Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate, using anthropometric measurements, the nutritional status of postmenopausal women and men over 45, and also to estimate the intakes and dietetic sources of iron and vitamin C.
Material and methods: 125 men and 176 women, aged 40 to 93 years, from two health centres and from Blood Donor Centre of Cartagena (Murcia) participated in the study. An anthropometric evaluation and a food intake frequency survey focusing on the previous month were carried out: Spanish food composition tables were used to asses the iron and vitamin C contents. To evaluate the diet in relation to iron and vitamin C, the estimated and recommended intakes for the Spanish population were compared.
Results: The distribution of weight and height, according to sex and age groups, showed significantly higher values for men than for women, and showed a significant decrease with ageing. The body mass index (BMI) reached a maximum value at the age of 59 years or less in men, and from 60 to 69 in women. The prevalence of obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) and low weight (BMI < 20 kg/m2) was higher among the women than among the men. The P50 of the estimated iron mean intakes were 16.2 and 15.2 mg/day for men and women, respectively, and those of vitamin C were 145.1 and 147.5 mg/day, for men and women, respectively. The main dietetic sources of iron were meat, vegetables and cereals, and those of vitamin C were fruits and vegetables.
Conclusions: The estimated mean iron intake was higher than the recommended intake, and vitamin C intake was more than double the recommended level. The majority of the studied population had a satisfactory nutritional status (estimated by anthropometric measures).