Systematic Literature Review of the Nutrient Status, Intake, and Diet Quality of Chinese Children across Different Age Groups

• Published in: Nutrients 2023-03, Vol.15 (6), p.1536
• Main Authors: Ayling, Katie, Li, Rongrong, Muhardi, Leilani, Melse-Boonstra, Alida, Sun, Ye, Chen, Wei, Kudla, Urszula
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age groups; Anemia; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; children 0–18 years of age; China; Diet; diet quality; Dietary intake; East Asian People; Energy Intake; Food; Health aspects; Health problems; Hemoglobin; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Iodine; Iron; Literature reviews; Malnutrition; nutrient intake; Nutrient status; Nutrients; Nutrition; Nutrition research; Nutritional status; Obesity; Overweight; Pediatric research; Public health; Quality assessment; Quality control; Retinene; Selenium; Soybeans; Systematic Review; Teenagers; Vitamin A; Vitamin D; Vitamin deficiency; Vitamins
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu15061536

There is a lack of comprehensive reports on nutrient deficiencies and dietary intake among various age groups of children in China. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the nutrient status, intake, and diet adequacy of Chinese children (0-18 years old). PubMed and Scopus were searched for literature published between January 2010 and July 2022. A systematic review approach with a quality assessment was performed to analyze 2986 identified articles in English and Chinese. Eighty-three articles were included in the analysis. In younger children, anemia and iron and Vitamin A deficiencies remain severe public health problems, despite high Vitamin A and adequate iron intake. In older children, a high prevalence of selenium; Vitamin A and D deficiencies; and inadequate intakes of Vitamins A, D, B, C, selenium, and calcium were reported. Intakes of dairy, soybeans, fruits, and vegetables were below recommended levels. High intakes of iodine, total and saturated fat, and sodium and low dietary diversity scores were also reported. As nutritional concerns vary with age and region, future nutrition interventions should be tailored accordingly.