Loading...
Supply of energy and selected nutrients in meals consumed by Moroccan students at home and on a university campus
Elarbaoui, Maria Jafri, Ali Makhlouki, Houria Ellahi, Basma Derouiche, Abdelfettah
Elarbaoui, Maria
Jafri, Ali
Makhlouki, Houria
Ellahi, Basma
Derouiche, Abdelfettah
Advisors
Editors
Other Contributors
EPub Date
Publication Date
2022-09-27
Submitted Date
Collections
Files
Loading...
Article - VoR
Adobe PDF, 839.81 KB
Other Titles
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Student life is often accompanied by changes in eating behavior. Adopting a balanced and varied diet and healthy eating habits can promote the health, growth and intellectual development of young people at different stages of life. According to the WHO, a healthy diet helps protect against all forms of malnutrition, as well as against noncommunicable diseases. The nutritional and energy intake must follow nutritional norms, for example energy intake must be adapted to expenditure. To avoid excessive weight gain, fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to compare energy consumption, macronutrients and selected minerals in food rations consumed by students at university campus and at home.
MATERIALS AND METHOD: The subjects were chosen at random from among volunteer students from Hassan II University in Casablanca. A sample of 130 students (54 women and 76 men) aged 18 to 25, participated in this study. Anthropometric measurements were performed to assess general characteristics, and records of one-day food intakes at university and at the parental home were performed by 24-hour food diary, and as well as conducting face-to-face. Variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD). The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was used to check the normality of data.
RESULTS: In accordance with the body mass index classifications, 69.5% of male university students and 77.7% of female were in normal weight categories. The overweight classes were 25.1% and 5.6%, respectively, for men and women.
Assessment of the energy and nutritional intakes of university and home meals shows that students consume more calories, protein, carbohydrates, sodium, potassium, and iodine at home than at university, but these contributions remain insufficient in relation to the RDAs. Students consume more fat, especially saturated fatty acids, at university than at home. More than half of students exceed the recommended daily recommendations for saturated fatty acids.
CONCLUSION: These results indicate that a university students’ diet is influenced by their behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge. Hence the importance of nutrition education, based on what foods to consume rather than what foods to avoid, a societal issue that requires a multidisciplinary, multisectoral and culturally appropriate approach.
Citation
Elarbaoui, M., Jafri, A., Makhlouki, H., Ellahi, B., & Derouiche, A. (2022). Supply of energy and selected nutrients in meals consumed by Moroccan students at home and on a university campus. Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny, 73(3), 285-291. https://doi.org/10.32394/rpzh.2022.0225
Publisher
National Institute of Public Health NIH – National Research Institute
Journal
Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny
Research Unit
DOI
10.32394/rpzh.2022.0225
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
en
Description
© Copyright by the National Institute of Public Health NIH - National Research Institute
Series/Report no.
ISSN
0035-7715
EISSN
2451-2311
ISBN
ISMN
Gov't Doc
Test Link
Sponsors
Unfunded