Alternative indices for the assessment of nutritional quality of balanced diet of Indonesian children 4-6 years old

Abstract

The objective of this study was to develop alternative indices for the assessment of nutritional quality of the diet of Indonesian children aged 4-6 years old. This study used the food consumption data of the Basic Health Research 2010. The food consumption data were collected using 24-h food recall method through a cross-sectional study. Total subject of this study after data screening was 10221 children 4-6 years. The nutritional quality (NQ) of 15 nutrients was used as a gold standard in the validity testing of the indices. The results showed that the most valid index (r = 0.6) was the index with a continue scoring system of six food groups (carbohydrate foods, vegetables, fruits, animal protein foods, plant protein foods, and milks) without considering fat, saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium intakes. The simplest and valid (r = 0.58) index was the index with a three levels discrete scoring system of the same six food groups.