Background/AimsTo investigate the association between the risk of overweight and the consumption of food groups in children and adolescents.MethodsWe studied 1764 healthy children and adolescents (age 6-19y) attending 16 Seventh-Day Adventist schools and 13 public schools using a 106-item non-quantitative food frequency questionnaire from the late 1980 Child-Adolescent Blood Pressure Study. Logistic regression models were used to compute the risk of overweight according to consumption of grains, nuts, vegetables, fruits, meats/fish/eggs, dairy, and, low nutrient-dense foods (LNDF).ResultsThe frequency of consumption of grains, nuts, vegetables and LNDF were inversely related to the risk of being overweight and dairy increased the risk. Specifically, the odds ratio (95% CI) for children in the highest quartile or tertile of consumption compared with the lowest quartile or tertile were as follows: grains 0.59(0.41-0.83); nuts 0.60(0.43-0.85); vegetables 0.67(0.48-0.94); LNDF 0.43(0.29-0.63); and, dairy 1.36(0.97, 1.92).ConclusionThe regular intake of specific plant foods may prevent overweight among children and adolescents.

Soy milk has become a popular substitute for dairy milk with important health claims. We hypothesized that soy milk, based on its nutrient composition, was comparable to dairy products and, therefore, beneficial for bone health. To test this hypothesis, we examined the benefit of soy milk and dairy products intake on bone health using broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) of the calcaneus. Post-menopausal Caucasian women (n=337) who had completed a lifestyle and dietary questionnaire at enrollment into the AHS-2 had their calcaneal BUA measured two years later. The association between osteoporosis (defined as a T-score <−1.8) and some dietary factors (soy milk, dairy) and selected lifestyle factors was assessed using logistic regression. In a multivariable model adjusted for demographics, hormone use and other dietary factors, osteoporosis was positively associated with age (OR= 1.08, 95%CI: 1.06–1.12) and inversely associated with BMI (OR=0.91, 95% CI: 0.86–0.97) and current estrogen usage (OR=0.27, 95% CI: 0.13–0.56). Compared to women who did not drink soy milk, women drinking soy milk once a day or more had 56% lower odds of osteoporosis (OR= 0.44, 95%CI: 0.20–0.98 (ptrend=0.04). Women whose dairy intake was once a day or more had a 62% reduction in the likelihood of having osteoporosis (OR=0.38, 95%CI: 0.17–0.86)(ptrend=0.02) compared to women whose dairy intake was less than twice a week. Among individual dairy products, only cheese showed an independent and significant protection (OR=0.28, 95%CI: 0.12–0.66)(ptrend=0.004) for women eating cheese more than once per week vs. those who ate cheese less than once a week. We concluded that osteoporosis is inversely associated with soy milk intake to a similar degree as dairy intake after accounting for age, BMI, and estrogen usage.