A 3-year-old labeled as a picky eater. What is the best initial assessment step to determine nutrient adequacy?

A 3-year-old labeled as a picky eater. What is the best initial assessment step to determine nutrient adequacy?

• A. Reinforce the need to meet DRIs each day.
• B. Ask the parents to provide a 3-day food diary.
• C. Tell them that supplements are unnecessary.
• D. Prescribe a daily multivitamin with iron.

Answer: (B)

Assessing nutrient adequacy starts with collecting accurate dietary information from the child and family. A 3-day food diary provides concrete data on what the child actually eats over several days, capturing weekday and weekend variation and showing portion sizes. This allows you to estimate energy and key nutrient intakes and compare them to age-appropriate DRIs, helping identify real gaps or excesses. With this information, you can decide whether dietary changes are needed or if targeted supplementation is appropriate. Simply telling families to meet DRIs or assuming supplements aren’t needed without data can miss deficiencies or lead to unnecessary treatment.

Assessing nutrient adequacy starts with collecting accurate dietary information from the child and family. A 3-day food diary provides concrete data on what the child actually eats over several days, capturing weekday and weekend variation and showing portion sizes. This allows you to estimate energy and key nutrient intakes and compare them to age-appropriate DRIs, helping identify real gaps or excesses. With this information, you can decide whether dietary changes are needed or if targeted supplementation is appropriate. Simply telling families to meet DRIs or assuming supplements aren’t needed without data can miss deficiencies or lead to unnecessary treatment.