Assessment of Dietary Carbohydrate Intake of the Iasi School Children Aged 7-10 Years

The aim of this study was to evaluate the carbohydrate intake of school children aged 7 to 10 years. With this end in view, a questionnaire on the amount and frequency of consumption of high-carbohydrate foods and beverages was administered to 205 school children aged 7 to 10 years. Data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0. Of these children 87.3% enjoyed eating sweets, without gender and socio economic status differences. The consumption of sweets between meals was a food habit in both rural (72.2%) and urban children (62.6%). The frequency of sweet food and drink consumption was of over 3 times daily in 61.7% of the children. 69.4% of children consumed carbonated drinks every day. Children exposure by frequent consumption of large amounts of sweet foods and beverages is an important risk factor for dental caries and obesity. Controlling carbohydrate consumption through nutritional counseling is essential for improving overall and oral health.