Relationship between calculated dietary and crude fiber intakes of 200 college students.

Two hundred college students recorded dietary intakes for 2 consecutive days. Records were analyzed for 12 nutrients, and crude (CF) and dietary fiber (DF). Means of the 2 days were calculated to represent the daily intake of each student. The crude and dietary fiber provided by cereals and legumes, vegetables, fruits, and miscellaneous sources were determined for a subpopulation of 50 students. Mean (+/-SD) daily CF intake of the population was 4.07 +/- 2.17 g, of DF, 15.36 +/- 7.96 g. When related to energy intake, women (n = 143) consumed significantly more CF and DF than the men (n = 57). Only the cereal and legume group provided appreciably more DF than CF, 32.4 versus 18.8%, of the total daily intake of the subpopulation. The mean DF: CF ratio for the population was 3.9 +/- 1.0 and intakes of the two measures of fiber were highly correlated, r = 0.86. Intakes of CF/1000 kcal and the number of servings of cereal products may indicate when the daily DF intake is less than or equal to 3 or greater than or equal to 5 times the daily CF intake. These data suggest that for the majority of the college-aged population we studied, who consumed a wide variety of foods, a daily DF intake ranged from 3 to 5 times the daily CF intake.