Highly processed foods such as convenience foods usually have a high salt content and therefore might indirectly act as adipogenic due to an increasing consumption of sugar-containing beverages ...(SCB). We examined the association between dietary salt and body weight status.
We used data on urinary Na excretion as an indicator of dietary salt and BMI standard deviation score (BMI-SDS) and percentage body fat (%BF) of children and adolescents participating in the DONALD (Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed) Study.
Dortmund, Germany.
Children and adolescents (n 364) who had at least two 24 h urine samples and two dietary records in the observational period between 2003 and 2009 were considered in our data analysis.
Repeated-measures regression models revealed that urinary Na was positively associated with BMI-SDS (+0·202 SDS/g Na excretion at baseline; P < 0·001) and %BF (+1·303 %BF/g Na excretion at baseline; P < 0·01) at baseline in boys and girls. These associations remained significant after adjustment for SCB consumption and total energy intake. Furthermore, there was a positive trend between baseline Na excretion and the individual change in %BF in the study period (+0·364 increase in %BF/g Na excretion at baseline), which was confirmed after inclusion of SCB consumption or total energy intake. There was no significant association between the change in Na excretion and the concurrent change of either BMI-SDS or %BF in any model.
Our results suggest that a high intake of processed salty foods could have a negative impact on body weight status in children and adolescents independently from their consumption of SCB.
Breastmilk provides well-known nutritional and functional advantages and in addition a greater sensory variety as compared to infant formula. Volatile and soluble sensory components from the mother's ...diet are transmitted prenatally into the amniotic fluid and postnatally into breastmilk and can be detected by the fetus and infant. Breastfeeding is suggested to serve as a bridge from prenatal flavor experiences to the varied sensory world of complementary feeding and family diet afterwards. Nevertheless definite data to prove this plausible assumption are still missing. Randomized intervention trials with a necessary long-term follow-up are difficult to implement and rarely achieved. Lasting effects of early sensory experiences have so far been demonstrated mostly in the first year of life and by applying intensive sensory interventions, which are hardly possible in a habitual maternal diet. The practical relevance of a potential sensory imprinting by breastfeeding still remains open. Nevertheless a varied diet in pregnancy and lactation can be recommended not only for nutritional reasons but also from a hedonic sensory perspective.
Zusammenfassung
Muttermilch bietet neben spezifischen nutritiven und funktionellen Vorteilen auch eine größere sensorische Variabilität als industriell hergestellte Säuglingsnahrung. Geruchs- und ...Geschmacksstimuli aus der Ernährung der Mutter können schon pränatal in das Fruchtwasser und postnatal in die Muttermilch übergehen und vom Fetus und Säugling wahrgenommen werden. Dem Stillen wird eine „Brückenfunktion“ von der pränatalen sensorischen Exposition zur Geschmacksvielfalt der Beikost und anschließenden Kinder- und Familienernährung zugesprochen. Es fehlen aber überzeugende Daten, um diese Annahme zu bestätigen. Die notwendigen randomisierten Interventionsstudien mit ausreichend langem Follow-up sind in der Umsetzung schwierig und kaum zu realisieren. Dass anhaltende Auswirkungen früher sensorischer Erfahrungen über die Muttermilch möglich sind, wurde bisher meist nur für das 1. Lebensjahr und mit intensiver Intervention gezeigt, die bei üblicher mütterlicher Ernährung kaum umsetzbar scheint. Die praktische Relevanz einer positiven sensorischen Prägung durch das Stillen bleibt somit offen. Davon unabhängig kann eine ausgewogene variationsreiche Kost in Schwangerschaft und Stillzeit nicht nur aus ernährungsphysiologischen, sondern auch aus sensorisch-hedonischen Gründen empfohlen werden.
Background:
The aim was to examine demographic and dietary factors associated with breakfast skipping, and the relationship of breakfast skipping with overweight/obesity among adolescents across ...Europe.
Methods:
Cross-sectional data from the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence study (n=3528) conducted in ten European cities: Athens (Greece), Dortmund (Germany), Ghent (Belgium), Herkalion (Greece), Lille (France), Pecs (Hungary), Rome (Italy), Vienna (Austria), Stockholm (Sweden) and Zaragoza (Spain) were used. Analysis was carried out using a sub-sample of adolescents (n=1894) aged 12.5-17.49 years with data on breakfast skipping and two days of 24-Hour Diet Recall data. As 24-Hour Recall data was not available from Pecs (Hungary) this city was excluded. Using responses from the Food Choices and Preferences Questionnaire adolescents were classified as breakfast skippers or non-breakfast skippers. All analyses were stratified by sex. Differences in the intake of macronutrients, both overall and when breakfast was excluded, and key foods were compared between skippers and non-skippers using Wilcoxen Rank Sum test. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between breakfast skipping and overweight/obesity.
Results:
Overall, 44% of females were skippers compared to 36% of males. Among both male and female estimated mean fibre intake and median fruit intake were significantly lower among skippers compared to non-skippers. Male skippers were significantly more likely than non-skippers to be overweight/obese AOR = 2.34, 95% CI, 1.40-3.90 but this was not observed among females AOR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.59-1.34.
Conclusions:
Different patterns of daily macronutrient intake were observed among adolescents who skip and do not skip breakfast. In males, breakfast skipping was associated with increased odds of being overweight/obese. Gender may play a key part in breakfast skipping behaviours. These results present an opportunity to identify and target adolescents who may be at risk of a poorer nutritional profile or overweight/obesity.
Despite intense discussion of the glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) concepts, data on the GI or GL levels in the diet of children are scarce. The present analysis determined trends in the ...levels of GI or GL of healthy children from 1990 to 2002 and examined the contribution of carbohydrate (CHO) sources to the overall GL, and the relationships of the GI and GL to the overall dietary quality. The analysis includes three cohorts of participants from the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometrical Longitudinally Designed study, aged 7-8 years in 1990 (n 53), 1996 (n 46) and 2002 (n 56). A GI value was assigned to all CHO foods recorded over three consecutive days. In comparison with 1990, 7-8-year-old children in 2002 had slightly higher GI (56.5 v. 55.1 %; P=0.03) and GL (17.5 v. 16.7 g/MJ; P=0.04) levels. In all three time periods the combined contribution of the 'tolerated food groups' (i.e. sweets, soft drinks, cakes and cookies, and salty snacks) to the overall GL exceeded that of bread and rolls (1990, 31 v. 24 %; 1996, 29 v. 31 %; 2002, 28 v. 25 %). Conversely, rice and fried or mashed potatoes had only a minor impact. Children in the lowest GI tertile, but not those in the lowest GL tertile, had a better nutrient profile and a more favourable food choice. In conclusion, partial replacement of high-GI 'tolerated food groups' for low-GI foods would help to reverse the slight recent increases in GI and GL, and to improve the overall dietary quality of 7-8-year-old children.
The study tested whether a combined environmental and educational intervention solely promoting water consumption was effective in preventing overweight among children in elementary school.
The ...participants in this randomized, controlled cluster trial were second- and third-graders from 32 elementary schools in socially deprived areas of 2 German cities. Water fountains were installed and teachers presented 4 prepared classroom lessons in the intervention group schools (N = 17) to promote water consumption. Control group schools (N = 15) did not receive any intervention. The prevalence of overweight (defined according to the International Obesity Task Force criteria), BMI SD scores, and beverage consumption (in glasses per day; 1 glass was defined as 200 mL) self-reported in 24-hour recall questionnaires, were determined before (baseline) and after the intervention. In addition, the water flow of the fountains was measured during the intervention period of 1 school year (August 2006 to June 2007).
Data on 2950 children (intervention group: N = 1641; control group: N = 1309; age, mean +/- SD: 8.3 +/- 0.7 years) were analyzed. After the intervention, the risk of overweight was reduced by 31% in the intervention group, compared with the control group, with adjustment for baseline prevalence of overweight and clustering according to school. Changes in BMI SD scores did not differ between the intervention group and the control group. Water consumption after the intervention was 1.1 glasses per day greater in the intervention group. No intervention effect on juice and soft drink consumption was found. Daily water flow of the fountains indicated lasting use during the entire intervention period, but to varying extent.
Our environmental and educational, school-based intervention proved to be effective in the prevention of overweight among children in elementary school, even in a population from socially deprived areas.
Background/Aims: Dietary supplements may contribute to a considerable proportion to micronutrient intake. However, little is known about the consumption of supplements in children and adolescents, ...especially in Germany. We therefore examined patterns and time trends in supplement consumption in healthy children and adolescents. Methods: A total of 5,990 3-day records from 931 subjects 2-18 years of age from the DONALD Study between 1986 and 2003 were examined. Results: (a) Supplement type: A total of 166 different supplements were reported: 49% vitamin-mineral combinations, 31% vitamin, 13% mineral, 7% fluorine supplements. 12% (vitamin) and 13% (mineral) were single nutrient supplements. Vitamin C (72%), B1 (57%), B2 (54%), calcium (44%), magnesium (31%) and phosphorus (20%) were the most frequent added nutrients. (b) Users: In 25.8% (males 13.2%, females 12.6%) of the records, supplement usage was documented. Fluorine supplements were by far the most often consumed items (18.1%) followed by vitamins (4.5%), vitamin-mineral combinations (3.6%), minerals (2.4%), and multiple usage (2.6%). (c) Time trend: We found a marked time trend in supplement consumption in the past 18 years with a peak between 1994 and 1996 and lower usage before and after that time (independent of age and gender). (d) Associated factors: Supplement usage was influenced by age, year of study, season, smoking and number of persons in families, education level and employment of mothers, whereas gender or the number of children per family failed to have any effect. Conclusion: Supplement usage is a common behaviour in German children and adolescents and changing with time. Type and frequency of supplement usage is age dependent. Those nutrients found mostly in supplements are not the critical ones. In evaluations of children's diet it is mandatory to separate fluorine from other supplements.
Dietary fat intake in childhood may influence the risk for developing chronic diseases. The objective of the present study was to examine secular trends in the parameters of fat intake between 2000 ...and 2010 in a sample of German children and adolescents (n 808) participating in the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) Study. Dietary data from 4380 3 d weighed dietary records were analysed using repeated-measures regression to determine time trends in fat quantity, i.e. the intake of total fat, and in fat quality, i.e. the ratios of SFA, MUFA and PUFA. In young children (2-3 years) and in adolescents (13-18 years), total fat intake remained stable over time, but decreased by 0·08 % of total energy (%E) per year in 4-12-year-old children. In 2010, median fat intake was at the upper end of the recommendations. SFA intake decreased slightly in 2-3- and 4-12-year-old children by 0·09 and 0·05 %E per year, respectively. MUFA and PUFA intakes remained stable in all the age groups except in adolescents. Here, PUFA intake decreased initially, but increased between 2005 and 2010. In 2010, only between 3 and 18 % of the respective age groups had an intake of SFA or PUFA within the recommendations. In conclusion, fat quantity and quality did not change substantially between 2000 and 2010. Fat quality, in particular, needs to be improved, since a large percentage of our sample did not meet the recommended intakes for SFA and PUFA.
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