Differences in dietary intake among Croatian adults with relationship to overweight status

There are many factors which can cause overweight, yet the nutrition is one of the most important. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to compare dietary habits, regarding daily intake of nutrients which are sources of energy (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, alcohol), dietary fibre, minerals and vitamins, for normal weight as well as for overweight persons. The research was conducted on a sample of 45 subjects (18 overweight ; BMI 27.0 kg/m2 and 27 normal weight subjects ; BMI 21.8 kg/m2). Seven-day weighed dietary records were used to obtain data on the nutrient intakes. The mean daily intakes of all nutrients, except alcohol, were higher among overweight subjects, but the difference was statistically significant for the proteins (g/day, p<0.05 and % E, p<0.01), K, P, Fe, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin C (p<0.05) intake. The statistically significant difference only for certain nutrients can be justified with the fact that a number of overweight people underreported their intake.