Energy and fat intake in obese and lean children at varying risk of obesity

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:This study compared lean children at high risk (HR) and low risk (LR) of obesity and obese children (OB) to assess the relationship between their energy (EI) and fat intake and adiposity. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of energy and fat intake in children, using 7-day weighed intakes validated by doubly labelled water (DLW) energy expenditure. SUBJECTS: A total of 114 pre-pubertal children, 50 HR (mean AE s.d., 6.7 AE 0.6 y, 25.7 AE 4.8 kg, 21.3 AE 6.6% body fat), 50 LR (mean AE s.d., 6.6 AE 0.8 y, 23.6 AE 3.7 kg, 18.9 AE 5.7% body fat) and 14 OB (mean AE s.d., 6.8 AE 1.0 y, 37.7 AE 5.3 kg, 34.8 AE 5.6% body fat). MEASUREMENTS: Body fatness was measured using deuterium dilution, total energy expenditure (TEE) by DLW and dietary intake using 7-day weighed records. RESULTS: EI was 98% of TEE in LR children, 95% in HR children and 86% in OB children. Although EI was similar in each group (LR, 7.03 AE 1.26 MJ=day; HR, 7.30 AE 1.46 MJ=day; OB, 7.55 AE 1.67 MJ=day), obese children consumed more fat in absolute (g) and relative (percentage energy) terms than LR children (LR, 68 AE 13 g, 36.4 AE 4.2%; OB, 80 AE 25 g, 39.5 AE 4.6%; P < 0.05). There was a significant linear trend towards increasing fat intake (percentage energy) with increasing risk of obesity (P < 0.05). While HR children were heavier and fatter than LR children (P < 0.05), their EI and fat intake were not significantly greater (HR, 73 AE 17 g, 37.3 AE 4.4%). Dietary fat intake (percentage energy) was weakly but significantly related to body fatness (r 2 ¼ 0.05, P ¼ 0.02) by step-wise regression. Since energy from fat was the only macronutrient that was a significant predictor of body fatness, results were therefore analysed using quartiles of fat intake (percentage energy) as cut-offs. When grouped in this way children with the lowest intakes were leaner than those with the highest intakes (19.5 AE 7.5 vs 24.9 AE 9.4% body fatness; P < 0.05). There was a significant trend for increasing fatness as fat intake increased (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Fat intake is related to body fatness in childhood.

Emerging obesity and dietary habits among James Bay Cree youth

“…However, when under-reporting was further evaluated among youth categorised into BMI percentile groups, under-reporting was observed only among overweight youth (those with normal BMI had an acceptable EI:BMR ratio of 1?56). The under-reporting of EI among overweight Cree youth is supported by several studies, which found evidence of under-reporting of EI by higher weight children and adults (34,35) . Many factors may occur in late childhood and adolescents that would contribute to the underreporting of EI among higher-weight individuals (36,37) .…”

Evolução da ingestão de energia e nutrientes de adolescentes de escolas públicas de Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 2003-2008

“…No presente estudo, verificamos que a ingestão total de energia não estava relacionada ou foi inversamente relacionada com a gordura corporal. Estudos transversais não têm constatado associação entre a ingestão total de energia e excesso de peso ou gordura corporal 31,32 , e, mesmo após o ajuste para o gasto energéti-co, os estudos têm mostrado que as crianças obesas apresentam ingestão de energia menor que as não obesas 33,34 . Quando a ingestão total de energia não está relacionada ou é inversamente relacionada com a gordura corporal, como foi o caso deste estudo, os resultados podem ser explicados segundo algumas possibilidades, por exemplo, indivíduos com peso excessivo controlam a dieta ou comem menos devido aos conselhos da família ou às orientações médicas 35 ou indivíduos com excesso de peso tendem a subestimar a ingestão dietética, consciente ou inconscientemente 36,37 .…”

Obesity, food restriction, and implicit attitudes to healthy and unhealthy foods: Lessons learned from the implicit relational assessment procedure

“…Accumulating evidence suggests that obese individuals tend to consume higher levels of fats, sugars, and proteins than their normal-weight counterparts (e.g., Mai et al, 2011;McGloin et al, 2002;Nicklas, Yang, Baranowski, Zakeri, & Berenson, 2003). Several authors have sought to explain this maladaptive pattern of behavior in terms of food-related evaluations.…”