Poster 14: Mat og næringsinntak blant overvektige kvinner med somalisk bakgrunn i Oslo

Diet is an important factor for the burden of disease in Norway and therefore it is important to improve the diet of immigrant population particularly the intake of vitamins and minerals.

Background: In Norway, women with a Somali background are more overweight and obese than their Norwegian counterparts, with an increased susceptibility to diabetes and other lifestyle-related diseases. However, there is limited information on their dietary intake. This study aimed to describe food and nutrient intake among overweight and obese women with a Somali background in Oslo.

Methods: Design: Baseline data for the lifestyle intervention study. Setting: Oslo municipality. Participants: Overweight and obese women (n = 168) aged 22-82 years, were included in the intervention study between September 2020 and September 2022. A trained interviewer performed 24-hour dietary recalls on two consecutive days to assess food and beverage intake. The dietary assessment system KBS (version 7.3, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, database AE-18) was used for energy, food, and nutrient estimation.

Results: The mean (SD) age was 46.8 (10.4) years, and the mean BMI (SD) was 33.9 kg/m2 (5.1). The main dietary intake was traditional Somali foods, such as rice, pasta, and meat. The mean energy intake was 4.3 MJ/day. The median energy percentages from carbohydrates, fat, protein, and added sugar were in accordance with the Norwegian nutrition recommendations. The total median intake of almost all micronutrients was below the recommended daily intake, except for vitamin A, niacin, vitamin B12, zinc, and selenium.

Conclusions: We found that overweight and obese women with a Somali background most commonly eat cereal products such as rice, pasta, and meat. The average energy intake was low, suggesting assessment bias. Most of the macronutrient intake was in compliance with the daily recommendations. However, the intake of micronutrients was below the recommended daily intake, which may be a result of the generally low energy intake. Weekend days were not systematically included in the repeated 24-hour recall and may have resulted in underreporting of dietary intake; thus, the results need to be interpreted with caution. Further research is required to investigate the dietary intake in this population using different dietary assessment methods for developing preventive public health programs for immigrant groups.