansson, Ingegerd; Wirfält, Elisabet; Drake, Isabel; Mulligan, Angela A; Khaw, Kay T; Romaguera, Dora; Vergnaud, Anne-Claire; Key, Tim; Riboli, Elio; Tjønneland, Anne;
• Is Part Of: Public health nutrition. Volume 17:Issue 12(2014)
• Page Start: 2650
• Page End: 2659
• Publication Date: 2014-03-03
• Subjects: Nutrition -- Periodicals; Nutrition policy -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; 613.2
• DOI: 10.1017/S1368980014000159
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1368-9800

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="normal"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="abs1" sec-type="general"> <title>Objective</title> <p>Health-beneficial effects of adhering to a healthy Nordic diet index have been suggested. However, it has not been examined to what extent the included dietary components are exclusively related to the Nordic countries or if they are part of other European diets as well, suggesting a broader preventive potential. The present study describes the intake of seven <italic>a priori</italic> defined healthy food items (apples/pears, berries, cabbages, dark bread, shellfish, fish and root vegetables) across ten countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) and examines their consumption across Europe.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs2" sec-type="general"> <title>Design</title> <p>Cross-sectional study. A 24 h dietary recall was administered through a software program containing country-specific recipes. Sex-specific mean food intake was calculated for each centre/country, as well as percentage of overall food groups consumed as healthy Nordic food items. All analyses were weighted by day and season of data collection.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs3" sec-type="general"> <title>Setting</title> <p>Multi-centre, European study.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs4" sec-type="subjects"> <title>Subjects</title> <p>Persons (<italic>n</italic> 36 970) aged 35–74 years, constituting a random sample of 519 978 EPIC participants.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs5" sec-type="results"> <title>Results</title> <p>The highest intakes of the included diet components were: cabbages and berries in Central Europe; apples/pears in Southern Europe; dark bread in Norway, Denmark and Greece; fish in Southern and Northern countries; shellfish in Spain; and root vegetables in Northern and Central Europe. Large inter-centre variation, however, existed in some countries.</p> </sec> <sec id="abs6" sec-type="conclusion"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>Dark bread, root vegetables and fish are strongly related to a Nordic dietary tradition. Apples/pears, berries, cabbages, fish, shellfish and root vegetables are broadly consumed in Europe, and may thus be included in regional public health campaigns.</p> </sec> </abstract>