Fruit and vegetable intake in a sample of 11-year-old children in 9 European countries: The Pro Children Cross-sectional Survey
- Authors:
- DOI:
- 10.1159/000087247
- Abstract:
- BACKGROUND/AIMS: An adequate fruit and vegetable intake provides essential nutrients and nutritive compounds and is considered an important part of a healthy lifestyle. No simple instrument has been available for the assessment of fruit and vegetable intake as well as its determinants in school-aged children applicable in different European countries. Within the Pro Children Project, such an instrument has been developed. This paper describes the cross-sectional survey in 11-year-olds in 9 countries. METHODS: The cross-sectional survey used nationally, and in 2 countries regionally, representative samples of schools and classes. The questionnaires, including a precoded 24-hour recall component and a food frequency part, were completed in the classroom. Data were treated using common syntax files for portion sizes and for merging of vegetable types into four subgroups. RESULTS: The results show that the fruit and vegetable intake in amounts and choice were highly diverse in the 9 participating countries. Vegetable intake was in general lower than fruit intake, boys consumed less fruit and vegetables than girls did. The highest total intake according to the 24-hour recall was found in Austria and Portugal, the lowest in Spain and Iceland. CONCLUSION: The fruit and vegetable intake in 11-year-old children was in all countries far from reaching population goals and food-based dietary guidelines on national and international levels.
- Type:
- Journal article
- Language:
- English
- Published in:
- Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2005, Vol 49, Issue 4, p. 236-245
- Main Research Area:
- Medical science
- Publication Status:
- Published
- Review type:
- Peer Review
- Submission year:
- 2005
- Scientific Level:
- Scientific
- ID:
- 1152366
