The Ingestion and Perspective of Magnesium Consumption by Medicine Students: An Observational Brazilian Study

Magnesium is an important nutrient for the organism present in several enzymatic reactions. The reduced daily intake of this mineral (below 310 to 320 mg, for women, and 400 to 420 mg, for men) is associated with several chronic diseases. Thus, based on the hypothesis that medical students have a deficient intake of the mineral, this study sought to examine the intake of macronutrients by medical students at a college in the northwest of Sao Paulo and their thinking about the importance of the presence of the mineral of the diet. This research is a cross-sectional quali-quantitative study. The data used were obtained through a virtual questionnaire that contained several questions to identify gender, the notion of the importance of correct magnesium intake and the frequency of food consumption. The questionnaire was made available to academics between July and August 2020. The responses to the questionnaire were validated only after acceptance of the informed consent form. Thus, 147 responses were validated, with 92 responses from women and 55 from men. Then, from the amounts of magnesium present in food and the minimum and maximum frequencies of magnesium intake by students, the minimum (male 133.2 mg and female 128.5 mg) and maximum (male 232, 8 and female 229.5) of the daily magnesium intake by the students analyzed and their respective standard deviations, using these data, the Figure of the normal distribution for each type of daily average intake was plotted. Also, an opinion was obtained about the importance of magnesium intake on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being irrelevant and 5 essential) and, from these data, it was observed that those who considered magnesium intake to be irrelevant (3 responses) presented a minimum and a maximum average (57.03 mg / day and 149.4 mg/day, respectively) of daily mineral intake below the 64 that considered it essential (140.06 mg/day and 238 mg / day) day, respectively). Finally, it is noted that the consumption of both sexes of the interviewees is close and both the maximum mean daily magnesium intake resides below the recommended amounts for daily consumption - mainly individuals of the sex but culino, who have a recommended intake value higher daily dose (400 to 420 mg/day) than females (300 to 310 mg). Thus, this data supports the initial hypothesis of the existence of a deficient daily consumption of magnesium by medical students, also, it can be related to a lower importance attributed to the presence of magnesium in the diet to a lower average daily intake.