Eating Healthy, Growing Healthy: Outcome Evaluation of the Nutrition Education Program Optimizing the Nutritional Value of Preschool Menus, Poland

Provision of special diets to children in public nurseries and kindergartens in Kraków (Poland)

Background

A specialized diet could be due to an allergy or other medical needs and also religious or cultural reasons. This study aimed to assess the availability and provision of special diets in kindergartens and nurseries financed by the Municipality of Kraków.

Methods

This observational cross-sectional study was based on a diagnostic survey carried out using the Computer-Assisted Web Interview method and addressed to the managers of nurseries (n = 21) and kindergartens (n = 71) and, separately, to the parents of children attending these facilities (n = 1,096). Non-parametric tests were applied for an unadjusted comparison between children at nurseries and those at kindergartens.

Results

Children with particular dietary requirements received special diet meals in 95.2% of nurseries and 60.5% of kindergartens. The availability of special diets was associated with the type of facility (p = 0.001), the number of children who ate in the facility (p = 0.032), and the daily cost of meals served to children (p = 0.009). The cost of meals was higher in kindergartens that offered special diets vs. those that did not offer such diets (p < 0.001). According to parents, 96.4% of the total number of children ate meals served in the facilities. In nurseries, 16.1% of children were on a special diet (as per the doctor's recommendations in 11.7% of cases and according to parents' own choice in 4.4%). In kindergartens, a special diet was served to 12.7% of children (doctor's recommendations, 8.5%; parents' own choice, 4.2%). The most common reason for using a special diet was food allergy (8.2% of children in nurseries and 5.8% of children in kindergartens). It was reported more often by the parents of children attending nurseries than by the parents of children attending kindergartens (8.0% vs. 4.2%, p = 0.007). The requirement for a special diet was found to be associated with the age of children (p < 0.033) and the use of oral treatment for chronic disease (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Providing special diets for children is better in nurseries than in kindergartens. Legal regulations are urgently needed to ensure equal access to adequate nutrition for all children with special dietary needs in childcare facilities.

Identification and Evaluation of Tools Utilised for Measuring Food Provision in Childcare Centres and Primary Schools: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Children aged 2-11 years spend significant hours per week in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and primary schools. Whilst considered important environments to influence children's food intake, there is heterogeneity in the tools utilised to assess food provision in these settings. This systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate tools used to measure food provision in ECEC and primary schools.

METHODS

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) was followed. Publications (2003-2020) that implemented, validated, or developed measurement tools to assess food provision within ECEC or primary schools were included. Two reviewers extracted and evaluated studies, cross checked by a third reviewer and verified by all authors. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality Criteria Checklist (QCC) was used to critically appraise each study.

RESULTS

Eighty-two studies were included in the review. Seven measurement tools were identified, namely, Menu review; Observation; Weighed food protocol; Questionnaire/survey; Digital photography; Quick menu audit; and Web-based menu assessment. An evidence-based evaluation was conducted for each tool.

CONCLUSIONS

The weighed food protocol was found to be the most popular and accurate measurement tool to assess individual-level intake. Future research is recommended to develop and validate a tool to assess service-level food provision.

The association between dairy intake and migraine odds among pediatrics and adolescents: A case-control study

OBJECTIVE

Migraine is recognized as a disease with unknown etiology and various pathophysiologic pathways which are not fully understood. Due to the relation between dairy intake and various chronic conditions in children and also the paucity of data on the probable role of dairy intake on pediatrics' odds of having migraine, this study was designed.

MATERIALS & METHODS

The present study was a population-based case-control design that was accomplished in a tertiary headache clinic.290 child (aged from7 to 14 years old) was included in this study. A definite diagnosis of migraine was performed by a neurologist; concerning the 2018 international classification of headache disorder 3 (ICHD3) criteria. Also, demographic and anthropometric characteristics were obtained. In addition, the usual dietary intake of participants was evaluated using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).

RESULTS

Those children in the case group significantly had higher age and BMI means (P.value:0.000). In the second regression model, odds of migraine were 48% (OR: 0.52; 95%CI:0.27-1.00) diminished in the second tertile and 53% (OR:0.47;95%CI:0.24-0.92) in the third tertile of low-fat dairy intake (P-trend:0.03). In the fully adjusted model, the achieved migraine ORs were as followings:0.48 (95% CI:0.240.95) in the second tertile and 0.46 (95% CI:0.21-0.96) in the third tertile (P-trend:0.04), respectively. Children with more high-fat dairy intake also consumed higher amounts of energy, pastries, simple sugar, unhealthy snacks, and hydrogenated oil (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study results proposed that a greater amount of low-fat dairy intake may attenuate the odds of having migraine attacks in pediatrics and adolescents who might be at risk of headache, which can be attributed to the micronutrient and also to the bioactive content of these dietary components.

Effectiveness of Diet Habits and Active Life in Vocational Training for Higher Technician in Dietetics: Contrast between the Traditional Method and the Digital Resources

Vocational training of students in diet habits and active lifestyle habits has recently become an important issue, given the health problems caused as a result of a poor diet. The objective of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of different training actions (traditional method and digital resources) carried out in a program of dietary habits and active lifestyle at the vocational training stage. A quasi-experimental design of the pre-post type was developed. A sample of 177 participants was chosen. The instrument to collect the data was the validated ECHAES questionnaire. The results show that all study groups demonstrated similar averages across all dimensions, except in the digital resource post-test design, where the averages were higher than the rest. There was a significant relationship between the traditional teaching method and the post-test digital resources design in all dimensions. There was also a significant relationship between the pre-test and post-test of the traditional teaching method and the digital resource group in the dimensions. It can be concluded that both the traditional and the innovative method lead to learning in the vocational training student, although the values achieved by the group where the innovative method was adopted were much higher than in the traditional group.

Contribution of Major Groups of Food Products to the Daily Intake of Selected Elements-Results from Analytical Determinations Supported by Chemometric Analysis

Food is a major source of minerals for humans. The main objective of this study was to determine the intake level of 10 essential macro- (Na, K, Ca, and Mg) and trace elements (Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, Cr, and Se) with major food groups among young adults. Dietary intake of elements was evaluated using the 24-h dietary recall technique in combination with F-AASand ICP-OES methods. A very high intake of sodium and a very low intake of calcium, combined with inappropriate sodium/potassium ratio, may be harmful to the health of the population. Dietary intake of trace elements was within the range of reference values in the subjects, with cereals being the major source of a majority of those elements, while meat (38% for Na), vegetables (25% for K), and milk products (75% for Ca) were the main contributors to the daily dietary intake of macroelements. PCA revealed several visible trends in the datasetAmong men, the intake of Zn, Cr Na and K was significantly correlated with the consumption of meat and vegetables, whereas Mg, Se, Fe and Cu with cereals and water and beverages. Among women, the intake of Mg was significantly correlated with the consumption of meat and vegetables.

Education and Diet in the Scientific Literature: A Study of the Productive, Structural, and Dynamic Development in Web of Science

Nutrition-related education is necessary to protect and improve the health status of schoolchildren and to minimize the risk of future diseases. The objective of this research was to analyze the trajectory and transcendence of the concepts “education” and “diet” in the Web of Science literature. The methodology focused on bibliometry, analyzing both the performance and the structural and dynamic development of the concepts through a co-word analysis. A total of 1247 documents were analyzed, and the results show that scientific production experienced a turning point in 2009, in comparison to the level of production reported in previous years. The medium of papers and the language of English were the most common. In relation to the research topic, before 2014, scientific production focused on medical and disease-related aspects; however, since 2014, it has focused on disease prevention and feeding. It was therefore concluded that the theme “diet and education” has been researched for more than 20 years, although it is only in the last decade that it has become more relevant—particularly studies focusing on disease prevention and the type of food, specifically fruit, which is presented as the most outstanding issue for researchers in this field of knowledge.

Increasing Food Expenditure in Long Day-care by an Extra $0.50 per Child/Day Would Improve Core Food Group Provision

Early childhood education and care services are a significant feature of Australian family life, where nearly 1.4 million children attended a service in 2019. This paper reports on the cost of food provided to children in long day-care (LDC) services and extrapolates expenditure recommendations to support food provision compliance. A cross-sectional audit of LDC services in metropolitan Perth was conducted to determine food group provision by weighing raw ingredients of meal preparation—morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea (MT, L, AT). Ingredients were costed at 2017 online metropolitan pricing from a large supermarket chain. Across participating services, 2 days of food expenditure per child/day ranged between $1.17 and $4.03 across MT, L, AT, and averaged $2.00 per child/day. Multivariable analysis suggests that an increase of $0.50 per child/day increases the odds of a LDC service meeting >50% of Australian Dietary Guideline (ADG) recommendations across ≥4 core food groups by fourfold (p = 0.03). Given the fact that the literature regarding food expenditure at LDC services is limited, this study provides information about food expenditure variation that impacts planning and provision of nutritionally balanced menus recommended for children. An average increase of food expenditure of $0.50 per child/day would increase food provision compliance.