Dietary Intake, Nutritional Adequacy and Food Sources of Total Fat and Fatty Acids, and Relationships with Personal and Family Factors in Spanish Children Aged One to <10 Years: Results of the EsNuPI Study

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 12; no. 8; p. 2467
• Main Authors: Madrigal, Casandra, Soto-Méndez, María José, Leis, Rosaura, Hernández-Ruiz, Ángela, Valero, Teresa, Lara Villoslada, Federico, Martínez de Victoria, Emilio, Moreno, José Manuel, Ortega, Rosa M, Ruiz-López, María Dolores, Varela-Moreiras, Gregorio, Gil, Ángel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 16.08.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Age; Age Factors; Animals; Child; Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - physiology; Child, Preschool; Children; Chronic illnesses; Cohort Studies; Dairy products; Diet; dietary fats; Dietary Fats - administration & dosage; Dietary intake; Disease prevention; Docosahexaenoic acid; Eating - physiology; Energy; EsNuPI study; essential fatty acids; Family; Fats; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids, Essential - administration & dosage; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - administration & dosage; Feeding Behavior - physiology; Female; Food; Food intake; Food sources; Food, Fortified; Humans; Infant; Infant Formula; International organizations; Linoleic acid; Linolenic acid; lipids; Male; Meat; Meat products; Milk; Nutrition research; Nutrition Surveys; Nutritional Requirements; Obesity; Oils & fats; Pediatrics; Population; Recommended Dietary Allowances; Spain; Urban areas; Veganism; Spain; food sources; fortified milk; lipids; dietary fats; fats; EsNuPI study; spanish children; dairy products; pediatric nutrition; essential fatty acids
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu12082467

We aimed to determine the usual intake of total fat, fatty acids (FAs), and their main food sources in a representative cohort of the Spanish pediatric population aged 1 to <10 years ( = 707) who consumed all types of milk and an age-matched cohort who consumed adapted milk over the last year (including follow-on formula, toddler's milk, growing-up milk, and fortified and enriched milks) ( = 741) who were participants in the EsNuPI study (in English, Nutritional Study in the Spanish Pediatric Population). Dietary intake, measured through two 24 h dietary recalls, was compared to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN-FAO) recommendations. Both cohorts showed a high intake of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), according to FAO recommendations, as there are no numerical recommendations for SFAs at EFSA. Also, low intake of essential fatty acids (EFAs; linoleic acid (LA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA)) and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) of the n-3 series, mainly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were observed according to EFSA and FAO recommendations. The three main sources of total fat and different FAs were milk and dairy products, oils and fats, and meat and meat products. The consumption of adapted milk was one of the main factors associated with better adherence to the nutritional recommendations of total fat, SFAs, EFAs, PUFAs; and resulted as the main factor associated with better adherence to n-3 fatty acids intake recommendations. Knowledge of the dietary intake and food sources of total fat and FAs in children could help in designing and promoting effective and practical age-targeted guidelines to promote the consumption of EFA- and n-3 PUFA-rich foods in this stage of life.