Nutritional Assessment of Macronutrients in Primary School Children and its Association with Anthropometric Indices and Oral Health

Childhood nutrition is known to have a considerable impact on children's health. Protein and fat are the two most important macronutrients with high impact on children's growth and energy provision. The aim of the present study is the assessment of children's nutrition based on energy, protein and fat intake with respect to their anthropometric and oral health. A total of 788 7-years-old primary school children selected via a cluster sampling in Tehran City, Iran. The general information about children has been asked from their mothers. Anthropometric measurements including weight and height measurements are also taken for each child. Finally the routine standard tooth check up was performed to get the dmft index. The chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis were used for detecting statistical associations. Results showed that there is not a significant association between macronutrient intakes and anthropometric indices; however it was found that children who get saturated fat less than 75% recommended have higher dmft. The same results were found for energy, protein and total fat, but none of which were statistically significant. This study highlights the important role of saturated fatty acids in prevention of dental carries.