Dietary Intake Research in Asian Children: Significance and Challenges

Food intake studies have a long history. However, until a few decades ago, there was limited quantitative data on feeding patterns and food intake in infants and children living in South Asia. The recent SEANUT study and MING study have provided several new insights into the dietary patterns of children living in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The complexity and variety of Asian diets makes the collation of dietary information a challenge. The double burden of under-nutrition and over-nutrition is prevalent in many Asian countries. Compared to obesity, stunting is widespread in South East Asia. Our future challenge is to develop food intake assessment techniques which can be refined and made available as a common dietary assessment tool across this region. Successful nutritional intervention can only be achieved if we know what Asian children eat. Dietary intake research will be a key factor in realizing our goal to eradicate malnutrition in this region.