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How to measure dietary intake and food habits in adolescence: the European perspective

International Journal of Obesity volume 29, pages S66–S77 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

AIM:

This paper deals with some methodological aspects of data collection in the context of measuring dietary intake in individuals in their adolescence life stage.

METHOD:

Experiences from three partners of the HELENA project in dietary intake measurement in children and adolescents are presented in this paper with emphasis on characteristics of under-reporting, long-term diet measurement and food patterns (Dortmund DONALD group), influences of survey duration on under-reporting (Ghent group) and meal habits (Spanish AVENA group).

RESULTS:

Under-reporters in the DONALD Study, particularly female adolescents, had a significantly higher body mass index (BMI) than non-under-reporters; BMI could not be explained by different long-term dietary patterns during childhood and adolescence clustered according to fat consumption; consumers of fast food had higher BMI values than nonconsumers. In the Ghent experience, the decline in population mean energy intake as calculated over selected clusters of days is 184 kcal (6.5%) in boys and 116 (5.6%) in girls; the cluster of 1 recording day and the cluster of 3 recording days were not significantly different but they were both significantly different from the 7-day cluster; no significant interaction was observed between the effect of time and BMI. In the AVENA Study, the percentage of adolescents skipping breakfast was higher in females (8.6%) than in males (3.5%, P<0.001); higher BMI values were observed in those skipping breakfast than in those notskipping breakfast, but differences were statistically significant in males at 15 y and in females at 14 and 17 y; adolescents avoiding some food groups for breakfast had higher BMI values (carbohydrates, fruits and pastries in males and milk, fruits and pastries in females).

CONCLUSION:

Dietary and nutrient intake data in the HELENA project will be obtained by means of repeated 24-h dietary recalls. Data from HELENA might be a basis for developing complex approaches like Healthy Eating Indices.

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Acknowledgements

The HELENA Study took place with the financial support of the European Community Sixth RTD Framework Programme (Contract FOOD-CT-2005-007034). The content of this article reflects only the author's views and the Community is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The DONALD Study is supported by the Ministry of Science and Research, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The study in Ghent was financially supported by the National Fund for Scientific Research (fund no. 31557898) and by a grant from Kellogg's Benelux. The AVENA Study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Health, Grant FIS 00/0015 and Red de Centros RCESP C03/09, CSD Grants 05/UPB32/0, 109/UPB31/03 and 13/UPB20/04, the Spanish Ministry of Education (AP2003-2128) and grants from Panrico SA, Madaus SA and Procter and Gamble SA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escuela Universitaria de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    L A Moreno & M I Mesana

  2. Research Institute of Child Nutrition (FKE), University of Bonn, Germany

    M Kersting & W Sichert-Hellert

  3. Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    S de Henauw & C Matthys

  4. Department of Health Sciences, Vesalius—Hogeschool Gent, Ghent, Belgium

    S de Henauw

  5. Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    M González-Gross & N Ross

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  1. L A Moreno
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Moreno, L., Kersting, M., de Henauw, S. et al. How to measure dietary intake and food habits in adolescence: the European perspective. Int J Obes 29 (Suppl 2), S66–S77 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803063

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