Family resemblance in fat intake in The Netherlands

To assess family resemblance in fat intake in a representative sample of Dutch families.

Households (n = 1077) with children between 1 and 30 y old were selected from the data set of the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 1992. Two-day diet records were available for all household members.

Pearson correlation coefficients for fat and fatty acid intakes (En%) ranged from r = 0.51 to r = 0.61 between parents, and from r = 0.52 to r = 0.72 between siblings. The mean associations in fat and fatty acid intake (En%) between mothers or fathers and children ranged from r = 0.37 to r = 0.50, and they were surprisingly similar for children from 1-3 y of age up to children above 21 y of age. Associations were consistently high for foods eaten at home, and weak for foods eaten outside of the home. Similar within-family associations were found in a set of 1052 households of the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey of 1987. Reported adherence to a therapeutic diet by one of the parents did not erase within-family intake correlations, suggesting that family resemblance is a dynamic phenomenon.

Dutch parents and children living together resemble each other in short term intake of fats and fatty acids.

This study was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries.

Fat intake; dietary intake; social environment; family resemblance.