Katja Bolzenius

Relation of Dietary Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load, and Fiber and Whole-Grain Intakes During Puberty to the Concurrent Development of Percent Body Fat and Body Mass Index

The authors prospectively examined whether change in dietary glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), fiber intake, or whole-grain intake during puberty is associated with concurrent change in percentage of body fat (%BF) or body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height)(2). Linear mixed-effects regression analyses were performed in 215 participants from the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) Study (Dortmund, Germany) who possessed weighed 3-day dietary records and anthropometric data at puberty onset (defined by age at takeoff) and over the subsequent 4 years (1988-2007). Neither changes in dietary GI, GL, fiber intake, nor whole-grain intake were associated with concurrent changes in %BF throughout puberty (change in %BF: -0.03 (standard error (SE), 0.11) per standard deviation (SD) increase in GI (P = 0.8); -0.01 (SE, 0.11) per SD increase in GL (P = 0.9); 0.02 (SE, 0.14) per SD increase in fiber intake (P = 0.9); and 0.09 (SE, 0.13) per SD increase in whole-grain intake (P = 0.5)). Similarly, no concurrent associations were observed between these dietary factors and BMI SD scores. Associations of dietary GI with %BF and BMI SD score differed between overweight and normal-weight adolescents (for concurrent association, P for interaction was 0.03 for %BF and 0.08 for BMI SD score). Dietary GI, GL, and fiber and whole-grain intakes in healthy, free-living adolescents do not appear to be relevant to the development of %BF or BMI during puberty.

Effects of Breastfeeding on Trajectories of Body Fat and BMI throughout Childhood

Objective: To investigate the effect of breastfeeding in healthy boys and girls on their trajectories of percent body fat (%BF) and BMI standard deviation scores (BMI–SDS) throughout childhood.

Longitudinal associations between reported sleep duration in early childhood and the development of body mass index, fat mass index and fat free mass index until age 7

OBJECTIVE Epidemiological studies in children and adolescents have revealed short sleep duration as a risk factor for weight gain. However, only few studies have addressed sleep in early childhood. Our aim was to determine whether sleep in the second year of life is associated with the development of body composition throughout childhood. METHODS Analysis included 481 DONALD participants with parental reported data on sleep duration and annually measured body composition until age 7. Using median splits of sleeping time at 1.5 and 2 years we defined sleep duration categories: consistently short (CS, n = 122), inconsistent (I, n = 143) and consistently long (CL, n = 216). Polynomial mixed effects regression models were used to analyze differences in the trajectories of body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)), fat mass index (FMI, kg/m(2)) and fat free mass index (FFMI, kg/m(2)) from ages 2-7 years between the sleep duration categories. RESULTS Compared to CL-children, CS-sleepers differed in their FMI development with respect to linear, quadratic and cubic trend (all p < 0.04), resulting in progressively higher FMI levels until age 7 independently of early life or socioeconomic factors. Trajectories of BMI and FFMI did not differ between the sleep duration categories. CONCLUSION Consistently short sleep duration in the critical window of early childhood appears to exert a moderate but sustained adverse effect on the development of fat mass - but not fat free mass - until age 7.

Increased Intake of Carbohydrates from Sources with a Higher Glycemic Index and Lower Consumption of Whole Grains during Puberty Are Prospectively Associated with Higher IL-6 Concentrations in Younger Adulthood among Healthy Individuals

Chronic low-grade inflammation represents a likely intermediary in the relation between carbohydrate nutrition and both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This study assessed the prospective association between carbohydrate quantity and quality [dietary glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), and added sugar, fiber, and whole-grain intake] during puberty, a potentially critical period for later disease, and low-grade inflammation in younger adulthood. The analysis was based on 205 participants (113 girls and 92 boys) from the DONALD (Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed) study with at least 2 3-d weighed dietary records during puberty (girls: 9-14 y, boys: 10-15 y) and blood samples in younger adulthood (18-36 y). Multivariable linear regression models were used to analyze the associations between carbohydrate nutrition and circulating concentrations of pro- and anti-inflammatory immune mediators [high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin (IL) 6, IL-18, and adiponectin]. A higher intake of carbohydrates during puberty (P-trend = 0.005), particularly from higher-GI food sources (P-trend = 0.01), was prospectively related to higher concentrations of IL-6 in younger adulthood, independently of baseline BMI and early life, socioeconomic, and other nutritional factors. Furthermore, a higher dietary GL (P-trend = 0.002) and a lower intake of whole grains (P-trend = 0.01) were independently associated with higher IL-6 concentrations in adults. Dietary GI and added sugar and fiber intakes were not independently associated with IL-6 (P-trend ≥ 0.09). Carbohydrate nutrition during puberty was not independently related to hs-CRP, IL-18, and adiponectin concentrations (all P-trend > 0.1). During puberty, a higher intake of carbohydrates from higher-GI food sources and lower whole-grain consumption prospectively predict greater IL-6 concentrations in young adulthood. These data support the hypothesis that diet during puberty influences later inflammation and metabolic dysfunction.

Habitually Higher Dietary Glycemic Index During Puberty Is Prospectively Related to Increased Risk Markers of Type 2 Diabetes in Younger Adulthood

OBJECTIVE Carbohydrate nutrition during periods of physiological insulin resistance such as puberty may affect future risk of type 2 diabetes. This study examined whether the amount or the quality (dietary glycemic index [GI], glycemic load [GL], and added sugar, fiber, and whole-grain intake) of carbohydrates during puberty is associated with risk markers of type 2 diabetes in younger adulthood. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The analysis was based on 226 participants (121 girls and 105 boys) from the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed Study (DONALD) with an average of five 3-day weighed dietary records (range 2–6) during puberty (girls, age 9–14 years; boys, age 10–15 years) and fasting blood samples in younger adulthood (age 18–36 years) (average duration of follow-up 12.6 years). Multivariable linear regression was used to analyze the associations between carbohydrate nutrition and homeostasis model assessment–insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) as well as the liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) (n = 214). RESULTS A higher dietary GI was prospectively related to greater values of HOMA-IR (Ptrend = 0.03), ALT (Ptrend = 0.02), and GGT (Ptrend = 0.04). After adjustment for sex, adult age, baseline BMI, and early life and socioeconomic factors as well as protein and fiber intake, predicted mean HOMA-IR values in energy-adjusted tertiles of GI were 2.37 (95% CI 2.16–2.60), 2.47 (2.26–2.71), and 2.59 (2.35–2.85). The amount of carbohydrates, GL, and added sugar, fiber, and whole-grain intake were not related to the analyzed markers. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that a habitually higher dietary GI during puberty may adversely affect risk markers of type 2 diabetes in younger adulthood.

Effects of lunch on children’s short-term cognitive functioning: a randomized crossover study

Background/Objectives:Considering the large number of children worldwide attending all-day schools, information on the effects of lunch on short-term cognitive performance is of public health relevance. However, only adult studies investigated this issue yet. Therefore, this study examined the impact of skipping lunch vs having lunch on children’s cognitive functioning in the early afternoon.Subjects/Methods:Participants in this randomized crossover study with two groups were healthy 6th grade students of an all-day school in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Group 1 skipped lunch on study day 1 and received an ad libitum lunch 1 week later on study day 2. The order for group 2 was vice versa. In the afternoon tonic alertness, visuospatial memory and selective attention were determined using a computerized test battery of the Vienna Test System. For continuous and discrete interval-scaled variables, treatment effect was estimated using the two sample t-test or the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, for discrete ordinal-scaled variables using generalized linear models.Results:Data on 105 children (48% male; 12.6±0.6 years) were analyzed. Except for tonic alertness there were no significant differences in cognitive functioning between the skipping lunch day and the having lunch day. The higher number of omission errors on the skipping lunch day lost significance when adjusting for multiple testing.Conclusions:In the first study on this topic lunch did not have relevant effects on children’s cognitive functioning in the early afternoon. Future research needs to be done to figure out potential methodical and physiological explanations.

Body composition trajectories into adolescence according to age at pubertal growth spurt

Objective: To investigate whether the development of body composition into adolescence differs among children with an early, average, or late pubertal growth spurt (age at take‐off [ATO]).

Liking of anthocyanin-rich juices by children and adolescents ☆

There is evidence that a diet rich in plant foods is protective against cardiovascular disease and cancer, partly attributable to secondary plant metabolites such as anthocyanins, a colourful group of flavonoids. As at present children and adolescents do not consume the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, one possible way of increasing intake, and particularly intake of anthocyanins, may be an anthocyanin-rich juice, since fruit juice is popular with young Germans. We produced eight different fruit products (six juices, two smoothies), and conducted hedonic tests with participants from the DONALD Study. Paired comparisons showed that most subjects preferred apple to apple-bilberry juice, but grape vs. grape-bilberry juice was liked equally frequently. Rated on a hedonic scale the grape-bilberry mixture was preferred to apple-bilberry, both as juice and as smoothie. With regard to viscosity, juices were preferred to smoothies, both as grape-bilberry and as apple-bilberry. Internal Preference Mapping revealed however consumer subgroups with different preferences, raising the question which product should be promoted in order to reach a large target group. The product richest in anthocyanins, grape-bilberry juice, was accepted very well and may therefore be suitable for promotion to children, although the high sugar content of this juice must be taken into account.

Longitudinal associations between endogenous melatonin production and reported sleep duration from childhood to early adulthood.

Background/Aims: The study objective was to assess longitudinal associations between melatonin secretion and reported sleep duration from childhood to early adulthood. Methods: In the frame of the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) Study, 24-hour melatonin secretion and average daily sleep duration were determined once during childhood (4–< 11 years), adolescence (11–<16 years) and early adulthood (16–19 years) in 52 participants (23 males/29 females) aged 4–19 years. The associations between (1) melatonin secretion and sleep duration in childhood (cross-sectional); (2) melatonin secretion in childhood and sleep duration in early adulthood (prospective), and (3) changes in melatonin secretion and concurrent changes in sleep duration from childhood to early adulthood (concurrent) were analyzed. Results: Melatonin secretion was associated with sleep duration in childhood (cross-sectional, 3.5 min/day/10 µg 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate (6-OHMS)/day, p = 0.009) and tended to predict sleep duration in early adulthood (prospective, 9.8 min/day/10 µg 6-OHMS/day, p = 0.09). An individual increase in melatonin secretion between childhood and early adulthood was associated with a concurrent increase in sleep duration (concurrent, 6.9 min/day/10 µg 6-OHMS/day, p = 0.046). Conclusion: Our observational data suggest that pineal production of melatonin in childhood is correlated with alterations in sleep duration until early adulthood. Nevertheless, this observational evidence needs to be verified in clinical studies.

Velocities of weight, height and fat mass gain during potentially critical periods of growth are decisive for adult body composition

Objectives:To examine whether maximal velocities of weight, height and fat mass during potentially critical periods of growth were associated with body composition in young adulthood.Subjects/methods:Analyses were performed on 277 female and 271 male participants of the DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) study with anthropometric measurements in young adulthood (18–25 years) as well as early life (0–2 years), mid-childhood (3–8 years) or puberty (9–15 years). Maximum growth velocities were calculated using the SuperImposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) routine or polynomial functions and related to adult fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI).Results:In early life, faster weight gain was associated with a moderately higher FMI and FFMI in young adulthood in women only (Ptrend=0.01). In mid-childhood and puberty, weight and fat mass velocities were related to adult FMI and FFMI in both sexes (Ptrend⩽0.002): relative differences between the highest and lowest tertiles of these growth velocities ranged 33–69% for adult FMI and 6–12% for adult FFMI. A higher mid-childhood height velocity was related to a modestly higher adult FMI in women only (Ptrend=0.0005).Conclusions:Faster gain in weight and body fat during mid-childhood and puberty appear to be particularly relevant for adult fat mass.