D. Sanjur et al., DIETARY PATTERNS, NUTRIENT INTAKES, AND NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOMETRY OF URBAN PUERTO-RICAN TODDLERS, Journal of nutrition education, 26(4), 1994, pp. 171-179
Progress toward a healthier America can only come when programs target
their health and promotion activities to special population groups. T
his concern paved the way for a 3-year study among 120 urban Puerto Ri
can children, aged 5 to 37 months. Dietary results showed that, despit
e low mean household incomes, children exhibited adequate intakes, and
, in some instances, the intakes exceeded the recommendations. This wa
s particularly true of protein (53 +/- 17.6 g), fat (48 +/- 16.7 g), a
nd sodium (1127 +/- 661.4 mg) intakes. When the mean distribution of e
nergy per meal was examined, snacks, rather than a meal, were found to
be the major contributors (35%) of kilocalories to the children's die
ts. The high snack frequency of whole milk most likely contributes to
the significantly higher levels of protein, B-12, and sodium in the ch
ildren's diets. Regression analysis examined the independent effect of
SES variables on children's macronutrient intakes, with maternal educ
ation being a significant explanatory variable. Average percentage of
children's weight/age, height/age, and weight/height were 106 +/- 13.4
%, 101 +/- 4.4%, and 105 +/- 10.6%, respectively. Thus, it was observe
d that study children were on average heavier and taller than the refe
rence population.