1. Fruit and Vegetable Intake in a Sample of 11-Year-Old Children in 9 European Countries: The Pro Children Cross-Sectional Survey.
- Author
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Yngve, Agneta, Wolf, Alexandra, Poortvliet, Eric, Elmadfa, Ibrahim, Brug, Johannes, Ehrenblad, Bettina, Franchini, Bela, Haraldsdóttir, Jóhanna, Krølner, Rikke, Maes, Lea, Pérez-Rodrigo, Carmen, Sjöström, Michael, Thórsdóttir, Inga, and Klepp, Knut-Inge
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SCHOOL food ,NUTRITION research ,FRUIT ,VEGETABLES ,CHILD nutrition - 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. Copyright © 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
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