Do Chinese Preschool Children Eat a Sufficiently Diverse Diet? A Cross-Sectional Study in China

Jiang, Hua; Zhao, Ai; Zhao, Wenzhi; Tan, Shengjie; Zhang, Jian; Zhang, Yumei; Wang, Peiyu

doi:10.3390/nu10060794

Open AccessArticle

Do Chinese Preschool Children Eat a Sufficiently Diverse Diet? A Cross-Sectional Study in China

by

Hua Jiang

^1,2,

Ai Zhao

³,

Wenzhi Zhao

¹,

Shengjie Tan

¹

,

Jian Zhang

¹,

Yumei Zhang

¹

and

Peiyu Wang

^1,*

¹

Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China

²

School of Nursing, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China

³

Department of Social Medicine and Health Education, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Nutrients 2018, 10(6), 794; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10060794

Submission received: 21 May 2018 / Revised: 11 June 2018 / Accepted: 13 June 2018 / Published: 20 June 2018

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Abstract

Background: This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate dietary diversity and its associated factors in Chinese preschoolers and explore whether the daily food consumption of children with different dietary diversity-associated characteristics met recommended dietary amounts. Methods: A cross-sectional study covering seven cities and two villages was conducted and included 697 preschool children aged 3–7 years old. Dietary diversity score (DDS) and DDS 10 were calculated based on 24-h dietary recall. The food-intake differences among children with different DDS 10 predictors were examined. Results: The mean DDS and DDS 10 in Chinese preschool children were 7.4 ± 1.5 (ranged from 3 to 9) and 7.0 ± 3 (ranged from 3 to 9) respectively. Positive predictors of dietary diversity included residing in an urban environment, a higher household expenditure on children’s food, and a higher frequency of eating outside. Food-intake differences existed among the predictors. Conclusions: Education and intervention should be strengthened to improve the dietary diversity of preschool children, especially in rural areas. The overall dietary pattern of children requires attention, which means not only increasing dietary diversity but also avoiding an unbalanced diet.

Keywords: dietary diversity; preschool; nutrient adequacy

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MDPI and ACS Style

Jiang, H.; Zhao, A.; Zhao, W.; Tan, S.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, P. Do Chinese Preschool Children Eat a Sufficiently Diverse Diet? A Cross-Sectional Study in China. Nutrients 2018, 10, 794. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10060794

AMA Style

Jiang H, Zhao A, Zhao W, Tan S, Zhang J, Zhang Y, Wang P. Do Chinese Preschool Children Eat a Sufficiently Diverse Diet? A Cross-Sectional Study in China. Nutrients. 2018; 10(6):794. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10060794

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jiang, Hua, Ai Zhao, Wenzhi Zhao, Shengjie Tan, Jian Zhang, Yumei Zhang, and Peiyu Wang. 2018. "Do Chinese Preschool Children Eat a Sufficiently Diverse Diet? A Cross-Sectional Study in China" Nutrients 10, no. 6: 794. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10060794

APA Style

Jiang, H., Zhao, A., Zhao, W., Tan, S., Zhang, J., Zhang, Y., & Wang, P. (2018). Do Chinese Preschool Children Eat a Sufficiently Diverse Diet? A Cross-Sectional Study in China. Nutrients, 10(6), 794. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10060794

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Do Chinese Preschool Children Eat a Sufficiently Diverse Diet? A Cross-Sectional Study in China

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