Do Swedes have poor eating habits?
The National Food Agency in Sweden feels they do... Though Swedes have bettered their eating habits during the past 20 years, they still consume too much sugar, salt and saturated fat, according to Livsmedelsverket (the National Food Agency), which is now sounding the alarm in worry over people’s general health.

The group that has the worst eating habits, is young women. Too little fish, too little whole grains, fruit, and veggies on the tables in Sweden, and this means more people are being overweight. In a study by Livsmedelsverket, close to 2000 adults registered what they ate and drank during four days. The result shows that younger Swedes eat worse than older. Among the young, consuming pizza and soda is becoming more common, many young Swedes drink over four liters (roughly 1 US gallon) of soda per week.

“Too much sugar, salt and saturated fat (…) these are food habits that we know increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers,” says Anna Karin Lindroos, director of the Food Data Unit at Livsmedelsverket. “Therefore the results are worrisome.” Young women don’t get enough vitamin D, iron and folate in their diet, Lindroos explains. “That’s not good since these young women will become moms and need a good nutritional status.” The participants received on an average 1% of their caloric intake from candy, soda, pastry, and snacks. Director General at Livsmedelsverket, Inger Andersson, calls these eating habits a threat against the health of Swedes, and would like to see a national strategy for food and health.