Dietary assessment of arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid intake in 4-7 year-old children.

Objective: To investigate current dietary intakes of arachidonic acid (AA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in healthy children between 4–7 years of age using a 3-day food record.Design: Cross-sectional study investigating dietary intakes using food records. Parents were instructed to document all food and drink consumed by their child for 3 consecutive days.Subjects and Setting: Healthy children (n = 91), 4–7 years of age, living in central Alberta, Canada were volunteered by their parents to participate in the study. Seventy-eight children completed the study.Results: AA and DHA intakes were 57 ± 35 mg/day and 37 ± 63 mg/day, ranged between 1.2–180 mg/day and 0–350 mg/day and varied day to day at 0–380 mg/day and 0–991 mg/d, respectively. DHA intake was ≤30 mg/day for 74% of the subjects.Conclusion: Canadian children, 4–7 years of age and not living near a marine environment, have relatively low dietary intakes of AA and DHA. Retinal and neuronal development continues throughout childhood, therefore it is co...