National Dietary Survey on Children in Montenegro from 1 to 9 years old – External Scientific Report
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The present document has been produced and adopted by the bodies identified above as author(s). This task has been carried out exclusively by the author(s) in the context of a contract between the European Food Safety Authority and the author(s), awarded following a tender procedure. The present document is published complying with the transparency principle to which the Authority is subject. It may not be considered as an output adopted by the Authority. The European Food Safety Authority reserves its rights, view and position as regards the issues addressed and the conclusions reached in the present document, without prejudice to the rights of the authors.
Abstract
The national dietary survey “Montenegrin National Dietary Survey on Children” ‐ “The Children's Survey”, was conducted in accordance with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidance on EU Menu methodology, carried out focusing on target population aged from one year up to (including) nine years old. The food consumption survey was performed on two age groups: toddlers (from one year old to strictly below three years old) and other children (from three to nine years old). The survey comprised toddlers and children who lived in private households in the territory of Montenegro during the data collection. The survey sample includes 574 full participants (with two 24‐hour food diaries), with 288 toddlers, and 286 children. To ensure national coverage, the sample was selected through probability sampling considering age and sex distribution and all geographical areas in the country. The specific survey calendar was created with defined weekdays and seasons for each subject to include proportionally weekdays and the weekend, as well as all four seasons. This methodology ensured capturing seasonal variations in dietary intake, changes in food availability, as well as differences between dietary habits during the weekdays and weekend days, and thus provided a high‐quality survey suitable for comprehensive analysis. Dietary survey tools, questionnaires elaborated based on the recommendations of the EFSA guidance, were used together with the developed and harmonised dietary software (Diet Assess and Plan, DAP) to fit the research needs. Data collection primarily relied on 24‐hour food diary as the main method, alongside the utilization of the Food Propensity Questionnaire (FPQ) with at least seven days or more between two diaries. The data were entered into the DAP platform and further processed, evaluated, and submitted to EFSA.