Chrome consumption and nutritional status of university colleges in Sobral, Ceará, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this research was to evaluate the nutritional status and food consumption of chromium of academics of a higher education institution. A Food Frequency Questionnaire was applied and anthropometry was carried out in academics from a university center in the interior of Ceará. 125 students enrolled in the Nutrition course were enrolled, of which 19 were men (15.2%) and 106 were women (84.8%), with a mean age of 24 years. The anthropometric variables were weight, height, waist and hip circumference. As results, the following averages were obtained: 63.41 kg of body weight, 1.64 ms of height, 30.08% of body fat index and 1.12 m2/kg of female conicity index; and 57.28 kg of body weight, 1.59 m of height, 21.76% of body fat index and 1.08 m2/kg of male conicity index. Through the Body Mass Index, it was certified that 67.2% of the participants were overweight / obese, 28.8% eutrophic and 4.0% underweight. In relation to food consumption, the frequency of eating foods with low, medium and high levels of chromium was observed, with a frequency of 1 to 4 times a day. Thus, all the students presented daily intake of this mineral, noting that 62% of the food intake was concentrated in the consumption of high amounts of refined carbohydrates, which is not favorable in terms of nutritional status. It was concluded that the daily dietary intake of chromium indicates that the students are ingesting sufficient portions of the mineral, avoiding possible deficiency, despite being overweight and obesity in dominance. This could be one of the factors that would increase the risk of type II diabetes mellitus.