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Food sources of carbohydrates in a European cohort of adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

E Wirfält ,
A McTaggart ,
V Pala ,
B Gullberg ,
G Frasca ,
S Panico ,
HB Bueno-de-Mesquita ,
PHM Peeters ,
D Engeset  and
G Skeie
...Show all authors
E Wirfält*
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, SE-20502, Sweden
A McTaggart
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK
V Pala
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy
B Gullberg
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
G Frasca
Affiliation:
Cancer Registry, ‘Civile – M.P. Arezzo’ Hospital, Ragusa, Italy
S Panico
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Federico II University, Naples, Italy
HB Bueno-de-Mesquita
Affiliation:
Centre of Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
PHM Peeters
Affiliation:
Julius Center for General Practice and Patient Oriented Research, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
D Engeset
Affiliation:
Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway
G Skeie
Affiliation:
Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway
MD Chirlaque
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Regional Health Council, Murcia, Spain
P Amiano
Affiliation:
Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, Department of Health of the Basque Government, San Sebastian, Spain
E Lundin
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden
A Mulligan
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK
EA Spencer
Affiliation:
Cancer Research UK, Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, UK
K Overvad
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
A Tjønneland
Affiliation:
Danish Cancer Society, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Copenhagen, Denmark
F Clavel-Chapelon
Affiliation:
INSERM, E3N–EPIC Group, Institute Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
J Linseisen
Affiliation:
Division of Clinical Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany
U Nöthlings
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition, Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany
E Polychronopoulos
Affiliation:
National School of Public Health, Athens, Greece
K Georga
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Greece
UR Charrondière
Affiliation:
International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
N Slimani
Affiliation:
International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
*
*Corresponding author: Email elisabet.wirfalt@smi.mas.lu.se
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Abstract

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Objective:

To describe the average consumption of carbohydrate-providing food groups among study centres of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Methods:

Of the 27 redefined EPIC study centres, 19 contributed subjects of both genders and eight centres female participants only (men, n=13 031; women, n=22924, after exclusion of subjects under 35 and over 74 years of age from the original 36 900 total). Dietary data were obtained using the 24-hour recall methodology using the EPIC-SOFT software. The major sources of dietary carbohydrate were identified, and 16 food groups were examined.

Results:

The 10 food groups contributing most carbohydrate were bread; fruit; milk and milk products; sweet buns, cakes and pies; potato; sugar and jam; pasta and rice; vegetables and legumes; crispbread; and fruit and vegetable juices. Consumption of fruits as well as vegetables and legumes was higher in southern compared with northern centres, while soft drinks consumption was higher in the north. Italian centres had high pasta and rice consumption, but breakfast cereal, potato, and sweet buns, cakes and pies were higher in northern centres. In Sweden, lower bread consumption was balanced with a higher consumption of crispbread, and with sweet buns, cakes and pies. Overall, men consumed higher amounts of vegetables and legumes, bread, soft drinks, potatoes, pasta and rice, breakfast cereal and sugar and jam than women, but fruit consumption appeared more frequent in women.

Conclusion:

The study supports the established idea that carbohydrate-rich foods chosen in northern Europe are different from those in the Mediterranean region. When comparing and interpreting diet–disease relationships across populations, researchers need to consider all types of foods.

Keywords

FoodsCarbohydratesDescriptive epidemiologyEPIC studyCancer24-Hour dietary recallEurope
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 5 , Issue 6b , December 2002 , pp. 1197 - 1215
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2002

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