Abstract
Eating habits are an important factor for children during the growth stage for the maintenance of health. In recent years, the dependency on of mainly processed restaurant food is getting greater and this tendency is considered to be affecting the formation of bone tissue.
The authors investigated the nutrition values of food specimens obtained from eating establishments. This investigation was aimed mainly at minerals in relation to bone formation.
The results were as follows:
1. Calcium, magnesium, and iron were low in content in these food specimens. As to calcium, in particular, some contained only 1/3 to 1/4 of the required quantity. The magnesium content also in some was only 1/4 of the required. quantity. If such food is taken as a meal, there will bea great shortage of calcium, magnesium, and iron. Such food should be taken as a snack, not as a meal.
2. As to the ratio of calcium and phosphorus, the valuesvaried widely and some contained four to six times more phosphorus than calcium. As to the ratio also of calcium and magnesium, a great variation was seen from one menu to another menue.
3. Iron tended to be insufficient in any case.
4. Among the microelements zinc, copper, and magnanses, zinc and copper tended to be insufficient. Manganese, on the other hand, was close to the proper quantity for ingestion.
