Intake of fiber-rich foods among medical and dietetics students from University of Medicine and Pharmacy

Background: Romania was found to be the country with the highest frequency of obesity in the EU, also cardiovascular diseases and cancer represent the main cause of mortality. Diet is an important associated factor for a number of complex chronic diseases, such as obesity, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. One of the cause of these is the low intake of fibers from diet. Our objective was to assess the total dietary fiber intake, consumption habits and the knowledge about food fibres among our medical students, also to identify the major sources of dietary fiber from menu. Material and methods: Our study was based on a cross-sectional evaluation using a questionnaire filled in by our students in 2015, regarding their food behavior, food intake and knowledge about fiber importance. The average participant’s age was around 22 years old. Data analysis was performed using SPSS, version 19.0. Results: The mean dietary fiber intake were 18.7 g/day for medical students and 24.4 g/day for dietetics students, lower than the intake level recommended by the Romanian Dietary Guidelines (25 g per day for women and 38 g per day for men). Foods with the highest frequency of daily intake for medical students were white bread (at 91%), butter (64%), milk (84.5%), vegetables (77%), fruits (22%) and low-nutritious foods (62%). Only 7% of the dietetics students said they have fiber-rich foods daily in their menu. The level of nutrients intake didnt reflect major signs of concern in the proportion of protein (14.3%), carbohydrates (58.7%) or lipids (27%), being close to OMS recommendations. Conclusion: Food labels are generally known to have an important role in communicating product-related information to consumers and are considered to have the potential to influence food choice and dietary behaviour. However, tis is not enough, being necessary to sustain a proper community intervention in schools and universities to inform young people about the importance of fibers in the menu