Dietary Intakes of Slovenian Adults and Elderly: Design and Results of the National Dietary Study SI.Menu 2017/18

Abstract

Incomparable and insufficiently detailed information on dietary intakes are common challenges associated with dietary assessment methods. Being a European Union country, Slovenia is expected to conduct national food consumption studies in line with harmonised EU Menu methodology. The present study aimed to describe the methodology and protocols in the Slovenian nationally representative dietary survey SI.Menu 2017/18, and to assess population dietary habits with respect to food consumption and energy and macronutrient intakes. While the study targeted various population groups, this report is focused on adults. A representative sample of participants was randomly selected from the Central Register of Population according to sex, age classes and place of residency, following a two-stage stratified sampling procedure. Information on food consumption was collected with two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls using a web-based Open Platform for Clinical Nutrition (OPEN) software. Data were complemented with a food propensity questionnaire to adjust for usual intake distribution. Altogether, 364 adults (18–64 years) and 416 elderlies (65–74 years) were included in the data analyses. Study results highlighted that observed dietary patterns notably differ from food-based dietary guidelines. Typical diets are unbalanced due to high amounts of consumed meat and meat products, foods high in sugar, fat and salt, and low intake of fruits and vegetables and milk and dairy products. Consequently, the energy proportion of carbohydrates, proteins, and to some extent, free sugars and total fats, as well as intake of dietary fibre and total water deviates from the reference values. Age and sex were significantly marked by differences in dietary intakes, with particularly unfavourable trends in adults and men. Study results call for adoption of prevention and public health intervention strategies to improve dietary patterns, taking into account population group differences. In addition, all developed protocols and tools will be useful for further data collection, supporting regular dietary monitoring systems and trend analyses.

Habitual low carbohydrate high fat diet compared with omnivorous, vegan, and vegetarian diets

“…In vegan group, the highest proportion of participants met the RV for the intake of carbohydrate and fat. Similar to what was reported on a national level ( 6 ), our participants exhibited a tendency towards lower carbohydrate intake and higher fat intake, not just those following LCHF but also others. The majority of participants reached the RV for proteins [0.8 g/kg BM day ( 11 )], however the percentage was somewhat lower in vegan and vegetarian group (69 and 65%, respectively, compared to 100% in LCHF and 92% in omnivorous).…”

“…The relatively small sample size in the present study may be considered a limitation, as we were able to recruit 24 participants practicing LCHF diet with stable body mass and suitable BMI. The prevalence of people who follow LCHF diet in Slovenia is not known, but national dietary study Si.Menu 2017/18, performed using EFSA methodology on a representative sample of 364 Slovenian adults (18–64 years old), did not detect people on LCHF diet ( 6 ). The fact that we were only recruiting participants following the same pattern for a minimum of six months while keeping stable body mass, strongly limited our sample size.…”

“…On the other hand, little is known of the long-term effects in healthy adults, especially when the dietary choices in diets that omit whole food groups are made without proper counseling. Although nation-representative scans, performed under the umbrella of EFSA, investigate the connections between habitual dietary pattern and health ( 6 ), LCHF, vegetarian and vegan dietary patterns are rare, so the data of individuals following those dietary patterns cannot be extracted from such studies and no data is available about them.…”

Dietary Iron Intake and Biomarkers of Iron Status in Slovenian Population: Results of SI.Menu/Nutrihealth Study

“…Dietary iron intakes are closely related to the type of food consumed and reflect dietary habits, as observed in the Slovenian national food consumption study SI.Menu [ 76 , 77 ]. According to the dietary recalls of the above-mentioned study, it has been established that in Slovenia, males tend to consume approximately twice as much meat as compared to females (including processed meat products and offal).…”

“…Iron intake could be also further increased by the consumption of meat and meat products; however, considering the very high meat consumption in Slovenia (particularly in the male population) [ 76 , 77 ], this is not a feasible option. It should be noted that although foods of animal origin are one of the best sources of bioavailable iron, the abundant consumption of non-haem iron-rich foods can result in adequate iron intake and status—also in vegan diets [ 80 ].…”