Vitamin E intake and food sources in Brazilian teenagers
What it found
Teenagers in Campinas, Brazil, ate far less vitamin E than recommended, with vegetable oils as the main source.
Almost a third of their vitamin E came from ultra-processed foods like cookies, snacks and margarine.
What they found
Studies in people
Intake far below recommendations
Teens aged 10 to 13 ate an average of 3.2 mg of vitamin E per day, and those aged 14 to 19 ate 3.5 mg. The recommended amounts are 9 mg and 12 mg, so most teens fell short.
Most teens fell short
92.5% of the teenagers did not get enough vitamin E from their diet. The problem was worse in the older group, where 95.1% fell short, compared with 87.7% in the younger group.
Main food sources
Ten foods or food groups provided 85.7% of the vitamin E in their diets. Vegetable oils were the biggest source at 25.5%, followed by cookies at 9.1% and beans at 8.9%.
Ultra-processed foods
Almost 33% of the vitamin E came from ultra-processed foods such as cookies, packaged snacks and margarine. Healthy sources like whole grains, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables did not make the top ten list.
Little difference by background
Vitamin E intake did not differ much by race, family income, parents' education or school type. In the younger group, girls ate slightly more vitamin E than boys.
What the authors conclude
“There were a low intake and a high prevalence of inadequate vitamin E intake among adolescents in Campinas, with vegetable oil as the main source.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the teenagers had low vitamin E intake and a high prevalence of inadequacy, with vegetable oil as the main source.
- They note that almost 33% of the nutrient came from foods of poor nutritional quality such as cookies, packaged snacks and margarine.
- They say the results can guide public health actions to improve the quality of adolescents' diets.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see how much vitamin E teenagers eat and where it comes from, because vitamin E is an antioxidant that may help prevent heart disease, and little was known about intake in this group.
They surveyed 891 adolescents aged 10 to 19 in Campinas, Brazil, asking what they ate in the past 24 hours. They compared average vitamin E intake to recommended amounts and worked out which foods provided the most vitamin E.
What it can’t tell you
- This study asked teenagers what they ate in the past 24 hours, so it cannot show their usual long-term intake.
- It can show a link between diet and vitamin E intake, but it cannot prove that eating certain foods causes health problems.
- The results are specific to teenagers in Campinas, Brazil, and may not apply to other places.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interests.
The paper
- Title
- VITAMIN E INTAKE AND FOOD SOURCES IN ADOLESCENT DIET: A CROSS-SECTIONAL POPULATION-BASED STUDY
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Jordão KSLU, Assumpção D, Barros MBA, Barros Filho AA (2020). VITAMIN E INTAKE AND FOOD SOURCES IN ADOLESCENT DIET: A CROSS-SECTIONAL POPULATION-BASED STUDY. Revista paulista de pediatria. doi:10.1590/1984-0462/2021/39/2019295Free full textPubMed 33331545DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error