Alimentation, état nutritionnel, apport calcique et calcémie d'une population de jeunes adultes

Abstract

Study objectives: Evaluation of food, nutritional status, calcium intake and calcemia in a population of young adults. Methodology: A descriptive sectional survey was conducted on 418 subjects aged between 18 and 26 years old from march to may 2009. The questionnaire collected anthropometric data, dietary recall by 24 h, the frequency of consumption of habitual foods. The calcium intake (by three other recalls), measurement of blood pressure and blood samples for the determination of hematocrit and calcemia were performed on a subsample of 208 subjects. Results: Over 21% of subjects were overweight, while 4,07% are obese. The contribution of food to daily energy intake is below the international recommendations for nearly 85% of women and over 37% of men. Overall, mean intakes of minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron) and vitamins (A, C, D and B9) are lower compared to recommended dietary allowances. These intakes appear to be significantly more deficient in the female population than male. These results maintain their reliability on the distribution by overweight and obesity. We observed an inverse and significant relationship between calcium intake and body mass (overweight and obese). This relationship aligns to that reported by numerous studies in the literature. The three main meals of the day contribute most to the daily calcium intake, in addition to snack food. Dairy calcium is one that contributes significantly to total daily calcium intake (46,49%). The frequency of usual consumption of food is more for fat and sugar (5,15 ± 1,89 per/day). Calcium intake of the subsample only confirmed the problem of calcium deficiency that exists among young adults (717,24 ± 284,79 mg/day). The results of tensional numbers showed that the pressures are significantly higher in men. We also noted an inverse relationship between calcium intake and blood pressure, as suggested in the literature, but only in males (r=-0,0213, p=0,000). The hematocrit testifies that the nutritional imbalance of these subjects. While the calcemia is a highly accurate constant with a margin of error low and therefore, intra and extracellular concentration is tightly regulated. Conclusion: The normal diet of these subjects makes it difficult to achieve the recommended dietary allowances, especially calcium. A system for monitoring the nutritional status would be required to correct this imbalance food.