Korean J Community Nutr.  2012 Feb;17(1):14-25. 10.5720/kjcn.2012.17.1.14.

Vitamin A Intakes and Food Sources of Vitamin A in Female University Students

• Yeon JY
• Bae YJ

• KMID: 2267382
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2012.17.1.14

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to estimate the daily intake of vitamin A in Korean female university students. Vitamin A intake was estimated using an inconsecutive 3-day dietary intake survey from 481 young women. Vitamin A intake values were calculated based on the data in USDA database. Average age, height, and weight of the subjects were 20.05 years, 162.13 cm and 54.38 kg, respectively. The subject's average intake of energy was 1645.67 kcal. The mean vitamin A, retinol and beta carotene intakes were 908.35 +/- 863.18 ug retinol equivalent/day, 199.19 +/- 166.00 ug/day and 3872.59 +/- 4972.17 ug/day, respectively. The 21.83% of the subjects consumed less than the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for vitamin A. And subjects consumed 141.69% of the Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) for vitamin A. Food groups consumed with high vitamin A content in our subjects included vegetables (423.96 ug RE/day), potato and starches (213.64 ug RE/day), cereals (62.60 ug RE/day), eggs (55.17 ug RE/day) and milks (53.45 ug RE/day). The major food sources of vitamin A were sweet potato, carrot, spinach, egg, and cereal, and the top 30 foods provided 89.57% of total vitamin A. Also animal-derived food provided 9.65% of the vitamin A intake from the top 30 foods. In conclusion, judging from RNI, the vitamin A intake of the Korean female university students in this study was generally adequate. The result of our study may be used as a basis for follow-up studies of vitamin A intake like assessment of vitamin A nutritional status or evaluation of carotenoid food sources in Korean young women.

Keyword

vitamin A intake; carotenoids; retinol; food sources; female university students

MeSH Terms

beta Carotene
Carotenoids
Edible Grain
Daucus carota
Eggs
Female
Humans
Ipomoea batatas
Milk
Nutritional Status
Ovum
Solanum tuberosum
Spinacia oleracea
Starch
United States Department of Agriculture
Vegetables
Vitamin A
Vitamins
Carotenoids
Starch
Vitamin A
Vitamins
beta Carotene

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