The Nutritional Impact of Milk Beverages in Reducing Nutrient Inadequacy among Children Aged One to Five Years in the Philippines: A Dietary Modelling Study

Abstract

Around half of Filipino children are not consuming any dairy products on a given day, which has shown to be associated with increased risk of inadequate nutrient intakes. The current study applies dietary modelling to assess the nutritional impact of meeting dairy recommendations in reducing nutrient inadequacy in children aged one to five years in the Philippines. Dietary intake data of Filipino children aged one to five years (n = 3864) were analyzed from the 8th National Nutrition Survey 2013. Children who did not meet national dairy recommendations were identified. Two scenarios were applied, based on two types of commonly consumed milk products by the survey participants. In scenario one, one serving of powdered milk was added to the diet of these children. In scenario two, one serving of a young children milk (YCM) or preschool children milk (PCM) was added to the diet of children aged one to two years and three to five years, respectively. Mean nutrient intakes and percentages of children with inadequate intakes were estimated before and after applying modelling scenarios. Scenario one demonstrated improvement in calcium, phosphorus, sodium, vitamin A and riboflavin intakes, while in scenario two, further improvement of intakes of a wider range of nutrients including iron, selenium, zinc, magnesium, potassium, vitamins C, D, E, thiamin, niacin, vitamins B6, and B12 was observed. In both scenarios, if all children would meet their dairy recommendations, theoretical reductions in population nutrient inadequacy would be observed for all micronutrients, for example, only 20% of children aged one to two years would be inadequate in vitamin A instead of the current 60%, iron inadequacy would see a 5% reduction, and approximately 10% reduction for calcium and 20% reduction for folate. The present study is the first to apply dietary modelling to assess the theoretical impact of meeting dairy recommendations on nutrient inadequacy in children in the Philippines. Dairy consumption should be encouraged as part of the strategy to reduce nutrient inadequacies. Calcium, iron, vitamins D, E, and folate are of concern in the Philippines as the level of inadequacies are extremely high in early years, YCM and PCM can help increase the intake of these nutrients.

Milk beverages can reduce nutrient inadequacy among Brazilian pre-school children: a dietary modelling study

“…The total daily intake of 30 nutrients was calculated using the first 24-hour recall. Energy intakes were assessed and participants with energy intakes above or below 3SD of the mean were considered implausible [ 9 , 18 ]. All recorded foods and beverages were classified into 12 major food groups and appropriate subgroups.…”

“…This alternative to cow’s milk has a modified fatty acid profiles and additional micronutrients, typically vitamin D, iron, calcium and zinc, with the aim to supplement micronutrient intakes that are often lacking in the overall diet. Previous studies have demonstrated consumption of fortified young children milk or pre-school children milk can improve nutrient intakes and reduce prevalence of nutrient inadequacies [ 9 , 16 , 17 ]. In scenario two, among children who consumed milk of any kind (fortified and unfortified) (“milk consumers” n = 167), we substituted the nutritional composition of their habitual milk with the composition of PCM, volume to volume.…”

“…These types of products typically contain additional micronutrients that are often low in the population. A number of recent modelling studies have demonstrated an improvement of micronutrient adequacy following the addition of specially formulated young children- or pre-school children-milks to the diets of these children [ 9 , 11 ]. Mak et al found that if Filipino children were to meet the dairy recommendation through adding either a serving of milk or fortified young children milk to their diets, children 1 to 5 years would improve calcium intakes by 30%.…”

“…Mak et al found that if Filipino children were to meet the dairy recommendation through adding either a serving of milk or fortified young children milk to their diets, children 1 to 5 years would improve calcium intakes by 30%. Also, the addition of young children milk to the diet reduced the inadequacy of key micronutrients such as iron by 20% and vitamin C by 70% [ 9 ]. A similar observation was reported in two studies in young Chinese children, with a reduction of micronutrient inadequacy prevalence after they achieved their dairy recommendation with either milk or a fortified young child milk [ 15 ].…”

“…Key nutrient inadequacies according to dairy product consumption level in Brazilian 4 to 5 years old children were investigated. Furthermore, the study examined the theoretical nutritional impact of increasing consumption of two commonly consumed dairy product in Brazil: cow’s milk and pre-school children milk (PCM), an alternative to cow’s milk that has been demonstrated to improve nutrient intakes and reduce prevalence of nutrient inadequacies in other populations [ 9 , 16 , 17 ].…”