Saturated fat in the diet of Spanish children: relationship with anthropometric, alimentary, nutritional and lipid profiles

Abstract

Objective: To compare the anthropometric, alimentary, nutritional and lipid profiles and global diet quality of Spanish children according to saturated fat intake. Design: This was a cross-sectional study. Food data were collected using a foodfrequency questionnaire. Subjects and methods: The sample included 1112 children of both sexes, aged between 6 and 7 years, selected by means of random cluster sampling in schools. The plasma lipid profile included measurements of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides, apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) and apolipoprotein B (apoB). Global diet quality was evaluated by the Dietary Variety Index (DVI) and the Healthy Eating Index (HEI). Results: Energy intake, DVI and HEI of children from the lower quartile of saturated fat intake (LL) were higher (P , 001) than in the remaining children (UL). However, there were no significant differences in average height or weight between groups. The UL children had lower intakes of meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and olive oil and a higher intake of dairy products (P , 0.001). The intakes of fibre, vitamins C, D, B 6 , E and folic acid were higher in the LL children, who had lower intakes of vitamin A and calcium. The ratios LDL-C/HDL-C and apoB/apoA1 were lower (P ¼ 0.04) in the LL children (1.87 and 0.52, respectively) than in the UL children (2.02 and 0.54, respectively). Conclusions: The growth rate of children does not seem to be affected by the level of saturated fat intake. Furthermore, at the levels of intake observed in this study, diets with less saturated fat are associated with better alimentary, nutritional and plasma lipid profiles.

A Dietary Guideline Adherence Score Is Positively Associated with Dietary Biomarkers but Not Lipid Profile in Healthy Children ,

“…This finding contrasts with previous research in Spanish children that found a positive correlation between a dietary variety index and plasma lycopene concentrations (r = 0.27, adjusted for energy intake) (29). Although a high intake of tomatoes may be characteristic of dietary patterns that are rich in vegetables in Mediterranean populations, this relation may not be comparable in Australian population groups.…”

“…In adult populations, associations between diet quality and lipid profile have been observed in the expected direction (3). However, in child populations, no studies observed significant associations between diet quality and serum lipid profile (29,33). There may be a number of reasons why the validation of diet quality indexes in relation to markers of disease status or risk in children is particularly difficult.…”

HDL-Related Mechanisms of Olive Oil Protection in Cardiovascular Disease

“…Participants with the highest adherence had fewer possibilities of having low HDL-C than those in the lowest quartile [59]. In children, consuming diets with less SFA was also associated with better LDL-C/HDL-C and APOB/APOA1 ratios [60]. These epidemiological studies of Mediterranean diets do not provide direct evidence of olive oil influence and should be evaluated with caution considering that adherence indices included consumption of fish, fruit, grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, and wine in addition to olive oil.…”

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet in Italian school children (The ZOOM8 Study)

“…The progressive globalization of food products seems to have contributed to the decline of traditional healthy food choices (Aravanis et al, 1988;Hassapidou et al, 2006;Petridou et al, 1995;Royo-Bordonada et al, 2006). Studies in pediatric samples exploring adherence to the MD are scarce.…”