بررسی وضعیت تغذیه و سطح سرمی روی، آهن و مس و ارتباط آنها با برخی شاخصهای رژیمی و آنتروپومتریک در دانشجویان دانشگاه علوم پزشکی تبریز

Background and Aim: Inappropriate diet and patterns of consumption and inadequate intake of nutrients among young people, e.g students can cause different diseases. Regarding that the studies done on the youth are very few in Iran, the present study was performed with the aim of assessing nutritional status and zinc, iron and copper serum concentration in University students and the relationship of some dietic and anthropometric variables with serum level of these elements. Materials and Methods: One hundred and seventy five volunteers of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences students (112 females and 63 males) were studied. After measuring of height and weight, usual dietary intake was estimated by using recall and food frequency. Serum zinc concentration through atomic absorbsion spectroscopy and serum level of iron by means of iron measurement kit were measured. The gathered data was analyzed using SPSS statistical software and food processor software. Results: Body mass index was higher than 24.99 in 13.4% of males and 19.3% of females. The mean energy intake of females and males was 2024.53±662.36 and 2410.93±815.58 kcal, respectively, 12.5% of females and 9.4% of males received more than 30% of daily energy from fat. The mean of received vitamins A, B2, B6, folacin, C and minerals such as magnesium and zinc were lower than recommended levels in both genders. The mean of serum iron, zinc and copper concentrations in females was around standard level. However, zinc serum level of 19.2% of males and 21.7% of females ., iron serum level of 13% of males and 14.5% of females, copper serum level of 10.9% of females and 10.1% of males were lower than normal .There was a reserved relationship between BMI and Zinc serum level in male students but this was not statistically significant. It was found that there was a significant relationship between zinc serum level and dietic zinc in male students (P< 0.01), while there was a significant relationship between males Iron serum level, received Iron level, copper serum level, received copper level, and those of females. Conclusion: deficiency of micronutrients not macronutrients in students is significant and they should receive more important food groups such as milk and milk products, vegetables and fruits. Because of the importance of diet and its effect on future health of society, it seems that more attention should be paid to training and providing the possibility for university students to have optimal nutritional behaivior.