Food intake by the seven countries cohorts of Crete and Netherlands 40 years apart

Our estimates of changes in food consumption over the past 40 years, using male Cretan and Dutch cohorts, indicate a general increase in fish and sea food consumption between 1960 and the year 2000 and a decrease in the consumption of bread, potatoes, eggs and milk & yogurt. In addition, consumption of sugar products decreased in both the elderly cohorts whereas consumption of pastries increased in comparison to the 1960 records. Meat consumption decreased in the Zutphen cohort, in contrast to both the Cretan cohorts whist fruit consumption increased in the former cohort, again in contrast to the Cretan cohort. The changes seen in the Dutch cohort with regard to meat intake appear to be different to those observed 25 years after the start of the Seven Countries Study, at which time an increase was found in meat consumption. Changes in the consumption of other food groups after 25 years were in the same direction as those found in the present study, 40 years after the initiation of the Seven Countries study.

Daily food consumption of the Cretan and Zutphen Seven Country cohort survivors in 2000 and the original Cretan and Zutphen cohort in 1960.

Cretan	Zutphen
1960-5 Feb-Sept (n=31) 7 day record men 40-60 yrs Summer 2000 (n=117) Dietary history men 80-96 yrs	July-August 1960 (45 men aged 40-60) 7 day record Summer 2000 122 men aged 80-98 Dietary history

Food groups¹ (g per d)	Mean	Mean (SD)	p-value²	Mean	Mean (SD)	p²
Bread	380	103 (83)	<0.0001	252	131 (47)	<0.0001
Cereals	30	115 (88)	<0.0001	17	26 (28)	<0.001
Potatoes	190	96 (72)	<0.0001	252	109 (56)	<0.0001
Legumes	30	73 (79)	<0.0001	2	7 (12)	<0.0001
Vegetables	191	164(116)	<0.05	227	130 (50)	<0.0001
Fruit	464	230(203)	<0.0001	82	252 (174)	<0.0001
Meat	35	51 (44)	<0.0001	138	101 (40)	<0.0001
Fish/seafood	18	28 (26)	<0.001	12	22 (20)	<0.0001
Eggs	25	12 (25)	<0.0001	27	15 (13)	<0.0001
Cheese	13	21 (19)	<0.0001	31	29 (21)	NS
Milk/yogurt	235	169(156)	<0.0001	447	344(215)	<0.0001
Oil & fats	95	89 (47)	<0.05	79	39 (21)	<0.0001
Pastries	0	9 (21)	<0.0001	29	45 (29)	<0.0001
100% alcohol	15	11 (21)	<0.0001	3	12 (14)	<0.0001
Sugar products consisting of at least 60% sugar	20	15 (19)	<0.01	72	53 (39)	<0.0001

A. Kafatos, Ch. Hatzis, M.Linardakis, F. Bervanaki, J. Moschandreas Univerity of Crete, Greece D. Kromhout, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment RIVM, The Netherlands