Dairy food intake of Australian children and adolescents 2-16 years of age: 2007 Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey

Dairy food consumption is important for Australian children as it contributes key nutrients such as protein and Ca. The aim of the present paper is to describe dietary intake from dairy foods for Australian children aged 2–16 years in 2007. Secondary analysis of a quota-sampled survey using population-weighted, 1 d (24 h) dietary recall data. Australian national survey conducted from February to August 2007. Children (n 4487) aged 2–16 years. Most Australian children consumed dairy foods (84–98 %), with the proportion consuming tending to decrease with age and males consuming significantly more than females from the age of 4 years. Milk was the most commonly consumed dairy food (58–88 %) and consumed in the greatest amount (243–384 g/d). Most children consumed regular-fat dairy products. The contribution of dairy foods to total energy intake decreased with age; from 22 % of total energy at age 2–3 years to 11 % at age 14–16 years. This trend was similar for all nutrients analysed. Dairy food intake peaked between 06.00 and 10.00 hours (typical breakfast hours) corresponding with the peak in dairy Ca intake. Australian children (older than 4 years) did not reach recommendations for dairy food intake, consuming ≤2 servings. The under-consumption of dairy foods by Australian children has important implications for intake of key nutrients and should be addressed by multiple strategies.Danielle L Bairda, Julie Syrette, Gilly A Hendrie, Malcolm D Riley, Jane Bowen and Manny Noake

Evaluation of the Proximity of Singaporean Children’s Dietary Habits to Food-Based Dietary Guidelines

Dietary habits in children may not only impact current health status but could also shape future, lifelong dietary choices. Dietary intake data in Singaporean children are limited. The current study aimed to define the overall diet quality of Singaporean children using an existing cross-sectional dataset and to consider how demographic factors (i.e., body mass index (BMI) status, ethnicity, age, and sex) were associated with these scores. Existing, cross-sectional dietary data (n = 561 children aged 6–12 years, collected in 2014–2015) from duplicate 24-h recalls were assessed for diet quality using an index based on the Singaporean Health Promotion Board dietary guidelines. Total diet quality scores were calculated from ten different components (frequencies of rice and alternatives, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, meat and alternatives, dairy and alternatives, total fat, saturated fat, sodium intake, and added sugars). Association with demographic factors and BMI category was evaluated by one-way multivariate ANOVA (MANOVA) tests, with Bonferroni post hoc analyses. Median (interquartile range) total diet quality scores were 65.4 (57.1–73.0). Median scores for whole grains (0.0, 0.0–33.4), fruits (24.1, 0.0–65.3), vegetables (36.5, 10.4-89.8), and sodium (58.4, 0.0–100.0) intake were frequently sub-optimal. Children of Malay ethnic origin had statistically lower total diet quality scores ((55.3, 47.5–60.3) vs. other ethnic groups (combined median 65.4 (57.1, 73.0); p < 0.001). These findings highlight the need for continuing efforts to improve dietary intake in young Singaporeans and for longitudinal dietary monitoring in this group

Sources and correlates of sodium consumption in the first 2 years of life

High sodium intake during infancy and early childhood can change salt preference and blood pressure trajectories across life, representing a modifiable cardiovascular risk factor. Describing young children\u27s sodium intake is important for informing effective targets for sodium reduction

Digital behaviour change interventions to increase vegetable intake in adults: A systematic review

Background: Digital interventions may help address low vegetable intake in adults, however there is limited understanding of the features that make them effective. We systematically reviewed digital interventions to increase vegetable intake to 1) describe the effectiveness of the interventions; 2) examine links between effectiveness and use of co-design, personalisation, behavioural theories, and/or a policy framework; and 3) identify other features that contribute to effectiveness. Methods: A systematic search strategy was used to identify eligible studies from MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, INFORMIT, IEEE Xplore and Clinical Trial Registries, published between January 2000 and August 2022. Digital interventions to increase vegetable intake were included, with effective interventions identified based on statistically significant improvement in vegetable intake. To identify policy-action gaps, studies were mapped across the three domains of the NOURISHING framework (i.e., behaviour change communication, food environment, and food system). Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane tools for randomized, cluster randomized and non-randomized trials. Results: Of the 1,347 records identified, 30 studies were included. Risk of bias was high or serious in most studies (n = 25/30; 83%). Approximately one quarter of the included interventions (n = 8) were effective at improving vegetable intake. While the features of effective and ineffective interventions were similar, embedding of behaviour change theories (89% vs 61%) and inclusion of stakeholders in the design of the intervention (50% vs 38%) were more common among effective interventions. Only one (ineffective) intervention used true co-design. Although fewer effective interventions included personalisation (67% vs 81%), the degree of personalisation varied considerably between studies. All interventions mapped across the NOURISHING framework behaviour change communication domain, with one ineffective intervention also mapping across the food environment domain. Conclusion: Few digital interventions identified in this review were effective for increasing vegetable intake. Embedding behaviour change theories and involving stakeholders in intervention design may increase the likelihood of success. The under-utilisation of comprehensive co-design methods presents an opportunity to ensure that personalisation approaches better meet the needs of target populations. Moreover, future digital interventions should address both behaviour change and food environment influences on vegetable intake

Malaysian Healthy Diet Online Survey (MHDOS): Study rationale and methodology

Introduction: Access to accurate and timely dietary information is of paramount importance in evaluating and developing well-targeted public health nutrition interventions. However, nationwide nutrition surveys are conducted infrequently because they are very costly to design, conduct and analyse. Dietary assessment tools, which are quick and cost- effective, are needed for population research and regular monitoring of Malaysians’ dietary habits. This paper describes the rationale and methodology of the Malaysian Healthy Diet Online Survey (MHDOS) project, which aims to bridge this knowledge gap on dietary intake of Malaysian adults. The main objective of the two-year project is to develop MHDOS as a valid tool to measure compliance with the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2020. Methods: The MHDOS project has three study phases, namely (i) adaptation of an online survey and established diet quality scoring system for Malaysia, (ii) usability, validity and reliability testing of the online survey; and (iii) online survey administration in a nationwide study. The survey will be administered to approximately 10,000 Malaysian adults aged 18-59 years. Discussion: MHDOS consists of 38 questions that measures the quantity, quality and variety of foods consumed. Individuals will receive a diet quality score that reflects their overall compliance with the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines and feedback on how to improve their scores. The findings of the online survey, which serve to complement information between larger surveys, will be useful to measure compliance of Malaysians to national dietary guidelines and inform public health interventions

Conceptualising the drivers of ultra-processed food production and consumption and their environmental impacts: A group model-building exercise

Using group model building we developed a series of causal loop diagrams identifying the environmental impacts of ultra-processed food (UPF) systems, and underlying system drivers, which was subsequently validated against the peer-reviewed literature. The final conceptual model displays the commercial, biological and social drivers of the UPF system, and the impacts on environmental sub-systems including climate, land, water and waste. It displays complex interactions between various environmental impacts, demonstrating how changes to one component of the system could have flow-on effects on other components. Trade-offs and uncertainties are discussed. The model has a wide range of applications including informing the design of quantitative analyses, identifying research gaps and potential policy trade-offs resulting from a reduction of ultra-processed food production and consumption

Performance of Short Food Questions to Assess Aspects of the Dietary Intake of Australian Children

Single dietary questions are used as a rapid method of monitoring diet. The aim of this investigation was to assess the performance of questions to measure population group intake compared to the mean of two 24-h recalls. Data from the Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2007 was used (n = 4487). Children reported their intake on three questions relating to usual serves of fruit, vegetables and type of milk. Age, gender and body weight status were assessed as modifiers of the relationship between methods. There was a stepwise increase in fruit and vegetable intake (p &lt; 0.001) measured by recall when grouped by response category of the short question. By recall, fruit consumption decreased with age (F = 12.92, p &lt; 0.001) but this trend was not detectable from the short question (F = 2.31, p = 0.075). The difference in fruit intake between methods was greatest for obese children. Almost 85% of children who consumed whole milk by short question consumed mainly whole fat milk by recall, but agreement was lower for other milk types. Saturated fat and volume of milk was highest in whole milk consumers. Ease of administration suggests that short questions, at least for some aspects of diet, are a useful method to monitor population intakes for children

Diets with Higher Vegetable Intake and Lower Environmental Impact: Evidence from a Large Australian Population Health Survey

Increasing the consumption of vegetables is a public health nutrition priority in Australia. This must be achieved in the context of lowering dietary environmental impacts. In this study, a subgroup of 1700 Australian adult daily diets having a higher diet-quality score and a lower environmental impact score was isolated from Australian Health Survey data. These diets were primarily distinguished by their lower content of energy-dense/nutrient-poor discretionary foods. Among these diets, those with higher levels of vegetable intake were characterized by greater variety of vegetables eaten, lower intake of bread and cereal foods, and higher intake of red meat. These diets also had a greater likelihood of achieving recommended intakes for a range of vitamins and minerals. These findings highlighted the importance of considering the total diet in developing strategies to promote healthy and sustainable food consumption, as well as the need to understand the interrelationships between foods that exist in a local cultural context. As vegetables are usually eaten with other foods, higher vegetable consumption in Australia could be supported by encouraging more regular consumption of the types of meals that include larger quantities of vegetables. Our results showed that this was possible while also substantially lowering total dietary environmental impacts

Scores on the dietary guideline index for children and adolescents are associated with nutrient intake and socio-economic position but not adiposity 1-3

Diet quality indices reflect overall dietary patterns better than single nutrients or food groups. The study aims were to develop a measure of adherence with dietary guidelines applicable to child and adolescent populations in Australia and determine the association between index scores and food and nutrient intake, socio-demographic characteristics, and measures of adiposity. Data were analyzed from 4- to 16-y-old participants of the 2007 Australian Children&rsquo;s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (n = 3416). The Dietary Guideline Index for Children and Adolescents (DGI-CA) comprises 11 components: 5 core food groups, wholegrain bread, reduced-fat dairy foods, extra foods (nutrient poor and high in fat, salt, and added sugar), healthy fats/oils, water, and diet variety (possible score of 100). The index criteria were age specific. The mean DGI-CA score was low (53.6 &plusmn; 0.4), similar between boys and girls, and differed by age; the youngest children scored higher than the oldest children (P &lt; 0.0001). Higher DGI-CA scores were associated with lower energy intake, energy density, total and saturated fat, and sugar intake; higher protein, carbohydrate, fiber, calcium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc, and iodine intakes; and a higher polyunsaturated:saturated fat ratio (P &lt; 0.0001). DGI-CA scores were associated with socio-economic characteristics and measures of family circumstance. Weak positive associations were observed between DGI-CA score and BMI or waist circumference Z-scores in the 4- to 10-y and 12- to 16-y age groups only. This index is the first validated index in Australia and one of the few international indices to describe the diet quality of children and adolescents. <br /