3.3. Changes in Nutrient Adequacy in Children
Nutrient adequacy was computed to assess the changes in all the three groups over time. The mean (SD) values of the energy intakes of the children at baseline were 880.87 (299.89) kcal in the ONS1 + DC group, 853.12 (249.70) kcal in the ONS2 + DC group, and 825.46 (259.45) kcal in the DC-only group, indicating that they were consuming nearly 70% of the recommended Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) for their ages and genders (note: the EAR for energy is equivalent to the estimated energy requirement (EER)). The children had adequate intakes of protein, carbohydrates, and vitamin C at baseline. The intakes of total fat and calcium were slightly lower than the EAR values, whereas the intakes of iron, vitamin A (in the DC-only group), and thiamin were much below the recommended nutrient levels (The mean daily energy intakes of children in both the supplementation groups were found to have significantly increased at Day 90 from their values on Day 1 (The intake of total fat, which was marginally lower than the EAR at baseline, reached adequacy at Day 90 for all the three groups. Only one-third of the children were consuming adequate fat in their diets at Day 1. Carbohydrate and vitamin C intake was adequate in all the three groups at Day 1 and increased at Day 90, though the difference in intake was significantly higher among the supplemented groups as compared to the control group (Seventy percent of the children were consuming carbohydrates adequately in their diet at baseline; this value was found to have increased significantly in all the three groups (ONS1 + DC—95.2%, ONS2 + DC—93%, and DC-only—80.2%, The intakes of iron increased significantly and reached more than 100% of the EAR in all the three groups (In the children, calcium intake was more than 90% of the EAR and thiamin intake was between 70–80% of the EAR at Day 1. Both values increased significantly to more than 100% in all the groups at Day 90, except for the value of thiamin in the DC-only group (Day 90—85%). The proportion of children consuming adequate calcium and thiamin increased significantly in both the ONS1 + DC group and the ONS2 + DC group (Vitamin A intake was adequate in both ONS1 and ONS 2 groups at baseline and day 90, and significantly higher than the DC-only group at both time points, with the baseline differences among the groups persisting to Day 90 (Overall, the findings indicated that children in both the supplemented groups met their nutrient requirements (EARs) at Day 90 as compared to the children in the DC-only group. There were no differences in the nutrient adequacies of various nutrients between the two supplemented groups. Post-intervention, significantly higher percentages of children were consuming various nutrients adequately in both the ONS1 + DC group and ONS 2 + DC group relative to the DC-only group. The relevant data is presented in the Appetite scores improved significantly in both the supplemented groups from Day 1 to Day 90 compared to the control group (ONS1 + DC-