Field Notes

Link Between Ultraprocessed Food Consumption, Physical Fitness in Kids

A new study found that children ages 3 to 5 who consumed more ultraprocessed foods had poorer locomotor skills than children who consumed less of these foods. It also showed lower cardiovascular fitness in 12- to 15-year-olds who consumed more ultraprocessed foods.

Although previous research has shown that consuming ultraprocessed foods is linked with a higher risk of CVD in adults, this is one of the first studies to show a link between consumption of these foods and lower levels of physical fitness in children.

Ultraprocessed foods were categorized in this study as including packaged snacks, breakfast cereals, candies, soda, sweetened juices and yogurts, canned soups, and prepared foods such as pizza, hot dogs, burgers, and chicken nuggets.

“Healthy dietary and exercise behaviors are established at a very young age,” says research team leader Jacqueline Vernarelli, PhD, an associate professor and director for the Master of Public Health program at Sacred Heart University. “Our findings point to the need to educate families about cost-effective ways to reduce ultraprocessed food intake to help decrease the risk for cardiovascular health problems in adulthood.”

Vernarelli presented the findings online at NUTRITION 2022 LIVE ONLINE, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, held June 14 to 16.

To examine the association between physical fitness and ultraprocessed foods during various stages of childhood, the researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey National Youth Fitness Survey.

This 2012 survey used interviews and fitness tests to collect data on physical activity, fitness levels, and food intake for more than 1,500 US children aged 3 to 15. Ultraprocessed foods were identified using NOVA, which categorizes food and beverage items according to the level of food processing.

For children 5 years old and under, the researchers used locomotor development as a measure of physical fitness. The analysis revealed that children with the lowest locomotor development scores consumed 273 kcal more per day of ultraprocessed foods than children with the highest locomotor development scores.

Cardiovascular fitness was used as a physical fitness measure in the older children. The study showed that teens and preteens with good cardiovascular fitness consumed 226 kcal fewer daily from ultraprocessed foods than those who didn’t have healthy cardiovascular fitness.

“Though highly processed convenience foods are easy to throw into a school bag, our research shows the importance of preparing healthy snacks and meals,” Vernarelli says. “Think of it like saving for retirement: You’re making decisions now that will influence your child’s future.”

As a next step, the researchers plan to look more closely at consumption patterns for ultraprocessed food by age group. For example, do kids eat more of these foods for breakfast, at lunch, or for snacks? A better understanding of how and when these foods are consumed could help inform future interventions designed to encourage healthful eating.

— Source: American Society for Nutrition

 

New Study Suggests People Believe Their Diet Is More Healthful Than It Is

How healthful is your diet? It seems like a simple question, but according to a new study, it’s one that most Americans struggle to get right.

“We found that only a small percentage of US adults can accurately assess the healthfulness of their diet, and interestingly, it’s mostly those who perceive their diet as poor who are able to accurately assess their diet,” says Jessica Thomson, PhD, a research epidemiologist with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in the Southeast Area, the study’s lead author. “Additionally, most adults overrate the quality of their diet, sometimes to a substantial degree.”

Thomson presented the findings online at the American Society for Nutrition’s flagship annual meeting, NUTRITION 2022 LIVE ONLINE, held June 14 to 16.

The researchers wanted to find out whether a single, simple question could be used as a screening tool for nutrition studies—to replace or complement the detailed dietary questionnaires commonly used in nutrition research. Previous studies have found that self-rated health is a strong predictor of morbidity and mortality, but there’s scant research on whether self-rated diet quality is predictive of the actual quality of one’s diet.

The study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative survey of US adults conducted every two years. Participants were asked to complete detailed 24-hour dietary recall questionnaires and rate their diet as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor.

Researchers used the food recall questionnaires to score each participant’s diet quality. Examples of foods ranked as more healthful include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthful fats, lower-fat dairy products, seafood, and plant proteins. Foods considered less healthful included refined grains and foods high in sodium, added sugars, or saturated fats.

The study revealed significant disconnects between the researcher-calculated scores and how participants ranked their own diet. Out of more than 9,700 participants, about 8,000 (roughly 85%) inaccurately assessed their diet quality. Of those, almost all (99%) overrated the healthfulness of their diet.

Surprisingly, accuracy was highest among those who rated their diet as poor, among whom the researcher’s score matched the participant’s rating 97% of the time. The proportion of participants who accurately assessed their diet quality ranged from 1% to 18% in the other four rating categories.

Thomson says further research could help to elucidate what factors people consider when asked to assess their diet quality. For instance, it would be helpful to know whether people are aware of particular dietary recommendations and whether they take into consideration where their food is purchased or how it’s prepared.

“It’s difficult for us to say whether US adults lack an accurate understanding of the components of a healthful vs unhealthful diet or whether adults perceive the healthfulness of their diet as they wish it to be—that is, higher in quality than it actually is,” Thomson says. “Until we have a better understanding of what individuals consider when assessing the healthfulness of their diet, it will be difficult to determine what knowledge and skills are necessary to improve self-assessment or perception of one’s diet quality.”

— Source: American Society for Nutrition