Usual Nutrient Intake Distribution and Prevalence of Inadequacy among Australian Children 0–24 Months: Findings from the Australian Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (OzFITS) 2021
Files
(Published version)
Date
2022
Authors
Moumin, N.A.
Netting, M.J.
Golley, R.K.
Mauch, C.E.
Makrides, M.
Green, T.J.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Nutrients, 2022; 14(7)
Statement of Responsibility
Najma A. Moumin, Merryn J. Netting, Rebecca K. Golley, Chelsea E. Mauch, Maria Makrides, and Tim J. Green
Conference Name
Abstract
(1) Background: Breastmilk provides all the nutrition an infant requires between 0–6 months.
After that, complementary foods are needed to meet the child’s increasing energy and nutrient
requirements. Inadequate energy and nutrient intake may lead to growth faltering, impaired neurodevelopment, and increased disease risk. While the importance of early life nutrition is well recognized,
there are few investigations assessing the nutritional adequacy of Australian children < 24 months.
Here, we describe usual energy and nutrient intake distributions, including the prevalence of inadequate intakes and exceeding the upper limit (UL), in a national sample of Australian children
6–24 months and infants < six months who had commenced solids and/or formula. (2) Methods:
Dietary intakes were assessed using a one-day food record for 976 children with a repeat one-day
record in a random subset. (3) Results: Based on the Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and
New Zealand, children’s intakes were above the Adequate Intake or Estimated Average Requirement
for most nutrients. Exceptions were iron and zinc where the prevalence of inadequacy was estimated
to be 90% and 20%, respectively, for infants aged 6–11.9 months. Low iron intake was also observed
in one quarter of toddlers 12–24 months. On average, children consumed 10% more energy than
predicted based on Estimated Energy Requirements, and ~10% were classified as overweight based
on their weight for length. One third of toddlers exceeded the tolerable upper limit for sodium and
consumed > 1000 mg/day. Of the children under six months, 18% and 43% exceeded the UL for
vitamin A (retinol) and zinc. (4) Conclusions: Compared to nutrient reference values, diets were
sufficient for most nutrients; however, iron was a limiting nutrient for infants aged 6–11.9 months
and toddlers 12–24 months potentially putting them at risk for iron deficiency. Excessive sodium
intake among toddlers is a concern as this may increase the risk for hypertension.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Access Status
Rights
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).