Intake of Fat-Soluble Vitamins in the Belgian Population: Adequacy and Contribution of Foods, Fortified Foods and Supplements
by
Isabelle Moyersoen 1,2,*
, Brecht Devleesschauwer 1, Arnold Dekkers 3, Karin De Ridder 1, Jean Tafforeau 1, John Van Camp 2, Herman Van Oyen 1,4 and Carl Lachat 2
Isabelle Moyersoen 1,2,*, Brecht Devleesschauwer 1, Arnold Dekkers 3, Karin De Ridder 1, Jean Tafforeau 1, John Van Camp 2, Herman Van Oyen 1,4 and Carl Lachat 2
1
Department of Public Health and Surveillance, Scientific Institute of Public Health (WIV-ISP), Juliette Wytsmanstraat 14, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
2
Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
3
Department for Statistics, Informatics and Modelling, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. BOX 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
4
Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Gent, Belgium
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nutrients 2017, 9(8), 860; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9080860
Received: 29 June 2017 / Revised: 27 July 2017 / Accepted: 2 August 2017 / Published: 11 August 2017
A key challenge of public health nutrition is to provide the majority of the population with a sufficient level of micronutrients while preventing high-consumers from exceeding the tolerable upper intake level. Data of the 2014 Belgian food consumption survey (n = 3200) were used to assess fat-soluble vitamin (vitamins A, D, E and K) intake from the consumption of foods, fortified foods and supplements. This study revealed inadequate intakes for vitamin A, from all sources, in the entire Belgian population and possible inadequacies for vitamin D. The prevalence of inadequate intake of vitamin A was lowest in children aged 3–6 (6–7%) and highest in adolescents (girls, 26%; boys, 34–37%). Except for women aged 60–64 years, more than 95% of the subjects had vitamin D intake from all sources below the adequate intake (AI) of 15 μg/day. The risk for inadequate intake of vitamins K and E was low (median > AI). Belgian fortification and supplementation practices are currently inadequate to eradicate suboptimal intakes of vitamins A and D, but increase median vitamin E intake close to the adequate intake. For vitamin A, a small proportion (1–4%) of young children were at risk of exceeding the upper intake level (UL), while for vitamin D, inclusion of supplements slightly increased the risk for excessive intakes (% > UL) in adult women and young children. The results may guide health authorities when developing population health interventions and regulations to ensure adequate intake of fat-soluble vitamins in Belgium.
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Keywords:
dietary intake; micronutrient adequacy; fat-soluble vitamins; fortified foods; supplements; Belgian population
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
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MDPI and ACS Style
Moyersoen, I.; Devleesschauwer, B.; Dekkers, A.; De Ridder, K.; Tafforeau, J.; Van Camp, J.; Van Oyen, H.; Lachat, C. Intake of Fat-Soluble Vitamins in the Belgian Population: Adequacy and Contribution of Foods, Fortified Foods and Supplements. Nutrients 2017, 9, 860.
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