Please find below summaries of national nutrition survey results providing information on nutrient and energy intake, current food consumption, as well as on lifestyle, eating behavior, and related disease risk of various population groups.
Europe
Increasing evidence demonstrates that risk factors for chronic diseases are established during childhood and adolescence, but the relationship between the development of diseases and adolescent development is poorly understood. Adolescence is a crucial period in life and involves multiple physiological and psychological changes that affect nutritional needs and habits.
HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) is a European collaborative research project. The basic objective of HELENA is to obtain reliable and comparable data over three years from 3,500 European adolescents (boys and girls aged 12.5–17.5 years) on relevant nutrition and health-related parameters such as dietary intake, food choices and preferences, vitamin and mineral status, physical activity, and fitness.
The project unites 20 research centers from ten European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Reference
De Henauw S. et al. Nutritional status and lifestyles of adolescents from a public health perspective. The HELENA Project—Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence. J Public Health, 2007; 15:187–197.
The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, EPIC, was designed to investigate the relationships between diet, nutritional status, lifestyle and environmental factors, and the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases. Detailed information on diet and lifestyle was obtained by questionnaire, anthropometric measurements (e.g., weight, height, and fat distribution), and blood samples.
Between 1993 and 1999, EPIC recruited over half a million (521,000) people aged 20 years or over in ten European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. First results were presented in 2001.
Results
- The hypothesis that a diet high in fiber reduces colorectal cancer risk has been reinforced.
- The hypotheses that consumption of red and processed meat increases colorectal cancer risk while intake of fish decreases risk has been strongly supported.
- In addition, alcohol intake, obesity, and low physical activity increase the risk of colorectal cancer.
- The consumption of fruit and vegetables is not associated with breast and prostate cancer risk.
- Being overweight and having low physical activity increase breast cancer risk after menopause.
It is planned to follow up the study participants, continuing to study the role of nutrition and lifestyle in cancer development and other chronic diseases.
Reference
Riboli E., Lambert A. Nutrition and lifestyle: Opportunities for Cancer Prevention. IARC Sci. Publ. No.156. 2002.
IOF - Vitamin D Status Reports
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the development of osteoporosis and hip fractures as well as to other skeletal and non-skeletal disorders. Beside ‘severe deficiency’ (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels below 25 nmol/liter) and ‘deficiency’ (serum 25(OH)D below 50 nmol/l), there is ongoing debate as to the exact definition of vitamin D ‘insufficiency’– a mild degree of vitamin D deficiency (between 50 and 75 nmol/l).
A 2009 report from the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) shows that regardless of whether insufficiency is defined at 50 nmol/L or 75 nmol/L, vitamin D status is seriously inadequate in large proportions of the population across the globe. The review provides a global perspective of vitamin D status across different regions of the world and identifies common and significant determinants of insufficiency. Six regions of the world were reviewed in a survey of published literature: Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, North America, and Oceania.
The results showed that depending on the required serum 25(OH)D level, either 50 or 75 nmol/l, the percentage of the population with vitamin D insufficiency is high or very high in most countries.
The main risk factors for low vitamin D levels include older age, female sex, lower latitudes, winter season, darker skin pigmentation, less sunlight exposure, dietary habits, and the absence of vitamin D fortification in common foods. Further factors include the increase in urbanization, where people tend to live and work indoors, as well as cultural practices that tend towards sun avoidance and the wearing of traditional clothing that covers the skin. The severity of the problem in Middle East and South Asia arises from the combination of several of these risk factors.
These findings suggest that prevention strategies must be initiated at the national level – especially given the increasing aging of populations in many regions of the world. National plans of action should encourage safe, limited exposure to sunlight and improved dietary intake of vitamin D, whiles also considering fortification of foods.
For region-specific reports see www.iofbonehealth.org/health-professionals/special-topics/vitamin-d-deficiency.html
Reference
Mithal A. et al. on behalf of the IOF Committee of Scientific Advisors (CSA) Nutrition Working Group. Global vitamin D status and determinants of hypovitaminosis D. Osteoporosis International, 2009 (in press).