Promoting a healthy lifestyle during the first years of life is a key strategy for controlling obesity risk in later life; having good-quality epidemiological data on eating habits of infants and toddlers can improve awareness and possibly the education given by pediatricians to parents and children. With this aim, we performed a survey about the dietary pattern of Italian children in early childhood. We described the intake of energy, macronutrients and fiber, minerals, and vitamins of 443 Italian children (range 6.4-131 months), through a three-day food record filled out by their parents and assessed by family pediatricians. The results were compared with the Italian Dietary Reference Values. The median protein intake, in g/kg per body weight, exceeded the average requirement in all age groups, and in the 12-36 month period, the intake as % of energy was outside the reference range (>15%). The majority of the children consumed quantities of simple carbohydrates (consisting of both natural sugars and free or added sugars, 82.3% of the children in the study) and saturated fats (69% of the children in the study) above the limits of the Italian Dietary Reference Values, with low intake of fiber and polyunsaturated fats. Median mineral intake, in our study, was different depending on age, while vitamin D intake was very low in all age groups. This is one of the few studies reporting on the nutrient intake of Italian children with reference to nutrition recommendations in order to identify the principal nutritional errors. The present results underline the need for healthcare policies starting from the first years of life in order to ameliorate nutrient intake during childhood, possibly impacting long-term health outcomes.
Childhood Dietary Intake in Italy: The Epidemiological "MY FOOD DIARY" Survey / Verduci, Elvira; Banderali, Giuseppe; Montanari, Chiara; Berni Canani, Roberto; Cimmino Caserta, Luigi; Corsello, Giovanni; Mosca, Fabio; Piazzolla, Ruggiero; Rescigno, MARIA ROSARIA; Terracciano, Luigi; Troiano, Ersilia; Crosa, Marina; Maffeis, Claudio; Francavilla, Ruggiero. - In: NUTRIENTS. - ISSN 2072-6643. - 11:5(2019). [10.3390/nu11051129]
Childhood Dietary Intake in Italy: The Epidemiological "MY FOOD DIARY" Survey
Berni Canani, Roberto;RESCIGNO, MARIA ROSARIA;Terracciano, Luigi;TROIANO, Ersilia;
2019
Abstract
Promoting a healthy lifestyle during the first years of life is a key strategy for controlling obesity risk in later life; having good-quality epidemiological data on eating habits of infants and toddlers can improve awareness and possibly the education given by pediatricians to parents and children. With this aim, we performed a survey about the dietary pattern of Italian children in early childhood. We described the intake of energy, macronutrients and fiber, minerals, and vitamins of 443 Italian children (range 6.4-131 months), through a three-day food record filled out by their parents and assessed by family pediatricians. The results were compared with the Italian Dietary Reference Values. The median protein intake, in g/kg per body weight, exceeded the average requirement in all age groups, and in the 12-36 month period, the intake as % of energy was outside the reference range (>15%). The majority of the children consumed quantities of simple carbohydrates (consisting of both natural sugars and free or added sugars, 82.3% of the children in the study) and saturated fats (69% of the children in the study) above the limits of the Italian Dietary Reference Values, with low intake of fiber and polyunsaturated fats. Median mineral intake, in our study, was different depending on age, while vitamin D intake was very low in all age groups. This is one of the few studies reporting on the nutrient intake of Italian children with reference to nutrition recommendations in order to identify the principal nutritional errors. The present results underline the need for healthcare policies starting from the first years of life in order to ameliorate nutrient intake during childhood, possibly impacting long-term health outcomes.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
nutrients-11-01129 (1).pdf
accesso aperto
Tipologia:
Documento in Post-print
Licenza:
Dominio pubblico
Dimensione
331.14 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
331.14 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.