Twenty-four hours' energy expenditure, actual nutrition and incidence of excessive body weight were studied in 100 students (85 females and 15 males), aged 19-29. Twenty-four hours' energy expenditure in males comprised 2585.2 +/- 16.3 kcal, in females - 2434.5 +/- 7.9 kcal, calorific value was 2591.3 +/- 18.9 kcal and 2587.5 +/- 12.6 kcal, respectively. The diet of males consisted of 95.1 +/- 3.9 g protein (including 72.4 g animal protein), 122.9 +/- 8.1 g fats (including 9.7 +/- 0.9 g vegetable fats) and 276.2 +/- 7.4 g carbohydrates. The diet of females contained 93.3 +/- 2.1 g protein (including 63.8 +/- 2.7 g animal protein), 111.9 +/- 4.1 g fats (including 14.6 +/- 1.0 g vegetable fats) and 301.8 +/- 5.0 g carbohydrates. Deficiency of vitamin B, ascorbic acid, calcium and magnium (in females) was recorded in the diets of the students investigated. Their twenty-four hours' rations consisted of great amount of pastry and free animal fat, little bread (especially, brown bread), and lactic acid foods (with a low content of fat), vegetables and fruit. Excessive body weight was detected in 18% of the students.