Background and objective: Although children and adolescents have special nutritional requirements due to their physical development, little is known about the concept of a healthy diet. This study shows the food consumption of the Spanish population aged 2-24 years in relation to socio-economic and geographic factors.
Subjects and method: A representative sample of the Spanish population (n = 3.534 individuals, 1.905 female and 1.629 male) was studied. Both a 24-hours recall and a general questionnaire with socio-economic, demographic and life style items were administered.
Results: Most individuals consumed meals at home. The consumption of vegetables (90.4 g), cereals (181.1 g) and potatoes (69.7 g) was low, the consumption of red meat (71.6 g) and sausages (46.8 g) was high, and fish consumption was low (47.7 g). Girls had insufficient intakes of milk (280.9 g). We noticed geographical differences in food consumption which may be reflected in various health outcomes in adulthood. The familiar socioeconomic status and the educational level of the mother showed some influence on the intakes of meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, yoghurt and cheese.
Conclusions: Nutritional education programs are needed to settle the observed nutritional inadequacies in the food habits of Spanish children and adolescents so that the future health of the population improves. It is also needed to reduce the inequalities linked to geographic and socio-economic factors.