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Preschool diets in children from Piła, Poland, require urgent intervention as implied by high risk of nutrient
Sylwia Merkiel1, Wojciech Chalcarz2
1Food and Nutrition Department, The Eugeniusz Piasecki University School of Physical Education in Poznan, Królowej Jadwigi 27/39 Street, 61-871, Poznan, Poland. sylwiamerkiel@awf.poznan.pl.
Insights
Preschool children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Dietary Assessment
- Public Health
Background:
- Limited research exists on preschool children's nutritional intake during school hours.
- Previous studies post-2000 have rarely focused on energy and nutrient intake in preschool settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the dietary intake of preschool children during their time at preschool.
- To identify potential nutritional gaps and excesses in preschool diets.
Main Methods:
- A 5-day weighed food record was used to estimate energy and macronutrient intake in 128 Polish preschoolers (ages 4-6).
- Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated from measured height and weight.
- Data analysis was stratified by gender using IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0.
Main Results:
- Energy intake varied significantly with BMI, from underweight (478 kcal) to obese (809 kcal) children.
- Boys had higher energy intake from lactose and lower vitamin C intake compared to girls.
- Excessive intake of saturated fatty acids, sucrose, and sodium were observed, alongside inadequate intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids, fiber, water, vitamin D, E, folate, niacin, calcium, and potassium.
Conclusions:
- Preschool diets require significant improvement to mitigate future diet-related diseases.
- Observed dietary inadequacies align with existing research on preschool menus.
- Further research and EU-wide regulations are recommended for ensuring adequate preschool nutrition.
Background:
Among the studies published after the year 2000 which focused on nutrition at preschool, only three aimed to assess children's intake of energy and selected nutrients at preschool. The purpose of this study was to assess dietary intake in children during their stay at preschool.
Methods:
The studied population comprised 128 4-6-year-old children who attended preschools in Piła, Poland. Intakes of energy and macronutrients were estimated from a 5-day weighed food record completed by the preschool staff. Weight and height were measured, and BMI was calculated. Statistical analysis was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0 computer programme. The data were analysed according to gender.
Results:
Energy intake was the lowest in children with underweight, 2004 kJ (478 kcal), and the highest in obese children, 3388 kJ (809 kcal). Energy intake from lactose was statistically significantly higher in boys than in girls, 3.0 vs 2.6 %. Statistically significantly higher percentage of boys in comparison to girls had intakes of vitamin C below 70 % of EAR, 56.9 vs 38.1 %. It is important to highlight the excessive intake of energy from saturated fatty acids and energy from sucrose, along with inadequate intake of energy from polyunsaturated fatty acids. We also found excessive intake of sodium and inadequate intakes of dietary fibre, water, vitamin D, vitamin E, folate, niacin, calcium and potassium.
Conclusions:
Preschool diets need urgent improvement to prevent diet-related diseases in the studied preschoolers in the future. The inadequacies observed in these diets are in accordance with the previously reported inadequacies in menus planned for preschoolers. More research is needed to investigate dietary intake of children during their stay at preschool. Common regulations worked out for all preschools in the European Union would be a good way to provide adequate nutrition to preschool children.
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