Abstract
The excess intake of phosphorus has recently become an important public health concern, because of the wide spread use of processed or commercially cooked food which may contain phosphate additives. Calcium and phosphorus intakes were measured for diet consumed by twelve children in the Tokyo metropolitan and in a rural mountainous village. The dietary consumption of children was recorded by the direct observation method and the identical diet that consumed was purchased and later analyzed by atomic absorption for calcium and colormetry for phosphorus after thermal ashing of the samples.
The average ratio of calcium to phosphorus (weight basis, ca. 1) were from 1: 1.6 (urban preschool children) to 1: 2.2 (urban primary school children and rural pre-school children).
When the meals contained processed foods, the intake ratio of calcium to phosphorus tended to be greater. But when the meals contained milk, calcium from milk contributed to decrease the ratio. For both groups of children, milk was the source of calcium in snacks. Insufficient intake of calcium from meals was supplemented by snacks, in which the ratio of calcium to phosphorus (weight basis) was less than 1: 2.0.
