2002 Volume 48 Issue 2 Pages 102-108
The awareness of phosphorus intake is important because hyperphosphatemia and hypophosphatemia both impair bone metabolism. Phosphorus consumption from food was obtained from values in the Food Balance Sheet (FBS) of Japan from 1960 to 1995. The amounts of phosphorus calculated from the FBS increased gradually from 1, 243mg/d in 1960 to 1, 332mg/d in 1975 and to 1, 421mg/d in 1995. This is explained by the increased consumption of cow's milk and milk products, meat, and chicken eggs. The main foods supplying phosphorus in 1995 were cereals, milk and milk products, fishes and shellfishes, and vegetables; their contributions were 24.4, 15.8, 14.2, and 10.9%, respectively. The phosphorus-to-calcium ratio calculated from the FBS was 3.51 in 1960, which decreased to 2.89 in 1975 and 2.44 in 1995. Therefore total phosphorus consumption in 1995 was presumably more than 1, 500mg/d when imported food containing phosphorus and the consumption of phosphorus-containing food additives in Japan are also considered. These findings suggest that the phosphorus consumption estimated from the FBS is increasing and that more attention should be paid to the maintenance of healthy bones in Japan, where the average amount of calcium intake is less than 600m/d.
