Preferences and perceptions of personal vegetable consumption: A study among young men in the Norwegian National Guard SOLVEIG UGLEM 1 , WENCHE FRØLICH 2 , TONJE HOLTE STEA 2 ,& MARGARETA WANDEL 1 1 Department of Nutrition, Institute for Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Norway, and 2 Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, Norway Abstract A survey was developed to assess the intake, main sources and preferences related to vegetables among 578 male recruits (response rate 78%), in addition to perceptions of personal vegetable consumption. The recruits’ average vegetable intake (including potatoes) was 244 g/day. Six per cent of the recruits consumed the recommended 450 g/day or more of vegetables. However, 33% of all recruits stated that they consume enough vegetables. The most important sources of vegetables were potatoes and hot composite dishes for lunch and dinner. High ( ]282 g/day) and low ( 5182 g/day) consumers had distinctly different patterns of vegetable consumption. The hot dishes were a more important source among low than high vegetable consumers (P B0.01). Several recruits reported liking raw (76%) and cooked (58%) vegetables, and preferences were positively related to the vegetable intake (P B0.02) and (P B0.001). The results suggest some optimistic bias among the recruits regarding their personal vegetable consumption. Keywords: Vegetable intake, young men, serving size, perceptions, preferences, perceived need Introduction Diets rich in fruits and vegetables are associated with decreased risk of certain non- communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease (Hung et al. 2004) and certain cancers (World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research 1997). Recommendations of at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day have become official guidelines in several western countries to reduce the risk of these diseases and to maintain good health. In Norway these guidelines are further specified as a daily consumption of at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits (Norwegian Ministry of Health, 2003). This corresponds to a recommended intake of 450 g (three 150 g servings) vegetables daily, including potatoes, in addition to 300 g fruit. Studies have shown that consumers often are unsure how to translate general recommendations into dietary practices and that the majority of the public believes they consume adequate amounts of vegetables, while they in fact are far from the Correspondence: Solveig Uglem, Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1046 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway. Tel: 47 22 85 13 77. Fax: 47 22 85 13 41. E-mail: solveig.uglem@medisin.uio.no ISSN 0963-7486 print/ISSN 1465-3478 online # 2008 Informa UK Ltd DOI: 10.1080/09637480701496651 International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, June 2008; 59(4): 279290 Int J Food Sci Nutr Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Universitetet i Agder on 06/18/15 For personal use only.