ENERGY AND NUTRIENT INTAKE IN MEXICAN WOM EN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE

Objective. To analyze energy and nutrient consumption in Mexican women from 12 to 49 years of age. Material and methods. Dietetic informatio n was gathered by a 24 h recall from 9 101 women who participated in t he National Nutrition Survey conducted in 1988. These data were compar ed with sociodemographic and physiologic characteristics. Nutrient con sumption was compared with the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA). Var iance analysis and t-test were used to evaluate group differences. Res ults. Mean energy consumption was 1721 kcal per day. The diet consiste d of 15% protein, 60% carbohydrates and 25% fat. The proportion of wom en with dietary intakes lower than 50% of the RDA was 70% for vitamin A, 75% for vitamin B6, 56% for vitamin C, 33% for vitamin B12, 69% for folate, 33% for calcium and 22% for iron. Conclusion. Results show im portant deficiencies in the diet, predominantly in pregnant and lactat ing women, in women from low socioeconomic levels and in rural and ind igenous women of south of the Mexican republic.