Applied nutritional investigationDesign and validation of a program to identify inadequate intake of iron, zinc, and vitamin A

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to create an innovative, easy-to-use, and informative web-based application system to calculate the iron, zinc, and vitamin A intake in comparison to the recommended nutrient intake (RNI).MethodsFood survey data on commonly consumed Indonesian foods (122 foods) were recorded from 68 800 households. The data were used to extract 13 relevant food groups representing typical Indonesian dietary patterns and were incorporated into the development of new software called the Calculator of Inadequate Micronutrient Intake (CIMI). To validate, 24-h dietary recall data of children (n = 118) and adult women (n = 124) from Indonesia were collected and analyzed using CIMI and Nutrisurvey (NS) and the results were analyzed.ResultsCIMI calculates the absolute intake of energy, macronutrients, retinol, ß-carotene, retinol equivalents, iron, and zinc. The percentages of RNI fulfillment with regard to age and sex are presented. The bioavailability levels of iron and zinc are considered. Validation showed that results of CIMI and NS were comparable with regard to the average intake and range of data distribution ratio. Due to bioavailability factors, more participants who had intake of iron (adult group) and zinc (both groups) below the cutoff were detected by CIMI. The range of correlation coefficient of NS and CIMI were from 0.889 (energy) to 0.713 (iron) in the children's group and from 0.919 (protein) to 0.686 (vitamin A) in the adult group.ConclusionCIMI is a simple and rapid tool that calculates energy and nutrient intake, and also the percentage of nutrient fulfillment in comparison with the dietary recommendation.