These are some of the findings of the first Nordic study with comparable results on diet, physical activity and overweight, headed by the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark.
In autumn 2011, the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark partnered with researchers from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden on conducting the first joint Nordic study on diet, physical activity and overweight.
The researchers asked more than 11,500 people in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland about their consumption of selected foods, physical activity habits and their weight. The same questionnaire was used in all five countries, enabling comparison of the findings across national borders.
Between 9-24% of adults in the Nordic countries and only 8% of children maintain a diet that the researchers estimate to be healthy in relation to the targets that the Nordic Council of Ministers has proposed in The Nordic Plan of Action for Better Health.
The study shows, that in Denmark and Norway, the diet is healthier than in the other countries, while the Swedes have the least healthy dietary habits. The study also shows that women tend to eat healthier than men, and that the level of education influences the diet. Participants with a low-level education eat a more unhealthy diet than participants with a higher education.
In the Nordic countries, we generally eat too few vegetables and too little fruit, and our diet is too sweet. The study participants eat sugar-rich foods more than four times a week. In Denmark, Sweden and Finland, the participants eat fish less than twice a week. Only the participants from Iceland and Norway eat on average enough fish.
The results show that 40% of Danes do not use fat on their bread while the figure is only 8% in Finland where in turn 20% use spreadable vegetable fat on their bread. Icelanders do not eat much bread, while the Danes and the Finns eat the most rye bread. The Swedes eat more sausages than people in the other Nordic countries and Icelanders are top scorers in terms of candy intake. Iceland has a slightly higher proportion of overweight and obese than the other countries.
The study participants were also asked about their physical activity. Finland and Sweden have the most physically active people, while Norwegians spend the most time in front of their PCs and TVs. In none of the countries are children physically active the recommended one hour a day.
Source: National Food Institute
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