Local data on Hong Kong preschool diet quality and eating behavior

Background

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The objectives of this study were threefold: to assess diet quality of preschool children in Hong Kong through 24-hour recalls; to investigate children's eating behavior and feeding practices of parents; and to study the pre-school nutrition environment, such as the types of foods and beverages commonly provided in local kindergartens.

Data Collections:

24-hour dietary recalls with questionnaires on child eating behavior, parents’ feeding practices, etc.

Key Findings:

Diet quality

Consumption of food groups vs. HK Healthy Eating Pyramid for children aged 2-5 years:

Food groups	Consumption Status	Results (Daily intake)
Grain	Adequate	4.8 servings vs. the recommended 3-6 servings (1 serving = 0.5 cup cooked grain)
Vegetable	Adequate	1.54 servings vs. the recommended 1.5 servings (1 serving = 0.5 cup of cooked vegetable)
Fruit	Adequate	1.08 servings vs. the recommended at least 1 serving (1 serving = 1 medium size fruit)
Milk & Dairy (including formula milk)	Inadequate	1.6 servings vs. the recommended 2 servings (1 serving = 240 mL)
Meat	Excessive	4.3 servings vs. the recommended 2-4 servings (1 serving = 1 oz)

Micronutrients intake:
Mean intakes of vitamin D, calcium, iron and zinc were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the Chinese recommended nutrient intakes (Chinese RNIs)

Children’s food preferences (% of surveyed children) [top 2 items]
Fruit group (34%), followed by milk (23%) Red-colored foods (26%), followed by orange-colored (21%) Foods served at warm temperature (54%), followed by room temperature (22%)

Parents’ feeding behavior
77% of parents reported that they sometimes / always experienced difficulties when feeding their child, but only 30% had consulted a healthcare professional 67.4% of parents reported they provided dietary supplements to their child, including cod liver oil (40.8%), vitamin C (19.0%), vitamin A+D (13.6%), multivitamins (8.2%), and vitamin A+D with calcium (4.8%) 36% of children were currently consuming formula milk, in which over 96% of them were consuming cow’s milk-based formula

Parents’ feeding behavior

77% of parents reported that they sometimes / always experienced difficulties when feeding their child, but only 30% had consulted a healthcare professional
67.4% of parents reported they provided dietary supplements to their child, including cod liver oil (40.8%), vitamin C (19.0%), vitamin A+D (13.6%), multivitamins (8.2%), and vitamin A+D with calcium (4.8%)
36% of children were currently consuming formula milk, in which over 96% of them were consuming cow’s milk-based formula

Authors’ Conclusions:

The study showed that diet quality among children in Hong Kong needs improvement, and the results may be useful to develop nutrition interventions for improving children’s diet quality

WYE-EM-050-MAR-17

Reference

Yip PS, et al. Diet quality and eating behavioral patterns in preschool children in Hong Kong. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2017;26(2):298-307. Link to PubMed

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Local data on Hong Kong preschool diet quality and eating behavior

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