Macronutrient intake of 3- to 36-month-old German infants and children: results of the DONALD Study. Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed Study.

The intake of macronutrients (protein, fat, fatty acids, carbohydrates, added sugars, fiber) was assessed in 354 healthy German infants and children aged 3-36 months from 3-day weighed diet records. The intake of protein ranged between 7 and 14% of energy intake. Fat intake decreased from 3 months (breast-fed boys and girls, 48%; formula-fed boys/girls, 41/44%) to 12 months (boys/girls, 33/36%) due to the increasing consumption of commercial weaning foods, and then increased again up to 36 months (boys/girls, 40/43%). Intake of added sugars decreased during the first 12 months and then increased again, but only slightly exceeded the limit of 10%. Intake of dietary fiber was highest at the age of 1 year (boys/girls, 2.7/2.3 g/MJ). The macronutrient intake was in accordance with other German and European surveys, but deviated considerably from the respective recommendations.