ABSTRACT
The present study is part of a comprehensive nutritional status assessment of "Iran University of Medical Science" [IUMS] students in Tehran. The objective of this part of study was to determine the status and composition of fat intake of these students. A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 1000 students recruited in a multistage stratified sampling from six faculties of IUMS [faculties of medicine, paramedical sciences, nursing and midwifery, public health, rehabilitation, and management and medical informatics]. Data was collected using a standard 24-hours dietary recall method and analyzed with nutrition-specific software DFP [FP2, NIII] for assessing intake of nutrients and macronutrients including fats' composition and their comparison with Recommended Daily Allowance [RDA] and Dietary Reference Intakes [DRI] values. Statistical analysis was performed with t-test and chi-square using SPSS software. Mean daily energy intake was 1810 +/- 645 Kcal and mean total fat intake was 76 +/- 28 gr. Mean contribution of total fat to energy intake was 38% +/- 7%. Fat intake was higher than the recommended amounts and there was a significant difference between male and female students' mean fat intake [p<0.0001]. There was no significant difference between students resident in dormitory and other students in terms of mean fat intake. Assessment of intake fat composition revealed that the mean daily intake was 215 +/- 199 gr for cholesterol, 25 +/- 11 gr for saturated fats [with a contribution of 12% to total energy intake], 17 +/- 11 gr for poly-unsaturated fats, and 28 +/- 10 gr for mono-unsaturatedfats. Significant differences in mean cholesterol intake and mean saturated fat intake were seen between males and females, but these values were not significantly different for students resident in dormitory as compared with other students. The results showed the proportion of daily calorie derived from fats and the cholesterol and saturated fat intakes were higher than the recommended amounts. These would be risk factors for cardiovascular disease during the middle age. It is necessary to decrease the nutritional risk factors for cardiovascular diseases by modification of nutritional behavior and diet composition pattern in the young age group. The nutritional composition should also be improved through lowering of dietary fat intake and harmonizing the share of fats in energy production