[More calories in modern desserts].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate if in the Netherlands, just as in the USA, there has been an increase in the number of calories in recipes.

DESIGN

Comparative study.

METHODS

This study investigated one potential source of excess calories. In a widely-read Dutch cookery magazine - Allerhande - all dessert recipes in the years 1987 and 2009 that had their calorie content mentioned, were selected. This amounted to 37 recipes in each of those years. The number of kcal and amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fat were compared using the two-tailed t test.

RESULTS

It was shown that between 1987 and 2009 the number of kcal per single portion had increased by 20% (70 kcal). This was statistically significant. Linked to this increase, there was also an increase in the amount of carbohydrates and fat, but this was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

There was a clear increase in the number of kcal per portion between the recipes written in 1987 and 2009. It can be assumed that there is a relationship with the obesity epidemic.