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. 2019 Aug 30;23(5):843–860. doi: 10.1017/S1368980019002362

Table 1.

PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes and Study design) criteria for inclusion and exclusion of studies in the systematic review

Population General population, 10–40 years, living in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand
Results specifically presented in adolescent (i.e. 10–17-year-old) and/or young adult (i.e. 18–40-year-old) subgroups
Excluded: patients, elderly, infants or pre-school children, pregnant or lactating women, overweight or obese persons, those participating in a diet programme, persons with eating disorders, specific ethnic groups (e.g. Inuit), low-income countries or geographic areas such as Asia
Intervention Not applicable
Comparison Of participants, their parents, their household:
  • Socio-economic status: education level, income, occupation, employment status

  • Family structure: matrimonial status, parenthood, sibling(s), household size

  • Cultural aspects and migration status: country of origin, language spoken, migration background

Excluded: socio-economic status of a geographic area, a school or another non-individual level
Outcome Diet assessed by usual intake or food frequency, in terms of food groups, food patterns and diet scores
Excluded outcomes: energy, macro- and micronutrient intakes, eating behaviour (meal frequency, breakfast skipping, takeaway or fast-food consumption) and diet assessed through biomarkers
Study design Cross-sectional
Longitudinal: description of cohort at baseline or at follow-up point