Energy and nutrient intake of a group of adolescent girls from Benin.

Energy and nutrient intakes are important health variables particularly during adolescence. The dietary intake of 100 adolescent girls aged 14–16 years from Benin was investigated. Fifty adolescents were boarding at the school, while 50 lived at home. Dietary intakes were obtained by a 48‐hour recall and absorbable iron intakes were estimated using Monsen's model. The following methods were used to estimate inadequacy in nutrient intakes: the AI (calcium and vitamin D) and EAR cut‐point method (for all other nutrients except iron). The probability approach was used to estimate inadequacy in iron intake. Energy intakes were compared to the Total Energy Expenditure calculated for each subject using age, height, weight and physical activity level. Girls boarding at the school had significantly higher intakes of energy and nutrients compared to girls living at home, except for vitamin A, E and folate. While 73% of adolescents met the recommendation for dietary iron intake, only 27% had estimated absorbable iron intake above the average requirement for absorbed iron. Also, 95–100% of subjects had intakes of vitamin E, folate, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium below the recommendations, while these percentages varied between 59–85% for thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin C, A and zinc and between 14–33% for energy, proteins, selenium, niacin and vitamin B 12 . Thus, dietary improvement, including increased consumption of micronutrient‐rich foods are greatly needed in these young adolescents.