The relationship between breastfeeding and weight status in a national sample of Australian children and adolescents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Breastfeeding has been shown consistently in observational studies to be protective of overweight and obesity in later life. This study aimed to investigate the association between breastfeeding duration and weight status in a national sample of Australian children and adolescents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A secondary analysis of the 2007 Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey data involving 2066, males and females aged 9 to 16 years from all Australian states and territories. The effect of breastfeeding duration on weight status was estimated using multivariate logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to those who were never breastfed, children breastfed for ≥6 months were significantly less likely to be overweight (adjusted odds ratio: 0.64, 95%CI: 0.45, 0.91) or obese (adjusted odds ratio: 0.51, 95%CI: 0.29, 0.90) in later childhood, after adjustment for maternal characteristics (age, education and ethnicity) and children's age, gender, mean energy intake, level of moderate and vigorous physical activity, screen time and sleep duration.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Breastfeeding for 6 or more months appears to be protective against later overweight and obesity in this population of Australian children. The beneficial short-term health outcomes of breastfeeding for the infant are well recognised and this study provides further observational evidence of a potential long-term health outcome and additional justification for the continued support and promotion of breastfeeding to six months and beyond.</p

A cluster randomised trial of a telephone-based intervention for parents to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in their 3- to 5-year-old children: study protocol

Background: Inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption in childhood increases the risk of developing chronic disease. Despite this, a substantial proportion of children in developed nations, including Australia, do not consume sufficient quantities of fruits and vegetables. Parents are influential in the development of dietary habits of young children but often lack the necessary knowledge and skills to promote healthy eating in their children. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of a telephone-based intervention for parents to increase the fruit and vegetable consumption of their 3- to 5-year-old children. Methods/Design: The study, conducted in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia, employs a cluster randomised controlled trial design. Two hundred parents from 15 randomly selected preschools will be randomised to receive the intervention, which consists of print resources and four weekly 30-minute telephone support calls delivered by trained telephone interviewers. The calls will assist parents to increase the availability and accessibility of fruit and vegetables in the home, create supportive family eating routines and role-model fruit and vegetable consumption. A further two hundred parents will be randomly allocated to the control group and will receive printed nutrition information only. The primary outcome of the trial will be the change in the child's consumption of fruit and vegetables as measured by the fruit and vegetable subscale of the Children's Dietary Questionnaire. Pre-intervention and post-intervention parent surveys will be administered over the telephone. Baseline surveys will occur one to two weeks prior to intervention delivery, with follow-up data collection calls occurring two, six, 12 and 18 months following baseline data collection. Discussion: If effective, this telephone-based intervention may represent a promising public health strategy to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in childhood and reduce the risk of subsequent chronic disease. Trial registration: Australian Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12609000820202

Fructose intake and food sources in West Australian adolescents

Aim: This research aimed to cross-sectionally quantify fructose consumption and identify major food sources of fructose in adolescents participating in the 14-year follow up of the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. Methods: Subjects were 822 adolescents aged 13-15 years participating in the Raine Study. Dietary intake was assessed by 3-day food records and entered in the FoodWorks dietary analysis program. Total fructose values for individual foods were linked from the Nutrient Tables for use in Australia, the University of Minnesota Nutrition Coordinating Centre Food and Nutrient Database, and the Canadian Nutrient File. Results: Fructose contributed 9.1% of total energy intake for the group. Boys reported higher absolute fructose intakes than girls (58.9g ± 26.6g vs 48.3g ± 20.1g, respectively, P &lt; 0.001), while girls had higher energy adjusted fructose intakes than boys (55.7g ± 16.1g vs 51.8g ± 20.2g, respectively, P = 0.002). Major food sources of total fructose were beverages, in particular soft drinks, followed by fruit and confectionery. No significant associations were found between fructose intake and level of physical activity, Body Mass Index or socioeconomic status indicators in unadjusted analyses; however, adolescents from higher socioeconomic groups consumed more fructose from fruit, whereas adolescents from lower socioeconomic groups consumed more fructose from beverages. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe fructose intake and food sources in Australian adolescents. Results are similar to those previously reported in studies of US adolescents. © 2013 The Authors Nutrition & Dietetics © 2013 Dietitians Association of Australia