[Analysis of antioxidant status and actual diet of students]

The study of the features of the antioxidant status and dietary intake of students is highly relevant, since this population cohort is the future labor potential of society. 40 female students (mean age--22.4 +/- 0.6 years) living in hostel dormitories (n=20) and rented apartments (n=20) were surveyed. To assess the nutrition the method of questioning within 5 days, including weekends has been used. Personal energy consumption per diem has been calculated by table-keeping method. It was found that, retinol blood serum content (measured spectrofluorimetrically) in students living in dormitories was 1.45 fold lower than that in students living in rented apartments (1.28 +/- 0.66 vs. 1.86 +/- 0.17 mmol/l, p<0.001). When analyzing the changes of the integral parameter of antioxidant defense system (the total antioxidant activity assessed using as a model system a suspension of egg yolks lipoprotein) a decrease of this parameter with respect to standards for the majority of the surveyed women (65% of students living in dorms and 80% of students living in rented apartments) has been noted. The energy value of the daily ration for girls in both groups (1375 +/- 626 kcal--in a dormitory and 1731 +/- 547 kcal--in a rented apartment) was lower than energy expenditure (1789 +/- 202 and 1808 +/- 234 kcal/day, respectively), with higher energy value in students living in rented apartments (p<0.001). Carbohydrates prevailed in the diet of students living in dormitories (417 +/- 207 g/day vs. 289 +/- 131 g/day in female students living in rented apartments, p<0.0001) while in the diet of the students living in rented apartments fats (110.5 +/- 55.7 g/day, compared with that of the students living in the hostel--66.1 +/- 50.8 g/day, p<0.0001) and proteins (99.1 +/- 47.9 vs. 81.6 +/- 42.7 g/day, p<0.001) prevailed. Thus, the high-risk group with regard to adaptive capacity and unbalanced diet are students living in dormitories, with a crucial role played by low material support.