“What do we eat?” This question is to be answered by a new representative nutrition study in Bavaria. It is the third survey, but the most recent was 20 years ago. A research team, which also includes scientists from Weihenstephan, collects the data on the eating habits and health status of the population. A total of 1500 people are surveyed. At the end of the one-year study period, the data will be evaluated and then presented. The first results are expected in 2023.
People of legal age living in Bavaria can take part. They are selected using a random sample, and the study team then invites them to participate in the study. The first information letters have already been sent. The random selection ensures representative data collection that takes into account different age groups, living conditions and regions, according to a press release.
The research group collects the data by means of a personal interview in the households and subsequent telephone interviews. They are intended to help “make better political decisions and show how sustainably and healthily people in Bavaria eat”. The researchers are interested, for example, in nutrient intake and the population’s attitudes towards the origin of food. Possible risks due to the type of diet should also be derived.
“We need the active participation of as many people as possible,” says the head of the scientific study and epidemiology professor Jakob Linseisen from the LMU Munich and the University of Augsburg. He is responsible for the study together with Kurt Gedrich from the Public Health working group at the Technical University of Munich in Weihenstephan and the competence center for nutrition based in Kulmbach and Freising.
The most recent survey on eating habits and actual food consumption took place in Bavaria 20 years ago. In the past two decades, however, the living conditions and eating habits of the population have changed significantly, the press release continues – in what way, the third Bavarian nutrition study now aims to capture.
The research team measured the amount of food consumed on three different days. It is relevant which of the groceries bought are actually eaten and how much ends up in the trash. In addition, the study also wants to determine the proportion of out-of-home offers and satisfaction with them. With a view to climate change, the diet of the population is also checked for sustainability criteria. Kurt Gedrich’s working group has set itself the goal of gaining new knowledge and methods for a more sustainable use of food from the study data.
The Kantar Research Institute will first make an appointment for an initial interview with the participants. After completing a questionnaire, you will measure your blood sugar and waist circumference under expert guidance and prepare a dry blood sample. Then, on three randomly selected days, a short telephone survey on actual food consumption the day before is carried out.