Diets of healthy Swedish children 4-24 months old. IV. Daily variation of energy and nutrient intake.

The day-to-day variations of energy and nutrient intake were studied in infants aged 4, 9, 15 and 24 months. There were 40, 40, 38 and 40 infants in the four groups, respectively. In the 4-month-old infants 3-day weighed food records were used, and in the infants of the other three ages, 7-day weighed food records. The smallest number of daily records required to classify the individual infants into the correct category with low or high intake with a specified degree of accuracy was calculated. Fewer daily records for energy and nutrient intake were needed for the 4-month-old infants than for the older ones.