Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T20:29:11.425Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Adolescents' food habits: results of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

Carine A. Vereecken ,
Stefaan De Henauw  and
Lea Maes
Carine A. Vereecken*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Stefaan De Henauw
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Lea Maes
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Carine A. Vereecken, fax +32 9 240 49 94, email Carine.Vereecken@UGent.be
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The present study describes food habits in adolescents in thirty-five countries and regions (European countries/regions, Israel, Canada and the USA), based on the food-frequency questions from the cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey of the year 2001–2. A total of 162 305 pupils of 11, 13 or 15 years of age completed an anonymous standardised questionnaire on health and lifestyle factors during one school hour. Large differences in food habits between countries were found: the consumption frequency of fruit varied from on average 2·8 to 5 d/week, the consumption of vegetables varied from on average 2·4 to 5·5 d/week, the consumption of soft drinks varied from 2·1 to 5 d/week and sweet consumption from 2·6 to 5 d/week. Methodological problems in comparing between countries are discussed. Nonetheless, the results indicate a need for national and international health promotion programmes to improve adolescents' food habits.

Keywords

AdolescentsFood habitsInternational comparison
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 94 , Issue 3 , September 2005 , pp. 423 - 431
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2005

References

Albertson, AM, Tobelmann, RC & Marquart, L (1997) Estimated dietary calcium intake and food sources for adolescent females: 1980–92. J Adolesc Health 20, 20–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aranceta, J, Perez-Rodrigo, C, Ribas, L, Serra-Majem, L (2003) Sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants of food patterns in Spanish children and adolescents: the enKid study. Eur J Clin Nutr 57, Suppl. 1, S40–S44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barr, SI (1994) Associations of social and demographic variables with calcium intakes of high school students. J Am Diet Assoc 94, 260–269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barr, SI & McKay, HA (1998) Nutrition, exercise, and bone status in youth. Int J Sport Nutr 8, 124–142.Google Scholar
Bellu, R, Riva, E, Ortisi, MT, De Notaris, R, Bonacina, M, Luotti, D & Giovannini, M (1996) Preliminary results of a nutritional survey in a sample of 35,000 Italian schoolchildren. J Int Med Res 24, 169–184.Google Scholar
Bellu, R, Riva, E, Ortisi, MT, De Notaris, R, Santiri, I, Banderali, G & Giovannini, M (1995) Calcium intakes in a sample of 35,000 Italian schoolchildren. J Int Med Res 23, 191–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biro, G, Hulshof, KF, Ovesen, L & Amorim Cruz, JA (2002) Selection of methodology to assess food intake. Eur J Clin Nutr 56, Suppl. 2, S25–S32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Block, G, Woods, M, Potosky, A & Clifford, C (1990) Validation of a self-administered diet history questionnaire using multiple diet records. J Clin Epidemiol 43, 1327–1335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bronner, F (1994) Calcium and osteoporosis. Am J Clin Nutr 60, 831–836.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buts, JP & Absolonne, J (1995) Les carences alimentaires chez l'enfant enquete – multicentrique en milieu scolaire. Analyse de l'alimentation quotidienne des adolescents (Food deficiencies in children – multicenter survey in the school environment. Analysis of the daily diet of adolescents). Rev Med Brux 16, 83–88.Google ScholarPubMed
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1997) Guidelines for school health programs to promote lifelong healthy eating. J Sch Health 67, 9–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, GM (1991) Dietary calcium and bone mineral status of children and adolescents. Am J Dis Child 145, 631–634.Google Scholar
Crawley, HF (1993) The energy, nutrient and food intakes of teenagers aged 16–17 years in Britain. 1. Energy, macronutrients and non-starch polysaccharides. Br J Nutr 70, 15–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cruz, JA (2000) Dietary habits and nutritional status in adolescents over Europe – Southern Europe. Eur J Clin Nutr 54, Suppl. 1, S29–S35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cullen, KW, Baranowski, T, Baranowski, J, Hebert, D, de Moor, C (1999) Behavioral or epidemiologic coding of fruit and vegetable consumption from 24-hour dietary recalls: research question guides choice. J Am Diet Assoc 99, 849–851.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Currie, C, Samdal, O, Boyce, W, Smith, B (editors) (2002) Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: A WHO Cross-national Study. Research Protocol for the 2001–2002 Survey. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Doyle, W, Jenkins, S, Crawford, MA & Puvandendran, K (1994) Nutritional status of schoolchildren in an inner city area. Arch Dis Child 70, 376–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleming, KH & Heimbach, JT (1994) Consumption of calcium in the U.S.: food sources and intake levels. J Nutr 124, 1426S–1430S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guenther, PM (1986) Beverages in the diets of American teenagers. J Am Diet Assoc 86, 493–499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harel, Z, Riggs, S, Vaz, R, White, L & Menzies, G (1998) Adolescents and calcium: what they do and do not know and how much they consume. J Adolesc Health 22, 225–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harnack, L, Stang, J & Story, M (1999) Soft drink consumption among US children and adolescents: nutritional consequences. J Am Diet Assoc 99, 436–441.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jackson, N, Little, J & Wilson, AD (1990) Comparison of diet history interview and self completed questionnaire in assessment of diet in an elderly population. J Epidemiol Community Health 44, 162–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelder, SH, Perry, CL, Klepp, KI & Lytle, LL (1994) Longitudinal tracking of adolescent smoking, physical activity, and food choice behaviors. Am J Public Health 84, 1121–1126.Google Scholar
Kersting, M, Sichert, HW, Alexy, U, Manz, F & Schoch, G (1998) Macronutrient intake of 1 to 18 year old German children and adolescents. Z Ernahrungswiss 37, 252–259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Key, JD & Key-LL, J (1994) Calcium needs of adolescents. Curr Opin Pediatr 6, 379–382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kubik, MY, Lytle, LA, Hannan, PJ, Perry, CL & Story, M (2003) The association of the school food environment with dietary behaviors of young adolescents. Am J Public Health 93, 1168–1173.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuskowska-Wolk, A, Holte, S, Ohlander, EM, Bruce, A, Holmberg, L, Adam, HO & Bergstrom, R (1992) Effects of different designs and extension of a food frequency questionnaire on response rate, completeness of data and food frequency responses. Int J Epidemiol 21, 1144–1150.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lowry, R, Wechsler, H, Galuska, DA, Fulton, JE & Kann, L (2002) Television viewing and its associations with overweight, sedentary lifestyle, and insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables among US high school students: differences by race, ethnicity, and gender. J Sch Health 72, 413–421.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mailhot, M, Ghadirian, P, Parent, ME, Goulet, MC & Petitclerc, C (1994) Patterns of calcium intake among French-Canadians living in Montreal. Can J Public Health 85, 351–356.Google Scholar
Margetts, BM, Cade, JE & Osmond, C (1989) Comparison of a food frequency questionnaire with a diet record. Int J Epidemiol 18, 868–873.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martinchik, AN, Baturin, AK & Helsing, E (1997) Nutrition monitoring of Russian schoolchildren in a period of economic change: a World Health Organization multicenter survey, 1992–1995. Am J Clin Nutr 65, 1215S–1219S.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matkovic, V & Ilich, JZ (1993) Calcium requirements for growth: are current recommendations adequate?. Nutr Rev 51, 171–180.Google Scholar
Morabia, A (1996) From disease surveillance to the surveillance of risk factors. Am J Public Health 86, 625–627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moynihan, P, Adamson, A, Rugg-Gunn, A, Appleton, D & Butler, T (1996) Dietary sources of calcium and the contribution of flour fortification to total calcium intake in the diets of Northumbrian adolescents. Br J Nutr 75, 495–505.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Naska, A, Vasdekis, VG & Trichopoulou, A (2000) Fruit and vegetable availability among ten European countries: how does it compare with the ‘five-a-day’ recommendation? DAFNE I and II projects of the European Commission. Br J Nutr 84, 549–556.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nicklas, TA, Myers, L & Berenson, GS (1995) Dietary fiber intake of children: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Pediatrics 96, 988–994.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Painter, J, Rah, JH & Lee, YK (2002) Comparison of international food guide pictorial representations. J Am Diet Assoc 102, 483–489.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parizkova, J (2000) Dietary habits and nutritional status in adolescents in Central and Eastern Europe. Eur J Clin Nutr 54, Suppl. 1, S36–S40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Park, YK, Meier, ER, Bianchi, P & Song, WO (2002) Trends in children's consumption of beverages: 1987 to 1998. Fam Econ Nutr Rev 14, 69–79.Google Scholar
Rampersaud, GC, Bailey, LB & Kauwell, GP (2003) National survey beverage consumption data for children and adolescents indicate the need to encourage a shift toward more nutritive beverages. J Am Diet Assoc 103, 97–100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rockett, HR & Colditz, GA (1997) Assessing diets of children and adolescents. Am J Clin Nutr 65, 1116S–1122S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rolland-Cachera, MF, Bellisle, F & Deheeger, M (2000) Nutritional status and food intake in adolescents living in Western Europe. Eur J Clin Nutr 54, Suppl. 1, S41–S46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saldanha, LG (1995) Fiber in the diet of US children: results of national surveys. Pediatrics 96, 994–997.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Samuelson, G (2000) Dietary habits and nutritional status in adolescents over Europe. An overview of current studies in the Nordic countries. Eur J Clin Nutr 54, Suppl. 1, S21–S28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Samuelson, G, Bratteby, LE, Enghardt, H & Hedgren, M (1996) Food habits and energy and nutrient intake in Swedish adolescents approaching the year 2000. Acta Paediatr Suppl 415, 1–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sargent, RG, Kemper, KA & Schulken, E (1994) Dietary behaviors of South Carolina adolescents. J S C Med Assoc 90, 263–269.Google ScholarPubMed
Shatenstein, B & Ghadirian, P (1996) Nutrient patterns and nutritional adequacy among French-Canadian children in Montreal. J Am Coll Nutrition 15, 264–272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spear, BA (2002) Adolescent growth and development. J Am Diet Assoc 102, S23–S29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steingrimsdottir, L, Ovesen, L, Moreiras, O & Jacob, S (2002) Selection of relevant dietary indicators for health. Eur J Clin Nutr 54, Suppl. 2, S8–S11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Subar, AF, Krebs-Smith, SM, Cook, A & Kahle, LL (1998) Dietary sources of nutrients among US children, 1989–1991. Pediatrics 102, 913–923.Google Scholar
Tjonneland, A, Haraldsdottir, J, Overvad, K, Stripp, C, Ewertz, M & Jensen, OM (1992) Influence of individually estimated portion size data on the validity of a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Int J Epidemiol 21, 770–777.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trichopoulou, A, Naska, A & Costacou, T (2002) Disparities in food habits across Europe. Proc Nutr Soc 61, 553–558.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Poppel, G, Schneijder, P, Lowik, MR, Schrijver, J & Kok, FJ (1991) Nutritional status and food consumption in 10–11 year old Dutch boys (Dutch Nutrition Surveillance System). Br J Nutr 66, 161–169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vereecken, C & Maes, L (2003) A Belgian study on the reliability and relative validity of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children food frequency questionnaire. Public Health Nutr 6, 581–588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, CL (1995) Importance of dietary fiber in childhood. J Am Diet Assoc 95, 1140–1149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, CL, Bollella, M & Wynder, EL (1995) A new recommendation for dietary fiber in childhood. Pediatrics 96, 985–988.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed