Characteristics of the nutrition organization and nutrient consumption in toddlers' living in the Central Federal District, Russian Federation (Moscow, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl)
AbstractA multicenter cross-sectional study with the participation of 356 healthy children aged 1 to 3 years from the cities of the Central Federal District: Moscow (n=106), Ivanovo (n=126), Yaroslavl (n=124) has been carried out. Questionnaire method, the method of 24-hour diet recall for 3 days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend) and the method of diary recording of food intake were used. The average daily volumes of food were consistent with the recommended age norms only in 31.2% of the surveyed children; after 1 year of life children actively started to transfer to nutrition from the family table and only 51.7% of children continued to receive individually prepared for baby food. The recommended dietary allowances were inadequate in macro- and micronutrients: 48.6% of all children received excessive amounts of protein and fat, and 74.1% were less in carbohydrates. The consumption of vitamins D and A and minerals (calcium, iron and zinc) did not correspond to existing recommendations in the majority of cases: only 10-30% of the examined children received physiological norms of vitamins from food and 13-34% - some minerals and trace elements. These results indicate that the nutrition of young children living in the Central Federal District is imbalanced on daily caloric, macro- and micronutrient composition, does not fully meet the requirements of the balanced diet and needs serious optimization.
Keywords:toddlers, nutrition, daily caloric allowance, macro - and micronutrient status