[Survey on the status of dietary vitamin a intakes in Chinese residents].

OBJECTIVE: To describe the intake status of dietary vitamin A and the trends of the intakes from 1982 to 2002 in Chinese residents. METHODS: This paper was based on the data collected in "the Nutrition and Health Status of the Chinese People in 2002". The subjects in the dietary survey were 68 965 residents from 23 470 households. RESULTS: The average retinol equivalent intake in per day was 469.2 microg for per reference man. The residents with the retinol equivalent intake equal or higher than RNI accounted for 14.5% and those with the intake lower than 20% of the RNI accounted for 23.2%. The retinol equivalent intake in type III rural areas was the lowest among all the areas with only 9.7% residents having intakes equal or higher than RNI. The intakes of the retinol equivalent increased with the mounting of income level. The average retinol equivalent intake was not seen improved during the past twenty years. CONCLUSION: The dietary intake of vitamin A could be lower in Chinese residents.