Abstract

To determine food preferences and nutrients intake of nursery school children, 199 children, ages 1 to 6 years, were assessed with a structured questionnaire completed by their mothers. The questionnaire included questions related to dietary habits, mother's interest in the child's health, family history of diseases, etc. The nutrients intake was measured by 24-hour recall method. Children's weight and height were measured by trained investigators on the same day. For analysis purposes, the subjects were grouped into underweight, normal and overweight groups based on the z-score of weight for height. Only 58.3% of the subjects were grouped into the normal weight group. On the other hand, 19.1% were in the underweight group and 22.6% were in the overweight group. Forty four percent of them showed unbalanced dietary habits such as preference for picky foods, 40.0% of them disliked vegetables, and 46.7% disliked minor grains other than rice. Children in the underweight group showed a higher score of inappropriate dietary habits compared to those of normal or obese groups. The level of nutrients intake of the subjects was higher than the Korean RDA value in general, except for Ca, calories, and Zn. However, 87.4% of the children showed a higher intake level than 125% of KRDA in protein, and 18.2% and 41.4% of them showed a lower intake level than 75% of KRDA in Fe and Ca, respectively. Children in the underweight group showed a higher percentage of eating less than 75% KRDA in niacin compared to those of the normal or overweight group (p<0.05) and we found a similar tendency in Fe, Zn and Vitamin $B_1$ intake.

Keywords

• Z-score;
• nursery school children;
• nutrient intakes;
• 24-hour recall method