Fewer than 1 in 4 of nutrition students actually consumed RDA of Vitamin D – May 2013

Do Dutch nutrition and dietetics students meet nutritional requirements during education?

Public Health Nutr. 2013 May 10:1-8.
van der Kruk JJ, Jager-Wittenaar H, Nieweg RM, van der Schans CP.
Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Professorship in Health Care and Nursing, Eyssoniusplein 18, 9714 CE Groningen, The Netherlands.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the dietary intakes of Dutch nutrition and dietetics students with the Dutch RDA and the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey (DNFCS), and to assess whether dietary intake changes during education.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional and longitudinal research (2004-2010).

SETTING: Data collection by 7 d dietary record and questionnaire.

SUBJECTS: Dutch nutrition and dietetics students.

RESULTS: Three hundred and fifty-two first-year and 216 fourth-year students were included. One hundred and thirty-three students in three cohorts were assessed twice. Of first-year students, >80 % met the RDA for all macronutrients. Of these students only 37 % met the RDA for fibre and in 43 % intake of saturated fat was too high. Fourth-year students more often met the RDA for fruits (55 %) and vegetables (74 %) compared with first-year students (32 % and 40 %, respectively). Intake of fruits and vegetables of both first- and fourth-year students was much higher than that of DNFCS participants (where 2 % and 7 %, respectively, met the corresponding RDA). Only <25 % of fourth-year students met the RDA for Fe, Se and vitamin D. In the cohorts, dietary intake for all macronutrients stabilised from the first to the fourth year (>80 %). Intakes of dietary fibre, Ca, Mg, Se, riboflavin, niacin, fruits, vegetables and fish improved significantly during education.

CONCLUSIONS: Dietary intake of nutrition and dietetics students is much better than that of DNFCS participants and improved during education. However, there is still a gap between actual dietary intake and the RDA, especially for Fe, Se and vitamin D.

PMID: 23659552

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Comment by Vitamin D Life

Even the people who have studied the importance of nutrients for 4 years get a small amount of vitamin D.
Only 1 in 4 get even the RDA, which is typically extremely small.
RDA in Netherlands was apparently 400 IU as of 2012

See also Vitamin D Life

• Med training still less than 25 hours in nutrition - much less vitamin D - Sept 2010 Doctors get just 25 hours of nutrition training,
• 1 in 4 medical schools have a nutrition course and nutrition counseling is rarely reimbursed, – JAMA Sept 2017
• Medical students in Pakistan – 1 in 3 aware than sun creates Vitamin D, 1 in 12 get noon sun – Jan 2015
• All items in category Follow-thru Vitamin D 9 items
• Avoiding the sun (and vitamin D) – most Chinese medical students do not want darker skins – Feb 2015