METHODOLOGY
The Swiss Nutrition Atlas assesses the dietary intake of the Swiss population based on shopping data from supermarkets, online shops, out-of-home consumption and meal orders. The modelling hereby also takes into account expected food waste at the household level and corrects other methodological weaknesses.
DATABASE
The Swiss Nutrition Atlas allows conclusions about a representative random sample of 371 households and a total of 456 persons in the three major Swiss language regions. In all, more than 12 tonnes of food with over 15.5 million kilocalories were analysed, which the households purchased or ordered within 14 days.
RESULTS
The population (incl. children and adolescents) consumes an average of 1,815 kilocalories per capita and day. Analysis of the macronutrients shows that Swiss people consume too much saturated fatty acids and salt in relation to the recommendations of the WHO and the FSVO, as well as too much added sugar in some cases.
ABOUT THE STUDY
The Swiss Nutrition Atlas is an initiative of the Institute of Retail Management at the University of St. Gallen (IRM-HSG) in collaboration with the University Clinic for Endocrinology, Diabetology, Nutritional Medicine and Metabolism of the Inselspital Bern. The overriding objective is to draw conclusions about the Swiss population’s diet based on shopping data. The Swiss Nutrition Atlas is our contribution to the public discourse on the nutrition of the Swiss population. With the project, we are especially trying to establish a new perspective on the critical subject of healthy nutrition.
As behavioural economists, we are interested in better understanding consumer behaviour. In Switzerland, food is available at any time and in the greatest possible variety. A healthy diet is essential for physical and mental health. But the effects of a person’s diet can go beyond the aspects of health. For example, sugar consumption also affects people's decision-making behaviour. Past study results show that price fairness perception increases immediately after sugar consumption in purchasing situations when there are unfair price promotions. Against this background, it is of central importance to collect and analyse reliable data on dietary intake in general and sugar consumption in particular.
As part of the Swiss National Science Foundation's open research data concept, the Swiss Nutrition Atlas database will be published in the website's “Downloads” section of this website.
The IRM-HSG furthermore strives for continuous repetition and scaling of the data collection. We depend on the support of politics, industry, trade and research to achieve this.
STUDY AUTHORS
Prof. Dr.
Marc Linzmajer
Assistant Professor of Retail Marketing & Service Management
Vice Director Institute of Retail Management
University of St.Gallen
Matthias
Eggenschwiler
Doctoral Candidate and Research Associate
Institute of Research Center
University of St.Gallen
Prof. Dr. medical dr phil.
Lia Bally
Professor, Head of Nutritional Medicine, Metabolism and Obesity and Head of Research at the University Clinic for Diabetology, Endocrinology, Nutritional Medicine and Metabolism at Inselspital Bern.