Susana del Pozo de la Calle

Sources of information on food consumption in Spain and Europe

Estimation of food consumption and nutrient intake is a topic of growing interest. Currently, both in Europe and in Spain, there are numerous sources of information on food consumption, that we provide information on different levels: national, household and individual, all of them are useful, but including some limitations, mainly arising from the lack of accurate data on food purchased but not consumed. The data obtained allow, among other things, meet dietary habits, explore the food quality, study the energy and nutrient intake and / or assessing exposure to food risks. Among the existing sources in Spain can highlight two surveys especially useful: the Household Budget Survey of the National Statistics Institute (INE) and Food Consumption Panel Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA). Both provide for many years food consumption but, lately, only in households. Both European and Spanish would be necessary to improve the usefulness of the data, standardize the type of survey used and could be comparable between them.

Macronutrients contribution from beverages according to sex and age: findings from the ANIBES Study in Spain

Methodologies and procedures used in dietary surveys have been widely developed with the aim of evaluating the nutritional status of a population. However, beverages are often either disregarded at national and international assessment of nutrients intake or poorly mentioned. Moreover, there is no standardized questionnaire developed as a research tool for the evaluation of beverages intake in the general population. Moreover, the contribution of different beverages to macronutrients intake is rarely provided. The latter in the context of a continuous expansion and innovation of the beverages market in Spain. Therefore, the main goal of the present study was to evaluate non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages macronutrients contribution in the ANIBES study in Spain (9-75 years old).As expected, those contributed to dietary macronutrient intake mainly as total carbohydrates and sugar. The contribution to other macronutrients (proteins and lipids) by the beverage groups was of much less importance. For non-alcoholic beverages, contribution to carbohydrates was much higher in younger populations (children: 10.91 ± 9.49%, mean ± SD for boys and 9.46 ± 8.83% for girls; adolescents: 11.97 ± 11.26% for men and 13.77 ± 10.55% in women) than in adults: 9.01 ± 9.84% for men and 7.77 ± 8.73% in women. Finally, a much lower contribution was observed in the elderly: 4.22 ± 6.10% for men and 4.46 ± 6.56% for women. No sex differences, however, across all age groups were found. Results for sugar contribution showed a similar trend: children (23.14 ± 19.00% for boys and 19.77 ± 17.35% for girls); adolescents (28.13 ± 24.17% for men and 29.83 ± 21.82% in women); adults 20.42 ± 20.35% for men and 16.95 ± 17.76% in women, p ≤ 0.01; and elderly: 14.63% ± 9.97 for men and 9.33 ± 12.86% in women. The main contribution corresponded to sugared soft drinks, juices and nectars, more relevant and significant in the younger populations. As for alcoholic beverages, the contribution of macronutrients to the total diet is low for carbohydrates and sugar. The main contribution of this group, as expected, is alcohol, being higher from low alcohol content beverages, and in men vs women (p ≤ 0.001).

Programa de comedores escolares de la Comunidad de Madrid (2001-2015) : diseño, protocolo, metodología y actualización

Introducción: a finales del siglo xx, no se conocía con precisión si la comida del comedor escolar contribuía adecuadamente a la dieta de la población infantil. Además, este servicio complementario no se contemplaba en el proyecto educativo del centro pese a considerarse fundamental en todas sus dimensiones.Objetivo: describir el origen y desarrollo del programa de comedores escolares de la Comunidad de Madrid (CM) en 15 años desde su implantación.Métodos: se elaboró una normativa a cumplir por las empresas de restauración, y que contemplaba aspectos nutricionales y de composición y variedad de los menús, que se utilizó en los concursos para acceder a la prestación del servicio de comedor escolar, publicados en los años 2001, 2002, 2005, 2009 y 2013. Además se realizaron visitas acreditadas a los centros sin previo aviso para verifi car el cumplimiento de la documentación aportada durante el concurso.Resultados: los criterios más actuales sobre programación y elaboración de menús escolares se recogen en el Pliego de Prescripciones Técnicas del año 2013 (C-504/001-2013). Un 92% de las empresas de restauración superaron los cinco concursos habidos en los 15 años de funcionamiento. Hasta el año 2014, se han realizado 755 visitas, revisándose un total de 574 centros.Conclusiones: el programa de comedores escolares de la CM, desde su implementación pionera en España, ha contribuido a la mejora del servicio complementario de comedor. En estos años se han ido incluyendo nuevos requisitos dietéticos y nutricionales que han logrado menús cada vez más ajustados a las recomendaciones de la población escolar.

Determinantes nutricionales de un envejecimiento sano: Proyecto HALE (Healthy Ageing: Longitudinal Study in Europe)

Introduccion El proyecto HALE de la Union Europea analizo los cambios con la edad y los determinantes de un envejecimiento sano en terminos de mortalidad y morbilidad, funcionalidad fisica, psiquica, cognitiva y social en 13 paises europeos. Material y metodos Datos de los estudios Siete Paises, FINE y SENECA. Se asociaron ingesta de nutrientes, biomarcadores de nutrientes, composicion corporal, dieta, actividad fisica, tabaco, alcohol, salud percibida, funcionalidad psiquica y mortalidad. Resultados La dieta mediterranea, no fumar y el consumo moderado de alcohol se asocian con una disminucion de la mortalidad. Los suplementos de minerales y vitaminas no influyen en el riesgo de mortalidad. Conclusiones Un estilo de vida aconsejado es mantener el peso corporal, consumir una dieta mediterranea, 30 min de actividad fisica al dia, consumo moderado de alcohol y no fumar.