Objective: To compare, in adolescents, two models of front-of-pack Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) labels in terms of (i) friendliness and acceptance and (ii) the ability to choose a diet that closely follows the nutritional recommendations. Design: A randomized cross-over study was designed to compare two simplified front-of-pack GDA nutrition labels. Setting: A Spanish secondary school. Subjects: Eighty-one healthy adolescents aged between 14 and 16 years were recruited. Participants were randomly exposed to two experimental non-real food-choice conditions using multiple-traffic-light or monochrome nutritional labels. Participants had to choose options from a closed menu for 5 d on the basis of the experimental front-of-pack labelling. For each meal, three food options with different nutritional compositions were given to the participants. The contents of total energy and fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt of the chosen options were calculated. Results: There were no significant differences in baseline sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics between participants regardless of the experimental condition in which they started. There were no carry-over effects between the experimental sequences. It was observed that when participants used the multiple-traffic-light GDA system they chose significantly less total energy (mean -123?1 (SD 211?0) kJ (229?4 (SD 50?4) kcal), P , 0?001), sugar (24?5 (SD 4?6) g, P , 0?001), fat (22?1 (SD 4?5) g, P 5 0?006), saturated fat (21?0 (SD 1?9) g, P 5 0?002) and salt (20?4 (SD 0?5) g, P , 0?001) than when they used the monochrome GDA system. Conclusions: Compared with the monochrome GDA front-of-pack nutritional label, the multiple-traffic-light system helped adolescents to differentiate between healthier and less healthy food, theoretically making it possible for them to choose a diet closer to dietary recommendations.
We conclude that there is a need to improve the residents' energy intake and to redistribute their energy and protein intake among the various food groups. An alternative to increasing food portions so as to improve energy intake might involve enriching certain food types.
El beneficio para la salud del consumo diario de al menos 5 raciones entre frutas y hortalizas está bien documentado. En España no se alcanzan los 600 gramos por persona y día que recomienda la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) en sus objetivos de salud pública, por lo que es importante mejorar el acceso a estos alimentos, aprovechar su potencial nutritivo y salvar las barreras para su consumo. Los objetivos de este documento son: facilitar la toma de decisiones responsables con la salud; aprovechar al máximo el valor nutritivo de frutas y hortalizas; ayudar a salvar las barreras para su consumo e informar sobre cómo afecta la conservación, manipulación y cocinado domésticos a su valor nutritivo.Para minimizar la pérdida de nutrientes y mejorar su biodisponibilidad durante la manipulación de frutas y hortalizas, la Asociación para la promoción del consumo de frutas y hortalizas “5 al día” (España) recomienda: evitar almacenamientos prolongados en el refrigerador; aprovechar las capas y hojas exteriores; pelar y/o cortar el alimento justo antes de consumirlo; lavar las piezas enteras y trocearlas posteriormente; controlar el tiempo de remojo de las piezas cortadas; preferir técnicas de cocinado que no requieran contacto directo con el agua; a menor tiempo de cocción, menor pérdida de nutrientes; la fritura correcta conserva muy bien los nutrientes, aunque no debe abusarse de esta técnica; añadir un chorrito de vinagre o de zumo de limón al agua de cocción; aprovechar el agua de los vegetales cocidos para elaborar otros alimentos (ej.: salsas, sopas, purés, etc.), excepto la de acelgas, espinacas o remolacha. La Asociación “5 al día” recomienda aumentar el consumo de frutas y hortalizas, y considera que la pérdida de nutrientes durante su manipulación doméstica no debe entenderse como una barrera para su consumo.
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