Milk beverages can reduce nutrient inadequacy among Brazilian pre-school children: a dietary modelling study

Abstract

Background Previous studies found high prevalence of inadequate intakes of vitamins E, D and K, calcium and potassium among Brazilian pre-school children, with suboptimal consumption of dairy products. Dietary modelling was applied to determine the theoretical impact of improving dairy products consumption on nutrient adequacy in 4–5-year-old Brazilian children. Methods Adherence to the dairy recommendation of two servings/day was calculated using data from the Brazil Kids Nutrition and Health Study (KNHS) (n = 228). Two modelling scenarios were applied to test the impact on nutrient intakes of (1) adding one or two servings of a frequently consumed cow’s milk or a widely available fortified alternative: pre-school children milk (PCM), and of (2) substituting the current milk consumed by PCM. Mean nutrient intakes and percentage of children adhering to the nutrient recommendations were determined at baseline and after applying modelling scenarios. Results Seventy-six percent (n = 174) of children did not meet the recommended daily two servings of dairy products, 56% had less than one serving of dairy products on the day of recall. The mean consumption of whole milk (fortified and unfortified) was 147 g/d, yoghurt 114 g/d and cheese 34 g/d. The addition of one serving of cow’s milk demonstrated a 17% reduction in calcium inadequacy, 18% reduction in vitamin A and 3% reduction in zinc inadequacy. Adding one serving of PCM further reduced calcium inadequacy from 87 to 41%, vitamin E from 81 to 37%, and zinc inadequacy by 10%. Replacing the child’s current milk with a PCM resulted in further reduction of micronutrient inadequacies, including calcium, vitamin D and vitamin E. Conclusions Dairy products consumption in pre-school children should be encouraged to reduce nutrient inadequacies. In particular, consumption of PCM would help to reduce calcium, vitamin D and vitamin E inadequacy, nutrients of concern in this population.

Assessment of Beverage Trends and Replacing Nondairy Caloric Beverages with Milk at Meals across Childhood Improves Intake of Key Nutrients at Risk of Inadequate Consumption: An NHANES Modeling Study

“…Milk is an important source of nutrients, and the consumption of milk by children has been positively correlated with diet quality as well as meeting nutrient recommendations, including vitamin A, folate, vitamin B 12 , calcium, and magnesium in the United States [ 5 , 16 ] as well as globally [ [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] ]. In our analysis, beverages, including milk, provided substantial amounts (>20% of daily intake) of vitamins and minerals while the contribution of beverages excluding milk was minimal (≤5%) to daily intakes of these vitamins and minerals.…”