Prevalence of Dietary Problems in Children of 1-6 Years in C hengdu, China

Objecitve To determine the prevalence of dietary problems in children 1-6 years old in Chengdu. Methods A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in Chengdu. Five child care facilities were randomly selected. All of the children attending those facilities were surveyed using a structured questionnaire containing questions about socio-economic situation and dietary behaviors of the children and nutritional knowledge of their caregivers. This resulted in 1421 respondents. Results Some 38.63% of children had at least one dietary problem. Strong preference for a small range of foods accounted for 27.23% of all dietary problems. Conclusion Dietary problems in children of 1-6 year are common in Chengdu. Parents should be educated and play a more important role in the prevention and intervention of dietary problems in children.