Dietary intake in 6-year-old children from southern Poland: Part 2 - vitamin and mineral intakes

Abstract

Background: Studies on vitamin and mineral intakes in children are very important: firstly because of the highprevalence of diet-related diseases and secondly because of the widespread consumption of highly processedfoods which are characterised by high energy content and low density of essential nutrients. Therefore, the purposeof this study was to analyse vitamin and mineral intakes in 6-year-old children from southern Poland.Methods: Vitamin and mineral intakes were estimated from a three-day food record in 120 children, 64 girls and 56 boys, aged 6 years. Nutrient densities were estimated as amounts per 1000 kcal (4185 kJ) of energy intake. Statisticalanalysis was carried out by means of the IBM SPSS Statistics computer programme, version 19. The studied populationwas divided according to gender.Results: Intakes of folic acid (μg/1000 kcal) and vitamin C (mg, mg/1000 kcal) were significantly higher in girls. Nutrientdensities for all vitamins were higher in girls, however, these results did not reach statistical significance. Intake ofvitamin D was lower than EAR in all of the studied children. Intakes of sodium (mg) and zinc (mg) were significantlyhigher in boys. Intakes of the remaining minerals were higher in boys, however, these findings did not reach statisticalsignificance. Nutrient densities for all minerals, except for sodium, zinc and manganese, were higher in girls. All of thestudied children had sodium intakes above UL.Conclusions: Inadequate intakes of vitamin D, calcium and potassium in the studied 6-year-olds along with excessivesodium intake are the risk factors for developing osteoporosis and hypertension. To prevent these diseases in the studiedchildren, educational programmes for both preschool staff and parents should be worked out and implemented.