Children's and adolescents' rising animal-source food intakes in 1990–2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity

Authors: MILLER, VICTORIA - Friedman School Of Nutrition; WEBB, PATRICK - Friedman School Of Nutrition; CUDHEA, FREDERICK - Friedman School Of Nutrition; ZHANG, JIANYI - Friedman School Of Nutrition; REEDY, JULIA - Friedman School Of Nutrition; SHI, PEILAIN - Friedman School Of Nutrition; ERNDT-MARINO, JOSH - Friedman School Of Nutrition; COATES, JENNIFER - Friedman School Of Nutrition; MICHA, RENATA - Friedman School Of Nutrition; MOZAFFARIAN, DARIUSH - Friedman School Of Nutrition; DATABASE GLOBAL, DIETARY - Brigham & Women'S Hospital; MANARY, MARK - Washington University

Submitted to: Nature Food
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/9/2023
Publication Date: 4/20/2023
Citation: Miller, V., Webb, P., Cudhea, F., Zhang, J., Reedy, J., Shi, P., Erndt-Marino, J., Coates, J., Micha, R., Mozaffarian, D., & Global Dietary Database. 2023. Children's and adolescents' rising animal-source food intakes in 1990–2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity. Nature Food. 4:305-319. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00731-y.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00731-y

Interpretive Summary: Understanding the trends and elements of animal-source food (ASF) intake among children and adolescents is important for their physical and brain development, but existing data is limited. Researchers looked at ASF intake across 185 countries from 1990 to 2018, focusing on different age groups and demographic parts such as region, parental education, and urbanicity, using data from the Global Dietary Database. The study showed that the average ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, with 16% of children eating at least three daily servings, showing an overall increase between 1990 and 2018, except in sub-Saharan Africa, and with the lowest intake observed in Uganda, India, Kenya, and Bangladesh, highlighting the need for focused ASF intake programs to reduce malnutrition.

Technical Abstract: Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents' physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the world's child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 15–19 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF consumption programmes.