AbstractIntroduction:An adequate and balanced intake of energy and nutrients is important for growth of children and prevention of diseases. The aim of this study was to get insight in the prevalence of low and high intakes of micronutrients and its association with overweight among Dutch children. This insight can contribute to the development of policy on healthy diet and specific nutritional information.Materials and methods:Food and supplement consumption data of children 1–18 years (n = 2.235) were collected in 2012–2016 with two independent 24-hr recalls. Body Mass Index (BMI) was based on measured body height and weight for 1–15 year-olds, and self-reported values for 16–18 year–olds. Using the Dutch food and supplement composition tables, the habitual nutrient and energy intake distribution were estimated and evaluated with the dietary reference values of the Dutch Health Council. Analyses were performed for the total group as well as for classes of BMI.Results:The intake of most micronutrients was sufficient for the children until the age of 13. No statement on this can be made for the intake of iron and vitamin D (girls). For the Dutch teenagers, low intakes of vitamin A (43%), iron (10% of the boys and 77% of the girls) and vitamin C (18%) were observed. For many other nutrients (calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, vitamins B1, B2, B6, D, K1 and folate) the risk of low intakes among (subgroups of) teenagers were evaluated as ‘unknown’, as the median intakes were lower than the adequate intakes. In all age groups, the intakes of copper and vitamins B3 and B12 were sufficient.At the same time, the majority of the children (72% of the boys and 50% of the girls) had a high intake of sodium and a small number of children had high intakes of zinc (7%), copper (3%) or vitamin A (4% of the boys).17% of the children had overweight or obesity and for 9% the weight was evaluated as underweight. The prevalence of low intakes of vitamins A, D and iron was associated with BMI.Discussion:This study suggests that the food consumption of Dutch children can be improved with a more balanced intake of energy and nutrients to prevent obesity and low and high intakes. However, not for all nutrients the health impact is clear. So, more research on the nutrient requirements among children and the related health impact is necessary.

The suggested anticarcinogenic property of CLA in animal and tissue culture models could not be confirmed in this epidemiologic study in humans.

Objective:this paper aims to give a broad overview of published data on nutrition and health among migrants in the Netherlands, as well as data on determinants of health.Results and conclusions:Depending on the definition, 9 to 17% of the population belongs to the group ‘migrants’ and this proportion is expected to grow in the coming years. Roughly 2/3 of migrants are of the first generation and on average, they are younger than the Dutch population. Relatively few data concerning the health status of migrants are available. The diet of migrants showed both positive (macronutrients) and negative (micronutrients) differences with the general Dutch diet. The risk of overweight was high among both children and adult women, and the data suggest a higher risk for Turkish and Moroccan groups than for Dutch groups. The importance of health determinants, such as smoking, alcohol use and physical and social environment, was different for migrants than for the Dutch population; however, there were also differences between ethnic groups. The limited data on morbidity for migrants suggest higher risks than for the indigenous population. The same holds for mortality data, especially for the younger age groups. In general, the data that are available suggest that the health status of migrants was less favourable than that of the indigenous population. However, there were also differences between the various groups of migrants. The lower socio-economic position of migrant groups partly explained the differences in health status. Nevertheless, a study among Turkish people indicated that their health status was lower than that of Dutch people of comparable socio–economic status.