The aim of the present nutritional survey was to assess the food consumption pattern of 183 Indian preschool children (four to five years) in Fatehabad district of Haryana.
Data regarding food frequency, myths and intake were collected with the help of questionnaires and structured interviews. Food consumption patterns were recorded using a 24‐hour recall for three consecutive days.
The food frequency pattern indicated that wheat was the most accepted cereal among almost all the families and the consumption of pulses was weekly or on alternate days. They consumed roots and tubers frequently but the consumption of green leafy vegetables, fruits and other vegetables depended on the availability only. Most of the families consumed buffalo's milk (93 per cent) and desi ghee (73 per cent) daily. More than half of the respondents' mothers believed bajra, maize (corn), some pulses, bathua (Chenopodium album) and fenugreek leaves, onion, garlic, ginger, desi ghee and sweets are hot foods. According to the 24‐hour recall method for three consecutive days, the daily mean intake of all foodstuffs, namely, cereals, pulses, green leafy vegetables, roots and tubers, other vegetables, fruits, fats and oils, milk and milk products and sugar and jaggery was lower than their respective recommended dietary intake in the daily diets of preschool children.
On the basis of findings of this study, nutrition policy makers can plan the strategies for improving the nutritional status of preschool children who are an important segment of the Indian population.
