The North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey: the dietary fibre intake of Irish adults

Abstract

Objective: Mean daily intakes of dietary fibre (DF, Southgate) and non-starch polysaccharide (NSP, Englyst) are estimated in a representative sample of adults aged 18-64 years in Ireland. The contribution of food groups to DF and NSP intake is reported and fibre intakes are compared with dietary recommendations and with intakes in some European countries. Design: Food consumption was estimated using 7-day food diaries for a representative sample (n = 1379; 662 men, 717 women) of 18-64 year old adults in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland selected from the electoral register. DF and NSP intakes were estimated from tables of food composition. . The main food groups that contributed to mean daily intake of DF (NSP) in the sample were breads 31% (23%), potatoes 19% (23%), and vegetables 17% (19%). Absolute intakes of DF and NSP were higher (P < 0.001) in men than women; however, women overall consumed more (P < 0.001) fibre-dense diets than men. Women aged 18-35 years consumed less (P < 0.01) DF and NSP (g) than women aged 36-64 years. Both men and women aged 18-35 years consumed less (P < 0.01) fibre-dense diets than men and women aged 36-64 years. The NSP intake was below the nutritional goal of 18 g day" 1 in 77% of adults and below the minimum of the recommended range (12 g day" 1 ) in 37% of the total sample. Compliance (i.e. the maximum number of individuals whose collective mean daily intake corresponded to the population goal) with the (UK) population goal for an average intake of 18 g day" 1 NSP was achieved by a greater proportion of the population (63%) than compliance with the

A systematic review of methods to assess intake of fruits and vegetables among healthy European adults and children: a DEDIPAC (DEterminants of DIet and Physical Activity) study

“…With the exception of studies which used weighed records (83) or a mixed approach (81) , most studies estimated portion size using photographs (30,46,91) , household measures and objects (e.g. cups, spoons, etc.)…”

“…From the sourced articles, fifty-one pan-European studies in total were identified: thirty-five named projects and sixteen smaller projects (48,54,56,65,69,72,82,83,88,93,94,107,109,113,114,116) . Most studies assessed dietary intake of F&V among adults (18,41,44,46,48,50,51,(54)(55)(56)(57)59,60,(64)(65)(66)68,69,71,72,(75)(76)(77)(78)(79)(81)(82)(83)(84)86,88,(92)(93)(94)107,…”

“…Seven pan-European studies (44,46,68,81,83,92,94) used diet records or diaries, either a 7 d record or three consecutive day records. With the exception of studies which used weighed records (83) or a mixed approach (81) , most studies estimated portion size using photographs (30,46,91) , household measures and objects (e.g.…”

“…Dietary history method using questionnaire † Validated using diet records (79) No details ‡ NORBAGREEN (41,80) Cross-sectional Adults and adolescents (n 8397) (80) Assessed by crude correlations, mean or median differences, and exact level of agreement FFQ is valid to rank individuals according to F&V intake Interval: 6-8 months (80) Provides reproducible estimates of food group intake North/South Food Consumption Survey (45,81) Cross-sectional Adults (n 1379) 2 (Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland)…”

Revision of food-based dietary guidelines for Ireland, Phase 1: evaluation of Ireland's food guide

“…These goals for Fe intake have tended to be lower than those set in North America and more in line with those recently updated in the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (33) , which were used in the present evaluation. Assessment of other micronutrients and specific fatty acids provided by food patterns based on Ireland's national food guide were beyond the scope of the present evaluation, which focused on micronutrients identified as problematic in recent national surveys (17)(18)(19)(20)(27)(28)(29) .…”