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Table 4 Food group and macronutrient intake of women in the young cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, who met the Nutrient Reference Values for folate, iron, calcium, zinc and fibre, recommended for each life stage based on dietary intake only1

From: Disparities exist between National food group recommendations and the dietary intakes of women

 

Adults 19-60 years

Pregnancy

Breastfeeding

Diet Type2

High-Extras Diet

(n957)

Optimal Diet

(n67)

High-Extras Diet

(n105)

Optimal Diet

(n6)

High-Extras Diet

(n234)

Optimal Diet

(n16)

 

n

n

n

n

n

n

Pregnancy Group

            

Trying to conceive

58

2

4

-

12

-

Pregnant

108

11

12

-

32

4

Birth < 12 months ago

154

5

24

1

45

2

Other

637

49

65

5

145

10

 

Median

IQR

Median

IQR

Median

IQR

Median

IQR

Median

IQR

Median

IQR

Food groups

            

Breads/cereals (servings/d)

4.0

3.3-4.9

4.2

3.2-4.9

5.9

4.8-7.2

6.7

4.9-8.3

5.0

4.2-6.2

5.2

4.0-6.5

Fruit (servings/d)

3.1

2.1-4.4

3.6

2.3-4.9

3.5

2.2-5.6

4.9

4.2-5.8

3.9

2.4-5.6

3.9

2.4-5.4

Vegetables (servings/d)

3.2

2.4-4.2

3.6

2.8-4.5

3.8

2.5-4.9

4.2

3.5-4.9

3.6

2.6-4.6

3.4

3.2-4.8

Dairy (servings/d)

2.2

1.8-2.9

2.5**

2.1-3.0

2.4

1.8-3.2

3.4**

2.9-5.3

2.4

1.8-3.1

2.9*

2.3-3.8

Meat/alternatives (servings/d)

2.2

1.6-3.1

1.8***

1.2-2.5

3.1

1.8-4.4

2.4

1.6-3.4

2.6

1.8-3.7

1.9*

1.3-2.9

Extras (servings/d)

5.9

4.1-8.2

1.8***

1.2-2.2

7.1

5.7-10.7

1.1***

0.6-1.7

6.8

4.9-9.6

1.8***

0.6-2.3

Macronutrients

            

Energy (MJ)

10.6

9.0-12.6

7.7***

6.8-8.7

14.3

13.7-14.8

11.1**

8.8-13.3

13.0

12.6-13.4

9.5***

8.3-10.7

% total fat

35.1

31.2-38.5

26.2***

22.8-30.2

34.1

31.2-37.8

23.5***

20.3-29.3

34.3

30.3-38.2

26.0***

20.8-29.4

% saturated fat

14.4

12.1-16.6

9.7***

7.6-11.9

14.5

12.4-16.4

7.8**

5.8-8.9

14.1

11.9-16.3

8.8***

7.1-10.0

% monounsaturated fat

12.3

10.9-12.6

9.1***

7.6-10.8

12.0

10.7-13.5

8.2**

6.5-9.7

12.0

10.7-13.5

9.2***

6.7-10.8

% polyunsaturated fat

4.7

3.8-5.9

4.1***

3.0-5.5

4.5

3.7-5.4

4.0

3.1-10.1

4.6

3.6-5.8

4.2

3.2-6.4

% carbohydrate

43.4

39.8-46.9

49.2***

44.1-54.1

45.1

40.3-48.9

52.2**

48.9-56.9

44.3

40.8-48.1

49.5***

44.7-54.8

% protein

19.7

17.8-21.6

21.4***

19.4-24.0

19.1

17.2-22.0

21.1

18.9-23.9

19.6

17.6-21.6

22.6**

19.0-23.9

  1. CI, Confidence Interval. Statistically significant difference compared with the 'High-Extras Diet' of the same life stage: *P < 0 < 05, **P < 0 < 01, ***P < 0 < 001.
  2. 1 Nutrient Reference Values (a) Adults: Folate = 320 μg, Iron = 8 mg, Calcium = 840 mg, Zinc = 6.5 mg, Fibre = 25 g (b) Pregnancy: Folate = 520 μg, Iron = 22 mg, Calcium = 840 mg, Zinc = 9 mg, Fibre = 28 g (c) Breastfeeding: Folate = 450 μg, Iron = 6.5 mg, Calcium = 840 mg, Zinc = 10 mg, Fibre = 30 g. National Health and Medical Research Council: Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand. Canberra, Commonwealth of Australia; 2006.
  3. 2 High-Extras Diet, refers to women who achieved the EAR for folate, iron, calcium, zinc and AI for fibre AND consumed high non-core, 'extra' foods that contributed to macronutrient profiles for energy and saturated fat intakes above dietary recommendations; Optimal Diet, refers to the women who achieved the EAR for folate, iron, calcium, zinc and AI for fibre AND consumed less than 2.5 'extra' foods per day.
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