Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec 21;16(24):4400.
doi: 10.3390/nu16244400.

Macronutrient Intake and Food Categories' Contribution to Daily Energy Intake According to BMI in Primary School Children in Croatia

Lidija Šoher  1 , Daniela Čačić Kenjerić  1 , Martina Pavlić  2 , Ivana Rumbak  3 , Nataša Šarlija  4 , Ana Ilić  3 , Darja Sokolić  2
Affiliations

Macronutrient Intake and Food Categories' Contribution to Daily Energy Intake According to BMI in Primary School Children in Croatia

Lidija Šoher et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: Nutritional status in childhood is associated with a number of short- and long-term health effects. The rising prevalence of childhood obesity highlights the necessity of understanding dietary patterns in children. The study provides an assessment of energy and macronutrient intake and food categories' contribution to energy intake in Croatian primary school children, according to BMI status.

Methods: To assess dietary habits, results of the National Food Consumption Survey on Infants and Children based on EU Menu methodology (OC/EFSA/DATA/2016/02 CT3) were used. The sample included 476 children, aged 6 to under 10 years.

Results: Results indicated that one in four children was overweight or obese (27.7%). In total, the mean energy intake was 1598.4 ± 380.3 kcal/day, with 30.7% of the children above the recommended energy intake. Cereals, cereal products, and potato food category were the primary sources of energy, which is in line with the recommendations, with protein and fat intakes exceeding recommended levels. Substantial contribution of sweets and low contribution of fruits and vegetables were observed across all BMI categories, with the difference in energy contribution of fruits (p = 0.041) and vegetables (p = 0.033). The meat, poultry, fish, and eggs category were the contributors to energy intake from protein and fat, in the majority of BMI groups.

Conclusions: In the obese group, higher energy intake from certain food subgroups was recorded, stressing the need for a more detailed dietary assessment. The study's cross-sectional design limits causal inferences, indicating a need for future longitudinal research to better understand the dynamics of dietary patterns and BMI status in primary school children.

Keywords: dietary patterns; energy intake; food categories; school-age children; weight status.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Contribution of main food categories (%) to the total energy intake (A), to the energy intake from carbohydrates (B), protein (C), and fat (D) according to BMI status (median; 25th–75th centile).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. UNICEF . The State of the World’s Children 2019. Children, Food and Nutrition: Growing Well in a Changing World. UNICEF; New York, NY, USA: 2019. Feeding a child for life; pp. 64–94.
    1. Martins V.J.B., Florêncio T.M.M., Grillo L.P., Do Carmo P., Franco M., Martins P.A., Clemente A.P.G., Santos C.D.L., de Fatima A., Vieira M., et al. Long-lasting effects of undernutrition. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2011;8:1817–1846. doi: 10.3390/ijerph8061817. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hollis J.L., Collins C.E., DeClerck F., Chai L.K., McColl K., Demaio A.R. Defining healthy and sustainable diets for infants, children and adolescents. Glob. Food Secur. 2020;27:100401. doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100401. - DOI
    1. Morales-Suárez-Varela M., Rubio-López N., Ruso C., Llopis-Gonzalez A., Ruiz-Rojo E., Redondo M., Pico Y. Anthropometric Status and Nutritional Intake in Children (6–9 Years) in Valencia (Spain): The ANIVA Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2015;12:16082–16095. doi: 10.3390/ijerph121215045. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Steenbergen E., Krijger A., Verkaik-Kloosterman J., Elstgeest L.E.M., ter Borg S., Joosten K.F.M., van Rossum C.T.M. Evaluation of Nutrient Intake and Food Consumption among Dutch Toddlers. Nutrients. 2021;13:1531. doi: 10.3390/nu13051531. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources