The pyramid recommends that our 6-year-old limit extra fats and sugars to less than 170 calories per day. We calculated the vitamins and minerals in these food selections, and mapped them against the RDA values for vitamins and minerals. What did we find? Take a look at
Table 2.
In this example, our 6-year-old girl achieves the recommended daily amount of only six of the 25 FDA-tracked nutrients. She is left woefully deficient in the remainder, including some of the most important. The nutrients are listed in the order mandated by the FDA, which is supposed to reflect the relative importance of each item.
This exercise illustrates that even using the available tools and guidelines to design a well-balanced daily diet, the average parent will likely end up providing meals to their child with nutritional shortfalls. In fact, even the most able nutritionist would be challenged. Consider that most parents have schedules that force them to take advantage of the conveniences of pre-prepared meals, drive thrus and highly processed foods. Unfortunately, poor dietary habits in children are the norm, not the exception.
TABLE 2
RDA of Nutrients Based on Recommended Daily Diet
6-Year-Old Girl, 1,400 calories, 30-60 minutes of exercise |
| Vitamin/Mineral | RDA | Units | Totals | % RDA |
| | Age 4 + | | | Age 4+ |
| Vitamin A | 5,000 | IU | 13,469 | 269% |
| Vitamin C | 60 | mg | 63 | 105% |
| Calcium | 1,000 | mg | 761 | 76% |
| Iron | 18 | mg | 14 | 79% |
| Vitamin D | 400 | IU | 142 | 36% |
| Vitamin E | 30 | IU | 1 | 5% |
| Vitamin K | 80 | mcg | 20 | 25% |
| Thiamin (Vitamin B1) | 1.5 | mg | 1 | 67% |
| Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) | 1.7 | mg | 1 | 79% |
| Niacin (Vitamin B3) | 20 | mg | 21 | 107% |
| Pyrodoxine (Vitamin B6) | 2 | mg | 2 | 113% |
| Folate | 400 | mcg | 310 | 78% |
| Vitamin B12 | 6 | mcg | 3 | 53% |
| Biotin | 300 | mcg | 0 | 0% |
| Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) | 10 | mg | 4 | 38% |
| Phosphorus | 1,000 | mg | 1,121 | 112% |
| Iodine | 150 | mcg | 0 | 0% |
| Magnesium | 400 | mg | 241 | 60% |
| Zinc | 15 | mg | 7 | 49% |
| Selenium | 70 | mcg | 60 | 85% |
| Copper | 2 | mg | 1 | 48% |
| Manganese | 2 | mg | 2 | 101% |
| Chromium | 120 | mcg | 0 | 0% |
| Molybdenum | 75 | mcg | 0 | 0% |
| Chloride | 3,400 | mg | 0 | 0% |
| Calories | 1,400 | | 1,276 | 91% |
| Source: USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory, www.mypyramid.com. |
