Abstract
Background: It is well established that different fatty acids have varying effects on health, however, there is currently no up-to-date national dietary data examining the fat intakes and the food sources of fat contributing to the diets of adolescent females in New Zealand (NZ).
Objective: To examine the intakes and food sources of total fat, saturated fatty acids (SFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) among adolescent females in NZ.
Design: Using a cross-sectional, clustered, multi-centre study, 145 adolescent females aged 15-18 years were recruited from eight high schools across NZ. Participants completed two online self-administered questionnaires to assess 1. demographics, vegetarianism and health status and 2. dietary habits. During an in-school visit, participants completed one interviewer assisted 24-hour recall, and had anthropometric measures taken (weight and height). A second 24-hour recall was taken via video or phone call the following week to allow for intra-individual variation. Dietary data was entered into FoodWorks Professional software for nutrient analysis and the multiple source method (MSM) was used to adjust data for usual intake.
Results: The mean fat intakes of adolescent females in NZ were 34.3% total energy (TE) for total fat, 12.8% TE for SFA, 5.3% TE for PUFA and 12.7% TE for MUFA. There appeared to be no evidence of a difference in fat intakes between ethnic groups or weight categories. Compared to the New Zealand 2008/09 Adult Nutrition Survey (2008/09 ANS), intakes of total fat, PUFA and MUFA were higher and SFA were lower. Compared to the National Health and Medical Council (NHMRC) and World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, 53.1% and 80.4% of adolescents exceeded recommendations for total fat, respectively. Despite lower SFA intakes compared to the 2008/09 ANS, 83.3% of participants exceeded both the NHMRC and WHO recommendations. Polyunsaturated fatty acid intakes remained below the WHO recommendation for 68.9% of participants. The top three food groups contributing to fat intake were bread-based dishes, potatoes, kumara and taro and poultry for total fat; bread-based dishes, biscuits and cheese for SFA; nuts and seeds, bread-based dishes and bread for PUFA; and poultry, bread-based dishes and potatoes, kumara and taro for MUFA. Compared to the 2008/09 ANS, butter and margarine did not feature in the top 10 food groups for any type of fat consumed, while consumption of food groups containing processed food items such as bread-based dishes, cakes and muffins, snack foods, snack bars, biscuits, pies and pastries was greater.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that based on usual intakes, the diet quality of healthy adolescent females aged 15-18 years living in NZ could be improved to reduce chronic disease risk. Further research is warranted to assess the relationship between ethnicity, weight category and fat intakes from a nationally representative population.