[Regional features of Croatian nutrition]

To investigate dietary habits and assess pertinent regional differences observed in different parts of the Republic of Croatia. Based on these results, to identify the geographical regions where inhabitants are at the highest risk of developing hypertension.

The study was carried out in 2003, using a modified food consumption questionnaire (Croatian Health Survey, CHS 2003), and included a total of 9070 adults aged > or =18. The following six regions were investigated: mountainous, eastern, littoral, northern and central Croatia, and the City of Zagreb. The criterion used to establish diet-associated risk was the presence of at least one of the following variables: salting the food without tasting it first, regular consumption of dried meat products, and significant bread consumption ( > or =4 slices). The results pertinent to qualitative variables were expressed as frequencies.

The analysis of dietary habits of the Croatian population revealed differences in the nutrition patterns customary for the investigated regions. The greatest number of subjects (>12.3%) adding salt to food without tasting it first were recorded in the mountainous and eastern regions, followed by the City of Zagreb (10.3%), while the lowest number of subjects with such a dietary pattern were found in northern region. The highest incidence of smoked meat product consumption was recorded in the mountainous (30.7%) and eastern (26.5%) regions, and lowest in the northern region (15.6%). The most common type of bread was wheat bread with the frequency of consumption ranging from 65% (City of Zagreb) to 90.5% (mountainous region). The highest daily consumption of bread (4 slices) was recorded in the littoral (58.7% of men and 28.3% of women). All major foodstuffs contain a substantial amount of salt, i.e., sodium, thus posing a risk for hypertension. Grouping of these foodstuffs according to the respective cardiovascular risk level revealed the population in east Croatia to be at the highest risk of developing hypertension, followed by the mountainous region population, whereas the population of northern Croatia and the City of Zagreb were at the lowest risk of hypertension. In addition, the subjects from the mountainous region and in particular those from the eastern region reported other unhealthy dietary patterns in terms of more common animal fat consumption, rare or only sporadic vegetable and fruit intake, more common use of cakes and sweets, and considerably greater coffee intake as compared with other study areas.

Substantial consumption of salt and sodium-rich foodstuffs, typical of the nutrition traditionally used by the Croatian population, calls for continuous promotion of healthy diet, healthy lifestyle and respective education of the population at large.