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2008 (English)In: Food & Nutrition Research, ISSN 1654-6628, Vol. 52Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Background: Knowledge is lacking about dietary habits among people with intellectual disability (ID) living in community residences under new living conditions.
Objective: To describe the dietary habits of individuals with ID living in community residences, focusing on intake of food, energy and nutrients as well as meal patterns.
Design: Assisted food records and physical activity records over a 3-day observation period for 32 subjects.
Results: Great variation was observed in daily energy intake (4.9-14 MJ) dispersed across several meals, with on average 26% of the energy coming from in-between-meal consumption. Main energy sources were milk products, bread, meat products, buns and cakes. The daily intake of fruit and vegetables (320_221 g) as well as dietary fiber (21_99.6 g) was generally low. For four vitamins and two minerals, 19-34% of subjects showed an intake below average requirement (AR). The physical activity level (PAL) was low for all individuals (1.4_0.1).
Conclusion: A regular meal pattern with a relatively high proportion of energy from in-between-meal eating occasions and a low intake of especially fruits were typical of this group of people with ID. However, the total intake of energy and other food items varied a great deal between individuals. Thus, every adult with ID has to be treated as an individual with specific needs. A need for more knowledge about food in general and particularly how fruit and vegetables could be included in cooking as well as encouraged to be eaten as inbetween-meals seems imperative in the new living conditions for adults with ID.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Co-Action Publishing, 2008
Keywords
diet, food record, dietary habits, fruit and vegetable, intellectual disability, community residence
National Category
Food Science
Research subject
Nutrition
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-86988 (URN)10.3402/fnr.v52i0.1857 (DOI)
2008-12-162008-12-112022-01-28