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  • Letter to the Editor
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Letter

Letter

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 58, page 1674 (2004)Cite this article

In their recent paper Tennefors et al (2003) report very valuable data on total energy expenditure in healthy young children. They reported on a well designed and executed study. However, we would like to comment on their embedding of the study results into current knowledge and pose a constructive critique. Tennefors and colleagues concluded that energy requirements derived from their results would be lower than the 1985 FAO/WHO/UNU energy intake recommendations (FAO/WHO/UNU, 1985) and caution about overfeeding during early life. However, other authors (Goran et al, 1993; Butte et al, 2000; Ball et al, 2001), like the cited paper of Butte et al (Butte, 1996) already documented the overestimation of these recommendations. Owing to these findings several European countries have reacted to the repeated observation of inappropriate energy intake recommendations and have changed their recommendations accordingly. For example, the German, Austrian and Swiss national nutrition societies now recommend an energy intake of 700 kcal/day for children aged 4–12 months (DACH (German, Austrian & Swiss Nutrition Societies), 2000). As compared to the previous values of 800 kcal/day this corresponds to a decrease of 12.5% in recommended energy intake. Consequently, the paper would have had more actuality if the energy requirement estimates of their study would have been compared to the updated recommendations in order to see in how far they are more adequate.

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References

  • Ball EJ, O'Connor J, Abbott R, Steinbeck KS, Davies PS, Wishart C, Gaskin KJ & Baur LA (2001): Total energy expenditure, body fatness, and physical activity in children aged 6–9 y. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 74, 524–528.

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  1. Research Institute of Child Nutrition, Dortmund, Germany

    A Kroke & U Alexy

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  1. A Kroke
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  2. U Alexy
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Kroke, A., Alexy, U. Letter. Eur J Clin Nutr 58, 1674 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602018

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