Energy density of diet in relation to energy intake of preschool children from urban and rural communities of different economic status.

Energy intake, total volume (bulk) and the energy density (kcal/ml) of the diets of preschool children of middle and lower-middle economic groups from an urban area and of a rural low economic group were examined. The energy intake of children from the urban area was higher than that of the children from the rural area. The total solid intake in the three groups was not different. However, the energy density of the diets (kcal/ml) of the urban preschool children (1.17 kcal/ml or 4.74 kJ/ml) was significantly higher as compared to the energy density of the diets of rural children (0.74 kcal/ml or 2.94 kJ/ml). The urban children of higher income groups had a much higher intake of fat and milk than the rural poor children, which accounts for the differences in the energy densities of their diets. The results of this study suggest that one of the reasons for low energy intake of rural poor preschool children may be the low energy density of their diets.