National survey on children's diet is about to begin

-Automatic translation

In the coming weeks, around 250 tenth-grade teenagers will be invited to take part in the study. Eight schools from across the country have been selected at random to participate. Over the next two years, children aged 9 and 6 will also be invited to take part.

The diet of 15-year-old teenagers in Iceland has not been surveyed in a comparable way for about a quarter of a century, and it is therefore urgent to obtain new, reliable information on the diet and consumption habits of this age group. In addition to dietary information, biological samples will be collected to assess participants' nutritional status.

Good participation is important for the study to provide the most reliable picture possible of the diet of young people in tenth grade. The organisers of the study therefore encourage everyone who receives an invitation to participate to take part, helping to ensure that public health work in the field of nutrition is based on solid, reliable information. The results of the study will be used, among other things, for policy-making, developing recommendations and evaluating the success of measures aimed at promoting the health and well-being of children and young people.

The Ministry of Health is funding the study.

More information
Hólmfríður Þorgeirsdóttir, Project Manager for Nutrition, Directorate of Health and
Inga Þórsdóttir, Professor Emerita, University of Iceland