Contents of total fat, fatty acids, starch, sugars and dietary fibre in Swedish market basket diets

Abstract

The typical dietary supply of total fat, fatty acids, starch, sugars, polyols and dietary fibre in Sweden was assessed from analyses of market baskets (MB) purchased in 2005 and 2010. MB were based on food balance sheets, with each basket comprising about 130 foods, which represented more than 90 % of annual dietary supply. Foods were divided into ten to twelve categories. In 2010, total fat contributed 34 % of energy (E%), SFA 14.3 E%, MUFA 12.8 E%, PUFA 4.6 E%, n-6 fatty acids 3.6 E%, n-3 fatty acids 1.0 E% and trans-fatty acids (TFA) 0.5 E%. Glycaemic carbohydrates contributed 47 E%, monosaccharides 9 E%, sucrose 11 E%, disaccharides 15 E% and total sugars 24 E%. Added sugars contributed about 15 E%. Dietary fibre content was about 1.7 g/MJ in the 2010 MB. Compared with the 2005 MB, the dietary supply of TFA and dietary fibre was lower, otherwise differences were small. The present MB survey shows that the content of SFA and added sugars was higher than the current Nordic Nutrition Recommendations, while the content of PUFA and especially dietary fibre was lower. TFA levels decreased and dietary supply was well below the recommendations of the WHO. These results emphasise a focus on quality and food sources of fat and carbohydrates, limiting foods rich in SFA and added sugars and replacing them with foods rich in dietary fibre and cis-unsaturated fatty acids.