Daily nutrient intakes of 4007 European, Māori, Pacific, and Asian people aged 35 to 74 years living in Auckland were calculated from a self-administered food frequency questionnaire completed by participants during a health screening study carried out between 2002 and 2003. Compared with Europeans, Māori and Pacific men had higher total energy intakes per day, while Asians had lower intakes. The pattern was similar for carbohydrate and fat consumption. While protein and cholesterol consumption tended to be lower in Europeans than the other three ethnic groups, alcohol consumption and calcium intakes were highest among Europeans. Notably, expressing nutrient consumption as the percentage contribution to total energy intake attenuated many of the differences between ethnic groups, indicating that total food consumption was the major determinant of ethnic differences in nutrient intakes.
