A Nutritional Survey of Buddhist Nuns

채식을 하는 승려들의 영양실태에 관한 연구 I - 운문사 여승들에 대한 사례연구를 중심으로 -

A nutritional survey was made in 45 healthy Buddhist nuns (age : 20-34 yr) who have been vegetarians for more than 5 years and 20 female college students (aga : 20-22 yr) as a control group in Kyungpook province. Daily calorie intake of the Buddhist nuns and students were 1947 and 1815 kcal, respectively. The ratio of percent calorie of carbohydrate : fat : protein from total calories in the Buddhist nuns was 84 : 11 : 5 and that of the students was 70 : 15 : 15, respecting. The Buddhist nuns had significatly higher carbohydrate intake but markedly lower lipid intake than the students. Daily intakes of thiamin, niacin and ascorbic acid in the Buddhist nuns were higher, but those of iron, calcium and vitamin A were lower than the recommended daily allowances. Compared with the students, the Buddhist nuns had greater intakes of ascorbic acid, vitamin A, thiamin, niacin, and calcium. Anthropometric measurement showed that the Buddhist nuns had significantly higher values than the students in body weight, skinfold thickness, body surface area, and obesity index. There were highly significant correlations between anthropometric measurements and obesity index(0.55< r <0.99). On the other hands, correlation coefficients between nutrients intakes and skinfold thickness and obesity were very low(0.01< r <0.37). The Buddhist nuns and students showed similar normal values of hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, and blood pressure.