Effects of recommendations on dietary intake in physically disabled students

An investigation of dietary intake was performed in 37 motor-handicapped adolescents (median age = 20 years) at Ingemundskolan (an upper secondary school for physically disabled young people) in Stockholm in order to study the effects of recommendations provided six years earlier for improvement of the diet (2). The objective of the recommendations was a higher content of protein and other nutritients and a lower fat content in the diet. Iron was given daily to the students with the most severe motor handicap causing a low energy intake. The results of the follow-up study demonstrated that the measures undertaken led to a higher content of nutrients in the diet, a lower fat content and a decrease in the extra consumption of food. There were no signs of iron-deficiency anaemia in the disabled students in contrast to the 1966 study.