Nutrient Composition of the Diet of Junior Students of a Medical University

Abstract

Our objective was to analyze compliance of macro- and micronutrient contents of the diet of modern first- and second-year medical students with physiological and hygienic recommendations. Materials and methods. We conducted a hygienic study of nutrition enumerating 87 junior students of the Ryazan State Medical University who signed an informed consent to participate in the research. Nutrition and physical activity of the students were monitored during 7 days in March-April 2019 and we analyzed the total of 1,729 meals and 532 daily chronograms. Statistical processing of collected data was conducted in order to check a number of statistical hypotheses; at this, the conditions necessary for the application of selected statistical criteria were observed. Results. According to our data, the median energy deficiency in the diet of a modern first- or second-year medical student was 31.3 (12.6:47.7)%. This was mainly related to the deficiency of carbohydrates (48%) caused by low consumption of polysaccharides. Lack of proteins and fats was 10% and 13.3%, respectively. We revealed imbalance of the diet in vitamin composition, which was characterized by the greatest deficiency of vitamins D, K and beta-carotene (less than 15% of the daily requirement). The diets of female and male students were significantly different in the contents of vitamins A, B1, B2, B9 and niacin (p<0.05). Conclusion. The diet of the junior medical students was imbalanced in macro-and micronutrient composition.