1. Dietary sugar intake among preschool-aged children: a cross-sectional study.
- Author
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Mahajan A, Yu J, Hogan JL, Jewell K, Carriero A, Annis A, Sadowski A, Darlington G, Buchholz AC, Duncan AM, Haines J, and Ma DWL
- Subjects
- Body Mass Index, Body Weight, Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Child, Preschool, Cross-Sectional Studies, Eating physiology, Female, Health Services Needs and Demand, Humans, Male, Nutritional Status, Ontario epidemiology, Preventive Health Services, Waist Circumference, Dietary Sugars analysis, Energy Intake physiology, Feeding Behavior, Recommended Dietary Allowances
- Abstract
Background: Excessive intake of sugar in young children is a public health concern. Our study objectives were to examine intakes of total, free and added sugar among preschool-aged children and to investigate their associations with body weight, body mass index Z-scores, percent fat mass and waist circumference., Methods: The cross-sectional cohort study included preschool-aged children between 1.5 and 5 years of age, enrolled in pilot studies of the Guelph Family Health Study, Guelph, Ontario, from 2014 to 2016. Daily intake of total sugar was determined using a food processor software; daily intakes of free and added sugar, and food sources were determined through manual inspection of 3-day food records. Anthropometric measures were completed by trained research staff. We used linear regression models with generalized estimating equations to estimate associations between sugar intakes and anthropometric measures., Results: We included 109 children (55 girls and 54 boys) in 77 families. Mean daily intakes were 86 (standard deviation [SD] 26) g for total sugar, 31 (SD 15) g for free sugar and 26 (SD 13) g for added sugar. Of participants, 80% ( n = 87) had intakes of free sugar greater than 5% of their daily energy intake. The most frequent food sources of free and added sugar were bakery products. A weak inverse association between free sugar intake (kcal/1000 kcal) and waist circumference (cm) (β = -0.02, 95% confidence interval -0.04 to -0.0009) was found, but no significant associations were noted between sugar intake and other anthropometric measures., Interpretation: Most of the preschool-aged children in this study had free sugar intakes greater than current recommendations; overall, their total, free and added sugar intakes were not associated with the anthropometric measures. This study can be used to inform policy development for sugar intake in young children and apprise early intervention programs., Competing Interests: Competing interests: Alison Duncan is a member of the board of directors for the Canadian Nutrition Society, and David Ma is a former president of the Canadian Nutrition Society. David Ma and Jess Haines have received funding from Danone Institute North America and Danone Institute International. David Ma is a co-investigator of a study assessing nutrition knowledge among students that is funded by the Canadian Sugar Institute; he received no remuneration for his participation. No other competing interests were declared., (© 2021 CMA Joule Inc. or its licensors.)
- Published
- 2021
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