Objective: To describe food habits and dietary intakes of athletic and non-athletic adolescents in Switzerland. Setting: College, high schools and professional centers in the Swiss canton of Vaud. Method: A total of 3540 subjects aged 9 ± 19 y answered a self-reported anonymous questionnaire to assess lifestyles, physical plus sports activity and food habits. Within this sample, a subgroup of 246 subjects aged 11 ± 15 also participated in an in-depth ancillary study including a 3 day dietary record completed by an interview with a dietician. Results: More boys than girls reported engaging in regular sports activities (P`0.001). Adolescent food habits are quite traditional: up to 15 y, most of the respondents have a breakfast and eat at least two hot meals a day, the percentages decreasing thereafter. Snacking is widespread among adolescents (60 ± 80% in the morning, 80 ± 90% in the afternoon). Food habits among athletic adolescents are healthier and also are perceived as such in a higher proportion. Among athletic adolescents, consumption frequency is higher for dairy products and ready to eat (RTE) cereals, for fruit, fruit juices and salad (P`0.05 at least). Thus the athletic adolescent's food brings more micronutrients than the diet of their non-athletic counterparts. Within the subgroup (ancillary study), mean energy intake corresponds to requirements for ageagender group. Conclusions: Athletic adolescents display healthier food habits than non-athletic adolescents: this result supports the idea that healthy behavior tends to cluster and suggests that prevention programs among this age group should target simultaneously both sports activity and food habits.

Better knowledge of the dietary intake of teenagers is necessary to help health professionals to provide better advice on an individual and data for prevention and health programme. We carried out a dietary survey by 3-day records technique in a group of adolescents living in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Food habits were traditional but rich in refined products and poor in plant food. Mean daily energy intake, which was 8025 kJ for the girls and 9350 kJ for boys, was lower than the recommended dietary allowances, especially for girls. Independently of the gender, breakfast represented 19% of the total daily energy intake, lunch 31% and dinner 29%. Total energy provided by snacks was 23.0% for girls and 20.4% for boys. The percentage of energy supplied by the afternoon snack was 15.8% for the girls and 13.3% for the boys. The source of energy was 14% from protein, 37% from fat and 49% from carbohydrates. A high percentage of adolescents had low micronutrient intakes (vitamins A, E, B1, B6, C, folates and for minerals magnesium, calcium and iron). An increase intake of vegetables and fruit should thus be strongly encouraged; snacking could offer a target vector to improve dietary nutritional quality.