Dietary survey

Danes’ dietary habits are out of step with the Danish Official Dietary Guidelines

A new national dietary survey from the DTU National Food Institute paints an overall picture of the Danish diet: fruit, vegetables and legumes make up too little. Meat, sweets, snacks and soft drinks make up too much. And even where things look best – whole grains and fish – only a minority comply with the recommendations.

The Danish National Survey of Diet and Physical Activity (DANSDA) 2021–2024 shows that a number of changes have taken place in Danes’ diets since the previous survey, DANSDA 2011–2013. Photo: Colourbox

Friday 27 February 2026

The DTU National Food Institute has published DANSDA 2021–2024, which is the most comprehensive and detailed Danish data source on diet and lifestyle in the population. The survey shows how closely Danes’ diets comply with the Danish “Official Dietary Guidelines”, which were updated in 2021 and 2025.

“Almost nobody eats even roughly in line with the dietary guidelines. That means there is a risk that many people have an imbalanced intake in relation to the need for the proteins, vitamins, minerals and so on that a healthy diet should provide,” says Sisse Fagt, Senior Adviser at the DTU National Food Institute and lead author of the survey.

Dietary habits have changed since 2011–2013

When the results are compared with the previous Danish National Survey of Diet and Physical Activity (DANSDA) from 2011–2013, several changes in Danes’ diets emerge:

Content of milk and other dairy products in the diet has fallen by 45% among children and 30% among adults.
Content of cheese in the diet has increased by 60% among children and 16% among adults.
Consumption of sugar and sweets has increased - particularly among children and adolescents. Among 11-17 year-olds, intake has risen by 50%.
Potatoes make up less of the diet than previously. Intake has fallen by 28-55%, depending on age group.
Rice, pasta and breakfast cereals have increased. The group of cereal products has increased by 28% among adults and 40% among adolescent girls.
Among adults, there is a trend towards a more plant-rich intake, including more legumes and nuts, although there is still substantial potential for improvement. Intake of legumes has quadrupled and intake of nuts has doubled - albeit from a very low starting point.

Hard to eat a more plant-based diet

The survey shows that several dietary guidelines that relate to eating foods from plant sources are not being followed.

For the first time, the DANSDA results show intake of legumes in relation to the dietary guidelines, and the figures show that only 0.8% of the population comply with the guidelines.

The news is only slightly better, when it comes to intake of fruit and vegetables, where 7.3% of the population comply with the dietary guidelines.

When it comes to intake of whole grains and fish, around 25% comply with the dietary guidelines.

“There is undoubtedly room for improvement in Danes’ diets. We are very far from the target as regards intake of legumes, but somewhat closer when it comes to intake of whole grains and fish, where around a quarter comply with the recommendations in the Danish Official Dietary Guidelines. That provides food for thought as to what it will take if we are to get more people to eat healthily and sustainably,” says Sisse Fagt.

Meat and sweets still make up too much

Few comply with the dietary guidelines that are about cutting back. This applies to the recommendation on sweets and snacks and the recommendations on intake of meat.

“When meat, sweets and snacks take up such a large share, they push other things out. In practice, sweet products provide calories with virtually no vitamins and minerals, and that benefits neither the body nor the more sustainable direction in diet that the recommendations, among other things, are intended to express,” says Sisse Fagt.

Adolescents are furthest from the recommendations

The results also show differences between age groups. Adolescents in particular, but also children, are generally further from the recommendations than adults in several key areas - among them fish, whole grains, vegetables and legumes.

“It is worrying that the challenge is already seen among children and adolescents. We know that the teenage years are often a period when many gain more independence in their food choices and more often eat outside the home, and when one may also distance oneself from their parents’ habits. Therefore, we typically see a less healthy diet in this phase of life,” says Sisse Fagt.

How many comply with selected dietary guidelines

Share of the population who comply with the recommended amount in the guideline, in per cent:

Overall, across the board

All selected dietary guidelines combined: 0%

Eat more: where performance is weakest

Legumes: 0.8%
Fruit and vegetables: 7.3%
Nuts: 7.6%

Eat more: middle of the pack

Whole grains: 25.8%
Fish: 26.0%

Eat less (maximum): most people are above the limit

Sweets and snacks (max.): 3.5%
Meat incl. poultry (max.): 7.7%

Here, more people comply with the guideline

Soft drinks (max.): 41%
Dairy products incl. cheese: 60%

How to read the figures

The Danish Official Dietary Guidelines include both recommendations about what should make up a larger share of the diet and what should make up a smaller share. Some dietary guidelines specify a recommended amount (e.g. fruit and vegetables), while others specify a maximum amount (e.g. meat and sugar-containing products). The dietary guidelines are also measured in different ways: some in grams or portions, others as a share of energy in the diet. In DANSDA, compliance with the dietary guidelines is calculated as 100% of the recommendation.