Energy and macronutrient intake of New Zealand adolescents

Abstract

During the months of April and May (autumn season in the Southern hemisphere) 1985, a 3-day 24-hour dietary recall was collected from 255 female and 246 male third form students (12-14 years old) from secondary schools of an urban region in the South Island of New Zealand. Energy and macronutrient intake information was derived from this recall data.The median intake of energy for girls was 7.5 MJ and boys 10.1 MJ. Although these intakes were only 83% and 92% of the daily recommended energy levels for girls and boys respectively, the anthropometric measurements taken did not indicate that they were underweight. Their protein intake was more than adequate; the median intake value was 55g for girls and 74g for boys. Sixty-five percent of protein source was of animal origin and this also largely accounted for the high intake of fat (79g for girls and 104g for boys) and in particular saturated fat (37g for girls and 49g for boys). Intake of complex carbohydrates and dietary fibre (17g for girls and 23g for boys) was low but sucrose intake (50g for girls and 66g for boys) was relatively high. Sucrose was derived mainly from common white cane sugar and manufactured foods. The cholesterol intake was moderately high with about 25% of girls and 40% of boys having an intake greater than 300mg per day. The main dietary sources of cholesterol came from the meat group as well as milk and dairy products, but not eggs.

Estimates of food and macronutrient intake in a random sample of Northern Ireland adolescents

“…Intakes were similar to adult intakes of fat estimated in 1986/1987 in this population by 7 d weighed dietary records (Strain et al 1990). These levels of total fat intake were also similar to those estimated for Finnish (Rasanen et al 1991) and New Zealand (Tan et al 1989) adolescents but above those estimated for British (Department of Health, 1989), Dutch (Van Poppel et al 1991), French (Michaud et al 1991) and Irish (Lee & Cunningham, 1990) counterparts of the same age using various dietary intake methodologies. Although the possible relationship between high fat intake and the development of obesity is currently a subject of debate (Leibel, 1992), low-fat diets have been shown to be valuable in the management of established obesity (Royal College of Physicians, 1983).…”

“…Average carbohydrate intake was 49 YO of EI while average dietary fibre intakes were the same as other adolescent groups in Finland (Rasanen et al. 1991) and New Zealand (Tan et al 1989).…”

“…Girls consumed less SFA than boys and the SFA intakes of both sexes were below those of Finnish (Rasanen et al. 1991) and New Zealand (Tan et al 1989) adolescents.…”

Energy intakes, anthropometry and body composition of Nigerian adolescent girls: a case study of an institutionalized secondary school in Ibadan

“…Interpretation of the results is complicated by the fact that no reference standards for Nigerian subjects are available. However, in comparison with values reported in similar studies in Borno State, Nigeria (Oguntona et al 1987), USA (Garn et al 1985;Pao et al 1985), UK (Hackett et al 1983) Australia (McNaughton & Audrey, 1970Woodward et al 198l), New Zealand (Tan et al 1989) and Northern Ireland (Barker et al 1989) the EI values observed in the present study were low. The FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) recommendations specify that adolescent girls aged 11-17 years require, on average, 8318kJ(1988 kcal)/d.…”