Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Technologia Alimentaria

Introduction. Diet plays an important role in prevention of atherosclerosis. The objective of the study was to assess differences in the dietary intake and nutritional status in women and men in terms of atherogenesis risk.
Material and methods. The study involved 41 women and 49 men aged 40+. The nutrient intake was assessed using 7-day dietary records. The nutritional status was estimated on the basis of antropometric measurements and biochemical blood parameters. The differences between diets and the nutritional status depending on sex was evaluated by oneway analysis of variance. The dependencies between the nutritional status and the diet factors were assessed using multiple regression.
Results and discussion. It was found that a significant proportion of the women and men were overweight or obese, had lipid disorders and impaired fasting glucose. Diets of women and men were poorly balanced. A significant correlation between the level of energy from protein, as well as the energy supply and the LDL cholesterol concetration was found in the women. A positive correlation between energy from protein as well as total energy in the diet and body weight, was observed in women and men. Moreover, protein intake was positively correlated with BMI and waist circumference among the men. In the men, the level of serum triglycerides correlated with an increase in dietary cholesterol and a decrease in energy value.
Conclusion. This study indicates that an inadequate diet among both men and women represents a real health danger of developing atherosclerotic plaque.