Dietary energy density increases during early childhood irrespective of familial predisposition to obesity: results from a prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

This study compared 4-year changes in daily energy density (ED; kcal/g) in children born at different risk for obesity, characterized the stability of ED and examined associations between ED and child body composition.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study to measure habitual dietary ED of children who are born at different risk for obesity.

SUBJECTS

Children who were born at high risk (n=22) or low risk (n=27) for obesity based on maternal pre-pregnancy weight.

MEASUREMENTS

Three-day food records were collected from children's mothers at child ages 3, 4, 5 and 6 years. Three categories of ED were computed (food only, food and milk, and food and all beverages) and body composition assessed at each year.

RESULTS

The mean (+/-s.e.m.) ED increased over time across all children (linear trend: P<0.003): 2.18+/-0.07 to 2.32+/-0.06 kcal/g (food only); 1.66+/-0.07 to 1.82+/-0.06 kcal/g (food and milk); and 1.24+/-0.04 to 1.37+/-0.05 kcal/g (food and all beverages). Intraindividual coefficients of variation were smaller than those previously reported for adults. Weight indices were not correlated with dietary ED (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

Dietary ED increased in young children, irrespective of their predisposition to obesity, between the ages of 3 and 6 years. The genes that promote childhood obesity may not exert their influence through dietary ED, which may be more strongly influenced by environmental factors.

Does nutrition information about the energy density of meals affect food intake in normal-weight women?

This study investigated whether the energy density of foods affected energy intake when subjects were informed about the energy density of their meals. Forty normal-weight women ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the laboratory on three separate days. The entrée at each meal was varied in energy density to be either 1.25, 1.50, or 1.75 kcal/g (5.23, 6.28, or 7.32 kJ/g), but was held similar in macronutrient composition and palatability. On each day, the entrées at all three meals had the same energy density. All entrées were consumed ad libitum. Subjects were assigned to one of two groups. Subjects in the information group received a nutrition label with each meal, which showed the energy density of the entrée. Subjects in the no-information group did not receive any nutrition information. The results revealed that subjects in both groups had the same pattern of food intake across the three levels of energy density. Energy density significantly affected energy intake; subjects in both groups combined consumed 22% less energy in the condition of low energy density than in the condition of high energy density (p < 0.0001). These findings show that energy density can have a significant influence on energy intake, even when individuals are informed about the energy density of their meals.