Public health study on the nutritional status and eating habits of children and adolescents in Switzerland

This multicentric descriptive cross-sectional observational study, including randomly selected children from 6 to 17 years old living in six regions of Switzerland (Vaud, Bern, Zurich, Luzern, St Gallen, Ticino), provide valuable information on the nutritional status of Swiss children.

The aims of this study were to 1) characterize the diet and health behaviors of children and adolescents (who eats what, how much, when, where and with whom); 2) determine the nutritional status, energy and macro- and micro-nutrient intake of children and adolescents; 3) estimate the daily intake of contaminants and other harmful substances; 4) derive population-based national reference values for selected micronutrients and vitamins.

It collected high quality representative data on food consumption, dietary and health behaviours (two 24h recalls, which are extensive interviews qualitative and quantitative about the diet of the previous day, and an online questionnaire on food propensity and dietary habits, lifestyle and sociodemographic data) as well as anthropometric and body composition parameters, blood pressure and biological samples (urine spot, optional venous blood).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy and free-living children aged between 6 and 17 years
• Permanent residents in Switzerland
• Participants and their legal guardian(s) must be able to read and speak German, French or Italian
• Informed consent provided

Exclusion Criteria:

• Known severe chronic disease (e.g. renal, gastrointestinal, cognitive disorder)
• Hospitalization (overnight stay in the last four weeks before the visit)
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding
• Insufficient knowledge of German, French or Italian or inability to understand the study and/or to provide informed consent
• Inability to come to recruitment center
• Refusal to be informed about study incidental findings concerning the child

Invited individuals were randomly selected from the Swiss cantonal population registries using the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) sampling frame. The sample of invited persons consisted in 6-17yo children and adolescents residing in Swiss municipalities located within a 30 minutes travel-time to the 6 investigation centers (Bellinzona, Bern, Lausanne, Luzern, St. Gallen, Zurich), stratified in three age groups : 6-9yo, 10-13yo, 14-17yo

All data will be accessible in a data repository from the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, who mandeted and financed the study

It will be available from Autumn 2025

Data will be accessible to researchers, after signing a data protection agreement. Access to licensed datasets will only be granted when the Lead Researcher is an employee of a legally registered receiving agency (university, research company, research centre, national or international research organization, etc.) on behalf of which access to the data is requested. Commercial use of the data is not permitted. The Lead Researcher assumes all responsibility for compliance with all terms of this Data Access Agreement by all researchers involved in the respective research project.