Table 4.
Dietary nutrient intake during the study period
| Nutrient intake | Week | PCGa (n = 15) | FEa (n = 15) | FEMTa (n = 15) | Pb | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FEMT vs FE | FEMT vs. PCG | FE vs. PCG | |||||
| Energy (kcal) | 0 | 1496 (517) | 1196 (485) | 1343 (445) | 0.268 | 0.567 | 0.466 |
| 2 | 1365 (531) | 1309 (223) | 1387 (416) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 4 | 1549 (418) | 1373 (540) | 1467 (618) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 6 | 1507 (386) | 1256 (420) | 1448 (481) | 0.411 | 0.902 | 0.411 | |
| Protein (g) | 0 | 58.9 (23.4) | 47.4 (14.8) | 51.2 (14.4) | 0.899 | 0.899 | 0.899 |
| 2 | 53.3 (22.2) | 55.8 (17.1) | 48.0 (16.1) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 4 | 57.0 (9.6) | 51.8 (15.0) | 52.7 (26.3) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 0.736 | |
| 6 | 48.9 (20.5) | 46.5 (15.7) | 49.7 (17.5) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 0.521 | |
| Fat (g) | 0 | 55.1 (27.0) | 40.3 (19.1) | 48.0 (8.5) | 0.442 | 0.442 | 0.304 |
| 2 | 46.5 (26.4) | 35.9 (18.1) | 50.1 (14.1) | 0.439 | 0.653 | 0.619 | |
| 4 | 47.2 (32.7) | 50.2 (21.9) | 51.3 (31.4) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 6 | 52.7 (22.2) | 40.2 (12.6) | 48.5 (28.4) | 0.148 | 0.967 | 0.099 | |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 0 | 193.4 (62.0) | 172.6 (59.1) | 192.0 (58.8) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| 2 | 179.0 (68.3) | 190.9 (54.5) | 183.1 (55.3) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 4 | 184.1 (42.2) | 190.7 (61.5) | 187.6 (68.0) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 6 | 191.4 (52.6) | 175.4 (82.8) | 187.2 (50.0) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| Iron (mg) | 0 | 6.0 (1.9) | 5.5 (2.6) | 5.2 (1.9) | 0.814 | 0.814 | 0.814 |
| 2 | 5.6 (2.8) | 5.8 (2.5) | 5.2 (2.3) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 4 | 6.1 (2.4) | 5.8 (1.8) | 5.5 (2.6) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 6 | 6.7 (2.8) | 5.3 (1.7) | 6.0 (2.5) | 0.927 | 0.927 | 0.927 | |
| Retinol (µgRAE) | 0 | 146 (120.8) | 106.3 (78.5) | 140.4 (65.4) | 0.403 | 0.806 | 0.378 |
| 2 | 128.9 (51.0) | 121.6 (74.0) | 112.2 (88.8) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 4 | 131.4 (150.9) | 145.9 (89.3) | 166.1 (85.5) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 6 | 127.1 (77.8) | 123.0 (111.5) | 199.4 (125.4) | 0.146 | 0.146 | 0.852 | |
| Vitamin B12 (µg) | 0 | 3.6 (5.2) | 3.4 (5.0) | 3.3 (2.6) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| 2 | 3.8 (3.9) | 3.5 (3.8) | 2.9 (2.5) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 4 | 3.0 (2.5) | 2.6 (3.3) | 3.6 (5.2) | 0.244 | 0.244 | 0.819 | |
| 6 | 3.0 (2.1) | 4.0 (1.9) | 3.3 (5.2) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 0.374 | |
| Folic acid (µg) | 0 | 204.1 (102.2) | 189.5 (100.1) | 177.4 (81.2) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| 2 | 178.1 (84.3) | 180.6 (151.6) | 176.0 (71.2) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 4 | 213.6 (105.4) | 237.6 (138.6) | 195.0 (107.2) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 6 | 204.8 (152.4) | 188.8 (88.9) | 202.2 (102.1) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| Vitamin C (mg) | 0 | 58.9 (34.0) | 51.4 (32.2) | 49.8 (49.1) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| 2 | 33.1 (42.8) | 47.5 (42.6) | 60.0 (39.1) | 0.713 | 0.411 | 0.534 | |
| 4 | 64.9 (50.7) | 66.8 (38.1) | 47.7 (38.8) | 0.348 | 0.825 | 0.825 | |
| 6 | 47.1 (52.9) | 49.6 (24.5) | 61.5 (36.1) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| Vitamin D (µg) | 0 | 3.1 (4.8) | 1.6 (3.0) | 2.1 (5.7) | 0.595 | 0.950 | 0.595 |
| 2 | 1.8 (2.4) | 3.3 (4.1) | 2.7 (2.0) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 4 | 1.8 (2.4) | 1.7 (1.2) | 2.4 (2.9) | 0.017* | 0.186 | 0.547 | |
| 6 | 2.0 (3.9) | 3.2 (4.1) | 2.5 (4.9) | 0.958 | 0.958 | 0.958 | |
| Methionine (g) | 0 | 1.21 (0.51) | 0.94 (0.34) | 1.01 (0.42) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| 2 | 0.99 (0.50) | 1.07 (0.42) | 0.99 (0.35) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 4 | 1.26 (0.47) | 1.00 (0.37) | 1.02 (0.54) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 0.749 | |
| 6 | 1.05 (0.51) | 1.03 (0.27) | 0.94 (0.53) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| Threonine (g) | 0 | 2.08 (0.86) | 1.65 (0.58) | 1.70 (0.62) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| 2 | 1.70 (0.93) | 1.92 (0.77) | 1.70 (0.56) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
| 4 | 2.17 (0.68) | 1.82 (0.57) | 1.80 (0.99) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 0.605 | |
| 6 | 1.79 (0.87) | 1.78 (0.47) | 1.62 (0.92) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | |
Bold values represent the significantly different (*P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01)
aAll values are expressed as the median (interquartile range). PCG placebo control group; FE intervention group receiving 6 mg iron alone once daily; FEMT intervention group receiving 200 mg methionine, 400 mg threonine, and 6 mg iron once daily
bThe Mann–Whitney U test with Holm correction was used for comparison between the three groups. The test statistics are marked as *P < 0.05