Desire for weight change and level of dietary consciousness may severely bias reported food intake in dietary surveys. We evaluated to what degree under- and overreporting of energy intake (EI) was related to lifestyle, sociodemographic variables, and attitudes about body weight and diet in a nationwide dietary survey. Data were gathered by a self-administered quantitative food-frequency questionnaire distributed to a representative sample of men and women aged 16-79 y in Norway, of whom 3144 subjects (63%) responded. Reported EI was related to estimated basal metabolic rate (BMR) based on self-reported body weight, age, and sex. An EI:BMR < 1.35 was considered to represent underreporting and an EI:BMR > or = 2.4 as overreporting of EI. Fewer men than women underreported EI (38% compared with 45%). The fraction of overreporters did not differ significantly between sexes (7% of the men compared with 5% of the women). A large proportion of underreporters was obese (9%) and wanted to reduce their weight (41%). Few overreporters were obese and 12% wanted to increase their weight. Underreporters consumed fewer foods rich in fat and sugar than did the other subjects. Multiple regression analysis showed that desire for weight change and physical activity score were significantly correlated with both EI and EI:BMR when adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle variables. Our findings indicated that attitudes about one's own body weight influenced reported EI. These attitudes are important in the interpretation of dietary data because many of the subjects (> 30%) wanted to change their body weight.

The authors examined the validity of a self-administered 180-item food frequency questionnaire in 125 Norwegian men aged 20-55 years who filled in the questionnaire and completed 14-day weighed records in fall 1995 to winter 1995/6. Spearman correlation coefficients between the two measurements ranged from 0.42 for percent of energy from fat to 0.66 for sugar intake (median r = 0.51). On average, 39% of the men were classified in the same quartile with the two methods, and 3% in the opposite quartile. Correlation coefficients between intake of fatty acids estimated from the questionnaire and the relative amounts of fatty acids in adipose tissue were: linoleic acid (18:2, n-6), r = 0.38; alpha-linolenic acid (18:3, n-3), r = 0.42; eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5, n-3), r = 0.52; and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6, n-3), r = 0.49. The correlations for these fatty acids between the total serum lipids and the diet were 0.16, 0.28, 0.51 and 0.52, respectively. The data suggest that very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids in adipose tissue and total serum lipids reflect the dietary intake of very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids to the same degree. No associations were observed between intake of alpha-tocopherol and concentration in adipose tissue and serum.

ABSTRACT.Objective. There have been indications that high intake of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) during pregnancy may increase birth weight and gestational length. In addition, n-3 longchain PUFAs may be important for the neurobiological development of the infants. High levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) are found in the gray matter of the cerebral cortex and in the retina, and it seems as if the availability of long-chain PUFAs may be limiting cerebral development. The fetus and the newborn are dependent on a high supply from their mothers, either via the placenta or via breast milk. We supplemented pregnant and lactating women with n-3 or n-6 long-chain PUFAs to evaluate the effect on birth weight, gestational length, and infant development.Design. We performed a double-blind, randomized study recruiting 590 pregnant, healthy, nulli-or primiparous women (19 -35 years old) in weeks 17 to 19 of pregnancy. The women were provided 10 mL of either cod liver oil or corn oil daily until 3 months after delivery.Main outcome measures. Primary outcomes were gestational length and birth weight. Electroencephalography (EEG) was done on the second day of life and at 3 months of age. Novelty preference (Fagan test) was used as an indicator of cognitive function at 6 and 9 months of age. The fatty acid pattern in umbilical plasma phospholipids and in breast milk was measured, and dietary assessments were performed, both on the mothers during pregnancy and on the infants at 3 months of age. The growth of the infants was followed up to 1 year of age.Results. Three hundred forty-one mothers took part in the study until delivery. There were no significant differences in maternal body mass index before pregnancy and at birth, or parity between the 2 groups. Smoking habits and parental education were also similar in the 2 groups. The mean age of the mothers receiving cod liver oil was, by chance, 1 year higher than the age of the mothers receiving corn oil (28.6 Dietary information from 251 infants at 3 months of age was collected and 85% of these infants were exclusively breastfed, in addition to 12% who were partly breastfed. The breast milk of mothers supplemented with cod liver oil contained more n-3 long-chain PUFAs and less n-6 long-chain PUFAs than breast milk of mothers supplemented with corn oil. There were no significant differences in infant growth during the first year of life between the 2 groups.Conclusions. This study shows neither harmful nor beneficial effects of maternal supplementation of longchain n-3 PUFAs regarding pregnancy outcome, cognitive development, or growth, as compared with supplementation with n-6 fatty acids. However, it confirms that DHA concentration may be related to gestational length and cerebral maturation of the newborn. Pediatrics 2001; 108(5). URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/ 108/5/e82; dietary supplements, docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid, gestational length, birth weight, infant, pregnancy, breastfeeding, cognitive functioning, ele...

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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the importance of social status and lifestyle for dietary habits, since these factors may influence life expectancy. We studied the association of four indicators for healthy dietary habits (fruits and vegetables, fibre, fat and Hegsted score) with sex, age, socio-economic status, education, physical leisure exercise, smoking and personal attention paid to keeping a healthy diet. Data were gathered with a self-administered quantitative food-frequency questionnaire distributed to a representative sample of Norwegian men and women aged 16-79 years in a national dietary survey, of whom 3144 subjects (63 %) responded. Age and female sex were positively associated with indicators for healthy dietary habits. By separate evaluation length of education, regular physical leisure exercise and degree of attention paid to keeping a healthy diet were positively associated with all four indicators for healthy dietary habits in both sexes. Socio-economic status, location of residence and smoking habits were associated with from one to three indicators for healthy dietary habits. In a multiple regression model, age, education and location of residence together explained from 1 to 9 % of the variation (R 2 ) in the four dietary indicators. Length of education was significantly associated with three of four dietary indicators both among men and women. By including the variable 'attention paid to keeping a healthy diet' in the model, R 2 increased to between 4 and 15 % for the four dietary indicators. Length of education remained correlated to three dietary indicators among women, and one indicator among men, after adjusting for attention to healthy diet, age and location of residence. Residence in cities remained correlated to two indicators among men, but none among women, after adjusting for age, education and attention to healthy diet. In conclusion, education was associated with indicators of a healthy diet. Attention to healthy diet showed the strongest and most consistent association with all four indicators for healthy dietary habits in both sexes. This suggests that personal preferences may be just as important for having a healthy diet as social status determinants. Diet: Social status: LifestyleDietary factors such as total fat, saturated fatty acids and salt are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer, whereas fibre, fruits and vegetables may decrease this risk (Department