Dietary recommendations and prevailing food and nutrient intakes in Germany.

Dietary recommendations on nutrient intakes as published by the German Society of Nutrition are only met by a very small proportion of the adult population in East and in West Germany. Dietary data from the Nutrition Survey and Risk Factor Analysis Study in West Germany and from the National Health Survey in East Germany were used to identify differences in nutrient intakes and in food consumption patterns between subgroups of the study participants that were close to, or failed to meet the dietary guidelines. The subgroups were created by dividing subjects into quartiles on the basis of their daily intakes of total fat (%energy), saturated fatty acids (%energy), fibre (g/d) and the food group fruit and vegetables (g/d).

[Incidence of allergic diseases in East and West Germany].

Using data of the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey 1998, a remarkable difference in the prevalence of hay fever between East and West Germany has been observed. Several studies in children and adults have also shown a considerable East-West divergence in other allergic diseases and in sensitisation rates. The aim of this investigation was to examine whether in a representative sample of the adult German population East-West differences in the frequency of asthma, atopic dermatitis, food allergy, urticaria, contact dermatitis and "other allergies" can be found.

[Prevalence of hay fever in Germany--East-West comparison and temporal trends].

In recent years several studies in children and adults have shown an increase in prevalence of atopic diseases in East and West Germany. The observed frequency of allergic diseases, however, was significantly lower in the East compared to the West. Using data of the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey 1998 and of National Surveys from 1990/92 it was examined, whether the reported increase in prevalence could be confirmed for the total population and whether the differences between East and West are still present.

The German Food Code and Nutrient Data Base (BLS II.2).

This article describes the conception and structure of the German Food Code and Nutrient Data Base (BLS). The data bank contains approx. 12,000 coded foods, menus and menu components in different stages of processing with up to 158 nutritional data for each product.

Intake of fatty acids in western Europe with emphasis on trans fatty acids: the TRANSFAIR Study.

Objective: To assess the intake of trans fatty acids (TFA) and other fatty acids in 14 Western European countries.

Design And Subjects: A maximum of 100 foods per country were sampled and centrally analysed. Each country calculated the intake of individual trans and other fatty acids, clusters of fatty acids and total fat in adults and/or the total population using the best available national food consumption data set.