The role of breakfast in nutrient intake of urban schoolchildren

OBJECTIVES: To ascertain the breakfast habits of 10-15-year-old schoolchildren and to assess the quality of this meal as well as its relationship to the food consumption pattern for the full day. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Eight hundred and two schoolchildren, boys and girls, aged 10-15 years, belonging to different urban schools located in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. METHOD: The breakfast eating patterns of the children were studied and their impact on growth was assessed, using dietary recalls and anthropometric measurements. RESULTS: Only 42.8% of the children ate breakfast regularly. Over half of the children skipped breakfast, ranging from daily to once in two weeks. The energy and protein composition of breakfasts eaten by the children indicated that those who did not skip breakfast met one-quarter to one-third of their total daily energy and protein requirements. Mean nutrient intakes calculated from 24-hour recalls revealed that the children's diets were inadequate compared with the recommended values for energy and protein. The inadequate energy intake was reflected in a high incidence of malnutrition in both boys and girls; 40.3% of the boys and 32.1% of the girls studied were found to be underweight. Protein intake was also inadequate among boys and girls, although a higher percentage of children met their protein requirements. CONCLUSIONS: Over half of the schoolchildren studied skipped breakfast frequently, the main reason being getting up late. Children who consumed breakfast had higher daily intakes of energy and protein than children who skipped breakfast. These data confirm the importance of breakfast to overall dietary quality and adequacy in school-aged children.     

Determination of the chromium content in commercial breakfast cereals in Spain

Chromium (Cr) is an essential element, but the content of this element in many foodstuffs, including breakfast cereals, is still unknown. For this reason, the Cr content in different types of commercially available breakfast cereals in Spain (n = 36) was determined by GFAAS following acid mineralization using HNO(3)-H(2)SO(4)-HClO(4). On validation, the method yielded a recovery rate of 99 +/- 1.08%. Results indicated that breakfast cereals are rich in Cr, with contents ranging between 0.09 +/- 0.04 and 0.55 +/- 0.08 microg.g(-)(1) and a mean content of 0.23 +/- 0.12 microg.g(-)(1). Consumption of breakfast cereals by children and adolescents in Spain could supply a Cr intake of 6.9 microg/d, i.e., 3.45-13.8% of the ESSADI and 19.72% of the RDI.     

The contribution of school meals to food consumption and nutrient intakes of young people aged 4-18 years in England

OBJECTIVES: To undertake secondary analyses of the 1997 National Diet and Nutrition Survey of Young People aged 4-18 years in order to describe the contribution of school meals to daily food and nutrient intakes; and to compare the findings from 1997 with data collected in English primary and secondary schools in 2004-2005. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of 7-day weighed inventory food consumption data according to age, sex, household income, free school meals and breakfast consumption. Comparison of food consumption with the Balance of Good Health and of nutrient intake data with the Caroline Walker Trust (CWT) guidelines. SETTING: United Kingdom. SUBJECTS: One thousand four hundred and fifty-six UK schoolchildren aged 4-18 years, 7058 English primary-school pupils and 5695 English secondary-school pupils. RESULTS: Pupils' school meal choices in 1997 did not accord with the Balance of Good Health. Food choices in school were less healthy than choices outside school. School meals failed to make good the shortfalls in daily intakes of non-starch polysaccharides and zinc in primary-school pupils, and of calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A and non-starch polysaccharides in secondary-school pupils, nor excess daily intakes of saturated fatty acids, non-milk extrinsic sugars and sodium at all ages. School meals typically failed to meet CWT guidelines. They were more likely to meet CWT guidelines when choice of foods was restricted. CONCLUSIONS: School meals need substantial improvement to meet CWT guidelines for healthy eating. The introduction of food-based guidelines for school meals in England in 2001 did not improve the food choices in school meals.     

Underreporting of energy intake among Japanese women aged 18-20 years and its association with reported nutrient and food group intakes

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the ratio of energy intake to basal metabolic rate (EI/BMR) among young female Japanese adults, and to compare the lifestyle and dietary characteristics between relatively low and high reporters. DESIGN: Dietary intakes were assessed over a 1-month period with a validated, self-administered, diet history questionnaire, and lifestyle variables were assessed by a second questionnaire designed for this survey. The ratio of EI/BMR was calculated from reported energy intake and estimated basal metabolic rate. SUBJECTS: In total, 1889 female Japanese university students aged 18-20 years who were enrolled in dietetics courses. RESULTS: Ninety-five per cent of the subjects were classified into a non-obese group (body mass index (BMI) <25 kg m(-2); mean+/-standard deviation (SD): 20.8+/-2.6 kg m(-2)). EI/BMR was 1.43+/-0.40 (mean+/-SD). Sixty-eight per cent of the subjects showed an EI/BMR level below the possibly balanced value of 1.56, 37% showed EI/BMR below the minimum survival value of 1.27 and 2% of the subjects showed EI/BMR exceeding the maximum value for a sustainable lifestyle of 2.4. BMI, body weight and BMR decreased significantly with the increase in EI/BMR (P<0.001). The percentage of energy from carbohydrate was significantly higher, whereas those from fat and protein were significantly lower, among the lower EI/BMR groups. As for food groups, a significantly declining trend from the lowest to the highest EI/BMR groups was observed for cereals. CONCLUSION: Underreporting, rather than overreporting, of energy intake was predominant in this relatively lean Japanese female population. BMI was the most important factor affecting the reporting accuracy of energy intake.     

The stability of soft drinks intake from adolescence to adult age and the association between long-term consumption of soft drinks and lifestyle factors and body weight

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the tracking of sugar-sweetened, carbonated soft drinks intake from age 15 to 33 years and the association between this intake and lifestyle factors and body weight. DESIGN: A longitudinal study with 18-20 years of follow-up. Data about diet, physical activity, smoking and dieting were collected in 1981/1979, 1991 and 1999. Body weight and height were measured in 1981/1979 and self-reported in 1999. SETTING: Oslo, Norway. SUBJECTS: Four hundred and twenty-two men and women. RESULTS: Tracking of soft drinks intake from adolescence into early adulthood (age 25 years) and from early adulthood into later adulthood (33 years) was moderate to high, while tracking from adolescence into later adulthood was low. Comparing those reporting a high intake of soft drinks in both 1991 and 1999 with those reporting a low intake at both times, male long-term high consumers were more likely to smoke (48 vs. 21%, P=0.002) and reported higher intakes of energy (12.2 vs. 10.2 MJ day(-1), P=0.005) and sugar (142 vs. 50 g day(-1), P<0.001) in 1999 than did long-term low consumers. Women high consumers were less likely to be physically active (14 vs. 42%, P=0.03) and had higher sugar intake (87 vs. 41 g day(-1), P<0.001) in 1999 than did women low consumers. There were no differences in body mass index, overweight or obesity in 1999 between long-term high and low consumers. CONCLUSION: In this study, stability of soft drinks intake from age 15 to 25 years and from age 25 to 33 years was moderate to high, while from age 15 to 33 years it was low. Soft drinks intake from age 25 to 33 years was associated with smoking and physical inactivity, but not with body weight.     

Determination of 12 type A and B trichothecenes in cereals by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A new sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of 12 trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, fusarenon X, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, neosolaniol, monoacetoxyscirpenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, T-2 triol, and T-2 tetraol) by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) is presented. The development of the method and investigations on the matrix influence on the MS signal are described in particular. The matrix effect was thereby minimized by using an internal standard, a special mobile phase, and specific fragmentation parameters. The sample was extracted with acetonitrile/water (84:16, v/v), and the extract was cleaned up with a MycoSep 227 column. Quantification was based on the internal standard de-epoxy-deoxynivalenol. Calibration curves were linear between 16 and 1600 ng/g, and the limits of detection ranged from 0.18 to 5.0 ng/g. The developed method was applied for the determination of trichothecenes in 120 naturally contaminated wheat and oat samples.     

The relationship between education and food consumption in the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between education and the intake of a variety of individual foods, as well as groups of foods, for Australian men and women in different age groups. DESIGN: Cross-sectional national survey of free-living men and women. SUBJECTS: A sample of 2501 men and 2739 women aged 18 years and over who completed the National Nutrition Survey (NNS) 1995. METHODS: Information about the frequency of consumption of 88 food items was obtained using a food-frequency questionnaire in a nation-wide nutrition survey. Irregular and regular consumers of foods were identified according to whether they consumed individual foods less than or more than once per month. The relationship between single foods and an index of education (no post-school qualifications, vocational, university) was analysed via contingency table chi-square statistics for men and women. Food group variety scores were derived by assigning individual foods to conventional food group taxonomies, and then summing the dichotomised intake scores for individual foods within each food group. Two-way analyses of variance (education by age groups) were performed on food variety scores for men and women, separately. RESULTS: While university-educated men and women consumed many individual foods more regularly than less-educated people, they were less likely to be regular consumers of several meat products. The relationship between education and food consumption was less apparent when individual food scores were aggregated into food group scores. University-educated men and women exhibited higher scores on total food group variety than the other educational groups. CONCLUSIONS: Higher education is associated with the regular consumption of a wider variety of foods. Aggregation of individual food consumption indices into food variety scores may mask the apparent effects of educational background on food consumption.