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Jurcevic Zidar B, Luetic S, Jurcic K, Knezovic Z, Sutlovic D. Intake of Artificial Sweeteners through Soft Drinks in the Preschool- and School-Aged Population. Nutrients 2024; 16:2278. [PMID: 39064721 DOI: 10.3390/nu16142278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2024] [Revised: 07/13/2024] [Accepted: 07/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
One of the main public health issues that has recently been observed in a greater number of children is being overweight. The cause certainly lies in the decreasing physical activity of children, but mostly in their eating habits. Soft drinks are recognized as the most significant contributor to body overweight due to high sugar content; thus, as a result of numerous campaigns, part of the sugar is replaced by artificial sweeteners (ASs). Despite their advantage due to their low caloric value, WHO recommends that they should not be used to achieve weight control or as prevention for reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases, as there is no evidence of their effectiveness. Apart from beverages, artificial sweetener combinations are also added to a variety of "low fat" and "high protein" food products, which are highly favored especially among the young population. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of the cumulative intake. The conducted study included a survey of 323 parents of children aged 1-14 years, as well as an analysis of the AS content in the products most often consumed by the respondents. The results of the survey show that a large part of children (40%) aged 3-14 often consume soft drinks. Different products (soft drinks, juices/nectars, syrups) were sampled based on the respondents' responses, and an analysis showed that 54% of them contained one or more ASs. In addition, the survey indicated parents' lack of information about the presence of AS in products, as 51% of parents declared that they do not read the declarations of the products they buy. It is necessary to persist in consumer education and changes in dietary preferences and habits, especially among children.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sanja Luetic
- Teaching Institute for Public Health, Split-Dalmatia County, 21000 Split, Croatia
- Department of Health Studies, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
| | - Katarina Jurcic
- Teaching Institute for Public Health, Split-Dalmatia County, 21000 Split, Croatia
| | - Zlatka Knezovic
- Teaching Institute for Public Health, Split-Dalmatia County, 21000 Split, Croatia
- Department of Health Studies, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
| | - Davorka Sutlovic
- Department of Health Studies, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
- Department of Toxicology and Pharmacogenetics, School of Medicine, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
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Fu Y, Xu J, Gan Q, Yang T, Xu P, Cao W, Wang H, Pan H, Luo R, Sun W, Wang Z, Zhang Q. Frequency of Food Consumption Among Students Aged 8-15 Years - China, 2019 and 2021. China CDC Wkly 2023; 5:533-537. [PMID: 37416902 PMCID: PMC10319907 DOI: 10.46234/ccdcw2023.103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
What is already known about this topic? Malnutrition continues to be the primary cause of delayed growth and development among students in economically disadvantaged rural areas of China. Ensuring adequate and appropriate dietary intake is crucial for promoting the healthy growth of these students. What is added by this report? In rural areas of central and western regions in China, the weekly consumption frequencies of meat, eggs, milk, legumes, fruits, and vegetables in 2021 were higher than those in 2019. However, the consumption levels remained relatively low in economically underdeveloped rural areas in 2021. What are the implications for public health practice? Understanding the frequency of food consumption among students can provide a solid evidence base for the development of policies and strategies aimed at controlling and preventing malnutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yimeng Fu
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Juan Xu
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Qian Gan
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Titi Yang
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Peipei Xu
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Cao
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Hongliang Wang
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Hui Pan
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Ruihe Luo
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Wenxin Sun
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Zhifang Wang
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Qian Zhang
- National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
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Increased Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food Is Associated with Poor Mental Health in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adolescent Students in Brazil. Nutrients 2022; 14:nu14245207. [PMID: 36558369 PMCID: PMC9783387 DOI: 10.3390/nu14245207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The objective of this study was to analyze the association between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and mental health symptoms in a nationally representative sample of the Brazilian adolescent student population. Cross-sectional analyses with data from the National School-Based Health Survey (PeNSE 2019) were performed. Self-reported information was obtained for the frequency of five mental health symptoms in the last month and the consumption of thirteen UPFs in the last 24 h. Generalized linear models adjusting for the main confounders were performed for each sex. Of the 94,767 adolescent students (52.4% girls) included, 8.1% of the boys and 27.2% of the girls reported "almost always" or "always" having at least four of the five mental health symptoms. In the fully adjusted models, compared to the boys who consumed ≤3 UPF, those consuming ≥6 UPF reported more frequent symptoms of poor mental health (ß-coefficient = 0.27 [0.03, 0.51]; p-for-trend = 0.005). A similar association was observed in girls (ß-coefficient = 0.31 [0.13, 0.50]; p-for-trend = 0.001). In conclusion, in this large sample of adolescent students from an entire country, the higher the consumption of UPF was, the higher the frequency of reported symptoms of poor mental health. These findings remained significant regardless of sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, self-perceived body image, and bullying victimization.
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Woodside JV, Sun Q, de Roos B, Rimm EB, Hu FB, Heinen MM, McEvoy CT, Piernas C, Scheelbeek PFD, Rushton J, Ensaff H, Brennan SF, Brennan L. Meeting report: plant-rich dietary patterns and health. Proc Nutr Soc 2022; 81:288-305. [PMID: 35996940 PMCID: PMC9839575 DOI: 10.1017/s002966512200266x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Dietary patterns (DP) rich in plant foods are associated with improved health and reduced non-communicable disease risk. In October 2021, the Nutrition Society hosted a member-led conference, held online over 2 half days, exploring the latest research findings examining plant-rich DP and health. The aim of the present paper is to summarise the content of the conference and synopses of the individual speaker presentations are included. Topics included epidemiological analysis of plant-rich DP and health outcomes, the effects of dietary interventions which have increased fruit and vegetable (FV) intake on a range of health outcomes, how adherence to plant-rich DP is assessed, the use of biomarkers to assess FV intake and a consideration of how modifying behaviour towards increased FV intake could impact environmental outcomes, planetary health and food systems. In conclusion, although there are still considerable uncertainties which require further research, which were considered as part of the conference and are summarised in this review, adopting a plant-rich DP at a population level could have a considerable impact on diet and health outcomes, as well as planetary health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayne V. Woodside
- Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK
- Corresponding author: Jayne V. Woodside,
| | - Qi Sun
- Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Baukje de Roos
- The Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Eric B. Rimm
- Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Frank B. Hu
- Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Mirjam M. Heinen
- WHO European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, Department of Country Health Programmes, WHO Regional Office for Europe, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Claire T. McEvoy
- Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Carmen Piernas
- Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Pauline F. D. Scheelbeek
- Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Jonathan Rushton
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Hannah Ensaff
- School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Sarah F. Brennan
- Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Lorraine Brennan
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Varì R, d’Amore A, Silenzi A, Chiarotti F, Del Papa S, Giovannini C, Scazzocchio B, Masella R. Improving Nutrition Knowledge and Skills by the Innovative Education Program MaestraNatura in Middle School Students of Italy. Nutrients 2022; 14:nu14102037. [PMID: 35631178 PMCID: PMC9148077 DOI: 10.3390/nu14102037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Promoting a healthy diet, mainly in youths, is the most effective action to prevent and fight dietary excesses and nutritional imbalance in the population. MaestraNatura (MN) is an innovative nutritional education program aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle in first-level secondary school students. The study evaluated the effectiveness of the MN program in improving knowledge in students following the MN program (MN group) with respect to a control group (CO group) undergoing a “traditional” nutritional education path. To this end, the nutrition knowledge of the two groups was assessed by three multi-choice questionnaires. The results showed a significant improvement in knowledge (p < 0.001) in the MN group with respect to the CO group for all the questionnaires. Furthermore, the students’ ability to transfer the principles of nutrition guidelines to the real context of daily meals was determined by asking the MN group to create a weekly food plan before (T0) and after (T1) the completion of the MN program. The MN group demonstrated improved performance in organizing the weekly menu plan at T1 with respect to T0 (p = 0.005). In conclusion, the MN nutritional education program appears to be an effective tool for improving knowledge and skills on nutritional issues, especially in those students with a lower starting level of knowledge and ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosaria Varì
- Center for Gender-Specific Medicine, Italian National Institute for Health, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.V.); (A.d.); (A.S.); (S.D.P.); (C.G.); (R.M.)
| | - Antonio d’Amore
- Center for Gender-Specific Medicine, Italian National Institute for Health, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.V.); (A.d.); (A.S.); (S.D.P.); (C.G.); (R.M.)
| | - Annalisa Silenzi
- Center for Gender-Specific Medicine, Italian National Institute for Health, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.V.); (A.d.); (A.S.); (S.D.P.); (C.G.); (R.M.)
| | - Flavia Chiarotti
- Reference Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Italian National Institute for Health, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Sara Del Papa
- Center for Gender-Specific Medicine, Italian National Institute for Health, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.V.); (A.d.); (A.S.); (S.D.P.); (C.G.); (R.M.)
| | - Claudio Giovannini
- Center for Gender-Specific Medicine, Italian National Institute for Health, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.V.); (A.d.); (A.S.); (S.D.P.); (C.G.); (R.M.)
| | - Beatrice Scazzocchio
- Center for Gender-Specific Medicine, Italian National Institute for Health, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.V.); (A.d.); (A.S.); (S.D.P.); (C.G.); (R.M.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Roberta Masella
- Center for Gender-Specific Medicine, Italian National Institute for Health, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.V.); (A.d.); (A.S.); (S.D.P.); (C.G.); (R.M.)
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Aureli V, Rossi L. Nutrition Knowledge as a Driver of Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Italy. Front Nutr 2022; 9:804865. [PMID: 35387192 PMCID: PMC8978558 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.804865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background An optimal Nutrition knowledge (NK) among the population could result in greater Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (AMD), a recognized dietary pattern capable of preventing chronic food-related diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the association between NK and AMD in Italy. Methods A national representative sample of 2,869 adults took part in an assessment that was carried out through a self-administrated questionnaire including sections relating to NK and AMD. AMD was evaluated following the PREDIMED PLUS methodology. Descriptive statistics were provided, and ordinal measures of NK score and AMD were calculated based on quartiles of the quantitative scores. A contingency analysis was performed to check associations between variables. Results In Italy, the average NK score was 50 ± 13.3, equivalent to 56.8% of correct answers. The average value of AMD was 6.8, corresponding to 40% of the maximum score with 31.4% of the population demonstrating low AMD, 31.3% in the lower-middle range, 24% in the medium-high range, and only 13.3% reporting a high AMD. A significant association between NK and AMD was found; respondents who reported the lowest AMD corresponded to those with the lowest NK (36.7%; p < 0.05) and similarly, those with the highest level of adherence to MD also achieved the highest NK scores (41.7%; p < 0.05). Conclusion This study showed that AMD in Italy is generally low, and the strong association between NK and AMD demonstrated that there is a clear connection between a healthy dietary pattern and the nutrition literacy of the population. Those with the highest AMD corresponded to the highest NK and, conversely, those with the lowest AMD displayed the lowest NK. The study also highlighted that socioeconomic aspects were strong determinants of both AMD and NK.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittoria Aureli
- CREA Council for Agricultural Research and Economics-Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Rossi
- CREA Council for Agricultural Research and Economics-Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Rome, Italy
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Stoś K, Rychlik E, Woźniak A, Ołtarzewski M, Jankowski M, Gujski M, Juszczyk G. Prevalence and Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity among Adults in Poland: A 2019/2020 Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19031502. [PMID: 35162521 PMCID: PMC8834843 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19031502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Detailed characteristics of the weight status of the population is necessary for the effective prevention of health disorders, e.g., through personalized nutrition education. This study aimed to characterize weight status and identify sociodemographic factors associated with overweight/obesity in a representative sample of adult inhabitants of Poland. This cross-sectional study was carried out from July 2019 to February 2020 on a representative nationwide sample of individuals aged 18+ in Poland. The study consisted of two parts: questionnaire survey and anthropometric measurements. The body mass index was calculated. Data on 1831 adults (50.3% females; mean age 51.7 ± 19.9 years) were included in this analysis. The prevalence of overweight was 42.2% (52.4% among males and 32.0% among females). Of the 1831 participants, 16.4% were obese (16.5% of males and 16.2% of females). Out of 11 factors analyzed in this study, only 5 were significantly associated with overweight/obesity. Males, older participants, occupationally active individuals, those living in rural areas and individuals with at least one chronic disease had greater odds of overweight/obesity. This study demonstrated a high prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults in Poland. This is the most up-to-date representative study on nutritional status carried out before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Stoś
- Department of Nutrition and Nutritional Value of Food, National Institute of Public Health NIH—National Research Institute, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland; (A.W.); (M.O.)
- Correspondence: (K.S.); (E.R.)
| | - Ewa Rychlik
- Department of Nutrition and Nutritional Value of Food, National Institute of Public Health NIH—National Research Institute, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland; (A.W.); (M.O.)
- Correspondence: (K.S.); (E.R.)
| | - Agnieszka Woźniak
- Department of Nutrition and Nutritional Value of Food, National Institute of Public Health NIH—National Research Institute, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland; (A.W.); (M.O.)
| | - Maciej Ołtarzewski
- Department of Nutrition and Nutritional Value of Food, National Institute of Public Health NIH—National Research Institute, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland; (A.W.); (M.O.)
| | - Mateusz Jankowski
- Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, School of Public Health, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Mariusz Gujski
- Department of Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland; (M.G.); (G.J.)
| | - Grzegorz Juszczyk
- Department of Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland; (M.G.); (G.J.)
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