Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti’nde Yaşayan 19-40 Yaş Arası Kadınların Beslenme Durumunun Saptanması ve Kalsiyum Tüketim Durumunun Değerlendirilmesi.

Abstract

This study was planned to assess nutritional status and to evaluate calcium intake of women living in the TRNC. The data was collected from 209 healthy women who applied to the Famagusta State Hospital laboratories between June 2010-October 2010. Pregnant, lactating and chronically ill women were excluded in the study. A questionnaire was applied to determine general information, nutritional habits, food frequency, 24 hour recall, and attendance to exercise. The questionnaire and the anthropometric measurements were carried out by the researcher while blood tests were conducted by the health professionals working at the hospital. Energy and nutrient intake were analysed and statistical tests were applied by using computerized software programmes (BEBIS 6.1 student version and SPSS 16.0 respectively). The mean (±S) age of subjects was found to be 31.13±5.74 years. Meal skipping rate of women was observed to be 49.3%. The most widely skipped meal during the day was breakfast (16.3%). No significant difference was found in terms of calcium intakes of women according to number of meals consumed and meal skipping status (p>0.05). Full fat cheese was found to have the highest daily consumption rate (83.7%) among the other dairy products. The contribution rate of dairy products in daily calcium intake of participants was found to be 56%. According to participants` daily nutrient consumption, the contribution rates of protein, carbohydrate and fat to total energy were determined to be 16.50±4.12%, 45.22±8.89% and 38.16±8.17% respectively. No significant difference was found between daily calcium intake of subjects with different education levels (p>0.05). The calcium intake of women aged 19-30 was found to be higher than the calcium intake of women aged 31-40 years (p<0.05). Daily energy, fibre, vitamins E, D, B1, folic acid, calcium, iron, iodine, fluoride, magnesium, copper, and potassium intakes were observed to be lower than DRI values while carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins A, K, C, phosphorus, manganese and sodium intakes were above DRI values. A moderate positive correlation was found between calcium and fat intakes of participants. Out of total 67.4% of participants were rated as normal according to BMI classification. The waist circumference and waist/hip ratio of women particiating in exercise were found to be lower than the values of the women not participating in exercise (p<0.05). No significant correlation was found between the biochemical parameters and food consumption of participants. Assessment of nutritional status and evaluation of calcium intake will act as a guide in maintaining and improving women health.