Background and aims: Italian National Food Consumption Survey, INRAN-SCAI 2005–06, is the third national food consumption survey performed in Italy. This study describes energy and nutrient intakes in Italy.

Methods and results: A national cross-sectional food consumption survey was conducted using consecutive 3-day food records between October 2005 and December 2006. A sample of 3323 males and females aged 0.1–97.7 years living in private households was investigated. Individual food records were converted into energy and nutrient intakes with the use of recently updated national food composition databases. For each subject, intakes of energy and of 27 nutrients were calculated, including six minerals (i.e., iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and zinc) and 10 vitamins (i.e., thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin C, vitamin B6, retinol, β-carotene, vitamin A as retinol equivalents (REs), vitamin E, vitamin D and vitamin B12). On average, 36% of calories appeared to derive from fat (11% from saturated fatty acids) and 45% from available carbohydrates (15% from soluble carbohydrates).

Conclusions: The results of the INRAN-SCAI 2005–06 survey in terms of nutrient intakes provide an important piece of information for nutrition surveillance of the population and may also be used to identify priorities for further research.