Table 2.
Overview of European countries meeting n-3 and n-6 PUFA intake recommendations per population group if compared with the EFSA recommendations (percentage of countries with adequate intake)
| Studies, n | N countries | N subjects included | Evaluation against recommendations (percentage of countries with adequate intake) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| total n-6 PUFAs | LA | ARAa | total n-3 PUFAs | ALA | EPA + DHA | ||||
| Recommendations | 4.0 E%b | 4.0 E% | – | 0.5 E%b | 0.5 E% | RI: 250 + 100–200 mg/d DHA | |||
| Pregnant women | 10 | 11 | 6,033 | 66 (2 out of 3) | 75 (3 out of 4) | 3 reported | 100 (3 out of 3) | 100 (4 out of 4) | 33 (3 out of 9) |
| Lactating women | 4 | 4 | 293 | 0 (0 out of 1) | 0 (0 out of 3) | 1 reported | 100 (4 out of 4) | 100 (2 out of 2) | 50 (1 out of 2) |
| Recommendations | 4.0 E%b | 4.0 E% | – | 0.5 E%b | 0.5 E% | 100.0 mg/d DHAc | |||
| Infants 6–12 mo | 3 | 3 | 606 | 100 (2 out of 2) | 100 (2 out of 2) | 1 reported | 100 (2 out of 2) | 100 (2 out of 2) | 0 (0 out of 2) |
| Children 1–3 y | 6 | 6 | 1,797 | 66 (2 out of 3) | 75 (3 out of 4) | 1 reported | 100 (4 out of 4) | 75 (3 out of 4) | 0 (0 out of 2)c |
| Recommendations | 4.0 E%b | 4.0 E% | – | 0.5 E%b | 0.5 E% | ≥250.0 mg/d | |||
| Children 4–9 y | 11 | 10 | 10,102 | 55 (5 out of 9) | 66 (2 out of 3) | 2 reported | 78 (7 out of 9) | 100 (3 out of 3) | 0 (0 out of 3) |
| Adolescents 10–18 y | 8 | 11 | 4,988 | 50 (1 out of 2) | 44 (4 out of 9) | 8 reported | 100 (3 out of 3) | 70 (7 out of 10) | 20 (2 out of 10) |
| Elderly >65 y | 11 | 9 | 9,091 | 66 (2 out of 3) | 33 (2 out of 6) | 4 reported | 66 (2 out of 3) | 50 (3 out of 6) | 50 (3 out of 6) |
| Total of all | |||||||||
| population groups | 61 (14 out of 23) | 52 (16 out of 31) | 20 reported | 89 (25 out of 28) | 77 (24 out of 31) | 26 (9 out of 34) | |||
y, year; mo, months; mg/d, milligrams per day; E%, energy percentage; EFSA, European Food Safety Authority; PUFAs, polyunsaturated fatty acids; LA, linoleic acid; ARA, arachidonic acid; n-6, omega-6 PUFA; n-3, omega-3 PUFA; ALA, α-linolenic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; RI, reference intake.
a
No recommendation, only number of studies with intake data.
b
Based on EFSA recommendations for LA and ALA.
c
For children >2 y recommendation 250 mg EPA + DHA per day.