Study to monitor the food consumption and intake of energy and nutrients of the general Dutch population 1-79 years old. Data was collected in 2012 to 2016. An English report is also available.

Consumption of foods and drinks

Mean consumption in grams per day

Skip chart Mean consumption in grams per day and go to datatable

A Dutch person (1 to 79 year-old) consumed on average 3.1 kg drinks and foods per day. About two third were beverages: ‘Alcoholic’ and ‘Non-alcoholic beverages’, such as water, tea and coffee, juice and soda, or dairy beverages. Other food groups with a high contribution to the food intake (grams) were ‘Cereal (products)’, ‘Vegetables’, ‘Fruit, nuts and olives’, ‘Meat (products)’ and ‘Potatoes’.

Consumption by age (4 groups)

Skip chart Mean consumption by age in grams per day and go to datatable

The total consumed amount of foods and drinks differed by age and gender. The 1 to 3 year-olds consumed on average less than 1.5 kg per day, while the adult men consumed almost 3,5 kg per day.  Boys and men consumed more than girls and women in comparable age groups.

Consumption by age (16 groups)

Skip chart Mean consumption by age in grams per day and go to datatable

The total consumed amount of foods and drinks differed by age and gender. The 1 to 3 year-olds consumed on average less than 1.5 kg per day, while the adult men consumed almost 3,5 kg per day.  Boys and men consumed more than girls and women in comparable age groups.

Consumption on days of the week

Consumption on days of the week

Skip chart Number of days on which a food group was consumed and go to datatable

Food groups that were consumed on a daily basis were ‘Non-alcoholic beverages’, ‘Cereal (products) ’, ‘Dairy (products)’ and ‘Fats and oils’.   , ‘Meat (products)’ were consumed on 90% of the days, in particular processed meat.  ‘Potatoes’ are only consumed on about half of the days, 'fruits' on almost 5 days of the week and 'vegetables' on 6 days of the week. Food groups with the least frequent consumption were ‘Legumes’ ) and ‘Fish and shellfish’ . Young Dutch children consumed 'fruits' more often compared to adults.

Time of consumption

Consumption by time of consumption

Skip chart Consumption by time of consumption and go to datatable

Some products are consumed on a specific moment, others on various moments during the day. Dinner was the most important moment for consumption of ‘Potatoes’, ‘Vegetables’, ‘Meat (products)’ and ‘Fish and shellfish’. ‘Fruits, nuts and olives’, ‘Cakes and sweet biscuits’, ‘Beverages’ (Non-alcoholic and Alcoholic beverages) and ‘Savoury snacks’ were mostly consumed in between meals.  Consumption of ‘Dairy (products)’ was equally distributed over the various consumption moments.

Place of consumption

Place of consumption

Skip chart Consumption by place and go to datatable

The Dutch consumed almost 80% of the foods and drinks at home. The percentage of consumption outdoors was the highest for adult men. The food groups most frequently consumed away from home were ‘Cakes and sweet biscuits’, ‘Fruits, nuts and olives’, ‘Stocks’ and ‘Non-alcoholic beverages’. For ‘Fish and shellfish’ and ‘Alcoholic beverages’ the most frequent location is a ‘Restaurant’.

objective

Objective

The main aim of DNFCS 2012-2016 is to gain insight into the diet of children and adults aged 1 to 79 years living in the Netherlands and to establish:

  • The consumption of food groups, including fruits, vegetables and fish and the percentage of children and adults that meet the most recent dietary guidelines in the Netherlands for these foods;
  • The intake of energy and nutrients from foods and drinks and the percentage of children, and adults that meet the recommendations on energy and nutrients;
  • The use of dietary supplements and the intake of micronutrients from foods and drinks and from dietary supplements separately and combined;
  • The place and moment of consumption of foods and drinks, energy and nutrients;
  • The diet by subgroups of the population, for instance subgroups based on socio-demographic factors;
  • The trends in food consumption.

In addition, the dataset DNFCS 2012-2016 will be suitable for research questions on food safety, food environmental aspects as well as for public health programmes and scientific nutritional research, national and international.

Study population

Study population

The target population comprises all men and women living in the Netherlands in the age of 1 to 79 years old regardless of nationality, with the exception of pregnant and lactating women, people who were institutionalised and those without adequate command of the Dutch language. The study population should adequately represent the Dutch population as a whole.

Over a four-year period, general information and food consumption data is collected from 4,313 people. The survey population is divided into age groups as follows: 1 to 3 years, 4 to 8 years, 9 to 13 years, 14 to 18 years, 19 to 30 years, 31 to 50 years, 51 to 70 years and 71 to 79 years. These age groups are in line with those used by the Health Council of the Netherlands for dietary recommendations.

The survey population aims to be representative with regard to age and sex, region, degree of urbanisation and education (for children, by the educational level of their parents/carers).

Participants are drawn from a representative consumer panel of the market research agency Kantar (previously known as TNS NIPO). These persons participate in all types of studies and are not selected on the basis of dietary characteristics. The study participants may not be involved in any other type of food consumption survey during the previous four years.

Method

Method

Recruitment

The market research agency Kantar invited selected persons by post to participate in the study, by means of an invitation letter, an information leaflet  (in Dutch) and a reply card. There was a specific brochures for parents of invited children (1-15 years) and adolescents (12-20 years old). Participants could give their response either by post by sending back the reply card or by filling out an online answer through a link to the Kantar website.  

General questionnaire

Those who agreed to participate were sent a general questionnaire, whenever possible a digital version. Specific questionnaires  were sent to each of the age groups 1 to 3 year olds, 4 to 11 year olds, 12 to 18 year olds, 19-70 year olds and 71 to 79 year olds (in Dutch) . Contact with children ages 1 to 15 years old, was made initially through their parents or carers. The questions covered various background and life style factors such as patterns of physical activity, educational level, family situation, smoking habits, alcohol consumption and frequency of consumption of specific foods and dietary supplements.

Dietary recall

Two non-consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls, with an interval of about 4 weeks, were conducted per participant by a trained interviewer. Overall, all days of the week were equally represented in the recalls. The realization depended on the age of the respondent:  

  •  Children 1 to 8 years old were visited at home for the first interview. During this home visit, the the parent/carer of the child was interviewed on what the child had been eating and drinking, and height and weight of the child were measured by the interviewer. The second interview was conducted by telephone. For both interviews an appointment is made. The parent/carer of the child kept a food diary the day prior to both interviews.
  • Children 9 to 15 years old were visited at home for both interviews. For both home visits appointments were made. In presence of the parent/caretaker the child was interviewed on what he of she had been eating and drinking. During the first home visit also height and weight of the child were measured by the interviewer.
  • Adults 16 to 70 years old were interviewed about their food consumption by telephone, twice on a for the respondent unknown day. Height and weight measures were self-reported, during the first interview.
  • Adults 70 years and old were visited at home for the first interview. During this interview the interviewer asked what the participant had been eating and drinking; weight, arm and waist circumference were  measured by the interviewer. If possible, the second interview took place by telephone. For both interviews, an appointment was made and the participants keep a diary the day prior to both interviews.

Computer controlled

The interviewers used the computer directed interview programme for 24-hour recalls, GloboDiet (previously known as EPIC-Soft ©IARC). With GloboDiet the interviews were standardized and facilitated to enter the answers directly in the computer.

Organisation and implementation

Organisation and implementation

Client

Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport

Coordination

RIVM Centre for Nutrition , Prevention and Care

Data collection

Kantar Public (previously known as TNS Nipo)

Period

2012-2016