first_page settings Order Article Reprints Open AccessArticle The Role of Young Child Formula in Ensuring a Balanced Diet in Young Children (1–3 Years Old) by Jean-Pierre Chouraqui 1,* [ORCID] , Dominique Turck 2,3, Gabriel Tavoularis 4 [ORCID] , Constance Ferry 5 and Christophe Dupont 6 1 Paediatric Nutrition and Gastroenterology, Division of Pediatrics, Woman, Mother and Child Department, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), 21 rue du Bugnon, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland 2 Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Paediatrics, Lille University, 59037 Lille, France 3 Jeanne de Flandre Children’s Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Lille, INSERM U995, 59037 Lille, France 4 CREDOC (Centre de Recherche pour l’Etude et l’Observation des Conditions de Vie), 142 rue du Chevaleret, 75013 Paris, France 5 36 rue des Cormiers, 77690 Montigny sur Loing, France 6 Pediatric Gastroenterology Department, Necker Enfants-Malades Hospital, Paris Descartes University, 75015 Paris, France * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Nutrients 2019, 11(9), 2213; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11092213 Submission received: 19 August 2019 / Revised: 6 September 2019 / Accepted: 9 September 2019 / Published: 13 September 2019 Download keyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract During the nutritional vulnerable period of 1–3 years of age, nutrient intake is often inadequate due to an unbalanced diet. Young child formula (YCF) has been proposed as a means of improving nutrition in this age group. We compared the food consumption and nutrient intake of 241 YCF consumers (YCF-C) to those of 206 non-consumers (YCF-NC), selected from among the children enrolled in the Nutri-Bébé survey, an observational cross-sectional survey, conducted from 3 January to 21 April 2013. Food consumption and nutrient intake were analyzed from a three-day dietary record. The YCF-C < 2 years group had a protein (−8 g/d; p < 0.0001) and sodium (−18%; p = 0.0003) intake that was lower than that of YCF-NC, but still above the respective EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) Average Requirement (AR) or Adequate Intake (AI). At all ages, the YCF-C group had higher intakes of essential fatty acids (p < 0.0001), vitamins C (p < 0.0001), A, D, and E (p < 0.0001), all B vitamins (p < 0.001) except B12, iron (9 vs. 5 mg/d, p < 0.0001), reaching the Dietary Reference Values (DRVs, AR or AI), but similar DHA and ARA intakes. Getting closer to the reference values proposed by EFSA required at least 360 mL/d of YCF. The consumption of YCF may help infants and children at risk of nutrient deficiencies to meet their nutritional requirements. However, protein, sodium, and vitamin A intakes remained above the EFSA DRVs, and DHA, ARA, and vitamin D remained below.