Vitamin D vitamers affect vitamin D status differently in young healthy males

Dietary intake of vitamin D includes vitamin D3 (vitD3), 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OH-D3), and vitamin D2 (vitD2). However, the bioactivity of the different species has not been scientifically established. The hypothesis in this study was that vitD3, 25OH-D3, and vitD2 have an equal effect on 25-hydroxyvitamin D in serum (vitamin D status). To test our hypothesis, we performed a randomized, crossover study. Twelve young males consumed 10 µg/day vitD3 during a four-week run-in period, followed by 3 × 6 weeks of 10 µg/day vitD3, 10 µg/day 25OH-D3, and 10 µg/day vitD2. The content of vitD3, vitD2, 25OH-D3, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 (25OH-D2) in serum was quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The hypothesis that the three sources of vitamin D affect vitamin D status equally was rejected. Based on the assumption that 1 µg vitD3/day will show an increase in vitamin D status of 1.96 nmol/L, the results showed that 23 µg vitD2 and 6.8 µg 25OH-D3 was similar to 10 µg vitD3. These results demonstrate that further investigations are necessary to determine how to quantify the total vitamin D activity based on chemical quantification of the individual vitamin D metabolites to replace the total vitamin D activity assessed in biological rat models

The Nutritional Quality of Lunch Meals Eaten at Danish Worksites

Monitoring the nutritional environment is important to help inform future initiatives to improve access to healthy foods. The objective was to examine the nutritional quality of lunch meals eaten at 15 worksite canteens and then to compare with results from a study conducted 10 years before. The duplicate-portion-technique with subsequent chemical analysis was used to quantify 240 customers’ lunch intake. Estimated mean energy intake was 2.1 MJ/meal (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.9 to 2.4 g/meal) and estimated energy density 599 kJ/100 g (95% CI 550 to 653 kJ/100 g). Energy density of the male participants’ meals were significantly higher compared with the female participants’ meals (+55 kJ/100 g, 95% CI: +12 to +98 kJ/100 g, p = 0.012), whereas no gender differences were found in macronutrient distribution or fruit and vegetable intake. Compared to the study conducted 10 years before several significant changes were observed, including an increase in mean estimated intake of fruit and vegetables (+38 g/meal, 95% CI: 19 to 57 g/meal, p < 0.001) and a decrease in energy density (−76 kJ/100 g, 95% CI: −115, −37 kJ/100 g, p < 0.001). In conclusion, this study suggests an equalization of gender differences in fruit and vegetable intake and a possible improvement in the nutritional quality of canteen lunch meals over a 10-year period

The Salt Content of Lunch Meals Eaten at Danish Worksites

Monitoring levels of sodium (salt) in meals consumed out-of-home is needed to support effective implementation of salt-reduction strategies. The objective of the study was to examine lunch salt intake at 15 worksite canteens and to compare with results from a comparable study conducted 10 years before. A duplicate-portion-technique with subsequent chemical analysis was used to quantify 240 customers’ lunch salt intake. Estimated mean salt intake was 2.6 g/meal (95% Cl: 2.2 to 3.0 g/meal) and 0.78 g/100 g (95% Cl: 0.69 to 0.88 g/100 g). Salt intake measured both as g per meal and per 100 g was found to be significantly higher for male compared with female participants (+0.10 g/100 g, 95% Cl: +0.02 to +0.17 g/100 g, p = 0.011). Compared with the study conducted 10 years before, there was a significantly lower estimated salt intake of 0.5 g/meal (95% CI: −0.8 to −0.2 g/meal, p = 0.001), suggesting a possible reduction in canteen lunch salt intake during a 10-year period. Still, 40% of the meals exceeded the Nordic Keyhole label requirements of maximum 0.8 g salt per 100 g for ready meals. A further reduction of salt intake is warranted to comply with salt reduction targets

What do Danish children eat, and does the diet meet the recommendations?:Baseline data from the OPUS School Meal Study

A child's diet is an important determinant for later health, growth and development. In Denmark, most children in primary school bring their own packed lunch from home and attend an after-school care institution. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the food, energy and nutrient intake of Danish school children in relation to dietary guidelines and nutrient recommendations, and to assess the food intake during and outside school hours. In total, 834 children from nine public schools located in the eastern part of Denmark were included in this cross-sectional study and 798 children (95·7 %) completed the dietary assessment sufficiently (August–November 2011). The whole diet was recorded during seven consecutive days using the Web-based Dietary Assessment Software for Children (WebDASC). Compared with the food-based dietary guidelines and nutrient recommendations, 85 % of the children consumed excess amounts of red meat, 89 % consumed too much saturated fat, and 56 % consumed too much added sugar. Additionally 35 or 91 % of the children (depending on age group) consumed insufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables, 85 % consumed insufficient amounts of fish, 86 % consumed insufficient amounts of dietary fibre, 60 or 84 % had an insufficient Fe intake (depending on age group), and 96 % had an insufficient vitamin D intake. The study also showed that there is a higher intake of fruits and bread during school hours than outside school hours; this is not the case with, for example, fish and vegetables, and future studies should investigate strategies to increase fish and vegetable intake during school hours

Effects of school meals based on the New Nordic Diet on intake of signature foods: a randomised controlled trial. The OPUS School Meal Study

AbstractA New Nordic Diet (NND) was developed in the context of the Danish OPUS Study (Optimal well-being, development and health for Danish children through a healthy New Nordic Diet). Health, gastronomic potential, sustainability and Nordic identity were crucial principles of the NND. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of serving NND school meals compared with the usual packed lunches on the dietary intake of NND signature foods. For two 3-month periods, 834 Danish children aged 8–11 years received NND school meals or their usual packed lunches brought from home (control) in random order. The entire diet was recorded over 7 consecutive days using a validated Web-based Dietary Assessment Software for Children. The NND resulted in higher intakes during the entire week (% increase) of root vegetables (116 (95 % CI 1·93, 2·42)), cabbage (26 (95 % CI 1·08, 1·47)), legumes (22 (95 % CI 1·06, 1·40)), herbs (175 (95 % CI 2·36, 3·20)), fresh berries (48 (95 % CI 1·13, 1·94)), nuts and seeds (18 (95 % CI 1·02, 1·38)), lean fish and fish products (47 (95 % CI 1·31, 1·66)), fat fish and fish products (18 (95 % CI 1·02, 1·37)) and potatoes (129 (95 % CI 2·05, 2·56)). Furthermore, there was a decrease in the number of children with zero intakes when their habitual packed lunches were replaced by NND school meals. In conclusion, this study showed that the children increased their intake of NND signature foods, and, furthermore, there was a decrease in the number of children with zero intakes of NND signature foods when their habitual packed lunches were replaced by school meals following the NND principles.</jats:p

Accuracy of self-reported intake of signature foods in a school meal intervention study: comparison between control and intervention period

Bias in self-reported dietary intake is important when evaluating the effect of dietary interventions, particularly for intervention foods. However, few have investigated this in children, and none have investigated the reporting accuracy of fish intake in children using biomarkers. In a Danish school meal study, 8- to 11-year-old children (n 834) were served the New Nordic Diet (NND) for lunch. The present study examined the accuracy of self-reported intake of signature foods (berries, cabbage, root vegetables, legumes, herbs, potatoes, wild plants, mushrooms, nuts and fish) characterising the NND. Children, assisted by parents, self-reported their diet in a Web-based Dietary Assessment Software for Children during the intervention and control (packed lunch) periods. The reported fish intake by children was compared with their ranking according to fasting whole-blood EPA and DHA concentration and weight percentage using the Spearman correlations and cross-classification. Direct observation of school lunch intake (n 193) was used to score the accuracy of food-reporting as matches, intrusions, omissions and faults. The reporting of all lunch foods had higher percentage of matches compared with the reporting of signature foods in both periods, and the accuracy was higher during the control period compared with the intervention period. Both Spearman's rank correlations and linear mixed models demonstrated positive associations between EPA+DHA and reported fish intake. The direct observations showed that both reported and real intake of signature foods did increase during the intervention period. In conclusion, the self-reported data represented a true increase in the intake of signature foods and can be used to examine dietary intervention effects