Dietary guidelines and patterns of food and nutrient intake in Sweden

The Nordic and Swedish Nutrition Recommendations emphasize the balance between macronutrients in the diet. The amount of saturated and total fat should be limited to c. 10 %energy and 30 %energy, respectively, and the amount of total carbohydrates should be 55-60 %energy. Data from the first Swedish national dietary survey in 1989 show that the average diet is too high in fat, especially saturated fat (36-37 %energy and 16 %energy, respectively) while the content of total carbohydrates and dietary fibre is too low. However, parts of the population consume a diet that meets the recommendation for a particular macronutrient. A comparison of subjects with a low or high intake of total fat and saturated fat, dietary fibre or fruit and vegetables show some common trends with respect to the characteristics of a dietary pattern equal or close to the recommendations, e.g. more frequent consumption of fruit and vegetables and a lower consumption of some fat-rich foods, such as spreads, cheese and sausages.