Nutrient intake and gender differences among Saudi children

Dietary surveillance is necessary to determine community needs for nutrition interventions. Yet, the nutrient intake of Saudi children has not been previously investigated. The objective of the present study is to evaluate dietary data of Saudi children and investigate gender differences in nutrient intake. In this cross-sectional study, dietary data of 424 Saudi children (6-12 years of age) were collected using telephone-administered single 24-h dietary recall. Three 24-h dietary recalls were collected from a subsample of 168 children (39.6 %) and compared with the Dietary Recommended Intakes (DRIs). Nutrient intakes and proportions of children meeting the DRI requirements were similar and did not vary by children's gender. Over two-thirds of the children had an adequate usual intake of vitamin B12, and over half had adequate intakes (AIs) of vitamin C and phosphorus. On the other hand, our data indicated that low proportions of children consumed adequate usual intakes of magnesium and vitamin E. Over half of the children in our sample met the AI for sodium and vitamin D. Only small proportions of children met the AI for calcium, potassium and fibre. Cholesterol and saturated fat intake exceeded the limits of 300 mg and 10 % of total energy intake by 13.7 % (n 23) and 80.4 % (n 135) of the sample, respectively. Suboptimal intake of several micronutrients was observed among children, suggesting an urgent need to identify barriers to high-quality diet and to develop evidence-based interventions to promote optimal dietary efficacy for children in Saudi Arabia.