1. Other topics Dietary habits
Agenda point 3.5
Lucian Agafitei
ESTAT Unit F-4
6-7 July 2017
3rd TF EHIS meeting

2. Outline
Context
Results from the pretesting conducted by the EHIS contractor
Proposal for the pretesting to be conducted via the EHIS grants

3. Context
Policy need to measure the sugar intake, salt and saturated fat intakes
Variable on Frequency of drinking sugar-sweetened soft drinks included in the legal basis of wave 3
EHIS grants 2017: max. 20 questions for the topic "Dietary habits" (additional info: 4 applications include this topic)

4. Results from the pretesting conducted by the EHIS contractor (i)
Methodology
Cognitive interviews with 21 respondents:
16 Greek and 5 English
Reference question tested:
How often do you drink the following beverages?
Answer categories
3 times or more a day
2 times a day
Once a day
4 to 6 times a week
1 to 3 times a week
Less than once a week
Never
Sweetened juices
Soft drinks, diet
Sweetened tea
Meal replacement shakes/protein drinks
Energy/Sports drinks
Sweetened coffee

5. Results from the pretesting conducted by the EHIS contractor (ii)
Findings:
Question and its structure clear to most respondents
Different perceptions as regards sweetened tea and coffee
Recommendations for improvement:
Merging the first 2 answer categories => "Twice or more a day"
Giving examples to some beverages

6. Proposal for pre-testing (i)
9 questions proposed covering:
Frequency and quantity of drinking specific types of sugar-sweetened beverages (2 questions) based on the work done by the EHIS contractor
Frequency and quantity of eating sweets or desert (2 questions) taken from the Swiss Health Survey
Frequency and quantity of eating salted snacks (2 questions) taken from the Swiss Health Survey
Sort of fat or oil usually used for cooking or frying food (1 question) taken from the Health Survey for England
Type of margarine, butter or other spread usually used (1 question) taken from the Health Survey for England
Adding salt to food at the table, in addition to the salt used when preparing it (1 question)

7. Proposal for pre-testing (ii)

8. Proposal for pre-testing (iii)

9. Proposal for pre-testing (iv)

10. Proposal for pre-testing (v)

11. Proposal for pre-testing (vi)

12. TF members are kindly invited to:
Comment on the proposed questions
Recommend what is to be tested via the EHIS grants
Recommend questions adressing salt and saturated fat intakes