National Diet and Nutrition Survey: young people aged 4 to 18 years

Key facts

Survey coverage: Great Britain
Set Sample size: 2,672 young people
Response Rate: 80% (dietary interview), 64% (dietary record)

Why was the survey carried out?

The survey is the third in the programme of diet and nutrition surveys commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of Health, and the second to be carried out by Social Survey Division.

Surveys in the programme aim to provide comprehensive cross-sectional information on the dietary habits and nutritional status of the population in Great Britain. Each survey in the programme includes an oral health component which provides information on the condition and function of tissues in the mouth in relation to diet and nutritional status.

How was the survey done?

Approximately 2,700 young people aged between 4 and 18 years were invited to take part in the survey, having been previously identified from a postal sift of about 28,000 randomly selected addresses. Only one young person per household was invited to take part in the survey. Fieldwork took place throughout 1997 to allow for any seasonality in dietary behaviour, and was organised in four waves, corresponding to the four quarters of the year.

The initial postal survey to identify eligible young people achieved a response rate of over 90%; 80% of the young people approached to take part in the survey subsequently co-operated with the initial dietary interview and 64% completed a full seven-day weighed intake dietary record.

The survey of young people comprised a number of modules, as well as an initial face-to face interview collecting information about the young person, their eating habits and their household.

Young people were invited to take part in each module, and if one was refused then co-operation with the remaining modules was still sought. The modules comprised:

• a seven-day weighed intake dietary record of foods consumed in and out of the home;
• a seven-day record of bowel movements;
• a seven-day record of physical activity;
• blood pressure and anthropometric measurements;
• a fasting blood sample;
• a spot urine sample;
• an oral health interview and examination.

For blood pressure and for each of the anthropometric measurements, that is height, weight, and mid-arm, waist and hip circumferences, at least 70% of the eligible sample, and 90% of those co-operating with the initial interview, consented to their being taken.

Just under 70% of the eligible sample, and 87% of those who were interviewed provided a spot urine sample for analysis. Consent to attempt to obtain a blood sample was given for just under half the young people in the eligible sample, corresponding to nearly two-thirds of those who were interviewed. In about 3% of cases where consent to the blood sampling procedure was given, the procedure was not attempted, mainly because the young person became distressed, and in about 7% of cases the attempt to obtain a sample was unsuccessful. All the blood samples were taken by qualified phlebotomists, who were recruited and trained by the Medical Research Council Dunn Nutrition Unit in Cambridge, who were our co-contractors for the survey.

Where can the results be found?

The results of the survey have been published in two volumes in 2000. The first volume reports on findings from the diet and nutrition aspects of the survey, including information on physiological measurements and physical activity, and the second volume covers the findings from the oral health component of the survey. The second volume was co-authored by SSD and experts at the Dental Schools in Birmingham and Newcastle, who also collaborated with us on the design and fieldwork stages of the oral health aspects of survey.

The two reports of the survey findings are:

National Diet and Nutrition Survey:young people aged 4 to 18 years.
Volume 1: Report of the diet and nutrition survey.
ISBN 0-11-621265-9, price £65

Order online from The Stationery Office.

and

National Diet and Nutrition Survey:young people aged 4 to 18 years.
Volume 2: Report of the oral health survey.
ISBN 0-11-621266-7, price £35

Order online from The Stationery Office.

For more information about SSD or the surveys we carry out contact:
SSD Project Support Branch Tel: +44 (0)1633 455678 or e-mail: ssdpsb@ons.gov.uk

This page last revised: Monday, 30 March 2009