## 3 Results
### Effective Intake for Total and Specific Fatty Acids
#### 3.2.1 Data Extracted: Reported Intakes of Total and Specific Fatty Acids
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2.2 Recommended Cut-Off Values Used as a Basis of Comparison between Effective and Recommended Intake  
Observed intakes of total fat were compared with the recommended intake using the highest value recommended for the age group. Indeed, the recommendations are to have a gradual reduction in the fat contribution to the diet between the ages of 6 months and 3 or 4 years [1,18]. Infants and children fed human milk (as recommended by the FAO/WHO until the age of 2 years [103]) consume 50%E as fat, while the recommendations for fat between 2 and 18 years are 25-35%E [17]. Thus, taking the upper end of the range, it was decided that the fat adequacy for our assessment would be of minimum 35%E in children 1-3 years (according to EFSA) and between 25 and 35%E in children 3-7 years (according to FAO/WHO). Total SFA  
Three thresholds were used for the comparison of children's observed intake with the recommended intake, and these were according to the current 8% limit of FAO/WHO [17] and the 10% limit proposed by FAO/WHO in the latest draft guidelines on saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids for adults and children [21]: (1) countries with observed intakes lower than 8%, (2) countries with observed intake between 8 and 10%, (3) countries with observed intakes higher than 10%. Because there is no SFA intake limitation for children less than 2 years, no comparison was made for SFA for this age group. LA  
EFSA AI is at least 4%E, higher than that of the FAO/WHO, because it is mainly based on current intakes in the European population, while lower amounts are still adequate for the prevention of deficiency symptoms [79]. Thus, we used three thresholds for the comparisons between LA observed and recommended intakes: (1) countries with observed intakes lower than 3% (for 1-2 year old children) or lower than 2% (for 2-7 years old children), which correspond to the lower AI values from FAO/WHO for these 2 age groups; (2) countries with intake between 3 and 4% (for 1-2 years old children) or 2 to 4% (for 2-7 years old children), which correspond to the range between the FAO/WHO lower recommended AI value and the EFSA minimum AI; (3) countries with LA intakes higher than 4% (EFSA minimum AI). ALA  
The AI for ALA is similar across ages and for the two authorities (FAO/WHO and EFSA), thus studies were sorted into two groups: those where the mean intake was lower than 0.5%E and those where it was equal to or higher than 0.5%E. FAO/WHO recommendations for EPA and DHA are age-specific, while those of EFSA are not. The intakes of EPA and DHA were compared with FAO/WHO recommendations (using the lower recommended value of the range as a reference for each of our age groups). Minimum reference intakes were: 100 mg (DHA) for children aged 1-2 years, 100 mg EPA+ DHA for those aged 2-3 years, 125 mg for those aged 3-5 years and 175 mg for those aged 5 to 7 years. Intakes were also compared against the EFSA recommendation (250 mg/day after 2 years), which is much higher than that of the FAO/WHO. Table 3 summarizes the cut-off values used for our assessment.