On the nutrition and health situation in the European Union

The nutrition and health situation in different countries of the European Union was first documented in 2004 in the European Nutrition and Health Report. Fourteen European countries participated in this project—13 member states of the European Union and Norway. The trends in food supply in the participating countries and the EU were calculated on the basis of food balance sheets of the FAO/UN (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). An increasing trend could be observed for most food groups. Only the average supply of potatoes, cereals and wine decreased in the EU average during the observation period of 1961–2001. The availability of the relevant food groups at the household level was derived from data of the DAFNE (Data Food Networking) databank. Differences in consumption habits between households of different countries and regions and between households with household heads of different educational level are presented. Apart from food supply and availability, the intake of energy and nutrients was assessed based on national surveys at the individual level. In general, the proportion of fat and especially of saturated fatty acids in total energy was too high, whereas the intake of complex carbohydrates was too low. Critical nutrients among the different age groups of the participating countries were in particular vitamin D, folic acid, calcium, iodine, and iron (in women only), but also potassium and magnesium were critical in some countries. The sodium intake was on average too high among all age groups of the participating countries. A major health problem in European countries was the high prevalence of overweight and obesity, which had already been observed in the younger age groups. Further, the average blood cholesterol levels were in general too high in European adults. In all participating countries the leading causes of mortality were cardiovascular diseases, followed by malignant neoplasms.