[Dietary behavior of the French child]

For 0 to 1 year old children, breast feeding represents a perfect reference. From the composition of maternal milk and the amount taken by a well developing child, some precise data can be drawn. These data were, in fact, utilized for preparing the maternized milks which must be, to-day the only substitute for human milk when, for any real reason, a mother is not able to feed her own baby. For older children and for adolescents, the data are incredibly rare. The few inquiries now available show some concordance on calories, glucides and lipides, but diverge strongly on proteins and calcium requirement. This lack of information does not seem to embarrass much physicians and dieticians in prescribing some measured diets to their patients; but, from a scientific point of view, this absence of data prevents strongly from understanding the studies made, for instance, on spontaneous diet in diabetic or obese children. A coordinated study, using revised nutritional tables, should be undertaken.