The source of phosphorus in a diet of 17-year-olds

Abstract

Introduction. Phosphorus is an element which naturally occurs in food. However, much phosphorus is also added to food in the form of emulsifiers, stabilizers or raising agents. The growing popularity of highly processed foods is becoming a problem because of excessive phosphorus dietary intake by children and young people.

The purpose of this work was to estimate the consumption of phosphorus and identify its sources in daily food rations of 17-year-old schoolchildren from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Province.

Material and methods. Information about the composition of ingested food ration was obtained by 24-hour recall. Based on the information on food consumption and the phosphorus content in 100 g of food products, the phosphorus content in a daily food ration was calculated. The values were compared with the norm for adolescents aged 16-18 years (EAR, Estimated Average Requirement = 1050 mg/person/day). Next, the percentage of phosphorus from six food groups in food rations for girls and boys were calculated, defining the structure of the element consumed. Differences in the phosphorus intake structure between the genders were assessed with the Mann-Whitney U test. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica.

Results. The analysis showed that young people’s diets were characterized by a high content of phosphorus. The average content of phosphorus in the daily food ration of boys was 1939.8±62.7 mg/person/day, corresponding to 184.7% of the average demand for phosphorus (EAR). For girls, the phosphorus intake was significantly lower than for boys, i.e. 1245.7±38.4 mg/person/day, equal to 118.6% of the EAR. Over 80% of ingested phosphorus originated from 3 groups of food products. The main sources of phosphorus in the diet were grain products, potatoes and animal products (milk and dairy products, meat, sausages, fish and eggs).

Conclusions. Excessive intake of phosphorus was found in the diet of adolescents.