Dietary surveys

-Automatic translation

National dietary surveys are a prerequisite for monitoring diet development, nutrient intake, additives, and contaminants among citizens. Information from the national diet survey is essential for health promotion and the prevention of chronic diseases, e.g. type 2 diabetes.

Surveys conducted since 1990

Diet is one of the main determinants of health. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the global burden of disease in Iceland, diet is one of the main risk factors for diseases in Iceland.

The results of the national diet survey of adults 18-80 years old were published in March 2022. The survey was conducted between 2019 and 2021. The study was a joint project of the Directorate of Health and the Nutritional Research Laboratory (RÍN) at the University of Iceland. Two methods were used on the one hand: a repeated 24-hour review of food consumption; on the other hand, questions were asked about the frequency of consumption of particular food groups.

A similar national survey on diet was conducted in 2010-2011, and a report with findings was published in 2012. The following national diet survey was conducted in 2002; before that, a national diet study was conducted in 1990.

How are the results of the national surveys useful?

The findings of national diet surveys are helpful in many ways:

• When setting goals and priorities in health promotion and prevention in the field of nutrition and food safety.

• Education and advice in this area to the government, companies, and the public are also based on national diet surveys.

• To assess whether there are grounds for taking action in the case of an excessive or under-consumption of individual nutrients or other substances in foods.

• Information from national surveys is also shared with international, Nordic, and European databases, which are used for comparison between countries.

• Last but not least, the findings are helpful for further research in nutrition.