Food Sources of Fiber and Micronutrients of Concern in Infants and Children in the United Arab Emirates: Findings from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) and the Kids Nutrition and Health Survey (KNHS) 2020

Abstract

We estimated the usual intakes of fiber, iron, zinc, calcium, folate, vitamin D, and vitamin A and the top foods that contribute to them among children in the UAE. Dietary intake was assessed using 24 h recalls among 5 age groups of infants and children. Foods were clustered into 54 food groups and ranked by their percentage contribution to the nutrients of interest in this study. The percentage achieving the adequate intake (AI) of fiber was negligible among all children. The top source of fiber was vegetables among children under 4 years, and white breads among those over 4 years. Only 45% of infants achieved iron adequacy, but iron standards we met by most children beyond the age of 1. The main contributors to iron intake were infant/young child formula and baby cereal in children under 4 years, while children over 4 years obtained it primarily from grains (fortified) and meat/fish. Vitamin D was inadequate across all age groups, with the percentage achieving adequacy ranging from 0 to 19% among pre-adolescents and toddlers, respectively. The top sources of vitamin D were fortified milks. Overall, nutrient inadequacies in fiber, calcium, and vitamin D highlight the need for greater intakes of whole grains and fortified dairy products in the UAE.

Food sources of fiber and micronutrients of concern among infants and young children in Lebanon: a national cross-sectional study

“…The present study has also identified that the contribution of fruits to fiber intake decreased with older age groups. These findings are consistent with those reported by the FITS study in the United Arab Emirates [27] where fruits had a greater percent contribution to fiber intake among infants as compared to preschoolers. However, unlike findings reported from United Arab Emirates [27], our study findings indicate a low contribution of grains to fiber intakes in Lebanese infants and young children and this may at least partially explain the fact that a small percentage of toddlers and preschoolers met the fiber AI levels.…”

“…Of concern also is the finding that sweetened beverages and sweet bakery were among the top food sources contributing to different nutrients intakes, including [32], Mexico [23], United States [33], China [34], and United Arab Emirates [27]. Early consumption of sweetened food and/or beverages and the high contribution of these foods to different nutrients at an older age (24-47.9 months) is another alarming finding in this study.…”

Food sources of zinc and nutritional status with usual dietary zinc intake in Korean toddlers and preschool children

“…The zinc content in milk and dairy products is much lower than that in other food sources, while infants and toddlers have relatively high dependence on milk and dairy products. Additionally, Asian children, including the subjects of this study, can obtain zinc from rice and other grain products, which serve as staple foods in Asia [ 5 16 28 29 ]. Cereals and legumes on the list of major sources of zinc have ambivalence for zinc nutrition because they contain high levels of phytate, which hinders zinc absorption.…”

Total Usual Nutrient Intakes and Nutritional Status of United Arab Emirates Children (4 Years–12.9 Years): Findings from the Kids Nutrition and Health Survey (KNHS) 2021

“…Within the schools all children meeting the inclusion criteria were invited to participate. Details about the sam-pling are described elsewhere [ 20 ].…”