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Food
consumption
pattern
127
Introduction
Healthy children are an important aspect of a nations health. Nutrition of pre-school
children is of paramount importance not only for survival, but also because the
development for health, strength and intellectual vitality is laid during that period
(Thakar and Patil, 1990). Unfortunately in developing countries like India, the
preschool children are extremely vulnerable because food available to them is neither
adequate nor suitable for maintenance of resistance to disease as well as physical
development. According to Iyer (1999), 40 per cent of malnourished children in the
world are found in India. The growing children must have enough food having all
essential nutrients. Children who do not have an adequate nutrition intake will become
malnourished. The rate of growth and development of pre-school children depends to a
large measure on the adequacy of the diets consumed by them. The diet and nutrition
surveys carried out by The National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) and The
National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) in 12 states of country revealed that the diets of
the rural population are inadequate and deficient in most of the nutrients. There is
widespread energy deficiency in the rural households. About 60 per cent of preschool
BFJ
108,2
128
children are under weight, 62 per cent are stunted and about 15 per cent suffer from
wasting (Vijayaraghavan and Rao, 1998).
Studies undertaken at NIN, Hyderabad have confirmed that preschool children who
received supplements which provided about 300 calories and 3-4 gm of protein a day
showed a very satisfactory growth rate. However, the rural preschool children were not
consuming these supplements properly, and the diets which they consumed are also
influenced by social customs, beliefs, superstitions, gender biasness, illiteracy, food
fads, religion, cultural behaviour, changes in living environment and socio-economic
status of families (Premakumari and Devadas, 1990). Besides these factors, the
unfavourable attitude and ignorance of mothers about the appropriate weaning and
feeding practices, and lack of awareness about balanced diet serve as major
contributing factors leading to the nutritional problems of the Indian rural children.
Hence, the incidence of malnutrition varies greatly from place to place, depending on
local dietary and social factors.
The present study investigates the frequency of food intake, myths associated with
foods and the consumption patterns of various preschool children (four to five years) of
Haryana State.
Materials and methods
Selection of blocks and villages
The present study was conducted in Fatehabad district of Haryana State (India) and
envisaged selection of two blocks by purposively sampling. Then a list of villages from
these two blocks (Bhuna and Fatehabad) of Fatehabad district was obtained from the
Block Development Office. Two villages i.e. Gorakhpur and Khasapathana from
Bhuna block and two villages namely Matana and Barseen from Fatehabad block were
selected by simple random sampling (Panse and Sukhatme, 1961).
Selection of respondents
A list of preschool children in the age group of four to five years was prepared with the
help of Anganwari (field) workers in the four selected villages. Out of these, 183
respondents (94 male and 89 female) from the four villages were selected randomly.
Data collection
The data regarding food frequency, food consumption and food myths prestructured
were collected with the help of questionnaires and structured interviews by paying
visits to the study areas. Information regarding the intake of food for three consecutive
days was collected from the mothers of children personally by the researcher using a
24-hour recall method, as used by the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB)
(1980). The standard household measures including containers of six consecutive sizes;
spoons, glasses and serving bowls, were shown to the respondents mothers to help
them indicate exact amount of foods which were prepared in the house daily and, out of
the total prepared food, the exact amount of foods consumed by each family member of
the respondents. In order to assess the exact amount of wheat flour, the mothers were
asked about the size of the unleavened bread/paranthas (toasted unleavened bread
containing salt and fat). General information on consistency of foods especially dals
(cooked legumes) and vegetables was asked for more accuracy in calculation. All the
foods consumed by the respondents were cooked in the laboratory under conditions
similar to those of the respondents households and accordingly, the standard raw
weights were calculated for each food. The mean daily food intake was calculated by
taking the mean of three days intake. Average intake of the subjects was compared
with the recommended dietary intake of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
(NIN, 1998).
Food
consumption
pattern
129
Z test
Z test was applied to study the significance of mean of a random sample with that of
the recommended daily intake when sample size was more than 30:
Z
jx 2 mj
p
s= n
where:
x Mean of sample observation.
m Reference value.
n Sample size.
s SD of the sample.
Results
The information regarding frequency and myths associated with foodstuffs intake and
daily mean food intake of boys and girls of four to five years has been discussed as
given below.
Nature and frequency of food intake by the respondents and their families
Cereals. Frequency of food intake analysis in Table I revealed that wheat was the most
accepted cereal among the families of the respondents as it was consumed daily by 100
per cent of those selected. Rice and corn were not consumed daily. Rice was consumed
alternately (7.33 per cent), weekly (27.67 per cent), fortnightly (7.67 per cent) and rarely
(43.67 per cent). The majority of the families (94 per cent) did not consume maize (corn)
and a few consumed it alternately (0.67 per cent), weekly (3 per cent), fortnightly (1.33
per cent) or rarely (1 per cent). In the winter season, bajra (pearl millet) was consumed
quite frequently by the families.
Pulses. Although daily and alternate day consumption of various pulses including
bengal gram, black gram, red gram and lentil was minimal, yet green gram was taken
weekly by majority of the families i.e. 66 per cent followed by its consumption on
alternate days by 22.33 per cent families. Soybean was not popular as 92.62 per cent of
the families did not consume it. More than 50 per cent of the families consumed lentil
(52 per cent), green gram (66 per cent) and bengal gram (52.67 per cent) once a week.
Leafy vegetables. The daily intake of various green leafy vegetable, namely,
amaranth, bathua (Chenopodium album), fenugreek leaves, mustard and spinach was
minimal. However, coriander leaves (34 per cent) and mint (14 per cent) were included
in the diet daily by some of the families. Most of the families (56-70 per cent) consumed
1.33
4.67
34.00
5.33
1.67
14.33
5.33
39.33
37.67
47.00
82.00
4.33
45.33
51.00
22.33
118
113
141
246
13
136
153
67
1.00
0.67
5.67
0.67
1.67
100.0
20.33
Daily
4
14
102
16
5
43
16
3
2
17
2
Pulses
Bengal gram
Black gram
Green gram
Red gram
Moth bean
Lentil
Soybean
Leafy vegetables
Amaranth
Bathua (Chenopodium album)
Coriander
Fenugreek leaves
Bengal gram leaves
Mustard
Mint
Spinach
Roots and tubers
Radish
Carrot
Potato
Onion
Colocasia
Ginger
Garlic
Turnip
300
61
Cereals
Wheat
Rice
Bajra (Pearl millet)
Corn
Table I.
Frequency of food intake
by families of
preschoolers
n
44
46
79
12
21
15
30
24
56
68
62
70
18
69
31
62
29
21
67
6
3
24
3
22
110
2
14.67
15.33
26.33
4.00
7.00
5.00
10.00
8.00
18.67
22.67
20.67
23.33
6.00
23.00
10.33
20.67
9.67
7.00
22.33
2.00
1.00
8.0
1.00
7.33
36.67
0.67
Alternately
n
%
128
125
47
29
108
30
30
69
169
179
99
177
37
210
82
210
158
123
198
33
52
156
15
42.67
41.67
15.67
9.67
36.00
10.00
10.00
28.00
56.33
59.67
33.00
59.00
12.33
70.00
27.33
70.00
52.67
41.00
66.00
11.00
17.33
52.00
5.00
27.67
25.00
3.00
Weekly
%
83
75
9
3
7
12
1
1
1
5
3
23
8
4
1.00
2.33
4.00
3.00
0.33
0.33
0.33
2.67
1.67
1.00
0.67
7.67
2.67
1.33
Fortnightly
n
%
6
9
18
3
72
32
14
56
4
4
12
11
10
9
14
6
19
16
12
10
9
14
4
131
13
3
2.00
3.00
6.00
1.00
24.00
10.67
4.67
18.67
1.33
1.33
4.00
3.67
3.33
3.00
4.67
2.00
6.33
5.33
4.00
3.33
3.00
4.67
1.33
43.67
4.33
1.00
Rarely
130
Foodstuffs
4
4
8
10
74
87
73
75
67
34
24
25
235
7
122
6
86
135
6
247
236
101
278
41
33
282
1.33
1.33
2.67
3.33
24.67
29.00
24.33
25.00
(continued)
22.33
11.33
8.00
8.33
78.33
2.33
40.67
2.00
28.67
45.00
2.00
82.33
78.67
33.67
92.67
13.67
11.00
94.00
Not consumed
n
%
BFJ
108,2
n
2
167
10
14
201
14
17
64
22
279
20
201
94
219
107
12
95
Foodstuffs
Other vegetables
Brinjal
Tomato
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Green chillies
Lady finger
Peas
Fruits
Guava
Apple
Banana
Ber (Zizypus)
Lemon
Orange
73.00
35.67
4.00
31.67
7.33
93.00
6.67
67.00
31.33
0.67
21.33
0.67
55.67
3.33
4.67
67.00
4.67
5.67
Daily
3
7
14
36
25
38
24
9
34
31
15
29
41
1.00
2.33
4.67
12.00
8.33
12.67
8.00
3.00
11.33
10.33
5.00
9.67
13.67
Alternately
n
%
26
58
11
20
22
22
50
70
31
8.67
19.33
3.67
6.67
7.33
7.33
16.67
23.33
10.33
53.00
32.00
71.33
69.67
17.33
71.00
69.67
Weekly
%
159
96
214
209
52
213
209
20
71
34
71
24
13
68
4
3
3
1.33
6.67
23.67
11.33
23.66
8.00
4.33
22.67
1.33
1.00
1.00
Fortnightly
n
%
32
8
11
67
2
2
123
7
59
124
177
183
196
170
171
203
48
15
30
33
13
30
27
10.67
2.67
3.67
22.66
0.67
0.67
41.00
2.33
19.67
41.33
58.70
61.00
65.33
56.66
57.00
67.67
16.00
5.00
10.00
11.00
4.33
10.00
9.00
Rarely
21.00
3.33
3.00
4.33
6.33
4.67
2.00
22.33
15.34
9.33
7.33
7.00
9.67
91.33
4.00
100
21.67
15.00
34.00
27.67
16.33
53.00
92.33
44.67
63
10
9
13
19
14
6
67
46
28
22
21
29
273
12
300
65
45
102
83
49
159
277
134
Not consumed
n
%
Food
consumption
pattern
131
Table I.
BFJ
108,2
132
Hot
Cold
No response
n
%
Foodstuffs
Cereals
Wheat
Rice
Pearl millet
Corn
72
11
284
197
24.00
3.67
94.67
65.67
225
285
14
100
75.00
95.00
4.67
33.33
3
4
2
3
1.00
1.33
0.67
1.00
Pulses
Bengal gram
Black gram
Green gram
Red gram
Moth bean
Lentil
Soybean
166
170
38
171
170
142
178
55.33
56.67
12.67
57.00
56.67
47.33
59.33
132
125
260
116
121
155
108
44.00
41.67
86.67
38.67
40.33
51.67
36.00
2
5
2
13
9
3
14
0.67
1.67
0.67
4.33
3.00
1.00
4.67
Leafy vegetables
Amaranth
Bathua ((Chenopodium album)
Coriander
Fenugreek leaves
Bengal gram leaves
Mustard
Mint
Spinach
238
180
29
253
165
151
20
100
79.33
60.00
9.67
84.33
55.00
50.33
6.67
33.33
60
118
270
44
129
147
279
199
20.00
39.33
90.00
14.67
43.00
49.00
93.00
66.33
2
2
1
3
6
2
1
1
0.67
0.67
0.33
1.00
2.00
0.67
0.33
0.33
66
61
203
165
190
270
257
80
22.00
20.33
67.66
55.00
63.33
90.00
85.67
26.67
232
237
95
133
102
26
35
216
77.33
79.00
31.67
44.43
34.00
8.67
11.67
72.00
2
2
2
2
8
4
8
4
0.67
0.67
0.67
0.67
2.67
1.33
2.67
1.33
Other vegetables
Brinjal
Tomato
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Green chillies
Lady finger
Peas
208
115
56
50
87
39
47
69.33
38.33
18.67
16.67
29.00
13.00
15.67
85
179
238
248
207
255
247
28.33
59.67
79.33
82.67
69.00
85.00
82.33
7
6
6
2
6
6
6
2.33
2.00
2.00
0.67
2.00
2.00
2.00
64
11
12
89
15
14
21.33
3.67
4.00
29.67
5.00
4.67
234
287
286
209
282
283
78.00
95.67
95.33
69.67
94.00
94.33
2
2
2
2
3
3
0.67
0.67
0.67
0.67
1.00
1.00
(continued)
Fruits
Guava
Apple
Banana
Ber (Zizypus)
Lemon
Orange
Food
consumption
pattern
133
Table II.
Per cent response of
families to different
myths associated with
foods
BFJ
108,2
134
Table II.
Hot
Foodstuffs
Milk and milk products
Cows milk
Buffalos milk
Goats milk
Curd
Buttermilk
Butter
Fats and oils
Desi ghee (milk fat)
Hydrogenated fat
Refined oil
Mustard oil
No response
n
%
37
52
44
9
4
32
12.33
17.33
14.67
3.00
1.33
10.67
256
245
245
288
293
265
85.33
81.67
81.67
96.00
97.67
88.33
7
3
11
3
3
3
2.33
1.00
3.67
1.00
1.00
1.00
150
148
132
34
50.00
49.33
44.00
11.33
147
146
161
261
49.00
48.67
53.67
87.00
3
6
7
5
1.00
2.00
2.33
1.67
Cold
hydrogenated fat. Cold foods included wheat, rice, green gram, lentil, coriander, mint,
spinach, radish, carrot, turnip, tomato, cauliflower, cabbage, green chillies, lady finger,
peas, fruits, curd, buttermilk, butter, cows milk, buffalo and goat milk, refined oil and
mustard oil.
Foods taken and avoided by respondents during major diseases
The data presented in Table III depict that the majority (70.35 per cent) of respondents
consumed light foods during fever, namely, tea, bread/biscuits, porridge (dalia)/cooked
rice and legume (khichdi) preparation, milk and fruit. A total of 12 per cent of children
consumed the foods as per doctors advice followed by as per own demand (8 per cent)
and whatever was available in the house (9 per cent). The majority of families (88 per
cent) did not avoid any specific food during fever. The remaining families avoided
unleavened bread i.e. chapati, buttermilk/curd and fried foods during fever, as per
doctors advice.
Similarly, during loose motions, the majority (71.5 per cent) of the children preferred
light foods including khichdi (rice and legume preparation), curd, buttermilk, banana,
cooked legume water, oral rehydration solution (ORS) and Isabgol. The remaining
children consumed food as per the doctors advice (15 per cent), whatever was available
in the house (7.56 per cent) and as per their own choice (5.81 per cent). More than half
(58 per cent) of the children did not avoid any food during loose motions.
In typhoid/measles, 50 per cent children consumed light foods, namely,
khichdi/porridge (26.16 per cent), dal (cooked legume), water (1.16 per cent), milk/tea
along with biscuits/bread (20.94 per cent) and khajoor (dates) (1.74 per cent). A total of
33 per cent of children consumed foods as per doctors advice and the remaining 8 and
9 per cent of children consumed food as per own demand and whatever was available
in the house, respectively.
Foods prepared on festivals by respondents families
The majority (64 to 82 per cent) of the families of respondents were preparing sweet
cereal preparation i.e. halwa, malpura (sweetened wheat flour preparation), kheer
(rice/milk/sugar), poori (ball shaped fried wheat bread) and sweets for the major Indian
festivals, namely, Teej, Holi, Diwali and Dusshera (Table IV).
Typhoid/Measles
I
II
III
IV
Loose motions
I
II
III
IV
Fever
I
II
III
IV
Foods accepted
32.56
8.14
9.30
50.00
26.16
1.16
20.94
1.74
5.24
9
56
14
16
86
45
2
36
3
15.12
5.81
7.56
71.51
47.67
18.60
12.21
8.14
9.30
70.35
43.60
24.42
2.33
Percentage
26
10
13
123
82
32
21
14
16
121
75
42
4
No.
I
II
III
I
II
III
IV
I
II
III
IV
V
Foods avoided
Percentage
12.21
8.14
12.79
11.63
55.23
12.79
9.89
19.18
58.14
29.07
18.02
52.91
No.
21
14
22
20
95
22
17
33
100
50
31
91
Food
consumption
pattern
135
Table III.
Foods taken and avoided
by respondents during
major diseases
BFJ
108,2
136
Table IV.
Foods prepared on
festivals by respondents
families
Festivals menu
Teej
Pucca foodsa:
Halwa b/Malpura c/kheer d/Halwa, poori e
Halwa, sweets/sweets, kheer/sweets alone
Kheer/Sevian f alone
Nil
Diwali
Pucca foods:
Halwa, malpura/Halwa, poori/Halwa kheer/Halwa,
rice
Sweets alone/sweets, halwa/sweets kheer
Nil
Holi
Pucca foods:
Halwa, malpura or Halwa alone
Sweets, Halwa or Kheer
Nil
Dusshera
Pucca foods:
Halwa or Malpura Halwa poori/Kheer
Sweets alone
Rice alone
Nil
Amavasya
Kheer
Nil
Basauda
Sweet rice/sweet chapati
Nil
Purnima
Kheer
Nil
No.
Percentage
132
17
8
15
76.75
9.88
4.65
8.72
140
30
2
81.40
17.44
1.16
118
39
15
68.60
22.68
8.72
111
44
9
8
64.54
25.58
5.23
4.65
106
66
61.63
38.37
115
57
66.86
33.14
97
75
56.40
43.60
Notes: a Fried food; b Semolina and milk fat and sugar; c Wheat flour and sugar and milk fat; d Milk
and rice; e Fried small wheat flour bread; f Vermicilli and milk fat and sugar
210
45
100
50
50
100
500
25
30
RDI (g)
152:17 ^ 34:6
19:65 ^ 13:4
42:86 ^ 37:0
34:50 ^ 42:4
0:97 ^ 4:2
12:14 ^ 18:2
397:38 ^ 128:7
19:37 ^ 10:3
23:10 ^ 7:2
Boys (n 94)
Mean ^ SD
72.46
43.66
42.86
69.00
1.94
12.14
79.48
77.48
76.99
1.6980NS
0.1843NS
1.8686NS
0.0086NS
9.6693 * *
3.7624 * *
1.0349NS
0.5976NS
1.1349NS
1.6725NS
1.8934NS
1.5461NS
0.3654NS
11.5469 * *
4.8251 * *
0.7973NS
0.5488NS
0.9543NS
145:92 ^ 37:7
27:61 ^ 94:4
39:20 ^ 32:5
49:49 ^ 58:9
0:98 ^ 5:1
13:06 ^ 23:1
378:84 ^ 117:1
19:34 ^ 9:5
22:75 ^ 6:4
Boys
Z value
Boys-girls
1.1660NS
0.7880NS
0.7119NS
1.9677 *
0.0136NS
0.2974NS
1.0177NS
0.0208NS
0.3404NS
Girls
69.49
61.35
39.20
98.99
1.96
13.06
75.77
77.36
75.84
Notes: a Showing comparison of intake and RDI; * Significant at 5 per cent level; * * Significant at 1 per cent level; NS Non-significant;
RDI Recommended dietary intake (NIN, 1998)
Cereals
Pulses
Roots and tubers
Other vegetables
Green leafy vegetables
Fruits
Milk and milk products
Fats and oils
Sugar and jaggery
Food stuffs
Food
consumption
pattern
137
Table V.
Mean daily food intake of
four to five-years-old
preschool children (boys
and girls)
BFJ
108,2
138
boys, the difference was not significant. At the same time, intake of pulses by girls was
also lower than the RDI but significant difference was not observed.
Roots and tubers. Boys were taking roots and tubers at a mean of 42.86 g/day
against its RDI intake of 100 g. Girls were consuming on average only 39.2 g of roots
and tubers daily but their intake did not differ significantly (p # 0:05).
Other vegetables. This group belongs to those vegetables which are not covered
under green leafy vegetables and roots and tubers. Intake of other vegetables by boys
and girls was less i.e. only 34.50 (69 per cent of RDI) and 49.49 g/day (98.9 per cent of
RDI), respectively. Daily consumption of other vegetables by girls was significantly
(p # 0:05) higher than that of the boys.
Green leafy vegetables. Green leafy vegetables are rich sources of calcium, iron,
b-carotene, vitamin C, riboflavin and folic acid but the quantity of green leafy
vegetables consumed by boys and girls was almost similar and negligible. The intake
of green leafy vegetables was 1.94-1.96 per cent of the RDI.
Fruits. The mean intake of fruits i.e. 12.14 and 13.06 g/day among boys and girls,
was almost similar and significantly (p # 0:05) less than the RDI. Their consumption
of fruits was only 12.14 per cent (boys) and 13.06 per cent (girls) of the RDI.
Milk and milk products. Daily mean intake of milk and milk products of boys and
girls i.e. 75.77-79.48 per cent of the RDI, did not differ significantly (p # 0:05).
Fats and oils. Both boys and girls were taking almost similar amounts of fat and oil
(19.34-19.37 g) in daily diets, but their intake was lower than the recommended intake.
Daily mean intake of fats and oils of boys and girls was 19.37 and 19.34 g/day,
respectively which was less than the RDI (77.36 to 77.48 per cent of the RDI) in both the
sexes.
Sugar and jaggery. Mean intake of sugar and jaggery of preschool children was
23.10 g/day in boys and 22.75 g/day in girls against the recommended daily intake of
25 g/day (NIN, 1998). Hence, both the boys and girls were taking similar but slightly
less amounts of this food group than recommended.
Discussion
Overall, wheat, the main cereal crop being produced in the northern part of India, was the
most accepted cereal among all the families as its consumption was reported daily by
100 per cent of the respondents. It is more acceptable due to its longer shelf life, easy
availability throughout the year and organoleptic acceptability. Pearl millet is also
cultivated in this state in the winter season and hence consumed in the winter season
only. Another reason for its consumption in winter season is that it is considered to be
very hot because of it having a higher fat and starch content. Moreover, its flour becomes
rancid within five to six days and more so in the summer season. Pulses were consumed
weekly (66 per cent) or alternately (22 per cent) by most of the families as women remain
busy in agricultural operations and they cannot afford to spend much time in cooking of
pulses. Moreover, pulses are too expensive. Green leafy vegetables and other vegetables
were consumed on the basis of availability. They only use those green leafy vegetables
grown in their fields and they do not purchase them from the market. Roots and tubers
were consumed frequently as they are inexpensive and plentiful. Potato is used by all the
families due to acceptance by all the family members and ease of availability. Most of the
families consumed fruits rarely as they do not want to purchase these from the market
because they are expensive. Most of the families rear milch animals (animals producing
milk) and they have a great liking for their milk and milk products. Families preferred to
take buffalos milk daily (93 per cent) over the cows milk (7.33 per cent) due to its higher
fat content. Other milk products, except buttermilk, were not consumed frequently
because women are busy in agricultural operations and they do not have time for food
processing and preparation activities. The other milk product i.e. desi ghee (animal fat) is
very popular among rural families. The families had simple dietary habits preferring to
take cereal, milk, butter milk, ghee and sugar. Their diets were deficient in protective
foods such as leafy vegetables. Wide variations in the intake of various food groups
among the respondents were due to differences in cropping patterns and the economic
status of respondents. Similar results were also reported earlier by Chaudhary (1997)
and Vashista (2002). Wheat, the main cereal group, and milk products were consumed
daily in the diet. The dietary surveys carried out by NNMB between 1994-96 also showed
that cereals and millets contribute to 60 per cent of the total diet and the intake of cereal
was about 75 per cent of the suggested dietary intake in Haryana state (Vijayaraghavan
and Rao, 1998). Agarwal et al. (1999) reported that the diets of rural populations mostly
contain cereals and millets and are devoid of green leafy vegetables.
In India, various myths are also associated with foods such as hot and cold food.
More than half of the respondents mothers (more than 50 per cent) believed some of the
foods (pearl millet, corn, some pulses, bathua and fenugreek leaves, onion, garlic,
ginger, desi ghee and sweets) to be hot foods, either because they are calorie dense, are
difficult to digest or have pungency. Light foods, considered to be easily digestible,
were given during febrile conditions or diarrhoea. In contrast to our study, Rachna
(2002) reported that 60 per cent of the subjects were taking food as per advice of the
doctor in cases of illness and 10 per cent were taking foods that were available in their
house, this is mainly due to lack of awareness.
Because of the non-availability of some of the foods, poverty, religious factors and
ignorance, the daily mean intake of almost all the food stuffs, namely, cereals, pulses,
roots and tubers, green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, fruits, fats and oils, milk and
milk products and sugar and jaggery was lower than the RDI among preschool
children but comparatively the intake of green leafy vegetables and fruits was the
lowest. The findings of the present study corroborate with those of Vijayaraghavan
and Rao (1998) and Nana et al. (2003) who revealed that daily intake of cereals, roots
and tubers, green leafy vegetables and fats and oils was lower than the RDI. Golder
et al. (2001) reported lower intake of roots and tubers and other vegetables in diets of
preschool children. Similarly, Jood et al. (2000) reported lower intake of fruits, sugar
and jaggery and fats and oils by preschoolers. Intake of pulses, milk and milk products
and other vegetable was also reported lower than the RDI by Khosla et al. (2000),
Timokhin et al. (1998) and Gronowska-Senger et al. (1998), respectively.
The long-term consequences of such a poor diet are well recognized (Thakar and
Patil, 1990), hence, there is a need to impart nutrition education to families, especially to
mothers, so that they can provide a well-balanced diet incorporating locally available
inexpensive nutritious food stuffs from each food groups to children. Nutrition should
also be included in the course curriculum of school children so as to establish sound
food habits among children for leading a healthy life in future.
References
Agarwal, K., Kushwah, A., Kushwah, H.S., Agarwal, R. and Rajput, L.D. (1999), Dietary analysis
and assessment of nutritional status of preschool children of urban and rural population,
Ind. J. Nutr. Dietet., Vol. 38, pp. 231-5.
Food
consumption
pattern
139
BFJ
108,2
140