Assessment of selected nutrient intake by Polish preschool children compared to dietary recommendations: a meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: In recent years a steady increase in the number of obese people has been observed worldwide. This problem is also increasingly applicable to children and adolescents. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies carried out in Poland over ten years (2005–2015) which analysed the diet of preschool children and assessed how significantly it affects the prevention of diet-dependent disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two of the researchers independently performed a systematic search of Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, and the Polish Medical Bibliography to find studies published between 2005 and 2015. The variance of the means of differences between selected factors in relation to dietary guidelines and standards for preschool children was estimated by summing the individual variances of means. The means of differences between selected factors across the studies were pooled using random-effects model meta-analysis. RESULTS: The analysis included a total of 2095 children. Mean protein content in the diet of children studied is 111% higher than indicated in dietary recommendations for this age group; mean consumption of carbohydrates in the study group is 24% higher than recommended. In moderately high calorie diets, analysis showed that the recommended norm is exceeded by 47%, CE 0.77, p < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrient intake is not compliant with recommendations for this age group and could not only inhibit physical development, but also increase the risk of diet-dependent diseases.