Aim: Knowledge of  dietary habits makes the basis for public nutrition policy. The aim (of this study??)was to assess dietary intake of Icelandic six-year-olds.

Material and methods: Subjects were randomly selected six-year-old children (n=162). Dietary intake was assessed by three-day-weighed food records. Food and nutrient intake was compared with the Icelandic food based dietary guidelines (FBDG) and recommended intake of vitamins and minerals.

Results: Fruit and vegetable intake was on average 275±164 g/d, and less than 20% of the subjects consumed ≥400 g/day. Fish and cod liver oil intake was in line with the FBDG among approximately 25% of subjects. Most subjects (87%) consumed at least two portions of dairy products daily. Food with relatively low nutrient density (cakes, cookies, sugar sweetened drinks, sweets  and ice-cream) provided up to 25% of total energy intake. The contribution of saturated fatty acids to total energy intake was 14.1%. Less than 20% of the children consumed dietary fibers in line with recommendations, and for saturated fat and salt only 5% consumed less than the recommended upper limits. Average intake of most vitamins and minerals, apart from vitamin-D, was higher than the recommended intake.

Conclusion: Although the vitamin and mineral density of the diet seems adequate, with the exception of vitamin-D, the contribution of low energy density food to total energy intake is high. Intake of vegetables, fruits, fish and cod liver oil is not in line with public recommendations. Strategies aiming at improving the diet of young children are needed.

Gunnarsdottir I, Helgadottir H, Thorisdottir B, Thorsdottir I

Unit for Nutrition Research, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland & Landspítali, The National University Hospital of Iceland.

Table I. Consumption (g/day) of  selected food from different food groups (Mean±standard deviation (SD) and distribution of the consumption). N=162.

		Mean±SD	5%	10%	25%	50%	75%	90%	95%
Vegetables, fruits and pure juice
	Vegetables	52±47	1	5	14	39	77	124	134
	Fruits	136±102	3	24	57	114	201	292	318
	Pure juice	87±107	0	0	0	45	155	242	287
	Total (vegetables, fruits and pure juice)	275±164	46	89	155	257	369	533	583
Potatoes and cereals
	Potatoes, new	21±28	0	0	1	16	29	49	56
	French fries	6±12	0	0	0	0	0	24	37
	Bread, total	80±39	30	38	52	71	104	127	151
	Whole grain bread, fiber  ≥6%	16±21	0	0	0	8	23	48	59
	Breakfast cereals	43±38	0	6	19	33	54	93	126
	Oatmeal	16±36	0	0	0	0	0	67	107
	Pasta og noodles	19±29	0	0	0	3	28	61	81
	Pizza	12±28	0	0	0	0	0	49	75
Fish and meat
	Fish and fish products	21±24	0	0	0	16	30	53	62
	Meat and meat products	65±35	15	21	39	63	84	112	128
Milk and milk products
	Whole milk	78±117	0	0	0	0	123	239	290
	Low fat milk	102±144	0	0	0	60	137	301	385
	Skimmed milk	17±49	0	0	0	0	0	67	103
	Chocolate milk/cocoa	32±53	0	0	0	0	67	83	133
	Milk products*	22±29	0	1	4	14	36	51	58
	Cheeses	17±14	0	0	6	14	27	35	39
	Total dairy intake	357±193	97	143	205	345	458	597	720
Fats
	Butter and margarine	9±8	1	2	4	7	12	16	21
	Sauces and dips	13±11	0	0	4	10	18	26	33
	Cod liver oil	2±3	0	0	0	0	5	8	8
Beverages
	Soda and soft drinks	117±129	0	0	23	83	165	266	417
	Soft drinks	71±99	0	0	0	31	89	203	274
	Soda	46±76	0	0	0	0	67	151	220
	Water and soda water	285±235	10	49	123	221	404	545	737
Cakes, cookies, sweets and snacks
	Cakes	32±34	0	0	4	27	42	73	93
	Cookies	13±18	0	0	0	7	18	34	49
	Sweets and icecream	32±33	0	0	0	25	53	81	96
	Popcorn, snacks, nuts	8±14	0	0	0	1	10	24	32

* Milk products other than drinking milk and cheeses

 

 

Table II. Number and the proportion of six year olds (n=162) with dietary intake in line with the Icelandic food based dietary guidelines.

Food based dietary guidelines*	Criteria Adjusted for six year olds	Number n	Proportion %
Fruits and vegetables	≥400 g of fruits, vegetables and pure juice per day	30	19
Fish at least two times per week or more	≥34 g per day, which equals a fish meal two times per week	37	23
Whole grain bread and other fiber rich cereals	≥2.5 g dietary fiber/MJ/day **	28	17
Milk products that contain less fat	2 portions of milk or milkproducts daily (1 portion 200 g of milk products or ≥20 g of cheese)	141	87
Oils or soft fat instead of hard fat	<10% of the energy from hard fat	10	6
Moderation in salt intake	<3200 mg of salt per day***	7	4
Cod liver oil or other vitamin D source	≥5 ml per day, which equals daily recommendations for vitamin D	44	27
Water is the best soft drink	<10% of the energy from added sugar	70	43

*Recommendations on diet and nutrition for adults and children from two years of age. ¹⁰

**The Nordic Nutrition Recommendation on intake of dietary fibre is used to assess adherance to this recommendation (≥2.5 g/MJ/day).¹⁵The reason is that the nutrient calculating program used for analysis, ICEFOOD, does not allow this categorisation except for bread.

*** The Nordic Nutrition Recommendation on salt intake: ¹⁵≤0.5 g salt/1000 kJ/day (0.5 g salt/239 kcal/day) corresponding to <3.2 g salt/day according to the energy intake in the present study.

 

Table III. Total energy intake, contribution of energy giving nutrients to total energy intake (E%) and intake of dietary fiber (g/MJ). N=162.

	Mean±SD	5%	10%	25%	50%	75%	90%	95%
Energy (kcal)	1543±324	1039	1161	1323	1550	1742	1906	1994
Protein	15.4±2.9	10.7	11.7	13.5	15.0	16.9	19.6	20.5
Total fat	32.2±4.9	23.9	26.0	29.2	32.0	35.8	38.5	40.1
Saturated fatty acids	13.3±2.7	9.3	10.0	11.5	13.2	15.4	16.5	17.6
Cis-monounsaturated fatty acids	10.1±1.8	7.2	7.7	9.0	10.0	11.2	12.5	13.2
Cis-polyunsaturated fatty acids	4.7±1.5	2.6	2.9	3.5	4.5	5.5	6.9	7.9
Trans fatty acids	0.8±0.3	0.4	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.9	1.1	1.3
Carbohydrates total	50.3±5.5	41.8	44.0	46.8	50.2	54.1	56.9	58.7
Added sugar	11.2±4.5	4.7	5.7	7.7	11.0	14.5	17.1	18.8
Fiber (g/MJ)	2.1±0.5	1.4	1.5	1.7	2.0	2.3	2.7	2.9

 

 

Table IV. Daily intake of vitamins, minerals and heavy metals. Mean±standard deviation (SD) and distribution of the consumption. N=162.

	RDI* (2/3 af RDI)	Mean±SD	5%	10%	25%	50%	75%	90%	95%
Vitamin A equalent (µg/day)	400 (267)	963±1051	223	282	421	630	939	1963	3635
Retinol(µg/ day)	-	850±1032	177	241	308	508	778	1855	3582
β-carotin (µg/day)	-	1262±1396	153	196	306	608	1794	3084	3798
Vitamin D (µg/day)	10 (6.5)	7.5±6.4	1.1	1.4	2.2	4.9	11.9	17.8	19.6
Vitamin E equalent (mg/day)	6 (4)	8.1±4.9	3.1	3.4	4.3	6.3	10.8	14.5	16.5
Vitamin B1 thiamin (mg/day)	0.9 (0.6)	1.2±0.5	0.6	0.7	0.9	1.1	1.4	2.0	2.4
Vitamin B2 riboflavin (mg/day)	1.1 (0.7)	1.7±0.7	0.9	1.0	1.3	1.6	2.1	2.7	3.1
Niacin equalent (NJ /day)	12 (8)	25±8	15	16	19	23	29	36	39
Niacin (mg/day)	-	15±7	7	8	10	13	18	25	27
Vitamin B6 thiamin (mg/day)	1.0 (0.7)	1.6±0.8	0.7	0.8	1.1	1.4	1.9	2.8	2.9
Folate (µg/day)	130 (87)	309±158	133	150	194	275	368	513	623
Vitamin B12 (µg/day)	1.3 (0.9)	5.3±3.3	1.9	2.4	3.4	4.4	5.9	9.0	14.1
Vitamin C (mg/day)	40 (27)	99±61	20	33	57	91	125	176	213
Calcium (mg/day)	800 (533)	812±246	428	513	628	790	996	1087	1174
Phosphate (mg/day)	600 (400)	1134±277	723	786	958	1126	1309	1459	1543
Magnesium (mg/day)	200 (133)	206±51	137	147	170	204	233	270	293
Sodium (mg/day)	-	2032±563	1343	1395	1634	2004	2325	2649	2886
Potassium (mg/day)	2000 (1334)	2034±518	1254	1385	1710	2025	2334	2720	2836
Iron (mg/day)	9 (6)	11.1±5.1	5.1	5.5	7.5	10.0	13.7	17.1	19.9
Zink (mg/day)	7 (4.7)	9.5±4.8	4.5	5.4	6.6	8.3	10.4	14.5	20.6
Copper (mg/day)	0.5 (0.33)	1.0±0.6	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.9	1.1	1.5	2.4
Iodine (µg/day)	120 (80)	123±73	43	47	74	103	158	216	276
Selenium (µg/day)	30 (20)	49±21	26	28	35	45	54	77	92
Cadmium (µg/day)	-	6.4±1.9	3.7	4.2	5.4	6.3	7.7	8.9	9.6
Lead (µg/day)	-	16.1±13.2	3.6	5.7	7.5	11.6	20.1	30.7	46.3
Mercury (µg/day)	-	2.3±1.9	0.2	0.3	0.8	1.8	3.4	4.5	5.0

* Recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals for 6-9 year old children.¹⁰

 

Figure 1. Added sugar in the diet of six year olds. Contribution of food groups.

Figure 2. Saturated fat in the diet of six year olds. Contribution of food groups.