Effect of Amino Acid Composition of Cereal-Based Diets on Growth of Preschool Children

Abstract

The efficacy of two diets, one based on wheat and the other on rice, on the growth (height) of preschool children has been tested in trials lasting 6 months. Both diets provided 2 g vegetable protein and 100 kcal/kg body wt. The increase in height of the children fed the rice-based diet was 0.67 cm/month and that of the children on the wheat-based diet, 0.43 cm/month. The children maintained positive nitrogen balance on both diets. Amino acid analyses of the cooked foods showed the wheat-based diet to be limiting in lysine, methionine, threonine, and isoleucine and the rice-based diet in methionine. However, the rate of growth of the children fed the rice-based diet suggests that methionine was not a limiting factor; the recommended intake of methionine (FAO/WHO) is likely to be higher than the requirements of preschool children.