Nutrient intake among Samoan children aged 2-4 years in 2015
Courtney C Choy1, Avery A Thompson2, Christina Soti-Ulberg3
1a Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health , Brown University , Providence , RI , USA.
Background:
Young children are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition as nutrition transition progresses. The aim of this study was to examine the adequacy of macro- and micronutrient intake among 2-4.99-year-old Samoan children.
Methods:
Child dietary intake was measured using a 117-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with a 30-day reference period. Daily total energy and nutrient intake was calculated by multiplying the frequency of daily consumption by the nutrient content of a fixed, standard portion size. Adequacy of macro- and micronutrient intake was determined using age-specific US Dietary Guidelines.
Results:
Most children met or exceeded recommendations for carbohydrate, fat and protein intake. More than half of the sample were not meeting the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for calcium (59.0%), 44.6% were not meeting RDA for potassium and intake of vitamin A and E was inadequate among 25.9% and 25.6%, respectively. Eighty per cent of children exceeded the tolerable upper limit for sodium. Adequacy of intake varied by age and census region of residence.
Conclusion:
Since inadequate dietary micronutrient intake was more common among older children (4-4.99 years) and those in the rural region, intervention should be targeted at those groups.
Related Concept Videos
Criteria for Aromaticity and the Hückel 4n + 2 Rule
For the first time, Eric Hückel, a German chemical physicist, derived a set of structural features for a compound to be classified as aromatic. This is now known as Hückel’s rule or the 4n +...
[4+2] Cycloaddition of Conjugated Dienes: Diels–Alder Reaction
Absorption of Nutrients
Enterocytes, which are specialized polar epithelial cells, line the mucosa of the small intestinal walls. These cells...
Regulation of Water Intake
Regulation of Food Intake
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...


