Abstract

Introduction: The lifestyle changes in college, students go through periods of physical inactivity and irregular meal times, which leads to increased consumption of processed foods and fast food. Objective: To calculate vitamins and minerals intakes for groups in the diet of Chilean university students. Methods: We studied 654 university students (18 to 24 years, 54% female), a 7-day food frequency questionnaire was used for dietary assessment, the information collected was classified into 12 groups representing each set of food, and then nutrient intake was determined. Results: The main results were: (a) women had lower intake of most micronutrients than men (b) pantothenic acid, vitamin B12 and E, calcium, magnesium and iron are nutrients that showed mean intakes below the daily recommendations, (c) the consumption of bread is essential for the supply of B vitamins, iron, copper and selenium. Conclusion: In the usual diet of college students, bread is a key to the dietary intake of B vitamins, iron, copper and selenium, as well as dairy products for calcium, meat and fish for vitamin B12 and zinc; vegetables for vitamin A and fruits for vitamin C.