Nutrition provided to Mexican-American preschool children on the Texas-Mexico border. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • The purpose of this study was to assess whether nutrients offered to border Mexican-American preschool children met the Recommended Dietary Allowances. Nutrient contents of two dietary patterns were examined in this study, one composed exclusively of home foods and one containing a combination of both home and school foods. The sample consisted of 198 Mexican-American preschoolers living on the Texas-Mexico border, who were recruited using a convenience sampling technique. A self-administered, precoded 24-hour recall questionnaire was used. Nutrient values of home foods were collected during a weekend day, and nutrient values containing a combination of both home and school foods were collected during a weekday. Fisher's exact test or chi2 test and t test were used for analyses. Mean nutrient contents of foods provided to the border Mexican-American children exceeded recommendations for total energy (P<0.001), total fat (P<0.001), saturated fat (P<0.001), carbohydrates (P<0.001), protein (P<0.001), sodium (P<0.001), and niacin (P<0.001). Foods offered were also significantly insufficient in fiber (P<0.001), vitamin A (P<0.001), and potassium (P<0.001). Nutrition interventions targeting low-income border Mexican-American families should emphasize the need and importance of providing children with diets that meet the Recommended Dietary Allowances.

published proceedings

  • J Am Diet Assoc

author list (cited authors)

  • Mier, N., Piziak, V., Kjar, D., Castillo-Ruiz, O., Velazquez, G., Alfaro, M. E., & Ramirez, J. A.

citation count

  • 16

complete list of authors

  • Mier, Nelda||Piziak, Veronica||Kjar, Dean||Castillo-Ruiz, Octelina||Velazquez, Gonzalo||Alfaro, Maria E||Ramirez, Jose A

publication date

  • January 2007