The Baltic Sea Diet Score: a tool for assessing healthy eating in Nordic countries
- 4 September 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Public Health Nutrition
- Vol. 17 (8), 1697-1705
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980013002395
Abstract
The health-related effects of the Nordic diet remain mostly unidentified. We created a Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS) for epidemiological research to indicate adherence to a healthy Nordic diet. We examined associations between the score and nutrient intakes that are considered important in promoting public health. We also examined the performance of the BSDS under two different cut-off strategies. The cross-sectional study included two phases of the National FINRISK 2007 Study. Diet was assessed using a validated FFQ. Food and nutrient intakes were calculated using in-house software. Nine components were selected for the score. Each component was scored according to both sex-specific consumption quartiles (BSDS-Q) and medians (BSDS-M), and summed to give the final score values. A large representative sample of the Finnish population. Men (n 2217) and women (n 2493) aged 25 to 74 years. In the age- and energy-adjusted model, adherence to the diet was associated with a higher intake of carbohydrates (E%), and lower intakes of SFA (E%) and alcohol (E%, where E% is percentage of total energy intake; P < 0·01). Furthermore, the intakes of fibre, Fe, vitamins A, C and D, and folate were higher among participants who adhered to the diet (P < 0·05). After further adjustments, the results remained significant (P < 0·05) and did not differ remarkably between BSDS-Q and BSDS-M. The BSDS can be used as a measure of a healthy Nordic diet to assess diet-health relationships in public health surveys in Nordic countries.This publication has 44 references indexed in Scilit:
- A diet high in fatty fish, bilberries and wholegrain products improves markers of endothelial function and inflammation in individuals with impaired glucose metabolism in a randomised controlled trial: The Sysdimet studyDiabetologia, 2011
- Food Science Challenge: Translating the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to Bring About Real Behavior ChangeJournal of Food Science, 2011
- Effects of a healthy Nordic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in hypercholesterolaemic subjects: a randomized controlled trial (NORDIET)Journal of Internal Medicine, 2010
- Dietary survey methodology of FINDIET 2007 with a risk assessment perspectivePublic Health Nutrition, 2010
- Thirty-five-year trends in cardiovascular risk factors in FinlandInternational Journal of Epidemiology, 2009
- Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Is Associated with Lower Abdominal Adiposity in European Men and WomenJournal of Nutrition, 2009
- Position of the American Dietetic Association: Total Diet Approach to Communicating Food and Nutrition InformationJournal of the American Dietetic Association, 2007
- Role of Oxidative Stress in Development of Cardiovascular Complications in Diabetes MellitusCurrent Vascular Pharmacology, 2006
- Critical evaluation of energy intake using the Goldberg cut-off for energy intake:basal metabolic rate. A practical guide to its calculation, use and limitationsInternational Journal of Obesity, 2000
- Diet quality index: Capturing a multidimensional behaviorJournal of the American Dietetic Association, 1994