Dietary guidelines recommend that Americans consume no
more than 30 percent of energy intake from fat. The most
recent national survey reported that U.S. women consume
about 36 percent of energy from fat. Very little is
presently known about the fat intake, or food sources of
fat in the diets of college students, a subgroup of the
population, with newly established eating habits. This
study examined nutrient intake and sources of fat in the
diets of 233 women and 60 men enrolled in six introductory
nutrition courses from September 1987 through June 1988.
Female students were further subdivided to determine
whether the independent variables, living situation (on
campus or off campus), or fat content of diet (fat intake
less than or equal to 30 percent of energy consumed, or fat
intake more than 30 percent of energy consumed) had an
effect on nutrient intake or food sources of fat.
Each student in the sample kept a two-day food intake
record, and filled out a form reporting their sex, age, major, and living arrangement. Dietary intakes were
analyzed for macronutrients, types of fat, cholesterol,
vitamin B6, calcium, iron, and zinc. Mean intakes,
nutrient density, proportion of students who did not meet
75 percent of the RDA, and energy distribution as percent
intake of protein, fat, and carbohydrate were compared
between sample subgroups. Foods were categorized into 27
food groups. Groupings, adapted from Popkin et. al. (15),
were based on the Four Food Groups, which were further
subdivided by fat content. Per capita consumption of each
food group, proportion of users of each food category, and
per user consumption of foods in each category were compared
between sample subgroups. T-tests were used to compare
mean nutrient and food group intakes, and chi-square
analysis was used to compare proportion of individuals who
met 75 percent of the RDA, and proportion of individuals
that consumed foods from each food group.
The college women in this sample exceeded dietary
guidelines for fat consumption. They did, however, have a
lower intake of fat than a national sample of women 19 to
34 years, living in the western U.S. in 1986, and a
correspondingly lower intake of cholesterol. A large
proportion of the college women consumed less than 75
percent of the RDA for vitamin B6, calcium, iron, and
zinc. Meat is a major source for all of these nutrients
except calcium. College women consumed less zinc than the
national sample of women, and had a lower intake of meat. Women with a low fat intake, also, had a lower intake of
zinc, and consumed less meat.
The college men did not have a proportionately greater
intake of fat than college women, although they did have a
greater intake of cholesterol due to the greater
consumption of foods of animal origin. / Graduation date: 1990
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/27203 |
| Date | 17 January 1990 |
| Creators | Selvy, Theresa A. |
| Contributors | Georgiou, Constance C. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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