Folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 in adolescence: serum concentrations, prevalence of inadequate intakes and sources in food

OBJECTIVE: To investigate serum concentrations and the prevalence of inadequate folate intake and also vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 intakes and to identify those foods that make a major contribution to intake levels of these nutrients. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, observational study of adolescents of both sexes aged 16 to 19 years from the town of Indaiatuba, SP, Brazil. Data collection was by non-consecutive 3-day dietary record. The samples habitual diet was estimated by removing intraindividual variability, and the prevalence rates of inadequate intakes were calculated using the estimated average requirement as cutoff points. Biochemical assays for folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 were conducted in accordance with the methods accepted in the literature. RESULTS: The study sample comprised 99 adolescents, the majority of whom were female (58.6%), with a mean age of 17.6 [standard deviation, (SD) 0.9]. Mean serum concentrations for folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 were 9.2 (SD 3.4) ng/mL, 18.7 (SD 5.1) nmol/L and 397.5 (SD 188.4) pg/mL, respectively; and the prevalence rates of inadequate intake for these vitamins were 15.2, 10.2 and < 1%, respectively. The foods that made a major contribution to vitamin intakes were French bread, pasta and beans for folate; white rice, chicken and beef for vitamin B6; and lean beef, whole milk and fatty beef for vitamin B12. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence rates of inadequate folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 intakes were low, which is possibly the result of improved access to and availability of foods that are dietary sources of these vitamins. Beans, which are a part of the traditional Brazilian diet, remain one of the primary food items that contribute to folate intake, even after mandatory fortification with folic acid in Brazil.OBJETIVO: Investigar os níveis séricos e a prevalência de inadequação da ingestão dietética de folato e das vitaminas B6 e B12, identificando os alimentos contribuintes para a ingestão desses nutrientes. MÉTODOS: Estudo observacional, transversal, em adolescentes de 16 a 19 anos, de ambos os sexos, conduzido em Indaiatuba (SP). Coletou-se o registro alimentar de 3 dias não consecutivos. A dieta habitual foi estimada pela remoção da variabilidade intrapessoal, e a prevalência de inadequação da ingestão, pelo método da estimated average requirement como ponto de corte. As análises bioquímicas de folato, B6 e B12 foram conduzidas de acordo com os métodos aceitos na literatura. RESULTADOS: O estudo foi conduzido com 99 adolescentes, a maioria do sexo feminino (58,6%), com média de idade de 17,6 (desvio padrão, DP 0,9) anos. As médias da concentração sérica de folato, B6 e B12 foram de 9,2 (DP 3,4) ng/mL, 18,7 (DP 5,1) nmol/L e 397,5 (DP 188,4) pg/mL, respectivamente; e a prevalência de inadequação da ingestão das vitaminas foi de 15,2, 10,2 e < 1%, respectivamente. Os alimentos que mais contribuíram para a ingestão dos nutrientes foram, para folato: pão francês, macarrão e feijões; para B6: arroz branco, carne de frango e carne bovina; e para B12: carne bovina magra, leite integral e carne bovina gorda. CONCLUSÕES: As prevalências de inadequação de folato, B6 e B12 mostraram-se baixas, possivelmente em decorrência da melhoria do acesso e da disponibilidade de alimentos, fontes dietéticas das vitaminas. Os feijões, presentes na dieta tradicional brasileira, ainda estão entre os principais alimentos que contribuíram para a ingestão de folato, mesmo após a fortificação mandatória com ácido fólico no Brasil.USP Faculdade de Saúde Pública Departamento de NutriçãoUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de MedicinaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de MedicinaSciEL

Breakfast dietary pattern is inversely associated with overweight/obesity in european adolescents: the Helena study

Obesity in children and adolescents is a public health problem and diet can play a major role in this condition. We aimed to identify sex-specific dietary patterns (DP) and to evaluate the association with overweight/obesity in European adolescents. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis with 2327 adolescents aged between 12.5 to 17.5 years from a multicenter study across Europe. The body mass index was categorized in “normal weight” and “overweight/obesity”. Two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls were collected with a computerized self-reported software. Principal component factor analysis was used to identify DP. Mixed-effect logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between the sex-specific DP and overweight/obesity outcome. As a result, we found three DP in boys (snacking and bread, Mediterranean diet, and breakfast) and four DP in girls (convenience, plant-based and eggs, Western, and breakfast). The association between DP and overweight/obesity highlights that those adolescents with higher adherence to the breakfast DP had lower odds for overweight/obesity, even after the inclusion of covariables in the adjustments. In European adolescents, the breakfast DP positively characterized by breakfast cereals, fruit, milk, and dairy and negatively characterized by sugar-sweetened beverages in boys and negatively characterized by cereals (pasta, rice, and others) in girls, was inversely associated with overweight/obesity

Children’s and adolescents’ rising animal-source food intakes in 1990–2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity

Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents’ physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the world’s child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 15–19 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF consumption programmes.publishedVersio

Incident type 2 diabetes attributable to suboptimal diet in 184 countries

The global burden of diet-attributable type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not well established. This risk assessment model estimated T2D incidence among adults attributable to direct and body weight-mediated effects of 11 dietary factors in 184 countries in 1990 and 2018. In 2018, suboptimal intake of these dietary factors was estimated to be attributable to 14.1 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 13.8–14.4 million) incident T2D cases, representing 70.3% (68.8–71.8%) of new cases globally. Largest T2D burdens were attributable to insufficient whole-grain intake (26.1% (25.0–27.1%)), excess refined rice and wheat intake (24.6% (22.3–27.2%)) and excess processed meat intake (20.3% (18.3–23.5%)). Across regions, highest proportional burdens were in central and eastern Europe and central Asia (85.6% (83.4–87.7%)) and Latin America and the Caribbean (81.8% (80.1–83.4%)); and lowest proportional burdens were in South Asia (55.4% (52.1–60.7%)). Proportions of diet-attributable T2D were generally larger in men than in women and were inversely correlated with age. Diet-attributable T2D was generally larger among urban versus rural residents and higher versus lower educated individuals, except in high-income countries, central and eastern Europe and central Asia, where burdens were larger in rural residents and in lower educated individuals. Compared with 1990, global diet-attributable T2D increased by 2.6 absolute percentage points (8.6 million more cases) in 2018, with variation in these trends by world region and dietary factor. These findings inform nutritional priorities and clinical and public health planning to improve dietary quality and reduce T2D globally.publishedVersio