The micronutrient intake of most children aged 2-8 across the United States-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) region and two U.S. states namely Alaska and Hawaii is either excessive or insufficient. This is according to a recent study.
The USAPI region includes American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau. While American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands are U.S. territories, the other three are independent countries in Oceania.
Scientists at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawaii led a study that analyzed food intake data collected by the Children’s Health Living (CHL) Center, which is dedicated to research, training and dissemination of critical nutrition and health information across the USAPI region, Alaska and Hawaii. They found associations between children’s micronutrient intake, obesity and the presence of the skin condition acanthosis nigricans, which is linked to insulin resistance.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health, the study was led by CHL Center director Rachel Novotny. She is also a professor in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) in Honolulu.
Novotny co-authored the study with Ashley B. Yamanaka, Jonathan Deenik, Kristi Hammond, Leslie Shallcross and Lucia A. Seale, among others. It was published by the Current Development in Nutrition.
According to the study, obese children in the USAPI region, Alaska and Hawaii are not consuming enough calcium, potassium, vitamin D and vitamin E. On the other hand, they are consuming too much sodium, folate (vitamin B9), vitamin A and niacin (vitamin B3).
Meanwhile, another study published on Scientific Reports identified a negative association between dietary niacin intake and kidney stones among adults in the U.S., especially those who are under 60 years of age. The findings suggested that kidney stones may be reduced by appropriate doses of niacin intake.
CONAN Daily 