Abstract
BACKGROUND: Nutritional status in childhood is associated with a number of short- and long-term health effects. The rising prevalence of childhood obesity highlights the necessity of understanding dietary patterns in children. The study provides an assessment of energy and macronutrient intake and food categories' contribution to energy intake in Croatian primary school children, according to BMI status. METHODS: To assess dietary habits, results of the National Food Consumption Survey on Infants and Children based on EU Menu methodology (OC/EFSA/DATA/2016/02 CT3) were used. The sample included 476 children, aged 6 to under 10 years. RESULTS: Results indicated that one in four children was overweight or obese (27.7%). In total, the mean energy intake was 1598.4 ± 380.3 kcal/day, with 30.7% of the children above the recommended energy intake. Cereals, cereal products, and potato food category were the primary sources of energy, which is in line with the recommendations, with protein and fat intakes exceeding recommended levels. Substantial contribution of sweets and low contribution of fruits and vegetables were observed across all BMI categories, with the difference in energy contribution of fruits (p = 0.041) and vegetables (p = 0.033). The meat, poultry, fish, and eggs category were the contributors to energy intake from protein and fat, in the majority of BMI groups. CONCLUSIONS: In the obese group, higher energy intake from certain food subgroups was recorded, stressing the need for a more detailed dietary assessment. The study's cross-sectional design limits causal inferences, indicating a need for future longitudinal research to better understand the dynamics of dietary patterns and BMI status in primary school children.