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Article

Dietary Vitamin A Intakes of Preschool-Age Children in South India^{1 ,2}

Usha Ramakrishnan³, Reynaldo Martorell, Michael C. Latham^* and Rajaratnam Abel

Department of International Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322; ^* Program in International Nutrition, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853–6301; and Rural Unit for Health and Social Affairs Department, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore 632004, India

³To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed.

The vitamin A intake of children aged 1–3 y (n = 683) was assessed using a quantitative food-frequency questionnaire in a vitamin A intervention study in South India. Trained field workers interviewed mothers about their children's usual consumption of common sources of vitamin A and collected information on portion sizes using standard cups. Mothers were asked to state the number of months in a year during which specific seasonal foods were available. Information about current breast-feeding was also obtained. Vitamin A intakes from nonbreast milk sources were extremely low at all ages. The median intake of total vitamin A, ß-carotene and retinol was 121, 100 and 21 retinol equivalents (RE), respectively. Maternal education and socioeconomic status (SES) were positively associated with total vitamin A and retinol intakes. Girls had significantly lower intakes than boys even after adjusting for differences in age, maternal education, SES and breast-feeding status. Breast-feeding was common, but declined to 60% by 24 mo and to 15% by 36 mo. Vitamin A intakes from nonbreast milk sources increased with age only for currently breast-fed children, who tended to be of lower SES. After taking into account the potential contribution of breast milk by using published estimates, nonbreast-fed children met only 60% of the Indian recommended dietary allowance (RDA; 250 RE/d), whereas breast-fed children met ~90% of the RDA during y 2 of life.

KEY WORDS: • preschool children • vitamin A • dietary intakes

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