A dietary survey of free-living middle-aged white males in the Western Cape.

A survey was conducted to determine the dietary intake of a sample of free-living normal middle-aged (40 59 years) White males from the Stellenbosch area. The 7-day food record method was employed, and the 44 subjects who completed the three recording periods represented a sample population drawn from 300 volunteers. The mean calorie intake of the sample (2.564jday) approximated the recommended daily allowance for the middle-aged reference male, and the mean ethanol intake was 24 g (SO ± 31) per day. The daily intake of 99 g of protein represents a high protein diet of mainly animal origin. The dietary fat provided about 38% of the total calories per day, and consisted of 41 g of saturated fatty acids, 33 g .of mono-unsaturated fatty acids and 12 9 of polyunsaturated fatty acids, with a resultant PjS ratio of 1 : 3. The mean value for the daily intake of dietary cholesterol (566 mgjday) is very close to the value reported in the National Diet-Heart Study of the USA. Of the 40% of calories derived from carbohydrates (256 gjday), half was contributed by monoand disaccharides and half by polysaccharides. The highly saturated, high fat diet with a relatively high protein content of mainly animal origin, closely resembles that of a typical American diet of free-living males in a Western affluent community.