Dietary intakes of adolescents living in Edirne, Turkey

To assess the dietary intakes of the adolescents in the area of Edirne, Turkey.

Cross-sectional, prospective, epidemiological study.

Our study group consists of 1944 adolescents aged between 12 to 17 years; 940 females and 1004 males.

Three-day self-reported food records were collected from the subjects and evaluated by a nutrient database program. Reported nutrient intake data were analyzed for gender differences. Minitab statistical program was used to compare nutritional data of subjects.

Energy, calcium, magnesium, folic acid, vitamins A, E, thiamine, and fiber intakes of whole adolescents, and also iron intakes of female adolescents were most likely to be inadequate compared with the recommendations. Iron, calcium, folic acid, thiamine, and fiber intakes were below two thirds of RDA/DRI in a large proportion of the adolescents. The intakes of protein, riboflavin, vitamin C, phosphorus and zinc were found to be adequate in a large percentage of the subjects. Forty eight percent of females and 60.1 % of males were below 2/3 of the RDA for energy.

Pediatricians and dietitians should train the adolescents living in our region and our country on practical strategies for making healthy food choices rich in nutrient content relative to energy value to ensure intakes that approach the recommendations.