Whole-grain intake and its inverse relationships with fatty acids intake among multiethnic Malaysian schoolchildren

Little is known about the relationship of whole-grain intake with dietary fatty acids intake. The present study aimed to assess the whole-grain intake and its relationships with dietary fatty acids intake among multiethnic schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 392 schoolchildren aged 9-11 years, cluster sampled from five randomly selected schools in Kuala Lumpur. Whole-grain and fatty acids intakes were assessed by 3-day, 24-h diet recalls. All whole-grain foods were considered irrespective of the amount of whole grain they contained.

In total, 55.6% (n = 218) were whole-grain consumers. Mean (SD) daily intake of whole grain in the total sample was 5.13 (9.75) g day^-1 . In the whole-grain consumer's only sample, mean (SD) intakes reached 9.23 (11.55) g day^-1 . Significant inverse associations were found between whole-grain intake and saturated fatty acid (SAFA) intake (r = -0.357; P < 0.001), monosaturated fatty acid (MUFA) (r = -0.373; P < 0.001) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (r = -0.307; P < 0.001) intake. Furthermore, whole-grain intake was a significant predictor of SAFA (β = -0.077; P = 0.004), MUFA (β = -0.112; P = <0.001) and PUFA (β = -0.202; P = <0.001) intakes, after controlling for sex, age and ethnicity.

Whole-grain intake in Malaysia was well below recommendations. Schoolchildren who consumed higher whole grain tend to reduce fat intake; however, it would also reduce the SAFA, MUFA and PUFA intakes. Future collaboration may be conducted between industry, government and universities to promote unsaturated fatty acids-rich foods and whole-grain food, although not to promote processed whole-grain foods with a high sugar and salt content.