DIETARY PATTERNS, NUTRIENT INTAKES, AND NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOMETRY OF URBAN PUERTO-RICAN TODDLERS

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.