Childhood Dietary Intake in Italy: The Epidemiological “MY FOOD DIARY” Survey

Abstract

Promoting a healthy lifestyle during the first years of life is a key strategy for controlling obesity risk in later life; having good-quality epidemiological data on eating habits of infants and toddlers can improve awareness and possibly the education given by pediatricians to parents and children. With this aim, we performed a survey about the dietary pattern of Italian children in early childhood. We described the intake of energy, macronutrients and fiber, minerals, and vitamins of 443 Italian children (range 6.4–131 months), through a three-day food record filled out by their parents and assessed by family pediatricians. The results were compared with the Italian Dietary Reference Values. The median protein intake, in g/kg per body weight, exceeded the average requirement in all age groups, and in the 12–36 month period, the intake as % of energy was outside the reference range (>15%). The majority of the children consumed quantities of simple carbohydrates (consisting of both natural sugars and free or added sugars, 82.3% of the children in the study) and saturated fats (69% of the children in the study) above the limits of the Italian Dietary Reference Values, with low intake of fiber and polyunsaturated fats. Median mineral intake, in our study, was different depending on age, while vitamin D intake was very low in all age groups. This is one of the few studies reporting on the nutrient intake of Italian children with reference to nutrition recommendations in order to identify the principal nutritional errors. The present results underline the need for healthcare policies starting from the first years of life in order to ameliorate nutrient intake during childhood, possibly impacting long-term health outcomes.

Usual Dietary Intake, Nutritional Adequacy and Food Sources of Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium and Vitamin D of Spanish Children Aged One to <10 Years. Findings from the EsNuPI Study

“…Intake of vitamin D was similar to or higher than that found in other studies [4,12,13,20,22,60], especially when we consider the AMS children. Chouraqui et al [45] indicated that the intake was much higher in children (12-35 months) consuming young-child formula than in those not consuming such products.…”

The Use of Added Salt and Sugar in the Diet of Polish and Austrian Toddlers. Associated Factors and Dietary Patterns, Feeding and Maternal Practices

“…The use of added salt and sugar intake is inseparably associated with sodium and added/free sugars intake, which also increased with children’s age [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 28 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Unfortunately, many infants and toddlers around the world have intakes of sodium [ 25 , 26 , 38 , 39 , 42 , 43 ] and added/free sugars [ 22 , 28 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 43 , 44 , 45 ] already close to the upper limit or even above recommendations. Interestingly, many studies conducted on infants and children have shown that boys compared to girls had a higher intake of sodium [ 21 , 23 , 26 , 46 ].…”

“…Previous studies that mainly assessed the intake of sodium, free or added sugars and use of added salt and sugar provide explicit results that the majority of young children may have exceeded sodium and free/added sugars recommendations since the earliest periods when they began eating solids [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. As early introduction of those ingredients is a risk factor of many diet-related non-communicable diseases, which are a public health challenge worldwide [ 29 , 30 ], recognition of the factors associated with the use of salt and sugar is highly important.…”

Report on advances for pediatricians in 2018: allergy, cardiology, critical care, endocrinology, hereditary metabolic diseases, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, neonatology, nutrition, respiratory tract disorders and surgery

“…In this sense, the recently published Italian Consensus [35] that recommends the dose of vitamin D in the various age groups is extremely useful, also considering recent dietary surveys which showed insufficient vitamin supplementation during the first years of life [36].…”

“…A three-day record about the nutrient’s intake has been composed by parents of 443 Italian children during the first year of life (age 6.4–131 months) [36]. Interestingly, most of children exceeded in the doses of protein intake, simple carbohydrates and saturated fats above the limits of the Italian Dietary Reference Values, with a low intake of fiber and polyunsaturated fats.…”