Nutritional Evaluation of Chinese Working Women in the City of Tainan, Taiwan

Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 1997, 181 (3)

Nutritional Evaluation of Chinese Working Women in the City of Tainan, Taiwan

SHINICHIRO SHIMBO¹, CHAN-SEOK MOON², ZUO-WEN ZHANG², TAKAO WATANABE³, YUE-LIANG LEON GUO⁴, WEN-CHUAN MA⁴, HARUO NAKATSUKA⁵, CHEAU-JANE PENG⁶ and MASAYUKI IKEDA^2,7
¹Department of Food and Nutrition, Kyoto Women's University, Kyoto 605, ²Department of Public Health, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto 606-01, ³Miyagi University of Education, Sendai 980, ⁴Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan 70428, Taiwan, Republic of China, ⁵Department of Environmental Sciences, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai 980 - 77, ⁶Department of Nutrition, National Cheng Kung University Medical Center, Tainan 70428, Taiwan, Republic of China, and ⁷Kyoto Industrial Health Association, Kyoto 604

Nutritional survey was conducted in 1994 in Tainan City, southern Taiwan. Total food duplicate samples were collected from 52 women volunteers. Clinical examinations, anthropometry, hematology and serum biochemistry were also conducted. The intakes of nutrients were estimated from the weights of food items in reference to the standard food composition tables for Taiwanese. On average, the participants took 1,973 kcal energy, 69 g protein, 73 g lipid and 269 g carbohydrate per day. Animal-based foods accounted for 49% and 36% of protein and lipid sources, respectively, but fish and shellfish contributed only 11% for protein and essentially nil for lipid. Lunch was the most substantial meal of the day. When classified by age (i.e., 22-29, 30-39 and 40-66 year-old groups), no age-relatcd difference was detected among the three groups in all nutrients except for crude fiber. Comparison with recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for Taiwanese, the insufficiency ratios were more than 50% for minerals (i.e., Fe and Ca) and vitamins (except for vitamin C). Excess in the lipid energy ratio ( > 30% ) was observed in 60% of the study population. In agreement with this high lipid intake, 17% of the participants had BMI of > 25, and triglyceride levels were elevated ( > 150 mg/ 100 ml) in 27%. There was no anemic case despite the low Fe intake (14 mg/day).
Key words--- Chinese women; lipid; nutrient intake; overweight; Tainan

Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 1997, 181, 339-352

Address for reprints: Masayuki Ikeda. Present address; Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604, Japan.

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