Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T07:47:56.610Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparison of children's dietary intake patterns with US dietary guidelines

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Louise M. Brady ,
Christine H. Lindquist ,
Sara L. Herd  and
Michael I. Goran
Louise M. Brady
Affiliation:
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Nutrition Sciences, Division of Physiology and Metabolism, 1675 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
Christine H. Lindquist
Affiliation:
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Nutrition Sciences, Division of Physiology and Metabolism, 1675 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
Sara L. Herd
Affiliation:
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Nutrition Sciences, Division of Physiology and Metabolism, 1675 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Monitoring dietary intake patterns among children is important in order to explore and prevent the onset of adult health problems. The aim of the present study was to compare children's dietary intakes with national recommendations and to determine whether sex or ethnic differences were evident. This was done using a methodology that allows assessment of intake from the major components of the Food Guide Pyramid developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA: ). The sample studied included 110 African-American and Caucasian males and females (mean age 9·9 years, BMI 20·1 kg/m2) from Birmingham, AL, USA, who were participating in a study investigating the development of obesity. Dietary data were based on three 24 h recalls and food group intake was determined using the USDA Pyramid Servicing Database. The results indicated that a high percentage of subjects failed to meet the recommended number of servings from each of the food groups. For example, only 5 % and 9 % met fruit and dietary group recommendations respectively. Consumption of foods from the Pyramid ‘tip’ (including discretionary fat and added sugar) contributed almost 50 % of the diet. African-Americans were more likely to meet requirements for the meat group, with a higher proportion of Caucasians meeting dietary recommendations. Males were more likely to meet the vegetable group guidelines although females consumed more energy per day from discretionary fat. In conclusion, these results suggest that implementation of nutrition education programmes may be important for promoting healthy nutrition among American children.

Keywords

Food Guide PyramidDietary patternsChildren
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 84 , Issue 3 , September 2000 , pp. 361 - 367
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2000

References

Albertson, AM and Tobelmann, RC (1993) Ten-year trend of energy intakes of American children ages 2–10 years.Annals of the New York Academy of Science 699, 250–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Albertson, AM, Tobelmann, RC, Engstrom, A and Asp, EH (1992) Nutrient intakes of 2- to 10-year-old American children: 10-year trends.Journal of the American Dietetic Association 92, 1492–1496.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birch, LL, Johnson, SL, Andersen, MS, Peters, JC and Schulte, MC (1991) The variability of young children's energy intake.New England Journal of Medicine 324, 232–235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cleveland, LE, Cook, DA, Krebs-Smith, SM and Friday, J (1997) Method for assessing food intake in terms of servings based on food guidance.American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 65 (Suppl. 4), 1254S–1263S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cronin, FJ, Shaw, AM, Krebs-Smith, SM, Marsland, PM and Light, L (1987) Developing a food guidance system to implement the Dietary Guidelines.Journal of Nutrition Education 19, 281–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farris, RP, Cresanta, JL, Croft, JB, Webber, LS, Frank, GC and Berenson, GS (1986) Macronutrient intakes of 10-year-old children, 1973–1982.Journal of the American Dietetic Association 86, 765–770.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraser, GE (1994) Diet and coronary heart disease: beyond dietary fats and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol.American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 59 (Suppl. 5), 1117S–1123S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hollingshead, AB (1975) Four Factor Index of Social Status. New Haven, CT: Yale University.Google Scholar
Johnson, RK, Driscoll, P and Goran, MI (1996) Comparison of multiple-pass 24-hour recall estimates of energy intake with total energy expenditure determined by the doubly labeled water method in young children.Journal of the American Dietetic Association 96, 1140–1144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kemm, JR (1987) Eating patterns in childhood and adult health.Nutrition & Health 4, 205–215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krebs-Smith, SM, Cook, DA, Subar, AF, Cleveland, LE, Friday, J and Kahle, LL (1996) Fruit and vegetable intakes of children and adolescents in the United States.Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 150, 81–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ku, CY, Gower, BA, Nagy, TR and Goran, MI (1998) Relationships between dietary fat, body fat and serum lipid profile in prepubertal children.Obesity Research 6, 400–407.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lichtenstein, AH, Kennedy, E, Barrier, P, Danford, D, Ernst, ND, Grundy, SM, Leveille, GA, Van Horn, L, Williams, CL and Booth, SL (1998) Dietary fat consumption and health.Nutrition Reviews 56 (Suppl. II), S3–S28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindquist, CH, Cummings, TJ and Goran, MI (2000) Use of tape-recorded food records in assessing children's dietary intake. Obesity Research. (In the Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowry, R, Kann, L, Collins, JL and Kolbe, L (1996) The effect of socioeconomic status on chronic disease risk behaviours among US adolescents.Journal of the American Medical Association 276, 792–797.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muñoz, KA, Krebs-Smith, SM, Ballard-Barbash, R and Cleveland, LE (1997) Food intakes of US children and adolescents compared with recommendations.Pediatrics 100, 323–329.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nicklas, TA, Farris, RP, Smoak, CG, Frank, GC, Srinivasan, SR, Webber, LS and Berenson, GS (1988) Dietary factors relate to cardiovascular risk factors in early life. Bogalusa Heart Study.Arteriosclerosis 8, 193–199.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Randall, E, Marshall, JR, Brasure, J and Graham, S (1992) Dietary patterns and colon cancer in western New York.Nutrition and Cancer 18, 265–276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services (2000) The Food Guide Pyramid. http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/pyramid.gif.Google Scholar
US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services (1992) The Food Guide Pyramid. Home and Garden Bulletin no. 252. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services (1990) Nutrition and your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 3rd ed. Home and Garden Bulletin no. 232. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.Google Scholar