Do Chinese Children Get Enough Micronutrients?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine usual daily micronutrient intake of Chinese children based on data from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey. We analyzed data from 4 to 17-year-old participants, who provided dietary data on 3 consecutive days combined with the household weighing method in 2011. Usual daily intake of each nutrient was estimated using a mixed effects model based on the China Food Composition published in 2002 and 2004. The means, medians and percent below Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) were reported for selected micronutrients, including calcium, sodium, potassium, iron, zinc, selenium, vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin and vitamin C. For sodium and potassium, means and the distribution of intakes were compared to the Adequate Intake (AI) level. The average usual daily intakes of all micronutrients increase with age and the intakes of boys higher than girls in the same age group. The average of calcium intakes increased from 272mg/d in 4-6y to 391mg/d in 14-17y, but the percentage of inadequate calcium intake remained very high (>96%). The prevalence of inadequacy of calcium was the highest among the mineral nutrients reported in this study. As the requirement of micronutrient increased with age, the percentage of subjects with inadequate intake increased in 11-17 age groups. Among the 14-17y, the percentages of study participants with dietary intakes of calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin and vitamin C below the EAR were 96.8%, 18.8%, 37.6%, 72.8%, 36.8%, 91.8%. 85.9% and 75.5%, respectively. Among the 11-13y, the percentages of study participants with dietary intakes of iron, zinc and vitamin A below the EAR were 23.5%, 41.5%, and 41.6%, respectively. Thus, the micronutrients deficiency is a problem in Chinese Children. Nutrition education and intervention programs are needed to address the nutritional gaps.