Nutritional status of schoolchildren in an inner city area.

Abstract

Data were collected on the seven day weighed food intakes of 65 schoolchildren, aged 12-13 years, living in an inner city, socially deprived area in east London. Blood samples were collected during the week and analysed for cholesterol, serum ferritin, vitamins A, E, B-12, a carotene, and folic acid.Boys generally fared better than girls with almost a quarter of the girls having intakes of calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, and riboflavin less than the lower reference nutrient intake, an amount which, by definition, is enough for only the few people in a group who have low needs. Although the mean energy intake was close to the estimated average requirement for both boys and girls, 740/o did not meet the recommended intake for fibre and a high proportion of children consumed more than 11% oftheir energy from saturated fat (85%) and added sugar (88%).Thirty seven per cent ofthe children ate no fresh fruit during the week they kept a diary and only 19% had vegetables (fresh or frozen), other than potatoes, on a daily basis. Their main sources of energy were chips, bread, and confectionery.No association was found between fat intakes and plasma cholesterol concentrations. Girls had significantly lower blood concentrations offolic acid, ferritin, and a carotene.The findings of this study confirm the anxieties often expressed that many schoolchildren, particularly in less affluent areas, are eating diets which are unhealthy according to government recommendations.

The use of nutritional supplements by 4–12 year olds in England and Scotland

“…There is some evidence that for children there is no case for the widespread use of supplements (DoH, 1989;Ruxton et al, 1993) and encouraging a varied, balanced diet is regarded as preferable to a less adequate one plus supplements (CPG, 1991). Recent studies suggest that certain groups of children may be at particular risk of consuming a`poorer' quality diet, examples include older girls (Doyle et al, 1994), children from families of lower social class (Adamson et al, 1992) and lower income (Nelson et al, 1993;Doyle et al, 1994). Our ®ndings support the view that generally children who would be expected to have the least need for a supplement according to socio-economic variables (father's occupation, mother's education, number of children in the home) are signi®-cantly more likely to receive one.…”

Inter-pregnancy folate and iron status of women in an inner-city population

“…The principal markers of nutritional status chosen were folate and docosahexaenoic acid status, both of which correlate well with supplemented intake (Blonk et al 1990;Cuskelly et al 1996), and Fe which we have previously found to be poor in girls from this population during puberty (Doyle et al 1994). This paper reports the effects upon overall diet and upon folate and Fe status.…”

Socio-economic determinants of selected dietary indicators in British pre-school children

“…Lower-income households spend a greater proportion of their disposable income on food than more affluent households 7 but have lower intakes of fruit and vegetables 8 and consequently lower levels of vitamin C and carotene 9 . Children in deprived areas are also more likely to have a diet high in sugars and saturated fat and lower intakes of a number of vitamins and minerals 10 . The types of food adults choose for themselves and for their children are influenced by more than personal taste, attitudes and nutritional knowledge.…”