Sociodemographic factors and screen exposure associated with the consumption of healthy and unhealthy dietary markers in children attended at a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

AIM

To evaluate the association between sociodemographic factors and screen exposure during meals with the consumption of dietary markers in children treated at a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study with children of both sexes between 2 and 9 years of age. Food consumption and screen exposure were assessed using specific forms. The socio-demographic data evaluated were age, maternal education, household composition, receipt of government benefits, and household food and nutrition security. The statistical analysis included simple and multivariate logistic regression with a confidence interval of 95%.

RESULTS

Among the 129 children evaluated, most of them were of preschool age (57.4%), 71.3% received some type of government benefit, and 69.8% ate meals in front of screens. Among the markers of a healthy diet, beans (86.0%) and fresh fruits (69.8%) were the most consumed, while among the markers of an unhealthy diet, the most common components were sweetened beverages (61.7%) and cookies, candies, or other sweets (54.7%). There was a higher consumption of sweetened beverages among the children whose families received a government benefit (OR 2.63; 95% CI: 1.13-6.13) and who were exposed to a screen during meals (2.27; 95% CI: 1.01-5, 14).

CONCLUSION

This study showed that in view of the high frequency of consumption of unhealthy foods and screen exposure during meals, it is imperative that food and nutrition education actions are taken to promote an adequate and healthy food environment in childhood.

Dietary β-Cryptoxanthin and α-Carotene Have Greater Apparent Bioavailability Than β-Carotene in Subjects from Countries with Different Dietary Patterns

β-carotene, α-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin are greater contributors to vitamin A intake than retinol in the human diet for most people around the world. Their contribution depends on several factors, including bioavailability and capacity of conversion into retinol. There is an increasing body of research showing that the use of retinol activity equivalents or retinol equivalents could lead to the underestimation of the contribution of β-cryptoxanthin and of α-carotene. The aim is to assess their apparent bioavailability by comparing concentrations in blood to their dietary intakes and identifying the major food contributors to their dietary intake. Dietary intake (3-day 24-h records) and serum concentrations (by HPLC) were calculated in normolipemic subjects with adequate retinol status (≥1.1 µmol/L) from our studies (n = 633) and apparent bioavailability calculated from 22 other studies (n = 29,700). Apparent bioavailability was calculated as the ratio of concentration in the blood to carotenoid intake. Apparent bioavailabilities for α-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin were compared to those for β-carotene. Eating comparable amounts of α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and β-carotene foods resulted in 55% greater α-carotene (95% CI 35, 90) and 686% higher β-cryptoxanthin (95% CI 556, 1016) concentrations than β-carotene in blood. This suggests differences in the apparent bioavailability of α-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin and even larger differences with β-cryptoxanthin, greater than that of β-carotene. Four fruits (tomato, orange, tangerine, red pepper) and two vegetables (carrot, spinach) are the main contributors to their dietary intake (>50%) in Europeans.

Estimation of Chicken Intake by Adults Using Metabolomics-Derived Markers

BACKGROUND

Improved assessment of meat intake with the use of metabolomics-derived markers can provide objective data and could be helpful in clarifying proposed associations between meat intake and health.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to identify novel markers of chicken intake using a metabolomics approach and use markers to determine intake in an independent cohort.

METHODS

Ten participants [age: 62 y; body mass index (in kg/m2): 28.25] in the NutriTech food intake study consumed increasing amounts of chicken, from 88 to 290 g/d, in a 3-wk span. Urine and blood samples were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry, respectively. A multivariate data analysis was performed to identify markers associated with chicken intake. A calibration curve was built based on dose-response association using NutriTech data. A Bland-Altman analysis evaluated the agreement between reported and calculated chicken intake in a National Adult Nutrition Survey cohort.

RESULTS

Multivariate data analysis of postprandial and fasting urine samples collected in participants in the NutriTech study revealed good discrimination between high (290 g/d) and low (88 g/d) chicken intakes. Urinary metabolite profiles showed differences in metabolite levels between low and high chicken intakes. Examining metabolite profiles revealed that guanidoacetate increased from 1.47 to 3.66 mmol/L following increasing chicken intakes from 88 to 290 g/d (P < 0.01). Using a calibration curve developed from the NutriTech study, chicken intake was calculated through the use of data from the National Adult Nutrition Survey, in which consumers of chicken had a higher guanidoacetate excretion (0.70 mmol/L) than did nonconsumers (0.47 mmol/L; P < 0.01). A Bland-Altman analysis revealed good agreement between reported and calculated intakes, with a bias of -30.2 g/d. Plasma metabolite analysis demonstrated that 3-methylhistidine was a more suitable indicator of chicken intake than 1-methylhistidine.

CONCLUSIONS

Guanidoacetate was successfully identified and confirmed as a marker of chicken intake, and its measurement in fasting urine samples could be used to determine chicken intake in a free-living population. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01684917.

Evaluation of methodological aspects of digestibility measurements in ponies fed different haylage to concentrate ratios

Methodological aspects of digestibility measurements were studied in four Welsh pony geldings consuming haylage-based diets with increasing proportions of a pelleted concentrate according to a 4×4 Latin square design experiment. Ponies were fed four experimental, iso-energetic (net energy (NE) basis) diets (i.e. 22 MJ NE/day) with increasing proportions of a pelleted concentrate (C) in relation to haylage (H). The absolute amounts of diet dry matter fed per day were 4.48 kg of H (100H), 3.36 and 0.73 kg of H and C (75H25C), 2.24 and 1.45 kg of H and C (50H50C) and 1.12 and 2.17 kg of H and C (25H75C). Diets were supplemented with minerals, vitamins and TiO2 (3.7 g Ti/day). Voluntary voided faeces were quantitatively collected daily during 10 consecutive days and analysed for moisture, ash, ADL, acid-insoluble ash (AIA) and Ti. A minimum faeces collection period of 6 consecutive days, along with a 14-day period to adapt the animals to the diets and become accustomed to the collection procedure, is recommended to obtain accurate estimations on dry matter digestibility and organic matter digestibility (OMD) in equids fed haylage-based diets supplemented with concentrate. In addition, the recovery of AIA, ADL and Ti was determined and evaluated. Mean faecal recovery over 10 consecutive days across diets for AIA, ADL and Ti was 124.9% (SEM 2.9), 108.7% (SEM 2.0) and 97.5% (SEM 0.9), respectively. Cumulative faecal recovery of AIA significantly differed between treatments, indicating that AIA is inadequate to estimate the OMD in equines. In addition, evaluation of the CV of mean cumulative faecal recoveries obtained by AIA, ADL and Ti showed greater variations in faecal excretion of AIA (9.1) and ADL (7.4) than Ti (3.7). The accuracy of prediction of OMD was higher with the use of Ti than ADL. The use of Ti is preferred as a marker in digestibility trials in equines fed haylage-based diets supplemented with increasing amounts of pelleted concentrate.

Cpt1a gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells as an early biomarker of diet-related metabolic alterations

BACKGROUND

Research on biomarkers that provide early information about the development of future metabolic alterations is an emerging discipline. Gene expression analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) is a promising tool to identify subjects at risk of developing diet-related diseases.

OBJECTIVE

We analysed PBMC expression of key energy homeostasis-related genes in a time-course analysis in order to find out early markers of metabolic alterations due to sustained intake of high-fat (HF) and high-protein (HP) diets.

DESIGN

We administered HF and HP diets (4 months) to adult Wistar rats in isocaloric conditions to a control diet, mainly to avoid overweight associated with the intake of hyperlipidic diets and, thus, to be able to characterise markers of metabolically obese normal-weight (MONW) syndrome. PBMC samples were collected at different time points of dietary treatment and expression of relevant energy homeostatic genes analysed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Serum parameters related with metabolic syndrome, as well as fat deposition in liver, were also analysed.

RESULTS

The most outstanding results were those obtained for the expression of the lipolytic gene carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (Cpt1a). Cpt1a expression in PBMC increased after only 1 month of exposure to both unbalanced diets, and this increased expression was maintained thereafter. Interestingly, in the case of the HF diet, Cpt1a expression was altered even in the absence of increased body weight but correlated with alterations such as higher insulin resistance, alteration of serum lipid profile and, particularly, increased fat deposition in liver, a feature characteristic of metabolic syndrome, which was even observed in animals fed with HP diet.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose Cpt1a gene expression analysis in PBMC as an early biomarker of metabolic alterations associated with MONW phenotype due to the intake of isocaloric HF diets, as well as a marker of increased risk of metabolic diseases associated with the intake of HF or HP diets.