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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: High consumption of meat has been linked with the risk for obesity and chronic diseases. This could partly be explained by the association between meat and lower-quality diet. We studied whether high intake of red and processed meat was associated with lower-quality dietary habits, assessed against selected nutrients, other food groups and total diet. Moreover, we studied whether meat consumption was associated with obesity, after adjustment for all identified associations between meat and food consumption. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The nationally representative cross-sectional study population consisted of 2190 Finnish men and 2530 women, aged 25-74 years. Food consumption over the previous 12 months was assessed using a validated 131-item Food Frequency Questionnaire. Associations between nutrients, foods, a modified Baltic Sea Diet Score and meat consumption (quintile classification) were analysed using linear regression. The models were adjusted for age and energy intake and additionally for education, physical activity and smoking. RESULTS: High consumption of red and processed meat was inversely associated with fruits, whole grain and nuts, and positively with potatoes, oil and coffee in both sexes. Results separately for the two types of meat were essentially similar. In a linear regression analysis, high consumption of meat was positively associated with body mass index in both men and women, even when using a model adjusted for all foods with a significant association with meat consumption in both sexes identified in this study. CONCLUSIONS: The association between meat consumption and a lower-quality diet may complicate studies on meat and health. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2015) 69, 1060-1065;doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2015.63; published online 13 May 2015, INTRODUCTION Consumption of red and processed meat (hereafter the general term 'meat' in this manuscript refers to red and processed meat, but excluding poultry) is increasing globally, most markedly in [...]

A placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind study of the influence of treatment and dose duration of low-dose iron supplementation in 64 non-pregnant, premenopausal women with iron-depletion revealed that after a month's treatment, concentration of serum ferritin was the same as or greater than that achieved by high-dose inorganic supplementation. While both the 9 and 27 mg doses of iron resulted in correction of slight iron deficiency anaemia, only the 27 mg dose increased iron stores.

Four hundred and forty six non-pregnant women from Finland, in the age group between 17 and 50 were surveyed, to assess the iron levels in their blood. Frequent menstrual cycle, continued menstrual blood loss and donation of blood decrease the iron content. A higher rate of blood loss further reduces the iron content. An appropriate diet, physical exercises and the consumption of multivitamins prevent iron loss.

The validity of a self-administered food use questionnaire, comprising 122 questions on food items or dishes and designed especially to assess the intake of micronutrients, was evaluated using a 7-day food record (7DR) as a reference method. The subjects kept the food record after they filled in the questionnaire. Eighty-four male athletes participated in this study. The nutrient intake from the food use questionnaires was calculated in two ways: (i) in questionnaire 1 (FUQ-1), the portion size reported by the subjects was used, and (ii) in questionnaire 2 (FUQ-2), a 'typical' portion size was used regardless of the subject's report. In FUQ-1, the reported nutrient intake tended to be overestimated in comparison to the 7DR, whereas in FUQ-2 comparable results on a group level for all nutrients, except for proteins and fats, were obtained. The percentage of subjects similarly classified into tertiles (7DR vs. FUQ-1 or FUQ-2) varied between 37 and 54 per cent. The results show that the food use questionnaire agreed well with the food record on a group level, if a typical portion size was used. However, the agreement on an individual level was not quite as good.