Evaluation of food consumption and dietary patterns in Spain by the Food Consumption Survey: updated information.

Background/objectives: The Food Consumption Survey (FCS), conducted for over 20 years by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MARM), is the most reliable source of data to evaluate the food consumption and dietary patterns of Spain. The aim of this study was to assess population food availability per capita per day, which allows the calculation of energy and nutrient intake and comparison with the Recommended Nutrient Intakes for the Spanish population. In addition, different markers of the quality of the diet have been evaluated.

Seemingly paradoxical seasonal influences on vitamin D status in nursing-home elderly people from a Mediterranean area.

Objective: We investigated vitamin D status in institutionalized elderly subjects by measuring serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) and its association with season and other factors: age, gender, nutritional status, cognitive function, functional ability, dietary intake, vitamin D supplement consumption, and disease.

Methods: The cross-sectional study included 86 subjects, 65-94 y of age (29 men and 57 women), who lived in three nursing homes in Murcia, a Spanish Mediterranean area. The Mini Nutritional Assessment, Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire, and BI were used to evaluate nutritional status, functional ability, and cognitive function, respectively.

[Nutritional planning of menus of public schools of the community of Madrid].

Some nutritional unbalances have been observed in menus served at dining rooms of schools from the Community of Madrid (CM): small portions, inter-day variations up to 50% of energy intake, unbalances in caloric and lipidic profiles, little variety, lack of parental information, etc. The Education Council of the CM considered necessary to plan and regulate the basic conditions that menus of these dinning rooms should meet. The Spanish Nutrition Foundation (FEN) and the Nutrition Department of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) were put in charge of elaborating the bases to develop the Regulation (BOCM 24-05-01, 10-09-02).

Dietary patterns and their socio-demographic determinants in 10 European countries: data from the DAFNE databank.

Objective: To describe the dietary patterns of 10 European countries and their socio-demographic determinants, using the comparable between-countries DAFNE data.

Design: Analysis of standardized and postharmonized data collected through the national household budget surveys.

Setting: Nationally representative surveys undertaken in 10 European countries, generally in the second half of the 1990s.

Teenage girls and elderly women living in northern Europe have low winter vitamin D status.

Objective: To determine the vitamin D status (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D; S-25OHD) in adolescent girls and elderly community-dwelling women living in four countries of northern Europe and to explain differences in S-25OHD concentrations between and within the countries.

Design: A cross-sectional observational study conducted in a standardised way during February-March. S-25OHD was analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

[Age-related changes in the dietary intake of elderly individuals. The Euronut-SENECA study].

There are few longitudinal studies linking eating habits, diets, nutritional content and their repercussions on health. For this reason, the European Union's Concerted Action on Nutrition and Health, Euronut, organized an international, multi-centric longitudinal cohort study in 1988 in an attempt to analyze these factors in various food cultures of Europe. This study was given the name SENECA (Survey in Europe on Nutrition and the Elderly: a Concerted Action).

Vitamins and minerals: a model for safe addition to foods.

Background: Significant subgroups in most European populations have intakes below nationally recommended levels for several vitamins, minerals and trace elements, placing individuals at risk of suboptimal intake of important vitamins and minerals. The voluntary addition of micronutrients to the appropriate foods may help address the risks associated with low micronutrient intakes. However, concerns need to be addressed regarding the potential for unacceptably high intakes, particularly for those people consuming very large amounts of food.

Selection of relevant dietary indicators for health.

Objective: To define a set of dietary components that are relevant determinants for health in Europe. The selected components are intended to serve as nutrition indicators for health in the European Health Monitoring Programme and, as such, must be limited in number, relevant to health in Europe and practical for all involved countries with respect to data gathering and comparability of data.

Design: Major nutrition factors were determined by reviewing relevant epidemiological and clinical literature in nutrition and health as well as referring to reports from international expert groups, including the report from the project Nutrition and Diet for Healthy Lifestyles in Europe.

Ten-year changes in anthropometric characteristics of elderly Europeans.

Objective: Assess longitudinal (10-y) changes in height, body weight and circumferences in elderly Europeans.

Design: Longitudinal assessments including baseline measurements taken in 1988/1989 which were repeated in 1993 (follow-up) and in 1999 (Finale).

Setting: Longitudinal data were collected in nine European research towns: Hamme/Belgium (H/B), Roskilde/Denmark (R/DK), Haguenau/France (H/F), Romans/France (R/F), Padua/Italy (P/I), Culemborg/the Netherlands (C/NL), Vila Franca de Xira/Portugal (V/P), Betanzos/Spain (B/E), Yverdon/Switzerland (Y/CH).

Activities of daily living in the Spanish elderly. Association with mortality.

The ability to manage basic activities of daily living (ADL) is a significant predictor for being housebound, placement in a nursing home and death. The aim of the study was to assess the capacity to perform activities of daily living in the Spanish sample (30 men and 49 women aged 80-85 y) from SENECA's Finale study (1999) and changes respect to the same sample ten years ago. The total ADL score (assessed by 16 questions) and the partials (mobility ADLm and self-care ADLc) show that the total ADL average in 1999 has been 23.

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.

Recasting the role of fruit and vegetables (F&V) in the diet, and planning national and international campaigns to enhance their consumption are major public health service objectives. The present study seeks to describe F&V availability patterns in ten European countries and examine compliance with current recommendations. The mean and median F&V availability (g/person per d) was estimated based on household budget survey data retrieved from the Data Food Networking (DAFNE) databank.

Body perceptions and slimming attitudes reported by Spanish adolescents.

Objective: To assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the desire to lose weight, body parts wanted to be reduced and weight-loss practices.

Design: A standardized questionnaire was self-completed by the participants. Anthropometric measurements were obtained by a research assistant.

Association between trans fatty acid intake and cardiovascular risk factors in Europe: the TRANSFAIR study.

Background: High intakes of trans fatty acids (TFA) have been found to exert an undesirable effect on serum lipid profiles, and thus may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease.

Objectives: Investigation of the association between TFA intake and serum lipids.

Design: Cross-sectional study in eight European countries (Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden) among 327 men and 299 women (50-65 y).

Household budget survey nutritional data in relation to mortality from coronary heart disease, colorectal cancer and female breast cancer in European countries. DAFNE I and II projects of the European Commission. Data Food Networking.

Objective: We have undertaken a study to examine whether Household Budget Survey (HBS)-derived nutritional patterns are related to mortality from diseases with strong nutritional components, namely coronary heart disease, colorectal cancer and cancer of the female breast.

Design: Ecological correlation study. In the context of the Data Food Networking projects of the European Union, raw data from the national HBS of 10 European countries were provided.

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.

[Current model of breakfast for different age groups: children, a adolescents and adults].

The objective of the present work is to assess the current breakfast model in different age groups: children between the ages of 6 and 12 years (n = 54); adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years (n = 174); and adults, older than 18 years of age (n = 252). For this a questionnaire has been designed that follows the standards of that used for a similar study by our team in 1984 on a sample of 1350 individuals. The modified and amplified questionnaire included open and closed questions about: the omission of breakfast and its causes, foods that are a part of breakfast, the most frequent types and the variations, the role of the second breakfast, the number of fasting hours since dinner, the time spent of breakfast, and the subjective opinion regarding the importance or not of having breakfast.

[Body mass index and the desire of weight loss in a group of young women].

With the aim of obtaining information as to whether the desire to lose weight responds to criteria of health, or whether this is only a question of esthetics, the relation between the body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of obesity, and some attitudes with respect to weight, were analyzed in a group of 254 apparently healthy women between the ages of 14 and 55 with a variety of occupations (students, housewives, and women working outside the home), using a questionnaire designed for the study. An analysis was also made of the types of methods used for the voluntary loss of weight, as well as other aspects of slimming. The sample was classified into three groups according to the BMI: low weight (BMI < 20 kg/m2), adequate weight (BMI = 20-25 kg/m2), and overweight (BMI > 25 kg/m2).

[Spanish contribution to the creation of a European analytical database of trans-fatty acids].

Within the AAIR Program of the EU titled Evaluation of the Ingestion of Trans Fatty Acids (FA) and its association with cardiovascular risk factors in European countries (TRANSFAIR), which is being carried out in 16 countries with different alimentary habits, among which is our country, we have developed the following study. Based on the information derived from the last National Nutrition and Feeding Study (ENNA-3), we have made up a list of foods which make up 95% of the total ingestion of lipids, and it also includes those which although they are not included within this percentage, may have an especially high trans isomer content as a result of their processing. The foods selected for the analysis belong to different food groups: cereals, milk products, oils and fats, meats, various, and pre-cooked foods, until making up a total of 100 foods for each country.

[Influence of the aging process on body composition of the aged: the SENECA study in Spain].

The maintenance of an adequate proportion of muscular mass in aging, is critical for the quality of life of elderly people. In the face of the lack of longitudinal data, the semi-longitudinal SENECA (Survey in Europe on Nutrition and the Elderly, a Concerted Action) study was proposed, with the aim, among others, of analyzing the influence of the aging process on the body composition. In this study, the results are presented which correspond to the changes in body composition seen between the baseline study and the follow up period (1989-1993), in the participating Spanish population, which was randomly selected, and whose ages were between 70 and 80 years.

Longitudinal changes in the intake of vitamins and minerals of elderly Europeans. SENECA Investigators.

Objective: To assess longitudinal changes in intake of vitamins and minerals in elderly Europeans.

Design: Longitudinal study including the collection of dietary intake data in 1988/1989 and in 1993.

Setting: Baseline and follow-up data were collected from nine European towns: Belgium: Hamme (H/B); Denmark: Roskilde (R/DK); France: Haguenau (H/F) and Romans (R/F); Italy: Padua (P/I); the Netherlands: Culemborg (C/NL); Portugal: Vila Franca de Xira (V/P); Spain: Betanzos (B/E) and Switzerland: Yverdon (Y/CH).

Longitudinal changes in the intake of energy and macronutrients of elderly Europeans. SENECA Investigators.

Objective: To assess longitudinal changes in intakes of energy and macronutrients in elderly Europeans.

Design: Longitudinal study including a dietary assessment in 1988/1989, which was repeated in 1993.

Setting: Serial data were collected in nine European towns: Belgium: Hamme (H/B); Denmark: Roskilde (R/DK); France: Haguenau (H/F) and Romans (R/F); Italy: Padua (P/I); the Netherlands: Culemborg (C/NL); Portugal: Vila Franca de Xira (V/P); Spain: Betanzos (B/E) and Switzerland: Yverdon (Y/CH).

[A case control study of the relationship between diet and breast cancer in a sample from 3 Spanish hospital populations. Effects of food, energy and nutrient intake].

A case-control study was conducted to analyze the possible role of diet on the incidence of breast cancer in a group of 275 women (139 cases and 136 controls) recruited from three hospital populations (Madrid, Mérida, and Santiago de Compostela). The retrospective intake of foods was studied by a modified dietary history; from this the intake of energy, nutrients, fiber, and alcohol was derived. Intake of oils and fats was significantly higher among cases, which translates into a higher intake of lipids and vitamin E.

Energy intake as a determinant factor of vitamin status in healthy young women.

The vitamin (B1, B2, B6, retinol, beta-carotene, E and ascorbic acid) status of 56 young women (aged 21-30 years) has been analysed by studying dietary intakes and biochemical parameters and relating them to energy intake. Only 25% of the sample consumed more than 2000 kcal/day and a high percentage of apparently healthy women had low vitamin intakes, especially in the case of vitamin E, B6 and retinol. Except for retinol and beta-carotene, significant correlations between energy and vitamin intakes were found.

[Influence of energy intake and body mass index in the incidence of cancer of the breast. Case-control study in a sample from 3 Spanish hospital populations].

A case-control study has been designed to analyze the possible role of the energy intake and obesity, judged by the body mass index, on the incidence of breast cancer in a group of 275 women (139 cases and 136 controls), coming from three hospital populations (Madrid, Mérida, and Santiago de Compostela). There are no significant differences in the of cases and controls, which, additionally, does not seem to be significantly related to the risk of breast cancer. On the other hand, the weight and the body mass index of women with breast cancer is significantly higher than that of the controls.