A review of food consumption and nutrient intake from national surveys in Scotland: comparison to the Scottish dietary targets

It is well established that dietary patterns in Scotland contribute to high rates of chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and certain types of cancer. Food and Nutrient based dietary targets for Scotland were set by the Scottish Office in the 1996 Scottish Diet Action Plan, Eating for Health. These were set for achievement in 2005. However, more recently, the Scottish Executive's public health policy document 'Improving Health in Scotland: The Challenge' (2003) sets out a commitment to further implementation of the Scottish Dietary Targets until at least 2010. A key recommendation of the report on the Working Group on Monitoring Scottish Dietary Targets (SDTs) was that in 2005, use should be made of existing surveys, particularly the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS) to monitor the SDTs. Subsequently the Scottish Diet Action Plan Review Panel requested data relating to the earlier report on the Scottish Diet (Scottish Office, 1993) where a more extensive set of dietary changes were proposed. In addition, at the request of the Scottish Food and Health Council, the Food Standards Agency Scotland commissioned further analysis of the EFS data by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation and Urban Rural Classification. Purpose The purpose of this report is to review recent national dietary and health surveys and, with re-analysis where appropriate, compare the results with the Scottish Dietary Targets. The usefulness of the surveys are discussed in terms of the methods used, presentation of results, and strengths and weaknesses for monitoring diet and nutrition in Scotland.