Micronutrient intakes and their food sources among Greek children and adolescents

Objective: To assess the usual dietary intake of twenty micronutrients and to identify their food sources in a representative sample of Greek children and adolescents.

Design: Cross-sectional data from the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS). Vitamin and mineral intakes were estimated from two 24 h dietary recalls by sex and age groups. Estimates were calculated using the National Research Council method and the statistical software package Stata13 to account for within- and between-person variations. The prevalence of nutrients' inadequacy among sample was estimated using the estimated average requirement (EAR) cut-point method. The contribution of food groups to nutrient intake was estimated to identify micronutrients food sources.

Setting: Greece.

Participants: Children and adolescents aged 1-19 years (n 577) who provided sufficient and plausible 24-h recalls.

Results: A substantial percentage of children and adolescents had insufficient intakes of numerous micronutrients. Usual intake of vitamins D, K and potassium was inadequate in practically all individuals. Vitamin A, folate, Ca and Mg were also insufficient to a considerable percentage, especially in girls aged 14-18 years. Pantothenic acid was highlighted as nutrient of interest since only one out of ten boys 9-13 years and girls 14-19 years had intake above the EAR. Data demonstrated that food groups highly ranked in energy contribution were not necessarily important sources of micronutrients.

Conclusions: Results suggest that micronutrient density of Greek children and adolescents' diet should be improved. These findings might be used by public health policy-makers to help young people optimise their food choices in Greece.