Dietary folate intake and food sources of children and adolescents in Chungcheong area - Using nutrient database revised by measured folate in selected foods / 한국영양학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to estimate dietary folate intake and food sources of children and adolescents using a nutrient database revised based on measured folate in selected foods. METHODS: Folate content in 51 foods known as folate sources was measured by microbiological assay after trienzyme extraction. Folate intake was estimated from a part of the data of 'Dietary Intake Survey of Infants, Children and Adolescents in 2007~2008' conducted by the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI). The study subjects were 567 children aged 1~19 years living in the Chungcheong area who completed two 24-hour recalls. RESULTS: Folate values were revised by replacing the values in the current database with the analyzed values except when the value in the current database was between the analytical values or was not different from the mean analytical value by more than 10%. Among the revised values of 40 food items, folate values of 36 foods were lower than the current values. Mean folate intakes estimated with the revised database were approximately 70~80% lower than those estimated with the current database. Mean folate intakes of males aged 12~14 and females aged 12~19 were lower than the 2010 Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNIs). Chicken's eggs, Kimchi, rice, mandarin, and laver were found to be main food sources of folate. CONCLUSION: In this study, mean dietary folate intakes were lower than those estimated with the current database. Further analyses for folate content especially in cooked foods commonly consumed in Korea are needed using a reliable assay in order to accurately assess folate intake of the Korean population. In addition, nutrition education should be provided for adolescent females in order to increase consumption of folate-rich foods.