Abstract:
This study focused on assessing the nutritional and vitamin A status of 133 children under 6 years old. Questionnaires were distributed to parents to gather information about their children and to explain the purpose of this cross-sectional survey. Parents of the selected children provided consent to participate in the study.
Our findings reveal that the combined rate of obesity and overweight is 17.3%, with a prevalence of isolated obesity at 9.8%. Vitamin A deficiency is more prevalent among obese and overweight children, affecting 43.5% of them. Only 9.61% of normal-weight children exhibit a deficiency in vitamin A. A significant negative correlation was observed between body mass index (BMI) and serum retinol levels (r = -0.32, p = 0.0001).
Obese and overweight children with serum retinol levels below 0.7 µg/l, tend to consume more pastries but fewer eggs, vegetables, and fruits compared to normal-weight children without vitamin A deficiency. Their daily intakes of vitamin A and carotenoids are the lowest.
Furthermore, a higher proportion of non-breastfed children is observed among the group of obese and overweight children with vitamin A deficiency. Conversely, 62.80% of normal-weight children without vitamin A deficiency received breastfeeding more than 6 months.
According to our study, vitamin A deficiency appears to increase the risk of overweight. This public health issue, concerning the nutritional situation of children in Constantine, suggests that obesity associated with nutritional deficits is becoming increasingly prevalent in Algeria. It is necessary to develop nutritional education strategies within the population. The crucial roles of vitamin A in health must be known. In order to prevent nutritional imbalances among Algerian children, resulting from excess or deficiencies, surveillance and prevention initiatives must be implemented.
Keywords: Preschool-children-Overweight-Obesity-Vitamin A deficiençy- Constantine(Eastern Algeria)
Audience Take Away:
- The public must know the main sources of vitamin A, including animal and plant-derived (carotenoids). Adequate daily intake of vitamin A may protect against overweight, insulin resistance, and hypertriglyceridemia.
- Vitamin A, recognized essential for night vision, plays various physiological roles, including the regulation of anti-inflammatory and immune functions, as well as reducing the risk of overweight. It has been recognized that the retinoic acid increases the expression of leptin (the satiety hormone).
- The findings of this research may help other researchers in Algeria and other developing countries in conducting more extensive studies on large samples to prevent and combat overweight, which continues to rise worldwide among both adults and children.
