Dietary intake and nutrient supplement use in a Southern California retirement community

Dietary histories and information concerning the use of nutritional supplements were obtained from 51 randomly selected residents of an Orange County, CA, retirement community. The nutrients for which dietary intakes were most apt to fall below 100% of the 1980 Recommended Dietary Allowance were: calcium, in both sexes; energy, in males; and iron, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin in females. With the exception of calcium, few subjects had intakes below two-thirds of the Recommended Dietary Allowances. These findings are similar to those reported in previous dietary surveys of the elderly. Vitamin and mineral supplements were consumed by 72% of the subjects; such consumption was unrelated to dietary intake. Supplemental vitamin C was consumed by 67% of the subjects in amounts ranging from 30 to 5200 mg daily; supplemental vitamin E was taken by 51%, with amounts ranging from 8 to 1000 IU daily. Supplement use by this population is one of the highest reported among the elderly, an effect that may result from the affluence of the community, its geographic location, and from a high level of nutritional consciousness among its residents.