Improving Skin Carotenoid Levels in Young Students through Brief Dietary Education Using the Veggie Meter

Abstract

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of carotenoid have been determined to aid in the prevention of a wide range of oxidative disorders, arteriosclerosis, obesity, and various types of cancers. In order to keep high carotenoid levels in the body, much of the vegetable and fruit (V/F) intake is mandatory. However, the actual intake of V/F is not enough in many countries. The aim of this study was to assess whether brief dietary education using the Veggie Meter (VM) that could measure skin carotenoid (SC) levels could induce the increase in carotenoid levels via V/F intake. Two hundred and sixty-one elementary and junior high school students (ages 7–14 years old) received brief educational session and SC evaluation by VM, and the changes in SC levels were examined after 6 months. The baseline VM scores ranged from 131 to 825, and the average significantly increased from 400.0 ± 124.7 (standard deviation) to 447.4 ± 140.4 at Month 6 (p < 0.0001). The percentage of increase at month 6 was negatively correlated with the baseline values (r = −0.36, p < 0.0001). This finding implies that subjects who became aware of their inferiority tended to make a significant effort to change their behavior. The multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that subjects taking much of green and yellow vegetables, drinking vegetable/tomato juice, and eating any fruit had higher VM scores than the average value. In conclusion, the educational approach using VM was supposed to be an effective method of raising awareness of the V/F shortage and increasing V/F intake that could indue the increase in SC levels.

Association between Skin Carotenoid Score Measured with Veggie Meter® and Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet among Adolescents from Southern Italy

“…To date, the intake of FV is evaluated by self-reported FV intake or by measuring the blood carotenoid levels via an invasive and expensive liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry-based analytic method [23,52]. The use of the Veggie Meter ® has been already described as a validated and non-invasive method for skin carotenoid detection, which accurately reflects the FV intake [25,33,34,53]. Therefore, it represents an important tool for an objective measurement of FV intake to overcome bias associated with self-reported questionnaires, allowing us to easily analyze the FV intake in community-based settings.…”

“…Several studies have reported that the number of carotenoids in the skin is highly correlated with the serum carotenoid concentration and reflects the FV dietary intake in the previous 2-4 weeks [25]. Thus, Veggie Meter ® represents a feasible, reliable, and potentially valid measure of FV consumption [26][27][28][29].…”

Association between atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease score and skin carotenoid levels estimated via refraction spectroscopy in the Japanese population: a cross-sectional study

“…Several studies 27 , 47 – 51 clarified the association between fruit and vegetable intake and SC levels measured by VM and some interventional studies 52 , 53 revealed that VM accurately detects differences in carotenoid intake through diet. In our previous study 54 , informing participants of their VM scores has proven effective in motivating fruit and vegetable intake, and repeated measurements have increased SC levels. In addition to these nutritional approaches, SC level identification as an effective measure for preventing various diseases would serve as a valuable indicator in nutritional guidance towards a diet beneficial for disease prevention.…”

Natural Carotenoids: Recent Advances on Separation from Microbial Biomass and Methods of Analysis

“…Vitamin A is essential for the proper function of the eyes and brain, as well as reproduction and other vital activities in the human body; thus, the significance of carotenoids in human nutrition is an indisputable fact. Numerous studies corroborate the multiple positive health effects that a diet rich in carotenoids could offer, from prevention against different types of cancer to protection against depression [3,4]. In this framework, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have already included several carotenoids in the Codex Alimentarius as safe additives permitted for use in foods.…”