Usual diet quality among 8- to 12-year-old Brazilian children

Association between modified youth healthy eating index and nutritional status among Iranian children in Zabol city: a cross-sectional study

Diet quality in childhood and adolescence can affect health outcomes such as physical and cognitive growth and preventing chronic diseases in adulthood. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between diet quality using the modified youth healthy eating index (MYHEI) with socioeconomic factors and nutrition status in 7-12-year-old children in Iran. This descriptive-cross-sectional study was performed on 580 students in Zabol, Iran, selected through multistage cluster sampling. The diet was assessed through the 168-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and eating behaviors. Then, the MYHEI scoring system was used to calculate the diet quality. In addition, we used the WHO growth indices, such as weight to age, height to age, and body mass index (BMI) to age ratios, to evaluate nutrition status. The mean total MYHEI score in children was 56.3 ± 11.2. Among children with the highest MYHEI score quartile, the number of girls was significantly higher than boys (p = 0.001). The prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting was 25.3%, 17.4%, and 21.7%, respectively. The prevalence of underweight (OR: 2.2; 95% CI  1.26, 3.90, p = 0.001) and stunting (OR: 3.2; 95% CI   1.65, 6.14, p = 0.006) were significantly lower in the higher MYHEI score quartile compared to the lower quartile. The overall diet quality of most children should be modified. Therefore, to improve the children's health and nutrition status, it is necessary to perform nutritional interventions such as training and promotional programs, especially in schools.

Milk beverages can reduce nutrient inadequacy among Brazilian pre-school children: a dietary modelling study

BACKGROUND

Previous studies found high prevalence of inadequate intakes of vitamins E, D and K, calcium and potassium among Brazilian pre-school children, with suboptimal consumption of dairy products. Dietary modelling was applied to determine the theoretical impact of improving dairy products consumption on nutrient adequacy in 4-5-year-old Brazilian children.

METHODS

Adherence to the dairy recommendation of two servings/day was calculated using data from the Brazil Kids Nutrition and Health Study (KNHS) (n = 228). Two modelling scenarios were applied to test the impact on nutrient intakes of (1) adding one or two servings of a frequently consumed cow's milk or a widely available fortified alternative: pre-school children milk (PCM), and of (2) substituting the current milk consumed by PCM. Mean nutrient intakes and percentage of children adhering to the nutrient recommendations were determined at baseline and after applying modelling scenarios.

RESULTS

Seventy-six percent (n = 174) of children did not meet the recommended daily two servings of dairy products, 56% had less than one serving of dairy products on the day of recall. The mean consumption of whole milk (fortified and unfortified) was 147 g/d, yoghurt 114 g/d and cheese 34 g/d. The addition of one serving of cow's milk demonstrated a 17% reduction in calcium inadequacy, 18% reduction in vitamin A and 3% reduction in zinc inadequacy. Adding one serving of PCM further reduced calcium inadequacy from 87 to 41%, vitamin E from 81 to 37%, and zinc inadequacy by 10%. Replacing the child's current milk with a PCM resulted in further reduction of micronutrient inadequacies, including calcium, vitamin D and vitamin E.

CONCLUSIONS

Dairy products consumption in pre-school children should be encouraged to reduce nutrient inadequacies. In particular, consumption of PCM would help to reduce calcium, vitamin D and vitamin E inadequacy, nutrients of concern in this population.

Ginger supplementation does not increase energy expenditure in female adults

Food components with thermogenic properties are promising antiobesity agents. Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) bioactive compounds have a capsaicin-like vanillyl portion, which has been attributed to thermogenic effect in previous experimental studies. However, studies conducted in humans have evaluated only the acute thermogenic effect of ginger, and demonstrated contradictory results. We evaluated the effect of long-term consumption of dry ginger extract on the resting energy expenditure (REE) of female adults with high body adiposity.

METHODS

This is a secondary analysis of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (NCT02570633). Participants age 18 to 60 y were randomly assigned into two groups: Intervention (600 mg of ginger extract daily) and placebo (cellulose). The intervention lasted 3 mo. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, and REE were assessed at each visit.

RESULTS

A total of 66 female participants with high body adiposity were included in the analysis (mean age: 29 y [range, 20-55 y]; body mass index: 23.3 ± 2.7), with 30 participants in the ginger group and 36 in the placebo group. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the groups. No differences were observed for group × time interaction on REE. Body composition and blood pressure followed the same pattern (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Ginger extract consumption for 3 mo did not change the REE, anthropometric, and clinical data of female adults with excess adiposity.

Avaliação da qualidade do menu infantil em restaurantes de shopping centers

Resumo Objetivo: Avaliar a qualidade dos menus infantis de restaurantes localizados em shopping centers. Métodos: Para a seleção da amostra foram incluídos os restaurantes de 30% dos shopping centers de cada região da cidade de São Paulo e, após considerar-se somente um restaurante por rede, o total ficou limitado a 151 restaurantes, dos quais 30,2% (n=35) apresentaram cardápio infantil. Os dados foram coletados por meio de um formulário no Google Forms. Resultados: Dos restaurantes com menu infantil, 60% (n=21) eram convencionais e 40% (n=14) eram de takeaway/fast-food. O grande número de redes presente na maioria dos shopping centers visitados mostrou a democratização da forma de comer, com cardápios populares e acessíveis, independentemente de classe social. A maior parte dos alimentos analisados era cozida (41,5%). A maioria das preparações não utilizava gordura em seu preparo e foi notável a falta da oferta de frutas, legumes e verduras (FLV) (4%). Sobremesas doces eram oferecidas em 11,4% dos locais e 20% incluíam brindes com as refeições. Conclusões: A escassa oferta de menus infantis, as poucas opções e a baixa oferta de FLV indicam a necessidade de um novo olhar no desenvolvimento de cardápios infantis e de um maior entrosamento entre as possibilidades dos restaurantes e as expectativas de pais e crianças, no desafio de integrar a relação entre a oferta de novos alimentos, que promovam hábitos mais saudáveis, e o seu consumo.

Evaluation of quality of the children’s menu in mall’s restaurants

Objective:

To evaluate the quality of children’s menus in restaurants located in shopping malls.

Methods:

To select the sample, restaurants from 30% of shopping malls in each region of the city of São Paulo were included and, after considering only one restaurant per chain, the total was limited to 151 restaurants, 30.2% of which (n=35) presented a children’s menu. Data were collected through a form on Google Forms.

Results:

Of the restaurants with children’s menu, 60% (n=21) were conventional restaurants and 40% (n=14) takeaway/fast-food. The large number of chains present in most visited malls showed a democratization of the way of eating, with popular and accessible menus, regardless of social status. Most of the analyzed foods were cooked (41.5%). Most preparations did not use grease in their preparation and there was a notable lack of fruit and vegetables (FV) (4%). Sweet desserts were offered in 11.4% of the places and 20% included gifts with meals.

Conclusions:

The scarce offer of children’s menus, few options and low FV offer indicate the need for a new look at the development of children’s menus and a greater integration between the possibilities of restaurants and the expectations of parents and children, in the challenge of integrating the relationship between the supply of new foods that promote healthier habits and their consumption.

Healthy and Sustainable Dietary Patterns in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

The need for adherence to a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern in the pediatric stage is discussed worldwide, being linked to a progressive incidence of noncommunicable diseases in adulthood. The aims of this systematic review were to summarize the healthy and/or sustainable dietary patterns, defined a priori, described in the literature for use during the pediatric stage; to evaluate the adherence to these dietary patterns; and identify the health-related benefits associated with adherence to these patterns. A literature search was carried out on Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science from 2010 up to 2021, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 128 articles were included according to the following criteria: participants 2-17 y old, healthy and/or sustainable dietary patterns defined by an a priori methodology; articles written in English or Portuguese; and published since 2010. Fifty instruments with 14 adaptations that measure adherence to healthy and/or sustainable dietary patterns in children and adolescents were found. The Mediterranean Diet was the most studied dietary pattern. Adherence to healthy and/or sustainable dietary patterns has wide variations worldwide. Most of the instruments described have been little studied at pediatric ages, reducing the ability to extrapolate results. Higher adherence to these dietary patterns was associated with lower body fat, waist circumference, blood pressure, and metabolic risk. There is no consensus regarding the association with BMI. No studies have proofs of the sustainability characteristics of these instruments, it being necessary to produce a new sustainable instrument or test the association of the previous ones with, for example, the ecological footprint. Further validations of these instruments in each country and more prospective studies are needed to establish temporal relations with health-related outcomes. This systematic review was registered at www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ as CRD42020221788.

Cross-cultural measurement equivalence of the Healthy Eating Index adapted version for children aged 1-2 years

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the cross-cultural measurement equivalence of the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) for children aged 1-2 years and to analyse the quality of nutrition of preterm infants. This was a cross-sectional study with 106 premature infants attended in two specialised outpatient clinics of university hospitals. The quality of the diet was analysed through an adapted HEI to meet the dietary recommendations of Brazilian children aged 1-2 years. Food consumption was measured by 24-h recalls. The reliability of the instrument was evaluated by internal consistency analysis and inter-observer reliability using Cronbach's α coefficient and κ with quadratic ponderation. The construct validity was evaluated by principal component analysis and by Spearman's correlation coefficient with total energy and consumption of some groups' food. The diet quality was considered adequate when the total HEI score was over 80 points. Cronbach's α was 0·54. Regarding inter-observer reliability, ten items showed strong agreement (κ > 0·8). The item scores had low correlations with energy consumed (r ≤ 0·30), and positive and moderate correlation of fruit (r 0·67), meat (r 0·60) and variety of diet (r 0·57) with total scores. When analysing the overall quality of the diet, most patients need improvement (median 78·7 points), which can be attributed to low total vegetable intake and the presence of ultraprocessed foods in the diet. The instrument showed auspicious psychometric properties, being promising to evaluate the quality of the diet in children aged 1-2 years.

Undernutrition and suboptimal growth during the first year are associated with glycemia but not with insulin resistance in adulthood

This study aimed to assess whether weight, length, and conditional growth during the first year are associated with glycemia and insulin resistance among young adults. A non-concurrent longitudinal design was used in the study. This is a population-based cohort study, composed of people aged from 22 to 28 years. We estimated z-scores from birth to the first year and the infants were classified as stunted, underweight, overweight, obese, wasted, and at risk of wasting, using cut-offs proposed by the World Health Organization (Child Growth Standards, 2006). Conditional weight and length gain variables were estimated. Glycemia, insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and single point insulin sensitivity estimator (SPISE) were evaluated in adulthood. Multiple linear regressions that includes the variables associated with glycemia and insulin resistance were used. In total, 1,070 subjects were evaluated and glycemia in adulthood was higher among subjects who were wasted or at risk of wasting at 12 months (β coefficient = 2.77; 95%CI: 0.37; 5.21). In relation to normal weight, those subjects who were overweight at 12 months showed the lowest glycemia (β coefficient = -2.39; 95%CI: -4.32; -0.36). Conditional weight gain in the first year was negatively associated with glycemia in adulthood (β coefficient = -0.65; 95%CI: -1.23; -0.08). SPISE was higher among underweight subjects, and negatively associated with conditional relative weight gain and conditional linear growth in the first year. In conclusion, we found that undernutrition and suboptimal growth were associated with higher glycemia.

Dietary Knowledge, Dietary Adherence, and BMI of Lebanese Adolescents and Their Parents

Paediatric obesity is a severe public health problem accompanied by several physical and mental complications, mainly due to an imbalance between energy input and output. Dietary behaviours are influenced by many demographic factors and determinants, such as the place of residence and the level of dietary knowledge of the children and their parents. The aim of the current paper is to assess the levels of dietary knowledge, dietary adherence (in relation to recommendations), and the body mass index (BMI) of Lebanese adolescents in association with demographic variables, their parents’ dietary knowledge and adherence levels, and with other lifestyle behaviours. This cross-sectional study included 1535 Lebanese adolescents aged 15 to 18 years, from 16 public and private high schools located in urban and rural regions, and 317 of their parents. Our results showed that 30.2% of the adolescents were overweight or obese. Participants enrolled in private schools and those living in urban regions had a significantly higher BMI z-score compared to those enrolled in public schools and living in rural regions, respectively. In addition, Lebanese adolescents generally had low levels of dietary knowledge and 32.4% had low levels of dietary adherence. Their dietary adherence was significantly associated with their parents’ dietary adherence. The findings underline the significant role of the parents in shaping their children’s eating behaviours, in addition to the other determinants and factors affecting the diet of Lebanese adolescents. As the prevalence of paediatric overweight and obesity has reached alarming rates, the results of the current study have important implications for both public health policies and obesity prevention interventions in the Middle East and worldwide.