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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Dietary nutrient patterns among preschool children aged 3-6 and the correlation with being overweight and obese
Huanhuan Huang1, Qian Ma1, Jie Ding2
1Department of Child Healthcare, Jiashan Maternal and Child Health Hospital Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China.
Insights
Dietary patterns are linked to overweight and obesity in preschool children. Overweight children consumed more meat, while normal-weight children ate more milk and vegetables, indicating a significant correlation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Public Health
- Childhood Obesity
Background:
- Childhood overweight and obesity are significant public health concerns.
- Understanding dietary patterns is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies.
- Preschool years are a critical period for establishing lifelong eating habits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate dietary nutrient patterns in preschool children aged 3-6 years.
- To analyze the relationship between specific dietary nutrients and the prevalence of overweight and obesity.
Main Methods:
- A stratified cluster sampling method surveyed 19,529 preschool children (aged 3-6) in Jiashan County.
- Overweight and obesity were assessed using World Health Organization (WHO) recommended BMI-for-age and weight-for-height methods.
- Dietary nutrient patterns were determined through food frequency surveys and dietary reviews.
Main Results:
- Overweight/obese children showed significantly higher intake of livestock and poultry meat across age groups.
- Significant differences in consumption of grains, eggs, milk, vegetables, potatoes, fish, legumes, fruits, and oils were observed between normal-weight and overweight/obese children (P<0.05).
- Overweight/obese children generally consumed higher amounts of most food groups and overall nutrients compared to normal-weight peers, who had higher milk and vegetable intake.
Conclusions:
- A significant correlation exists between dietary nutrient patterns and the status of being overweight or obese in preschool children.
- Dietary interventions targeting specific food groups may help manage weight in this age group.
- Further research into precise nutrient intake and its impact on childhood obesity is warranted.
Objective:
To investigate the dietary nutrient patterns in preschool children aged 3-6 years old, and analyze the relationship between the dietary nutrients and being overweight or obese.
Methods:
A stratified cluster sampling method was used to select 19,529 preschool children aged 3-6 from 62 kindergartens in Jiashan County of Zhejiang Province. To evaluate the overweight and obesity rates in the included children, body mass index (BMI) of all the children were analyzed using the BMI-for-age method and the weight-for-height method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The dietary nutrient patterns of the preschool children were obtained by survey of food frequency and dietary reviews.
Results:
The intake of meat from livestock and poultry among overweight and obese children increased significantly at different ages. Moreover, there were significant differences observed between normal-weight and overweight/obese children with regard to the consumption of grain, eggs, milk, vegetables, potatoes, livestock, poultry, fish and shrimp, legumes, fruits and oils (all P<0.05). Generally, children in the overweight or obese group consumed higher amounts of food than recommended, whereas normal-weight children tended to meet the recommended levels for protein, fat and carbohydrate intake. In addition, overweight and obese children tended to consume higher levels of various dietary nutrients compared to the normal-weight children, with statistical differences observed (all P<0.05). Children with a normal physique showed higher intake of milk and vegetables compared to the overweight/obese ones, with statistical differences observed between the two groups (all P<0.05). Meanwhile, overweight children tended to consume relatively high amounts of grains and fruits, although no statistical difference was identified. Obese children had a relatively high intake of eggs, fish and shrimp, with a statistical difference observed in egg intake between them and the normal-weight children (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
There is a correlation between the dietary nutrient patterns and being overweight and obese in preschool children aged 3-6.
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