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Epidemiology

Intake and dietary sources of haem and non-haem iron in Flemish preschoolers

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 66, pages 806–812 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES:

In the absence of biochemical data on iron status in preschoolers, data on the adequacy of iron intake may be used to assess the possible risk of iron deficiency in this population group. Therefore, this study aims to investigate iron intake and its food sources in Flemish preschoolers.

SUBJECTS/METHODS:

A total of 661 Flemish preschoolers 2.5–6.5 years old were recruited via a random cluster sampling design, using schools as primary sampling units. Three-day estimated diet records were used to assess dietary intakes. The contribution to iron intake (haem and non-haem) of 57 food groups was computed by summing the amount provided by the food group for all individuals divided by the total intake for all individuals.

RESULTS:

Mean total iron intake (s.d.) was 7.4 (±2.3) and 6.7 (±2.8) mg/day for boys and girls, respectively. In all 65% of the children <4 years old and 45% of those 4–6.5 years old presented adequate iron intakes. The food groups with the highest mean proportional contribution to total iron intake were bread, meat and meat products, breakfast cereals and sweet snacks (in that order). Children from small families whose mother had a low educational level had higher iron intakes.

CONCLUSION:

Iron intakes were similar for boys and girls and almost half of the Flemish preschoolers do not comply with the dietary iron recommendations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the parents and teachers who participated in this project and generously volunteered their time and knowledge. We also acknowledge Mia Bellemans and Mieke De Maeyer, the dieticians of our team, who were responsible for the data input. In addition we thank Dr Ilse Pynaert for her assistance in the data-linking procedures to calculate the haem and non-haem iron intakes. Funding for this project was provided by the Belgian Nutrition Information Center.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    I Huybrechts, Y Lin, W De Keyzer, C Matthys, G De Backer & S De Henauw

  2. Dietary Exposure Assessment group, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France

    I Huybrechts

  3. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University College Ghent, Ghent, Belgium

    W De Keyzer & S De Henauw

  4. Clinical and Experimental Endocrinology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    C Matthys

  5. Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK

    L Harvey

  6. Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    L Harvey

  7. INSERM, U744, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Univ. Lille Nord de France, Lille, France

    A Meirhaeghe & J Dallongeville

  8. Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    B Sarria

Authors
  1. I Huybrechts
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  9. G De Backer
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  10. S De Henauw
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to I Huybrechts.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Contributors: IH was responsible for the study design, fieldwork, analyses and the writing of the manuscript. CM, GDB and SDH contributed in the conceptualization of the study design and the development of the questionnaires. YL and WDK assisted in the statistical analyses. LH, AM, JD and BS assisted in the interpretation of the results and in the writing of the manuscript. All the authors assisted in the writing of the manuscript.

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Huybrechts, I., Lin, Y., De Keyzer, W. et al. Intake and dietary sources of haem and non-haem iron in Flemish preschoolers. Eur J Clin Nutr 66, 806–812 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.16

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