Serum Vitamin C of Iowa School Children and its Relationship to Diet and Age

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Abstract
Data useful in defining the nutritional status with respect to vitamin C have been obtained from about 650 boys and girls in Iowa towns and cities. Decreasing concentrations of vitamin C in the serum (except girls over 14 years of age) and decreasing intakes of vitamin C per kilogram body weight were associated with increasing age. From 15 years of age, the concentration of vitamin C in the blood serum of girls increased although there was no comparable change in intake. More children over 12 years of age than children under 12 years of age were classified as poor or fair according to the categories suggested by Bessey and Lowry. The calculated intake of vitamin C from vitamin C-rich foods only was as good as total vitamin C intake for predicting blood serum concentrations of this nutrient; intake per kilogram body weight was a somewhat better predictor of serum concentrations than was total intake per day. None of these measures of intake was a precise predictor of the vitamin C concentration in the serum. Mean intakes of vitamin C similar to the Recommended Allowances were associated with mean serum concentrations lower than 0.8 mg% in children beyond 11 or 12 years of age.