Dairy food consumption is important for children as it contributes to the intake of key nutrients, especially calcium. The aim of the present paper is to provide an overview of dairy products consumption for French children, according to age, sex and type of dairy products. Adequacy of dairy and calcium intakes in line with French national guidelines “3 portions of dairy products per day” were also evaluated. Data were extracted and analyzed from the CCAF—Comportementet Consommations Alimentairesen France-study. Seven-day questionnaires were administered to free-living individuals from autumn 2009 to summer 2010. Subjects were children (n = 1171) aged 3 - 17 years. Dairy products contributed substantially to the intake of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, vitamin B2 and vitamin B12. A general decrease in DP consumption has been observed since 2003. This is most notably due to a lower milk intake which is not compensated by increased cheese or fresh dairy products. Most of children (67%), and up to 73% of adolescents (15 - 17 y), did not reach the recommended “3 servings of dairy products per day”. Twenty percent of children from the age of 6 and nearly 2/3 of female adolescents did not reach their estimated average requirement for calcium. The overview of French dairy food consumption during childhood, of particular Public Health concern, emphasizes the need to encourage dairy consumption and particularly milk consumption at breakfast in order to maintain a nutrient adequacy in children and adolescents.
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