The Italian National Food Consumption Survey INRAN-SCAI 2005–06: main results in terms of food consumption

Abstract

Objective: The current paper aims to present the main results of the Italian National Food Consumption Survey INRAN-SCAI 2005–06. Design: A cross-sectional study was performed. Households were randomly selected after geographical stratification of the national territory. Food consumption was assessed on three consecutive days through individual estimated dietary records. Setting: Italy. Subjects: The final study sample comprised 3323 subjects (1501 males and 1822 females) aged 0·1 to 97·7 years belonging to 1329 households: fifty-two infants (0–2·9 years), 193 children (3–9·9 years), 247 teenagers (10–17·9 years), 2313 adults (18–64·9 years) and 518 elderly (65 years and above). Results: Participation rate was 33 %. The mean ratio of estimated energy intake to estimated BMR was 1·41 in adults. Indicators of mean and high individual consumption are presented for fifteen large categories and fifty-one subcategories of foods and beverages, in the total population and in consumers, by age and sex categories. The overall consumption of fruit and vegetables was 418 g/d. The consumption of red meat was approximately 700 g/week, expressed as raw weight. Some specific aspects of the Italian food consumption pattern were confirmed: a large contribution from bread, pasta and pizza to cereals, from olive oil to fats and from wine to alcoholic beverages. Conclusions: The database obtained from the survey will be the key reference for Italian food consumption during the coming years and will be utilized for a variety of purposes including the assessment of nutrient intakes and risk analysis.