Resumen

BALBUENA, Clarisse  y  SANABRIA, Marta Cristina. Consumption of dairy products in adolescent girls age 15 to 18 in a high school in Asuncion, Paraguay. Pediatr. (Asunción) [online]. 2007, vol.34, n.1, pp.24-30. ISSN 1683-9803.

Introduction: Osteoporosis has become a topic of pediatric interest because bone mineral density (BMD) in adults is dependent on the peak bone-mass achieved during childhood and adolescence. Various factors affect the accretion of bone mass, among them are calcium consumption, especially through dairy products, and physical activities. Objective: To evaluate the daily consumption of calcium from dairy products, assess the nutritional state, and describe risk factors related to osteoporosis in adolescent girls ages 15 to 18 at a public high school in Asuncion, Paraguay. Materials and Methods: Observational and descriptive design with a cross-sectional analytical component. A total of 100 adolescent girls were included and their nutritional status evaluated according to body mass index (BMI), stature- for-age (CDC, 2000), mid-upper arm circumference, and triceps skinfold. Consumption of dairy products was evaluated through a nutritional survey taken during October 2006. Risk factors were described by means of a self-administered multiple-choice questionnaire. Statistics: Parametric and non-parametric measures of central tendency, such as the Chi squared and Fisher Exact Test were used. Significance was considered to be p<0.05. The SPSS 9.0, Excel 5.0, and Statistica 4.5 programs were used. Results: Only 7% of the adolescents in the study consumed the 4 portions of dairy products recommended for their age group. The average consumption of calcium from dairy products was 492 mg/day. We found a prevalence of being overweight of 8%, and of obesity of 5%. Some 9% of the adolescents were of short stature. Conclusions: The majority of adolescents do not consume the recommended amount of calcium.

Palabras clave : Calcium; Dairy Products; Adolescent.

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