Animal derived foods supply not only high-quality protein but are also a rich source of several vitamins and minerals.
We aimed to assess the contribution of animal-based foods to dietary intake in 793 eighty-five year-olds (302 men and 491 women) living in North-East England and participating in the Newcastle 85+ cohort study( Reference Collerton, Davies and Jagger 1 ) (see http://research.ncl.ac.uk/85plus for further details).
Dietary information was collected at baseline in 2006/2007 using a repeated multiple pass 24-hour recall (2 × 24hr-recall). Energy, macronutrient, vitamin and mineral intakes were estimated using the McCance and Widdowson's Composition of Foods 6th edition( 2 ). Contribution (%) to dietary intake was estimated based on five composite animal-based food groups viz. meat and meat products, milk and milk products, butter, egg and egg dishes and, fish and fish dishes and 11 other non-animal based food groups.
SFA, saturated fatty acids. MUFA, monounsaturated fatty acids.
Misreporting was not accounted for in the main analysis but estimated at 17 % (n = 124). Animal derived foods contributed between 24 % and 89 % to selected nutrients' intake. More than half (56·3 %) of protein intake was derived from these food groups. Half and 94 % of the meat and meat products contribution to vitamin B12 and vitamin A intake, respectively, came from liver and liver dishes. Animal based foods are an important source of several macro and micronutrients in this age group.
