[Food habits among children in a district of the island of Gran Canaria].
OBJECTIVE
To find out the characteristics of the diet of a population-group of young children and to quantify their caloric and nutrient intake.


METHODS
A descriptive study of a crossover type by means of a questionnaire on the frequency of food consumption. Stratified random sampling.


METHODS
A Primary Care Centre.


METHODS
264 healthy children aged from 2 to 8, representative of a District.


RESULTS
The children studied had overall sufficient caloric intake ("calories consumed/calories recommended" index of 1 +/- 0.2), with an excess of proteins (16.6 +/- 1.8% of calories) and lipids (36.3 +/- 4% of calories, mainly of animal origin) to the detriment of carbohydrate intake (47.7 +/- 5% of the caloric intake). There was an important percentage (42%) of children whose iron intake was deficient. Only 9% of children had a poor calcium intake. The vitamin intake was adequate.


CONCLUSIONS
The variability of alimentary customs between zones means that we must identify the dietetic habits of the population group (or even individuals) we are serving, especially for the paediatric age group. We propose systematic Primary Care use of questionnaires on food consumption to enable the detection and correction of nutritional dangers.
Estévez González
M D
MD
Centro de Salud San Gregorio y Universidad de La Laguna, Gran Canaria.
Doreste Alonso
J L
JL
Henríquez Sánchez
P
P
Sierre López
A
A
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004435:Eating; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D013030:Spain
Hábitos alimentarios de la población infantil de un distrito en la isla de Gran Canaria.