(P20-095-24) Estimating Usual Intake Distributions of Animal-Based Foods and Adherence to the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations in Finnish Adults Using National Cancer Institute Method

Objectives: New Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR) were published in 2023. Decreasing intake of red meat and moderate intakes of milk and fish from sustainably managed fish stocks are recommended in the new NNR as health and environmental impacts of foods are tightly integrated in the food-based dietary guidelines. Based on the NNR, Finnish Nutrition Recommendations including food-based dietary guidelines will be updated in 2024. To provide information on diets of Finnish adults in relation to the NNR we modeled the usual intake distributions of animal-based food groups (red and processed meat, milk (including milk products as milk equivalents), and fish (including fish products and shellfish)) in Finnish men and women, and further assessed the proportion of participants reaching the NNR targets.

Methods: We included 780 men and 875 women aged 18-74 years from the National FinDiet 2017 Survey. Dietary data was collected with two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls. National Cancer Institute (NCI) method was used for modelling usual intake distributions of red and processed meat, milk, and fish, and proportion of men and women reaching the NNR targets (maximum 50 g/day, 350-500 ml/day, and 43-64 g/day, respectively).

Results: Mean daily usual intakes of red and processed meat, milk, and fish were 112 g, 818 ml, and 34 g in men, and 62 g, 639 ml, and 26 g in women, respectively. In men, 7% reached the target of red meat, 11% reached the target of milk, and 16% reached the target of fish. In women, the proportions were 31%, 20%, and 12%, respectively.

Conclusions: Overall, the proportion of Finnish adults reaching the NNR targets for animal-based food group are relatively low. Especially, intake of red and processed meat and milk exceeded the recommended amounts in both men and women. Intake of fish and fish products on the other hand fell below the recommendations in a large proportion of the participants.

Funding Sources: This research is part of the Leg4Life project (Legumes for Sustainable Food System and Healthy Life) funded by the Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland. This study was supported by the scholarship from the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation and the Juho Vainio Foundation.