Diets Low in Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids May Harm Child's Development

A diet low in polyunsaturated fatty acids may be a problem, particularly for children under the age of 5, according to a recent study.

Lead study author Sarah Keim, PhD, principal investigator, has found that this can be a particularly troubling nutritional deficit among the young.

Researchers looked at data from 2,500 children ages 12 to 60 months from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background information from the study notes that PUFAs are essential to human health. In fact, a proper ration of omega-6 to omega-3 PUFAs help play an important role in cell function, inflammation, eye development and neural functioning. Yet the ideal dietary intake of PUFAs for young children is unclear. However, knowing that infants receive significant amounts of PUFAs through breast milk during their first year of life helped researchers estimate the average intake of PUFAs in the diet of children between infancy and kindergarten.

 "The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 intake was high-about 10. Some experts use this as an indicator of diet quality, with a high ratio being less healthy," Dr. Keim said, via a press release. "In addition, intake of a key fatty acid known as DHA in children 12 to 60 months of age was low-lower than what infants generally consume-and it did not increase with age."

This study was the first to examine the primary dietary sources of PUFA intake among children under the age of 5 while also looking at race, age and ethnicity in relation to the fish intake.

 "Only about 54 percent of children ate fish at least once in the previous month. Non-Hispanic black children were more likely than non-Hispanic white children to have eaten fish," said Dr. Keim, via the release. "Because diet can be an important contributor to many diseases, it's important to understand how such disparities might contribute to disease risk."

The swift physical and neurological development during this period of childhood may mean that variations in PUFA intake could have important implications for growth, she adds.

Researchers suggest that this is incorporated into a child's diet at a very early age and becomes part of his or her life-long nutrition.

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More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Maternal and Child Nutrition.