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

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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.