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Title: Inadequate dietary protein intake: When does it occur and what are the consequences?

Author
item MANARY, MARK - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Food and Nutrition Bulletin
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2013
Publication Date: 6/1/2013
Citation: Manary, M.J. 2013. Inadequate dietary protein intake: When does it occur and what are the consequences? Food and Nutrition Bulletin. 34(2):247-248.

Interpretive Summary: Inadequate protein consumption is associated with growth faltering and stunting; some have argued that the diets of at-risk children have adequate protein for development. Few observational studies have been conducted examining the daily diets of children in nations where the staple foods are low in protein. We conducted 24-hour dietary recall surveys among 656 children in Nigeria and 449 children in Kenya living in regions where cassava, a tuber with a protein:energy ratio of 1% is a staple food. We found that in the diets of children with higher intakes of cassava were associated with lower total protein intake. The height-for-age Z score (HAZ) of the children measured was directly associated with protein intake, and negatively associated with cassava, indicating that growth faltering is associated with cassava consumption and inadequate protein intake. The data collected shows that children who live in regions where cassava is a staple crop, and those children who obtain a large portion of their calories from cassava, have a higher risk of inadequate protein intake. More studies are necessary to study the relationship between inadequate protein intake and stunting among the children surveyed.

Technical Abstract: Previous work with country-level data has shown associations between inadequate protein supply and stunting rates. Inadequate protein intake is known to be deleterious in animals. Low dietary protein intake in children is associated with growth faltering. According to World Health Organization (WHO) consensus documents for human nutrient requirements, the protein:energy ratio of an adequate diet is > 5%. The argument has been made that inadequate protein intake does not occur in the diets that children in the developing world consume. Protein deficiency often occurs in conjunction with deficiencies of micronutrients (such as zinc) and inadequate energy intake.