Evaluation of dietary intake in a Danish population: The Inter99 study

Background: During the past few decades there has been a worldwide increase in the prevalence of obesity and type 1 diabetes, and this may partly be due to an unfavourable dietary composition. Objective: To evaluate the dietary intake of Danish men and women against the dietary recommendations, and to assess the daily glycaemic index (dGI) and the daily glycaemic load (dGL) of the diet. Design: Baseline data from the Danish population-based Inter99 study were used. Dietary intake of 6635 men and women between 30 and 60 years of age was assessed through a food frequency questionnaire. The dietary intake was evaluated against the Nordic Nutrient Recommendations and the Danish food-based guidelines. Estimation of dGI and dGL was based on existing food tables. Results: Men in the Inter99 study had higher intakes of all fat types, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fibre, alcohol and fish (g day^-1) compared with women, whereas women had higher intakes of fruit and vegetables (g day ^-1) compared with men. The dGI did not differ substantially between the genders, but men had a higher dGL than women. The recommendations for total, saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, carbohydrates, dietary fibre, fish, fruit and vegetables was met by less than 50% of the Inter99 population. Conclusions: The dietary composition in the Danish middle-aged population is not satisfactory compared with the recommendations, which may have detrimental consequences for health. The values of dGI and dGL were reasonable, but higher than estimates found in other studies.