Children's food consumption patterns over two decades

Nutrition Research Newsletter, August, 2004

The Bogalusa Heart Study is a long-term epidemiologic study designed to examine the early natural history of heart disease in a well-defined, biracial (white and African American), pediatric population that began in 1973. The Bogalusa Heart Study has been collecting dietary data on subjects from infancy through adulthood. The researchers have studied seven cohorts of 10-year olds, providing them with the opportunity to examine trends in children's food consumption patterns over a 21-year period (1973 to 1994). Children's nutrient intake has been found to change positively over the past two decades. The percentage of energy intake from protein and carbohydrate has increased and the percentage of energy from total fat and saturated fat has decreased. The decrease in fat intake reflected decreased intakes of palmitic, stearic, myristic, and oleic fatty acids. Despite the decrease in fat intake, the total energy intake remained constant. Although these changes are favorable, 75% of the children still exceeded the current dietary recommendations for total fat and saturated fat, and adiposity of the children dramatically increased.

One 24-hour dietary recall was collected on each child who participated in one of seven separate cross-sectional surveys of 10-year-olds. Dietary intake data were collected on 1,584 10-year-old children (65% Euro American, 35% African American), in Bogalusa, LA.

The percentage of children consuming, and the mean gram amount consumed, significantly decreased for fats/ oils, desserts, candy, eggs, and milk. In contrast, the percentage of children consuming, and the mean gram amount consumed, significantly increased for fruits/fruit juices, mixed meats, poultry, and cheese. Despite a significant decrease in the percentage of children consuming vegetables and beef, the mean gram amount consumed did not change. The percentage of children consuming breads/grains, pork, and snacks did not change, but the mean gram amount of salty snacks significantly increased and the amount of breads/ grains and pork significantly decreased. The percentage of children consuming sweetened beverages and condiments decreased while the mean gram amount consumed increased. The mean gram amount of lunch and dinner consumed increased but snacks decreased, resulting in no change in total gram amount consumed in a 24-hour period.

This study is the first attempt to assess trends in daily amounts of foods consumed. For beverages and snacks, the percentage of children consuming those foods did not change, yet the gram amount consumed significantly increased. This suggests that children consuming those foods are consuming larger amounts in 1994 compared to 1973. Moreover, for all of the foods where mean gram consumption increased, the same trend held true when they were examined as grams consumed per 1,000 kcal. This has important implications for possibly explaining the increased obesity rates being observed in children and warrants further investigation, which is being pursued in another study by the investigators.

T Nicklas, D Demory-Luce, S Yang, T Baranowski, I Zakeri, G Berenson. Children's food consumption patterns have changed over two decades (1973-1994): the Bogalusa heart study. J Am Diet Assoc 104:1127-1140 (July 2004) [Correspondence: Theresa A. Nicklas, DrPH, Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030 USA; Email: tnicklas@bcm.tmc.edu]