The present study tests the hypothesis that higher consumption of bakery products, sweetened soft drinks and yogurt is associated with higher intake of energy, saturated fats, sugars and worse overall diet quality among Spanish children. This is a cross-sectional study covering 1112 children aged 6.0-7.0 years in four Spanish cities. Nutrient and food intake were obtained through a food-frequency questionnaire, and overall diet quality calculated using the healthyeating index (HEI) developed by Kennedy et al. (1995). Standardized methods were used to measure anthropometric variables. Associations of interest were summarized as the difference in nutrient and food consumption between the value of the fifth and the first quintile of consumption (dq) of bakery products, sweetened soft drinks or yogurt, adjusted for energy intake and BMI. Bakery products, sweetened soft drinks and yogurt supplied 15·5, 1·0 and 5·6 % energy intake respectively. Higher consumption of these three foods was associated with greater energy intake (P, 0·001), but not with higher BMI. Consumption of bakery products was associated with the proportion of energy derived from intake of total carbohydrates (dq 4·5 %, P, 0·001) and sugars (dq 2 %, P, 0·001), but did not show association with the HEI. Consumption of sweetened soft drinks was associated with a lower consumption of milk (dq 2 88 ml, P, 0·001) and Ca (dq 2 175 mg/d, P,0·001), and worse HEI (dq 22, P, 0·01). Consumption of yogurt, while associated with higher energy intake from saturated fats (dq 1·77 %, P, 0·001) and sugars (dq 2·02 %, P,0·001), showed no association with the HEI. Differences in the intake of nutrients and foods across quintiles of consumption of bakery products, sweetened soft drinks and yogurt were usually very small. We conclude that the impact of the consumption of bakery products, sweetened soft drinks and yogurt on the quality of the diet of Spanish children is only modest, although it may contribute to aggravating certain unhealthy characteristics of their diet, particularly excess energy, saturated fats and sugars. Therefore, consumption of bakery products and sweetened soft drinks should be moderated, and priority given to consumption of low-fat, low-sugar yogurt. Abbreviations: dq, value of the fifth minus the first quintile of consumption; FFQ, food-frequency questionnaire; HEI, healthy-eating index.

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Purpose: Analysis of mutations in genes of the cholesterol metabolic pathway has not completely explained the interindividual variability of blood cholesterol concentrations attributed to gene-nutrient interactions. Thus, we analyzed polymorphisms in the ABCG5 and ABCG8 genes, involved in the regulation of intestinal cholesterol absorption, with special interest in a potential interaction with diet to determine lipid levels. Methods: The polymorphisms ABCG5 C1950G (Gln604Glu) and ABCG8 C1895T (Ala640Val) were determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction analysis in 1227 healthy school children, aged 6 to 8 years. Results: No significant differences were found in blood lipid levels between subjects with different genotypes of the two analyzed polymorphisms. However, important differences appeared when separating subjects by their different lipid intake.The presence of the ABCG8 C1895T and ABCG5 C1950G polymorphisms was associated with different plasma total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol complex, and apolipoprotein B levels only in low-cholesterol consumers (significantly for the C1895T polymorphism), and among children within the lower tertile of saturated fat intake (significantly for the C1950G polymorphism). Conclusion: Polymorphisms at the half-transporter ABCG5 and ABCG8 genes affect blood cholesterol concentrations in prepubertal children by influencing dietary responsiveness. This highly significant gene-nutrient interaction could explain the great individual differences in the plasma lipid response to cholesterol and fat intake. Genet Med 2006:8(9):594-599.Atherosclerosis is a complex, multifactorial disease in which many genes, environmental factors, and interactions between them are involved. Increased consumption of cholesterol and saturated fat has been shown to be associated with higher plasma cholesterol levels and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. 1,2 However, well-controlled experimental studies have demonstrated that individuals differ widely in the response of their plasma cholesterol concentrations to dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. 3,4 A genetic determination of this variability has been documented; 5,6 however, the analysis of the influence of common mutations in relevant genes of cholesterol metabolic pathways (apolipoproteins [apo], receptors, and enzymes) on the responsiveness to dietary fat and cholesterol has not completely explained the wide interindividual variability in the responsiveness to diet, 7 suggesting the intervention of other unknown genes and factors. Studies undertaken to determine the relationship between dietary cholesterol absorption and plasma lipoprotein levels showed large individual differences in dietary cholesterol absorption, suggesting a genetic variation among humans in the regulation of this process. 8,9 When cholesterol absorption was studied, two members of the human adenosine triphosphate (ATP) Binding Cassette (ABC) transporter family, 10 ABCG5 and ABCG8, seem to play a capital role. 10,11 These two ATP-dependen...

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