Growth and nutrition of Hong Kong children aged 0-7 years

Objective: To study the early dietary practices in relation to growth of Ho ng Kong children from birth to 7 years. Methodology: One hundred and seventy-three full-term Hong Kong Chinese babi es were recruited at birth and were followed up for anthropometric measurem ents using standardized methods and dietary assessment using a combination of dietary history, 24 h recall and food frequency. At 7 years, 125 childre n remained in the study. Results: Mean (SD) birthweight was 3.3 (0.38) kg for boys and 3.1 (0.38) kg for girls. Mean (SD) weight at 7 years was 22.4 (4.2) kg for boys and 21.1 (3.7) kg for girls, and mean (SD) height was 120.3 (4.8) cm for buys and 1 19.8 (5.1) cm for girls. Hong Kong children were lighter and shorter than A ustralian children and the National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) ref erences, but the magnitude is less than one standard deviation score. Mean weight and height of Hong Kong children were lower compared to Caucasian an d Beijing children, with more obvious differences between 1 and 5 years. At 1 year. mean (SD) daily energy intake was 98 (24) kcal/kg/day for boys and 100 (26) kcal/kg/day for girls. By 7 years, it decreased to 82 (18) kcal/k g/day for boys and 73 (22) kcal/kg/day for girls. Between 2 to 4 years of a ge the energy intake of studied children were slightly lower than the Austr alian and Finnish children, but the protein intake was higher. Percentage o f fat contributing to total daily energy intake was lower throughout at a l evel of 30%. Such differences in diet reflect a lower consumption of milk f at, higher consumption of meat and lower level of physical activity in Hong Kong children. Intakes of calcium, iron and vitamin C all reached 60% or a bove of US recommended daily allowance. Conclusions: The smaller body build of Chinese compared to Caucasians canno t be explained by dietary differences. The diet of Kong Kong children is ch anging to one which is more Westernized with a higher consumption of animal products.