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Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 28, No. 1, 7-15 (2009)
Published by the American College of Nutrition

Dietary Assessment of Arachidonic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid Intake in 4–7 Year-Old Children

Vanessa W. Lien, MSc, RD and Michael T. Clandinin, PhD

Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2H1

Address reprint requests to: Dr. M. Tom Clandinin, Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition, 823 General Services Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, CANADA. E-mail: tom.clandinin{at}ualberta.ca

Objective: To investigate current dietary intakes of arachidonic acid (AA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in healthy children between 4–7 years of age using a 3-day food record.

Design: Cross-sectional study investigating dietary intakes using food records. Parents were instructed to document all food and drink consumed by their child for 3 consecutive days.

Subjects and Setting: Healthy children (n = 91), 4–7 years of age, living in central Alberta, Canada were volunteered by their parents to participate in the study. Seventy-eight children completed the study.

Results: AA and DHA intakes were 57 ± 35 mg/day and 37 ± 63 mg/day, ranged between 1.2–180 mg/day and 0–350 mg/day and varied day to day at 0–380 mg/day and 0–991 mg/d, respectively. DHA intake was ≤30 mg/day for 74% of the subjects.

Conclusion: Canadian children, 4–7 years of age and not living near a marine environment, have relatively low dietary intakes of AA and DHA. Retinal and neuronal development continues throughout childhood, therefore it is conceivable that low intake of AA and DHA may have a negative impact.

Key words: polyunsaturated fat, food records, dietary intake, school age, fat

Abbreviations: AA = arachidonic acid • DHA = docosahexaenoic acid • LCPUFA = long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids • ALA = alpha-linolenic acid • LA = linoleic acid






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