Background Nutrition and health of the youth is crucial to the long-term development of a country. There are many studies reporting the nutritional status of vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly in China, but few studies focus on the youth.
Objective This study aims to describe and analyze the current situation of food intake among the youth aged from 18 to 35 years in 15 provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities) of China.
Methods Based on the follow-up data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey in 2018, a total of 1 664 youth aged 18-35 years were selected and grouped by age, gender, residence in urban or rural area, and region. Household dietary surveys were conducted using 24-hour dietary recall in three consecutive days and weighing condiment. The dietary status of the participants was evaluated using the recommended intakes of the dietary pagoda for Chinese residents (2016).
Results The average intake of milk and dairy products among the Chinese youth aged 18 to 35 years in China was 28.4 g·d-1, the values were 18.4 g·d-1 in rural areas and 13.2 g·d-1 in central region of China, and over 98% of the target population did not meet the recommended intake (300 g·d-1) of the dietary pagoda for Chinese residents (2016). The average intakes of vegetables and dark vegetables in rural areas (242.0 and 54.1 g·d-1) were higher than the intakes in urban areas (210.9 and 49.3 g·d-1), and 73% and 87% of the youth showed insufficient intakes respectively. The average fruit intakes in males, rural areas, and western region were 32.6, 40.2, and 35.6 g·d-1, respectively, and the proportions of the youth with insufficient intakes were 97.0%, 95.9%, and 95.9%, respectively. More males (vs females, 70.6% vs 57.9%), the youth living in western region (vs central region, 71.1% vs 57.2%; vs eastern region, 71.1% vs 60.9%) showed excessive intakes of meats, livestock, and poultry (P < 0.01). The proportions of the youth with insufficient intakes of soybeans and nuts, eggs, and aquatic products were 82.6%, 72.6%, and 74.5% respectively. The intakes of edible oil and cooking salt in about half of the target population (46.3% and 48.6%) were higher than the recommended values, and the values were lower in females (42.5% and 44.2%) than in males (50.4% and 53.3%), lower in urban areas (40.8% and 45.6%) than in rural areas (49.9% and 50.5%), lower in eastern region (38.7% and 41.9%) than in central region (51.9% and 55.7%) and western region (48.9% and 49.3%). The sugar intake of the youth in urban areas was 2.6 times of those in rural areas, and the alcohol intake of the 25-35 years was 7 times of the 18-24 years.
Conclusion Dietary quality is impacted by regions and residence in urban or rural areas among the youth aged 18-35 years in 15 Chinese provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities), and the problem of improper dietary structure is still prominent, particularly in rural areas of western China. Insufficient or excessive intakes of various types of foods are common, especially insufficient intake of milk and dairy products.
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