The association of the school food environment with dietary behaviors of young adolescents.
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OBJECTIVES: We examined the association between young adolescents' dietary behaviors and school vending machines, a la carte programs, and fried potatoes' being served at school lunch. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional study design, we measured a la carte availability and the number of school stores, vending machines, and amounts of fried potatoes served to students at school lunch in 16 schools. Grade 7 students (n = 598) completed 24-hour dietary recall interviews. RESULTS: A la carte availability was inversely associated with fruit and fruit/vegetable consumption and positively associated with total and saturated fat intake. Snack vending machines were negatively correlated with fruit consumption. Fried potatoes' being served at school lunch was positively associated with vegetable and fruit/vegetable intake. CONCLUSIONS: School-based programs that aim to promote healthy eating among youths should target school-level environmental factors. (+info)
Adolescent health in the Caribbean: a regional portrait.
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OBJECTIVES: This study assessed youth health in the Caribbean Community and Common Market countries and describes the prevalence of health-related factors. METHODS: We used a self-administered classroom questionnaire; questions addressed general health, health care, nutrition, sexual history, drug use, mental health, violence, family characteristics, and relationships with others. RESULTS: Most youths reported good health; however, 1 in 10 reported a limiting disability or significant health problems. Violence was a pervasive concern. Of those who reported history of sexual intercourse, many reported that their first intercourse was forced, and nearly half reported that they were aged 10 years or younger when they first had intercourse. CONCLUSIONS: Although most young people are healthy, problems indicate the importance of monitoring trends and designing effective youth health programs. (+info)
Diet and food insufficiency among Hispanic youths: acculturation and socioeconomic factors in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
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BACKGROUND: Low socioeconomic status is associated with poor diet, food insufficiency, and poor child health. Hispanic households have disproportionately low incomes. Acculturation-related changes may augment the effects of poverty on children's diet and health. OBJECTIVE: The goal was to determine the associations that acculturation, measured by parents' language use, and income have with dietary intakes and food insufficiency among Hispanic youths. DESIGN: Data on 2985 Hispanic youths aged 4-16 y were from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994). Nutrient intake data were from one 24-h dietary recall. The analysis was controlled for demographic, socioeconomic, and program variables. RESULTS: Parents' exclusive use of Spanish was associated in bivariate analyses with differences in intakes of energy, protein, sodium, and folate and in percentages of energy from fat and saturated fat. When other factors were controlled for, less acculturation was associated with differences in intakes of energy and sodium and in percentages of energy from fat and saturated fat. Individuals in poorer households had higher intakes of energy, protein, sodium, and some micronutrients. Although not significant for all indicators of food insufficiency, consistent patterns showed that household food insufficiency decreased with less acculturation (odds ratio: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.7 for adult meal size reduced) and increased with low income [odds ratio: 5.9 (3.0, 11.7) for not enough food and 5.4 (2.2, 13.4) for child meal size reduced]. CONCLUSIONS: Both acculturation and poverty have roles in children's diets and in household food insufficiency. Culturally specific public health and nutrition education should complement efforts to improve the financial security of low-income households. (+info)
Factors related to adolescents' self-perceived health.
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OBJECTIVES: This analysis examines self-perceived health among Canadian adolescents aged 12 to 17, and factors associated with ratings of very good/excellent health. DATA SOURCE: The data are from cycle 1.1 of the 2000/01 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), conducted by Statistics Canada. The sample consisted of 12,715 adolescents aged 12 to 17. ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES: Cross-tabulations were used to estimate the prevalence of various characteristics and health behaviours for the 12-to-14 and 15-to-17 age groups. Multiple logistic regression was used to model associations between very good/excellent self-reported health and selected characteristics. MAIN RESULTS: In 2000/01, nearly 30% of 12- to 17-year-olds rated their health as poor, fair or good. At ages 15 to 17, girls were less likely than boys to report very good/excellent health and were more likely to have a chronic condition and to have experienced depression in the past year. When other factors were taken into account, the odds of reporting very good/excellent health were significantly lower for teens who were daily smokers, episodic heavy drinkers, physically inactive during leisure time, infrequent consumers of fruit and vegetables, or obese, compared with teens who did not have these characteristics. (+info)
Factors that affect bone mineral accrual in the adolescent growth spurt.
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The development of bone mass during the growing years is an important determinant for risk of osteoporosis in later life. Adequate dietary intake during the growth period may be critical in reaching bone growth potential. The Saskatchewan Bone Mineral Accrual Study (BMAS) is a longitudinal study of bone growth in Caucasian children. We have calculated the times of maximal peak bone mineral content (BMC) velocity to be 14.0 +/- 1.0 y in boys and 12.5 +/- 0.9 y in girls; bone growth is maximal approximately 6 mo after peak height velocity. In the 2 y of peak skeletal growth, adolescents accumulate over 25% of adult bone. BMAS data may provide biological data on calcium requirements through application of calcium accrual values to factorial calculations of requirement. As well, our data are beginning to reveal how dietary patterns may influence attainment of bone mass during the adolescent growth spurt. Replacing milk intake by soft drinks appears to be detrimental to bone gain by girls, but not boys. Fruit and vegetable intake, providing alkalinity to bones and/or acting as a marker of a healthy diet, appears to influence BMC in adolescent girls, but not boys. The reason why these dietary factors appear to be more influential in girls than in boys may be that BMAS girls are consuming less than their requirement for calcium, while boys are above their threshold. Specific dietary and nutrient recommendations for adolescents are needed in order to ensure optimal bone growth and consolidation during this important life stage. (+info)
Nutrition influences skeletal development from childhood to adulthood: a study of hip, spine, and forearm in adolescent females.
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This study evaluated the long-term efficacy of supplemental calcium and dairy products on bone mineral areal density of the hip and spine and on the bone geometry and volumetric bone mineral density of the forearm in young females during late adolescence. The study was conducted among participants of a randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial with calcium supplements and among participants of an observational study with higher consumption of dairy products. Hip and spine measurements by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry were done every 6 mo (dairy group every 12 mo) during last 3 y of the follow-up while peripheral quantitative computerized tomography of the forearm was done at the last visit. The results of the study show a positive influence of calcium supplementation and dairy products on bone mineral density of the hip and the forearm. Dairy products were also associated with a higher bone mineral density of the spine while calcium supplementation did not have an effect. Calcium exerts its action on bone accretion during growth primarily by influencing volumetric bone mineral density while milk may have an additional impact on bone growth and periosteal bone expansion. (+info)
Iron status and dietary iron intake of adolescents from a rural community in Sabah, Malaysia.
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Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency in the world affecting the general health and wellbeing of millions. In Malaysia, moderately high prevalences of anaemia have been reported amongst infants, young children and women of childbearing age. Data is scant for the adolescents. This study was undertaken to assess the iron status and dietary intake of 165 adolescents, comprising 74 male and 91 female subjects, aged 12 to 19 years, from the rural communities in Tuaran District of Sabah, Malaysia. Convenience sampling was used for the selection of study subjects. Multiple iron status indicators namely, serum ferritin (SF), transferrin saturation (TS), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) were determined for the study. The mean age of the subjects was 15.2 +/-2.1 years. While the majority of the subjects (77.6%) had normal body mass index (BMI) values, 17.6% were underweight and 4.8% overweight. About 35% to 40% of the subjects showed deficient values for haematocrit, serum ferritin, serum iron, mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and transferrin saturation (TS), and 20% were anaemic (Hb <12 g/L). Using the multiple criteria of iron status indicators, the prevalence of iron depletion, iron deficiency and IDA in the male and female adolescents were 5.4% vs. 6.6%, 18.9% vs. 26.4% and 5.4% vs. 26.4%, respectively. Iron deficiency anaemia (85.0%) contributed largely to the prevalence of anaemia. The dietary iron intake of the adolescents was unsatisfactory, with approximately 98% of subjects failing to meet the Malaysian RDA level. Almost all the female subjects (91%) had dietary iron intake below two-thirds of the RDA level compared with a much smaller proportion for the male adolescents (68%). The prevalence of IDA in the present study population, especially in the female adolescents, appears to be a significant public health problem. Priority should therefore be given to the eradication of iron deficiency in adolescents from low-income areas by dietary modification and micronutrient supplementation amongst female adolescents. (+info)
Dietary diversity score in adolescents - a good indicator of the nutritional adequacy of diets: Tehran lipid and glucose study.
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The purpose of this study was to determine dietary diversity and its relation to dietary adequacy in 10-18 year-old adolescents of district 13 of Tehran during the period 1999-2001. After excluding for over and under reporters, dietary intake assessment was conducted on 304, 10-18 year old individuals, participants of Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. A dietary diversity score was calculated as part of the pyramid serving database that is categorized into 23 broad food groups. Each of the 5 broad food categories received a maximum diversity score of 2 of the 10 possible score points. To be counted as a "consumer " for any of the food groups categories, a respondent needed to consume one-half serving, as defined by Food Guide Pyramid quantity criteria, at any time during a 2-day survey period. The nutrient adequacy ratio for a given nutrient is the ratio of a subject's intake to the current recommended allowance for the subject's sex and age category. Weight and height were measured and BMI was calculated. Student's t-test was used to compare the means. Those variables which had normal distribution were tested by Pearson correlation coefficient and the others were tested by the Spearman correlation coefficient. Mean +/-SD of dietary diversity score (DDS) was 6.25 +/- 1.08 (range 0-10). The maximum and minimum scores of dietary diversity were related to the fruit (1.46+/-0.61) and bread-grain (0.95+/-0.27) groups, respectively. Significant positive correlation was observed between DDS and the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) (r =0.42, P <0.001). Fifty percent of people had DDS >or = 6. In people with a DDS of six or over, BMI was higher (19.81 +/- 4.08vs18.95+/- 3.30 Kg/m(2), P<0.01) than others. There was a significant and positive correlation between DDS and most of the nutrient adequacy ratios (NARs). It is concluded that DDS is an appropriate method to evaluate nutrient intake adequacy in this group of adolescents. (+info)