Diet-induced changes in iron and n-3 fatty acid status and associations with cognitive performance in 8-11-year-old Danish children: secondary analyses of the Optimal Well-Being, Development and Health for Danish Children through a Healthy New Nordic Diet School Meal Study

Published by Cambridge University Press in the British Journal of Nutrition. Sørensen, L. B., Damsgaard, C. T., Dalskov, S.-M., Petersen, R. A., Egelund, N., Dyssegaard, C. B., … Lauritzen, L. (2015). Diet-induced changes in iron and n-3 fatty acid status and associations with cognitive performance in 8–11-year-old Danish children: secondary analyses of the Optimal Well-Being, Development and Health for Danish Children through a Healthy New Nordic Diet School Meal Study. British Journal of Nutrition, 114(10), 1623–1637. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114515003323. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © The AuthorsFe and n-3 long-chain PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA) have both been associated with cognition, but evidence remains inconclusive in well-nourished school-aged children. In the Optimal Well-Being, Development and Health for Danish Children through a Healthy New Nordic Diet (OPUS) School Meal Study, the 3-month intervention increased reading performance, inattention, impulsivity and dietary intake of fish and Fe. This study investigated whether the intervention influenced n-3 LCPUFA and Fe status and, if so, explored how these changes correlated with the changes in cognitive performance. The study was a cluster-randomised cross-over trial comparing school meals with packed lunch (control). At baseline and after each treatment, we measured serum ferritin, whole-blood n-3 LCPUFA and Hb, and performance in reading, mathematics and d2-test of attention. Data were analysed using mixed models (n 726) and principal component analysis of test performances (n 644), which showed two main patterns: 'school performance' and 'reading comprehension'. The latter indicated that children with good reading comprehension were also more inattentive and impulsive (i.e. higher d2-test error%). The intervention improved 'school performance' (P = 0.015), 'reading comprehension' (P = 0.043) and EPA + DHA status 0.21 (95 % CI 0.15, 0.27) w/w % (P < 0.001), but it did not affect serum ferritin or Hb. At baseline, having small Fe stores was associated with poorer 'school performance' in girls, but with better 'reading comprehension' in both boys and girls. Both baseline EPA + DHA status and the intervention-induced increase in EPA + DHA status was positively associated with 'school performance', suggesting that n-3 LCPUFA could potentially explain approximately 20 % of the intervention effect. These exploratory associations indicate that increased fish intake might explain some of the increase in reading performance and inattention in the study.Nordea Foundation [02-2010-0389

Vitamin D status is associated with cardiometabolic markers in 8-11-year-old children, independently of body fat and physical activity

AbstractVitamin D status has been associated with cardiometabolic markers even in children, but the associations may be confounded by fat mass and physical activity behaviour. This study investigated associations between vitamin D status and cardiometabolic risk profile, as well as the impact of fat mass and physical activity in Danish 8–11-year-old children, using baseline data from 782 children participating in the Optimal well-being, development and health for Danish children through a healthy New Nordic Diet (OPUS) School Meal Study. We assessed vitamin D status as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and measured blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, homoeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance, plasma lipids, inflammatory markers, anthropometry and fat mass by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and physical activity by 7 d accelerometry during August–November. Mean serum 25(OH)D was 60·8 (sd18·7) nmol/l. Each 10 mmol/l 25(OH)D increase was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure (−0·3 mmHg, 95 % CI −0·6, −0·0) (P=0·02), total cholesterol (−0·07 mmol/l, 95 % CI −0·10, −0·05), LDL-cholesterol (−0·05 mmol/l, 95 % CI −0·08, −0·03), TAG (−0·02 mmol/l, 95 % CI −0·03, −0·01) (P≤0·001 for all lipids) and lower metabolic syndrome (MetS) score (P=0·01). Adjustment for fat mass index did not change the associations, but the association with blood pressure became borderline significant after adjustment for physical activity (P=0·06). In conclusion, vitamin D status was negatively associated with blood pressure, plasma lipids and a MetS score in Danish school children with low prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, and apart from blood pressure the associations were independent of body fat and physical activity. The potential underlying cause–effect relationship and possible long-term implications should be investigated in randomised controlled trials.</jats:p

Nanos mikrokapsul z zaviralcem gorenja na poliestrno in bombažno blago

It is widely assumed that nutrition can improve school performance in children; however, evidence remains limited and inconclusive. In the present study, we investigated whether serving healthy school meals influenced concentration and school performance of 8- to 11-year-old Danish children. The OPUS (Optimal well-being, development and health for Danish children through a healthy New Nordic Diet) School Meal Study was a cluster-randomised, controlled, cross-over trial comparing a healthy school meal programme with the usual packed lunch from home (control) each for 3 months (NCT 01457794). The d2 test of attention, the Learning Rating Scale (LRS) and standard tests on reading and mathematics proficiency were administered at baseline and at the end of each study period. Intervention effects were evaluated using hierarchical mixed models. The school meal intervention did not influence concentration performance (CP; primary outcome, n 693) or processing speed; however, the decrease in error percentage was 0·18 points smaller (P&lt; 0·001) in the intervention period than in the control period (medians: baseline 2·03 %; intervention 1·46 %; control 1·37 %). In contrast, the intervention increased reading speed (0·7 sentence, P= 0·009) and the number of correct sentences (1·8 sentences, P&lt; 0·001), which corresponded to 11 and 25 %, respectively, of the effect of one school year. The percentage of correct sentences also improved (P&lt; 0·001), indicating that the number correct improved relatively more than reading speed. There was no effect on overall math performance or outcomes from the LRS. In conclusion, school meals did not affect CP, but improved reading performance, which is a complex cognitive activity that involves inference, and increased errors related to impulsivity and inattention. These findings are worth examining in future trials.</jats:p

The role of leptin and other hormones related to bone metabolism and appetite-regulation as determinants of gain in body fat and fat-free mass in 8-11 year old children

This is the accepted manuscript for a paper published in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, March 2015, 100(3):1196 ?1205, DOI: 10.1210/jc.2014-3706Background: Regulation of body composition during childhood is complex. Numerous hormones are\ud potentially involved. Leptin has been proposed to restrain weight gain, but results are inconsistent.\ud Objective: We examined whether baseline fasting levels of ghrelin, adiponectin, leptin, insulin,\ud IGF-I, osteocalcin, and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were associated with body composition\ud cross sectionally and longitudinally in 633 8 ?11-year-olds.\ud Design: Data on hormones and body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry from the\ud OPUS School Meal Study were used. We looked at baseline hormones as predictors of baseline fat\ud mass index (FMI) or fat-free mass index (FFMI), and also subsequent changes (3 and 6 months) in\ud FMI or FFMI using models with hormones individually or combined.\ud Results: Cross-sectionally, baseline leptin was positively associated with FMI in girls (0.211 kg/m2pr.\ud g/mL; 97.5% confidence interval [CI],0.186 ? 0.236; P .001) and boys (0.231 kg/m2 pr. g/mL;\ud 97.5% CI, 0.200 ? 0.261; P .001). IGF-I in both sexes and iPTH in boys were positively associated with\ud FMI. An inverse association between adiponectin and FFMI in boys and a positive association\ud between IGF-I and FFMI were found in girls. In longitudinal models, baseline leptin was inversely\ud associated with subsequent changes in FMI (0.018 kg/m2pr.g/mL; 97.5% CI, 0.034 ?0.002; P \ud .028) and FFMI (0.014 kg/m2 pr. g/mL; 97.5% CI, 0.024 ?0.003; P .006) in girls.\ud Conclusions: Cross-sectional findings support that leptin is produced in proportion to body fat\ud mass, but the longitudinal observations support that leptin inhibits gains in FMI and FFMI in girls,\ud a finding that may reflect preserved leptin sensitivity in this predominantly normal weight\ud population. . (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 100: 1196 ?1205, 2015)Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to:\ud Stine-Mathilde Dalskov, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and\ud Sports, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg\ud C, Denmark. E-mail: [email protected].\ud This study was registered inClinicalTrials.gov as trial number\ud NCT01457794.\ud The OPUS study was financed by a Grant from the Nordea\ud Foundation (grant number 02-2010-478 0389). A complete list\ud of food suppliers providing full or partial food sponsorships to\ud the study can be found at the website: http://foodoflife.ku.dk/\ud opus/wp/skolemadsprojektet/leverandorer. Sources of funding\ud and donation had no role in the trial design; collection, analysis,\ud interpretation of data or decision to publish