Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2025
Quantitating Iron Transport Across the Mouse Placenta In Vivo Using Nonradioactive Iron Isotopes
Published on: May 10, 2022
Critical vitamin D and iron intakes in infants aged 6-11 months: results from the nationwide German KiESEL study
Leonie Burgard1, Clarissa Spiegler1, Sara Jansen2
1Department of Nutritional Behaviour, Max Rubner-Institut (MRI) - Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Background:
Nutrient intake during the phase of complementary feeding is pivotal for healthy development, yet current data for European infants are lacking.
Objective:
To provide latest data on energy and nutrient intake of infants in Germany, to compare these with the Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) of the European Food Safety Authority, and to assess the contribution of vitamin D supplementation and commercial infant foods to nutrient intake.
Design:
Analyses are based on weighed food records (3 + 1 day) of 118 infants aged 6-11 months from the representative cross-sectional Children's Nutrition Survey to Record Food Consumption (KiESEL) conducted in Germany from 2014 to 2017. Energy and nutrient intake was calculated using the German Nutrient Database BLS 3.02, the LEBTAB database, and a supplement database.
Results:
Median energy and protein intakes were above DRVs, while fat intake was below. Dietary vitamin and mineral intakes mostly met or exceeded the DRVs. However, iron intake reached neither the Population Reference Intake nor the Average Requirement. Vitamin D intake from foods was below half the Adequate Intake (AI). When additionally considering vitamin D supplements, administered to 51.7% of infants, the AI was reached. Girls' iodine intake was below the DRVs. In contrast, the intakes found for retinol equivalents, vitamin K, and vitamin C were about four times the DRVs. Commercial infant foods were key dietary sources for all nutrients for which intakes deviated considerably from DRVs.
Conclusion:
Micronutrient intake, particularly of iron and vitamin D, needs improving in infants aged 6-11 months in Germany. Vitamin D supplementation was a prerequisite for meeting the AI, confirming the necessity for vitamin D supplements in infancy and the promotion of the respective recommendations. The considerable up- and downward deviations from DRVs point to a need for adjusting fortification levels of commercial infant foods in European legislation.
Related Concept Videos
01:25Role of Vitamins in Maintaining Bone Health
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is involved in the process of bone remodeling. Retinoic acid, the active metabolite of Vitamin A, has nuclear receptors in osteoblasts and osteoclasts, which are involved in bone remodeling.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 acts as a cofactor during the formation of osteoblast-related proteins, such as osteocalcin. Vitamin B12 plays a role...
01:23Role of Skin in Vitamin D Synthesis
The solar UV B rays (290-315 nm) are absorbed by the skin, and 7-dehydrocholesterol (provitamin D3) photolyzes it to previtamin D3, which undergoes a rapid transformation to vitamin...
01:22Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Diagnostic Studies and Management I-Nutritional Therapy
Diagnostic studies
A colonoscopy is the definitive screening test, distinguishing ulcerative colitis from other colon diseases with similar symptoms. During a colonoscopy test, inflamed mucosa with exudate ulcerations can be observed, and biopsies are taken to determine the histologic characteristics of the...
01:26Minerals
Major...
01:23Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the...