The subjects with CD showed a more unbalanced diet than controls in terms of added sugars, total fat, and micronutrient consumption.

We constructed a food-based diet quality score (DQS) and examined its association with obesity measures, eating styles and nutrient intakes. Participants were 3592 individuals (764 dizygotic [DZ] and 430 monozygotic [MZ] twin pairs) from the FinnTwin16 study. The DQS (0–12 points) was constructed from a short 14 item food frequency questionnaire. Anthropometric measures and eating styles were self-reported. Nutrient intakes were calculated from food diaries completed in a subsample of 249 individuals (45 same-sex DZ and 60 MZ twin pairs). Twins were analyzed both as individuals and as twin pairs. The DQS was inversely associated with body mass index (β = −0.12, per one-unit increase in DQS, p < 0.001), waist circumference (β = −0.34, p < 0.001), obesity (odds ratio [OR]: 0.95, p = 0.004) and abdominal obesity (OR: 0.88, p < 0.001), independent of sex, age, physical activity and education. A higher DQS was associated with health-conscious eating, having breakfast, less snacking, fewer evening meals, and a higher frequency and regularity of eating. The DQS was positively correlated with the intakes of protein, fiber and magnesium and negatively correlated with the intakes of total fat, saturated fat and sucrose. Within twin pairs, most of the associations between the DQS with eating styles and some nutrients remained, but the DQS was not associated with obesity measures within twin pairs. The DQS is an easy-to-use tool for ranking adults according to diet quality and shows an association with obesity measures, eating styles and key nutrients in the expected direction.

The purpose of this review is to provide a detailed and updated description of the FinnTwin16 (FT16) study and its future directions. The Finnish Twin Cohort comprises three different cohorts: the Older Twin Cohort established in the 1970s and the FinnTwin12 and FT16 initiated in the 1990s. FT16 was initiated in 1991 to identify the genetic and environmental precursors of alcoholism, but later the scope of the project expanded to studying the determinants of various health-related behaviors and diseases in different stages of life. The main areas addressed are alcohol use and its consequences, smoking, physical activity, overall physical health, eating behaviors and eating disorders, weight development, obesity, life satisfaction and personality. To date, five waves of data collection have been completed and the sixth is now planned. Data from the FT16 cohort have contributed to several hundred studies and many substudies, with more detailed phenotyping and collection of omics data completed or underway. FT16 has also contributed to many national and international collaborations.