Assessment of Macro-mineral Content of Restaurant-prepared Lunch Meals on a University Campus in Ghana

Abstract

Inadequate dietary intake of potassium, calcium, and magnesium, combined with excessive sodium consumption, is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. Recent studies have reported increasing prevalence of hypertension among university students and staff in Ghana. Because restaurant-prepared food is a major source of lunch meals for this population, it is imperative to assess the macro-mineral composition of these meals. Therefore, this study assessed the sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium contents of restaurant-prepared lunch meals served on a university campus in Ghana. Fifteen different lunch meals, five from each of three restaurants (A, B and C) were purposively sampled on a university campus in Kumasi, Ghana. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry was performed to analyze the macro-mineral contents of homogenized and chemically digested food samples. Banku with grilled tilapia dish from restaurant C had the highest sodium content (174.40 mg). Fufu and groundnut soup dish from restaurant A had the highest potassium content (212.50 mg). In the present study, Jollof rice with chicken dish from restaurant A had the highest calcium content (165.74 mg). Levels of magnesium were high across the three restaurants. Except for magnesium, the macro-mineral contents of the meals were considerably lower than the recommended dietary allowance. There were no statistically significant differences in the macro-mineral contents of the food samples across the three restaurants (p > 0.05). This study found that restaurant-prepared lunch meals had low amounts of sodium, potassium and calcium, and high amounts of magnesium. Findings from this study could inform campus food policy decisions to improve the health of the university community and curb the rising prevalence of hypertension among university students and staff in Ghana.