Dietary intakes and anthropometric indices of 337 adults from Cyprus

Purpose: There is increasing evidence that diets high in energy, saturated fatty acids, cholesterol and low in fiber and antioxidants may lead to cardiovascular disease, hypertension and cancer. The purpose of this paper is to investigate, for the first time, the anthropometric measurements and dietary intakes of a randomly selected and representative sample of men and women from Cyprus and compare them with the recent recommended dietary guidelines for adults. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of 337 individuals was selected using the method of stratified random sampling, with proportional percentage of women (51.5 per cent) and men (48.5 per cent). Anthropometric and dietary characteristics were recorded for all subjects. Findings: Males were found to have significantly (p<0.001) higher levels of weight, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, basal metabolic rate, as well as lean body mass and lower body fat levels, compared to females. Both genders were found to have significantly lower intakes of vitamin A, B6, calcium and magnesium and significantly higher amounts of vitamin C, B1, B2, and iron (p<0.001) compared to DRIs, respectively. In linear regression analysis, after adjustment for age and gender, BMI was found to be positively related to age, waist circumference, energy and saturated fatty acids (p<0.001) but inversely related to fiber (p<0.001). Originality/value: The paper gives information to nutritionists and clinical dieticians, including new data about dietary intakes and anthropometric measurements of Cypriot adults.