[The usual diet of a group of adolescents from Valencia]

Adolescents are considered a high nutritional risk group because their nutritional needs are increased with respect to other age groups, and because this period of life coincides with changes in life style that affect, often negatively, their eating habits. Our overall goal is to study the usual eating pattern of Valencian adolescents together with their drink and tobacco consumption, but the first stage focuses on setting up, validating and correcting methods to be applied. The present study was therefore carried out in a sample composed of 64 adolescents, ranging from 16 to 20 years of age. A self administered survey developed in our Department was used to explore their food preferences, eating habits, smoking habits and alcohol and coffee intake. The following results were obtained: The number of daily meals was of 3.7 +/- 0.9. The 91% takes the breakfast daily (milk with cereals or sweet rolls) and the majority of the students eat a second mid-morning breakfast. Lunch is of the traditional type, consisting of two courses. The first is rice or pasta, followed by meat, fish or eggs usually accompanied by a side dish or salad. Fresh fruit is the dessert eaten, almost daily by the majority of the sample. The most usual drink is water. The 70% of the sample have one supplementary afternoon intake "merienda". All of the surveyed people like fruits, pasta and chicken meat. While, liver and legumes are disliked by the majority. The intakes of soft drinks, snacks, alcohol, coffee and tobacco are moderate, being, all these products mainly consumed during the weekend. The mean diet offers an excess of proteins and saturated fat, while complex carbohydrates and dietetic fiber are scarce. Nutritional intakes of iron, magnesium and zinc in girls, and magnesium, folates and vitamin A in boys are estimated insufficient to fulfil their needs.