A statistical survey on nutrients intake of lactating women

Abstract EN

At present, there is no recommended nutrient intake table based on local data available for lactating women in Iran, and their nutrient intake are assessed by Recommended Dietary Allowance(RDA),which may be misleading.

The table of nutrient intake is presented based on a representative random sample of 266 lactating women residing in different geographic areas of Shiraz city (Iran).

Subjects were visited at home in 1998 and their nutrients intake in the last 24 hour based on diet recall recorded using a structured questionnaire in a face to face interview by a trained member of the research team.

The nutritional value of each nutrient was calculated and compared to RDA.

Daily mean ± SD of protein (gr), iron (mg), calcium (mg) and vitamin C (mg) intake in the subjects were estimated as 78.3±13.5, 12.8±3.5, 1053.8 ± 281.5 , 053.8 ±281.5, 156.0 ± 56.7 respectively.

Protein and vitamin C intake were significantly higher, while iron and calcium intake were significantly lower than RDA in Shiraz lactating women.

The results suggest that local recommended daily amount of nutrient intake for lactating women, as a more realistic table than RDA.

The representativeness of our data together with their structural demographics as well as socioeconomic homogeneity with urban population of Iran suggest that the nutrient intake tables for Shiraz lactating women are likely to be generally applicable to urban lactating women in Iran.