Long-term cereal-based nutritional supplementation improved the total spine bone mineral density amongst Sri Lankan preschool children: a randomized controlled study.

Background: The Thriposha programme in Sri Lanka provides a combination of energy, protein and micronutrients as a 'ready-to-eat' cereal-based food.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of calcium and vitamin D3 in the Thriposha on bone mineralization among preschool children aged 3-5 years.

Design: Subjects (n = 30) were fed with conventional Thriposha while the control group (n = 30) children were fed without mineral and vitamin premix (Corn-Soya-Blend - CSB) for a period of nine months. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of total spine was measured at the baseline and after the intervention.

Results: The mean baseline total spine BMD was 0.464 (0.050) g/cm2 in the interventional group and 0.453 (0.035) g/cm2 in the control group (p = 0.09). At the end of the study, the BMD levels were 0.487 (0.047) and 0.454 (0.031) g/cm2 (p < 0.001) respectively.

Conclusion: Daily supplementation of cereal based food supplement over a period of nine months improved the total spine BMD.