Food group contributions to energy, carbohydrate, protein, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, fiber, calcium, iron, folate, zinc, vitamins A and C were evaluated for Canadian adults aged 18--65 years. Twenty four hour recall data from the 1997--98 Food Habits of Canadians survey were used. Mean nutrient intakes exceeded the RNI for all age-gender groups except, calcium for older women. Mean iron (women 18--49 years) and zinc (men and women 50--65 years) intakes were borderline. The differences in food group contribution to nutrient intake among smokers and non-smokers indicated that smokers generally obtained nutrients from foods higher in energy and fat and lower in other nutrients. Important food sources for individuals meeting the RNI for calcium were fluid milk and cheese. Important sources of folate were citrus fruit juices, breads, and lettuce/cabbages/greens as were cereals and beef/veal for iron. Zinc sources were primarily other beef cuts or ground beef.

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The Food Habits of Canadians Survey, conducted in 1997--1998 examined food and nutrient intakes of non-institutionalized adults aged 18--65 years (n = 1543) randomly selected from across Canada using the multi-stage random sampling strategy. Dietary intake was assessed by 24-h recall and a repeat interview was conducted in a sub-sample (n = 446). The overall response rate was 26%. Males, younger age adults (18--34 years), single persons and those with lower education levels were underrepresented in the study sample thus limiting the generalizability of the study results. Examination of the characteristics of the selected areas (n = 63) by response rates, indicated that areas with a higher percentage below the low income cut-off level, higher percentage who moved residence in the past 5 years and higher percentage speaking non-official languages as the mother-tongue were associated with low response rates. Additionally, areas with lower percentage females were associated with low response rates indicating that depending on the community characteristics different approaches may be needed to enhance response rates. Within- to between-subject variance ratios for several nutrients were higher when adjusted for age, gender, education, season, smoking and size of family compared to the crude ratios (e.g. for energy 1.07 vs. 0.49 for males). As a result, more days would be needed to reliably estimate usual intake once the data are appropriately adjusted. Examination of the within- to between-subject variability ratios for nutrients by smoking status indicated that the diet of smokers was no more variable than that of non-smokers. However, smokers had higher intakes of total fat (p < 0.05) and saturated fat (p < 0.05) and lower intakes of folate (p < 0.05) and vitamin C (p < 0.05). Smokers also had lower intakes of fruit and vegetables compared to non-smokers (p < 0.05). Given these differences, diet may be a confounder in studies examining smoking

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