Food consumption and nutritional status of 13 year old village and city schoolboys in Fars province, Iran† ‡

Abstract

Height, weight, food consumption, proximate composition and lysine, methionine, calcium and zinc contents of mixed diets of 13 and 14 year old boys from seven villages in Fars Province, Iran, and three schools in Shiraz were measured. Three separate collections of food were made in winter, spring and summer. The results were compared with estimated requirements. The average weights of both groups and the heights of the village boys were equivalent to those of 8 to 11 year old boys in the U.S.A. The average heights of city boys were significantly higher than those of village boys. Diets of both city and village boys were low in calories, protein, fat and calcium, and the diets of both groups showed low lysine and methionine scores. Of the two amino acids the latter was the more limiting.