FAO/WHO nutrient requirements for children aged 0–4 years
Adequate micronutrient intake is a key component of optimal nutrition during childhood, and is necessary for healthy growth and development, as well as prevention of disease and disability at every life stage. Dietary requirements for micronutrients provide governments and other stakeholders with a reference on which to base food guidance and policy. FAO and WHO are currently updating micronutrient requirements for children aged 0–4 years.
Background
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, 2016 – 2025 (Nutrition Decade) which was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly as follow-up to the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) held in 2014 are bringing a renewed momentum for Nutrition with a clear expectation for a leadership role reaffirmed for FAO and WHO in providing evidence-informed guidance on nutrition and healthy diets.
In 2014, ICN2 called for action to address all forms of malnutrition – undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, overweight/obesity – as well as diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), goals that were then taken up by the SDGs in 2015. Participating governments endorsed the ICN2 Rome Declaration on Nutrition which called on Member States to implement the ICN2 commitments through a set of voluntary policy options and strategies identified in the Framework for Action.
Key to achieving these global nutrition goals and commitments is ensuring an adequate, healthy diet in infants and young children so that they can develop into healthy, productive adults. Proper infant and young child feeding is critical for improving child survival and promoting healthy growth and development, with the first two years of a child’s life being particularly important, as optimal nutrition during this period lowers morbidity and mortality, reduces the risk of noncommunicable disease, and fosters overall development. A key component of optimal nutrition during childhood and beyond is the adequate (but not excessive) intake of important micro- and macronutrients.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) established vitamin and mineral requirements for all age groups in 2004. Since this time, new data have emerged suggesting that requirements for some micronutrients may need to be updated, particularly for children. Therefore, and in part to inform the planned updating of WHO guidance on complementary feeding, the FAO Nutrition and Food Systems Division (ESN) and the WHO Department of Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) have established an expert group on nutrient requirements which will update nutrient requirements for children aged 0 – 4 years, following the WHO guideline development process and in line with Article 6 of the FAO Constitution.
In the planning phase of this work, WHO conducted an initial review of the recent scientific literature on nutrient requirements, and compiled national dietary guidelines from all regions, extracting all relevant information about nutrient requirements in the age group of interest. Using the data obtained from this preparatory work, FAO and WHO were able to prioritize the nutrients to be updated. Requirements will be updated 3-4 at a time, in a staggered schedule, beginning with calcium, vitamin D and zinc.
Contact
Current list of experts
Professor Steven Abrams
Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, United States of America
Professor Stephanie Atkinson
Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Associate Member, Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Canada
Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta
Professor, Departments of Paediatrics, Nutritional Sciences and Public Health, University of Toronto and Founding Director, Centre of Excellence in Women & Child Health, The Aga Khan University, South Central Asia, East Africa & United Kingdom
Dr Kenneth Brown
Department of Nutrition and Institute for Global Nutrition University of California, United States of America
Professor Kevin Cashman
Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences and Department of Medicine, University College Cork, Ireland
Dr Peter Maina Chege
Senior Lecturer / Nutrition Expert, Department of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Public Health and Applied Human Sciences, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Professor Kathryn Dewey
Distinguished Professor Emerita, Department of Nutrition and Institute for Global Nutrition University of California, United States of America
Professor Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan
Professor of Medicine, Founding Director, Calcium Metabolism and Osteoporosis Program WHO CC for Metabolic Bone Disorders, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Professor Susan Fairweather-Tait
Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Dr Samson Gebremedhin
Associate Professor of Public Health, School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
Professor Rosalind Gibson
Emeritus Professor, Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, New Zealand
Professor Nancy Krebs
Professor of Pediatrics Head, Section of Nutrition Associate Vice Chair, Academic Affairs, Dept of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, United States of America
Professor In-Sook Kwun
Professor, Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Andong National University, Republic of Korea
Professor Christel Lamberg-Allardt
Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, Finland
Professor Dr Joerg Meerpohl
Director, Institute for Evidence in Medicine, Medical Center & Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Germany
Dr Laura Martino
Senior Statistician, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Risk Assessment and Scientific Assistance Department (RASA), Assessment and Methodological Support Unit (AMU), Italy
Dr Cristina Palacios
Associate Professor, Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, Florida International University, United States of America
Professor John Pettifor
Professor Emeritus and Honorary Professorial Researcher, Department of Paediatrics and Faculty Research Office, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Professor Harshpal Singh Sachdev
Pediatrician, pediatrics and clinical epidemiology, maternal and child nutrition
Professor Holger Schünemann
Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and of Medicine, Dept. of Health Research Methods, Evidence, & Impact & of Medicine, Director, Michael G DeGroote Cochrane Canada and McMaster GRADE Centres, McMaster University Health Sciences Centre, Canada
Dr Pattanee Winichagoon
Associate Professor and Senior Advisor, Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, Thailand
Dr Zhenyu Yang
National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China
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Call for authors / comments
Events
Publication
4 December 2004
Vitamin and mineral requirements in human nutrition, 2nd edition
In the past 20 years, micronutrients have assumed great public health importance. As a consequence, considerable research has been carried out to better...
Documents
Public consultation on the scope of work for updating the FAO/WHO calcium, vitamin D, and zinc requirements in children aged 0–36 months