PMID: 20654253Jul 27, 2010Paper

Prevalence of nutritional inadequacy among Portuguese children

Acta Médica Portuguesa
Hugo ValentePedro Moreira

Abstract

Obesity is one of the most serious health problems in children, and it's frequently related to low activity levels and inadequate nutrition. To evaluate the prevalence of nutritional inadequacy a total of 4845 children (2445 girls and 2400 boys) aged 7-9 years old, were observed. Height and weight were measured according to international standards, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Overweight and obesity, using age- and sex-specific BMI cut-off points as defined by the International Obesity Taskforce, were used. Children's dietary intake was measured using a 24-h dietary recall by trained researchers. To evaluate nutritional inadequacy, Food and Nutrition Board Dietary Reference Intakes and World Health Organization (WHO) recommended intake goals were used. The prevalence of overweight/obesity in this sample was 30.8% and the proportion of children with an intake below the Estimated Average Intake/Adequate Intake was very low (= 10%) for the following nutrients: vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, and PP; and for magnesium, zinc, iodine, phosphorous, selenium, and iron. High prevalences of inadequacy were found for folate (60.5% in girls and 54.6% in boys), vitamin E (63.9% in girls and 59.5% in boys), calcium (45% in girls an...Continue Reading

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