Han Young-Hee, Hyun Taisun
Department of Food and Nutrition, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea.
Nutr Res Pract. 2025 Apr;19(2):225-240. doi: 10.4162/nrp.2025.19.2.225. Epub 2025 Mar 24.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: In Korea, childcare facilities providing food service for 100 or more children are required to employ dietitians, while those serving fewer than 100 children must register with the Center for Children's Foodservice Management to receive dietary guidance from its dietitians. This study compared the dietary intake of children who had daycare meals and those who did not to evaluate the impact of dietitian-managed nutritional services.
SUBJECTS/METHODS: This study analyzed the 24-h recalls from 706 children aged 3-5 yrs using the data from the 2016-2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Among them, 578 children had daycare meals, while 128 did not. The differences in energy contributions from meals and snacks, nutrient intake, and the amount and number of servings of various food groups consumed by these two groups were investigated.
The daycare meal group (DMG) showed a significantly higher intake of protein, thiamin, niacin, sodium, potassium, and iron during lunch and higher protein and sodium consumption during snack times after adjusting for the energy intake compared to the non-daycare meal group (NDMG). On the other hand, the DMG consumed less sugar and fat during lunch and snack times and less vitamin C during snack times. The DMG also showed higher consumption of legumes and vegetables but lower consumption of sweets during lunch and in the total daily consumption. The overall dietary quality assessed by the mean adequacy ratio was significantly higher among the DMG than in the NDMG.
Children were provided with higher-quality meals in daycare settings than in other environments. These results underscore the importance of nutrition management by dietitians. These findings also highlight the need for nutrition education for caregivers, particularly increasing vegetable intake and reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.
背景/目的：在韩国，为100名及以上儿童提供餐饮服务的儿童保育设施必须雇佣营养师，而为不到100名儿童提供服务的设施则必须向儿童餐饮服务管理中心登记，以便接受其营养师的饮食指导。本研究比较了接受日托餐食的儿童与未接受日托餐食的儿童的饮食摄入量，以评估营养师管理的营养服务的影响。
对象/方法：本研究利用2016 - 2019年韩国国家健康与营养检查调查的数据，分析了706名3至5岁儿童的24小时饮食回忆。其中，578名儿童接受日托餐食，128名儿童未接受。研究调查了这两组儿童在餐食和零食中的能量贡献、营养素摄入量以及各类食物组的食用量和份数差异。
与未接受日托餐食组（NDMG）相比，在调整能量摄入量后，接受日托餐食组（DMG）午餐时蛋白质、硫胺素、烟酸、钠、钾和铁的摄入量显著更高，零食时间的蛋白质和钠消耗量也更高。另一方面，DMG在午餐和零食时间消耗的糖和脂肪较少，零食时间消耗的维生素C较少。DMG在午餐时以及全天总摄入量中豆类和蔬菜的消耗量也更高，但甜食的消耗量更低。通过平均充足率评估的整体饮食质量在DMG中显著高于NDMG。
儿童在日托环境中获得的餐食质量高于其他环境。这些结果强调了营养师进行营养管理的重要性。这些发现还突出了对照顾者进行营养教育的必要性，特别是增加蔬菜摄入量和减少含糖饮料的消费。
