Public Health Nutrition: 15(3), 386–398 doi:10.1017/S1368980011001935 Food intake of European adolescents in the light of different food-based dietary guidelines: results of the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) Study Katharina Diethelm 1 , Nicole Jankovic 1 , Luis A Moreno 2 , Inge Huybrechts 3 , Stefaan De Henauw 3,4 , Tineke De Vriendt 3,5 , Marcela Gonza ´ lez-Gross 6 , Catherine Leclercq 7 , Fre ´de ´ric Gottrand 8 , Chantal C Gilbert 9 , Jean Dallongeville 10 , Magdalena Cuenca-Garcia 11 , Yannis Manios 12 , Anthony Kafatos 13 , Marı ´a Plada 13 and Mathilde Kersting 1, *, on behalf of the HELENA Study Group† 1 Research Institute of Child Nutrition, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Bonn, Heinstueck 11, D-44225 Dortmund, Germany: 2 GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) Research Group, E.U. Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain: 3 Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium: 4 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Care Vesalius, University College Ghent, Ghent, Belgium: 5 Research Foundation – Flanders, Brussels, Belgium: 6 Department of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (INEF), Universidad Polite ´cnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain: 7 INRAN (National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition), Rome, Italy: 8 Inserm U995, Universite ´ Lille 2, Lille, France: 9 Department of Consumer & Sensory Sciences, Campden BRI, Gloucestershire, UK: 10 Inserm U744, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Universite ´ Lille Nord de France (UDSL), Lille, France: 11 Department of Medical Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain: 12 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece: 13 Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece Submitted 9 February 2011: Accepted 14 June 2011: First published online 22 September 2011 Abstract Objective: Since inadequate food consumption patterns during adolescence are not only linked with the occurrence of obesity in youth but also with the subsequent risk of developing diseases in adulthood, the establishment and maintenance of a healthy diet early in life is of great public health importance. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to describe and evaluate the food consumption of a well-characterized sample of European adolescents against food-based dietary guidelines for the first time. Design: The HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) Study is a cross-sectional study, whose main objective was to obtain comparable data on a variety of nutritional and health-related parameters in adolescents aged 12?5–17?5 years. Setting: Ten cities in Europe. Subjects: The initial sample consisted of more than 3000 European adolescents. Among these, 1593 adolescents (54 % female) had sufficient and plausible dietary data on energy and food intakes from two 24 h recalls using the HELENA-DIAT software. Results: Food intake of adolescents in Europe is not optimal compared with the two food-based dietary guidelines, Optimized Mixed Diet and Food Guide Pyramid, examined in this study. Adolescents eat half of the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables and less than two-thirds of the recommended amount of milk (and milk products), but consume much more meat (and meat products), fats and sweets than recommended. However, median total energy intake may be estimated to be nearly in line with the recommendations. Conclusion: The results urge the need to improve the dietary habits of adolescents in order to maintain health in later life. Keywords Food intake Europe Adolescents HELENA Study Inadequate food consumption patterns during childhood and adolescence are linked not only with the occurrence of obesity in youth (1) , but also with the subsequent risk of developing diseases such as cancer (2) , obesity (3) and CVD (4) in adulthood. Adolescence is a potentially critical period for body composition in later life and the development of y See Appendix for full list of HELENA Study Group members. *Corresponding author: Email kersting@fke-do.de r The Authors 2011 https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980011001935 Published online by Cambridge University Press