A study of the dietary intake of Cypriot children and adolescents aged 6–18 years and the association of mother’s educational status and children’s weight status on adherence to nutritional recommendations

Abstract

BackgroundA balanced diet is fundamental for healthy growth and development of children. The aim of this study was to document and evaluate the dietary intake of Cypriot children aged 6–18 years (y) against recommendations, and to determine whether maternal education and children’s weight status are associated with adherence to recommendations.MethodsThe dietary intake of a random sample of 1414 Cypriot children was assessed using a 3-day food diary. Adherence to recommendations was estimated and the association of their mother’s education and their own weight status on adherence were explored.ResultsA large percentage of children consumed less than the minimum of 45% energy (en) of carbohydrate (18.4%-66.5% in different age groups) and exceeded the recommended intakes of total fat (42.4%-83.8%), saturated fatty acids (90.4%-97.1%) and protein (65.2%-82.7%), while almost all (94.7%-100%) failed to meet the recommended fibre intake. Additionally, a large proportion of children (27.0%-59.0%) consumed >300 mg/day cholesterol and exceeded the upper limit of sodium (47.5%-78.5%). In children aged 9.0-13.9y, there was a high prevalence of inadequacy for magnesium (85.0%-89.9%), in girls aged 14.0-18.9y, of Vitamin A (25.3%), Vitamin B6 (21.0%) and iron (25.3%) and in boys of the same group, of Vitamin A (35.8%). Children whose mother was more educated were more likely to consume >15%en from protein, Odds Ratio (OR) 1.85 (95% CI:1.13-3.03) for mothers with tertiary education and exceed the consumption of 300 mg/day cholesterol (OR 2.13 (95% CI:1.29-3.50) and OR 1.84 (95% CI:1.09-3.09) for mothers with secondary and tertiary education respectively). Children whose mothers were more educated, were less likely to have Vitamin B1 (p<0.05) and Vitamin B6 intakes below the EAR (p < 0.05 for secondary school and p < 0.001 for College/University) and iron intake below the AI (p < 0.001). Overweight/obese children were more likely to consume >15%en protein (OR 1.85 (95% CI:1.26-2.71) and have a < Adequate Intake of calcium (OR 1.85 (95% CI:1.11-3.06)).ConclusionCypriot children consume a low quality diet. Maternal education and children’s own weight status are associated with children’s adherence to recommendations. Public health policies need to be evaluated to improve dietary quality and reduce disease burden.

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle characteristics of university students in Cyprus: A cross-sectional survey

“…Our results are in line with a previous study conducted in Cyprus in children and adolescents where 62.8% of subjects were also shown to have normal weight [8]. Moreover Savva et al [9] indicated that the prevalence of obesity (8.1%) and overweight (20.1%) in children and adolescents in Cyprus has increased substantially over a decade, mainly in rural areas and in school-aged boys.…”

Dietary intake and food sources of added sugar in the Australian population

“…As PAL data were not available from the survey, we assigned a standard PAL of 1·55 to all respondents as per the advice of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (20) and similar to previous studies (27)(28)(29) . Participants with an energy intake:BMR ratio outside the 95 % CI were excluded from the analysis.…”

Intake of free sugars and micronutrient dilution in Australian adults

“…The Goldberg cut-off (30) for 2-d dietary data and a physical activity level of 1.55 (i.e., plausible if the energy intake:basal metabolic rate ratio is within 0.96-2.49) was used to identify misreporters as previously described (31). This range was used per the advice of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (18), and is similar to that used in previous studies (32)(33)(34). We excluded 1093 extreme misreporters based on this method.…”