[Diet of dental students entering university]

As there are not a lot of data available on the diet of the young adult population, we perceived that it would be interesting to study the diet of dental students entering university, and to determine if their diet differs according to sex. From 1986 to 1992, participating students completed three-day lists of the foods they consumed. These lists were reviewed according to the energy content and the distribution of proteins, glucides and lipids in the diet. The calcium and iron content were calculated, as was the body weight index (P/T2), and then compared to the Canadian recommendations and averages. For both males and females, the average energy content was slightly lower than recommended. The proportion of energy derived from glucides, lipids and proteins was more or less the same for both groups, but the glucide content was lower than recommended. The ingestion of lipids was just above the national recommendation, while the ingestion of proteins, calcium and iron was higher. A similar proportion of individuals to the one identified in studies by Health Promotion Canada and Santé Québec was found to be in the lower range of the body weight index (< 20). Many fewer, however, were in the 25+ section. As a significant number of female students from Asia were in the low body weight index group, it was assumed that this index might not be valid for this population.