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. 2020 Oct 16;12(10):3171.
doi: 10.3390/nu12103171.

Carbohydrates, Starch, Total Sugar, Fiber Intakes and Food Sources in Spanish Children Aged One to <10 Years-Results from the EsNuPI Study

Maria de Lourdes Samaniego-Vaesken  1 , Teresa Partearroyo  1 , Teresa Valero  2 , Paula Rodriguez  2 , María José Soto-Méndez  3 , Ángela Hernández-Ruiz  3 , Federico Lara Villoslada  4 , Rosaura Leis  5   6 , Emilio Martínez de Victoria  3   7 , José Manuel Moreno  8 , Rosa M Ortega  9 , María Dolores Ruiz-López  3   10   11 , Ángel Gil  3   6   11   12 , Gregorio Varela-Moreiras  1   2
Affiliations

Carbohydrates, Starch, Total Sugar, Fiber Intakes and Food Sources in Spanish Children Aged One to <10 Years-Results from the EsNuPI Study

Maria de Lourdes Samaniego-Vaesken et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Diet quality is a modifiable factor that may contribute to the onset of diet-related chronic diseases. Currently, in Spain there are no studies that examine the intakes and sources for total carbohydrates, starch, total sugar, and fiber by both children consuming all kind of milks and children regularly consuming adapted milk formulas. Our goal was to evaluate the contribution of different food groups to total carbohydrates, starch, total sugar, and fiber consumption within the EsNuPI study participants by assessing their usual intakes by applying two 24 h dietary recalls that were completed by 1448 children (1 to <10 years) divided into two cohorts: one Spanish Reference Cohort (SRS) of the general population (n = 707) and another cohort which included children consuming adapted milks including follow-on milk, toddler's or growing up milk, fortified and enriched milks, here called Adapted Milk Consumers Cohort" (AMS) (n = 741). Estimation of the usual intake showed that nutrient intake increased with age for all nutrients except for fiber. The percentage of children by age and gender who met the reference intake (RI) range for total carbohydrates, was in all groups more than 50% of individuals, except for girls aged 6 to <10 years from the reference cohort in which only 46.9% complied the RI. Median fiber intake, both in the SRS and the AMS, was well below the adequate intake (AI) for children between 3 and 10 years. Main total carbohydrates sources were cereals, followed by milk and dairy products, fruits, bakery and pastry, vegetables and sugars and sweets. The highest contributors to starch intakes were cereals, bakery and pastry, vegetables, and fruits. Major sources of total sugar intakes were milk and dairy products, fruits, bakery and pastry, sugars and sweets, vegetables, and cereals. Nonetheless, milk and dairy products, and fruits, mainly provided lactose and fructose, respectively, which are not considered free sugars. Higher contribution to fiber intakes was provided by fruits, cereals, vegetables and bakery and pastry. There were no significant differences in relation with the total sugar intake according to the body mass index (BMI) between SRS and AMS. The present study suggests a high proportion of children had total carbohydrates intakes in line with recommendations by public health authorities, but still a significant number presented insufficient total carbohydrate and fiber intakes, while total sugar consumption was high, with no major differences between SRS and AMS cohorts.

Keywords: EsNuPI study; Spanish children; carbohydrate intakes; dietary habits; feeding behavior; nutrition assessment; pediatric nutrition; pediatrics; total sugar.

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Conflict of interest statement

The funding sponsor had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses or interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript and in the decision to publish the results. The authors declare no conflict of interest, with the exception of Federico Lara, who is a member of the IPN.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Design and methodology of the EsNuPI study. Taken from Madrigal et al., 2019 [15]. CAPI, Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing; FFQ, food frequency questionnaire; 24-h DR, 24-h dietary recall; PABQ, physical activity and sedentary behaviors questionnaire; CATI, Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dietary food and beverage groups contributing to total carbohydrate intakes (%) from the EsNuPI study population (“Spanish Pediatric Population”) in both Spanish Reference Cohort (A) and the Adapted Milk Consumers Cohort (B). ** p ≤ 0.01 compared to reference cohort (Mann-Whitney test). *** p ≤ 0.001 compared to reference cohort (Mann-Whitney test). Only foods contributing ≥0.1% to total carbohydrates intakes of the population have been included.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Dietary food and beverage groups contributing to total starch intakes (%) from the EsNuPI study population (“Spanish Pediatric Population”) in both reference cohort (A) and the Adapted Milk Consumers Cohort (B). * p ≤ 0.05 compared to reference cohort (Mann-Whitney test). *** p ≤ 0.001 compared to reference cohort (Mann-Whitney test). Only foods contributing ≥0.1% to total carbohydrates intakes of the population have been included.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Dietary food and beverage groups contributing to total sugar intakes (%) from the EsNuPI study population (“Spanish Pediatric Population”) in both Spanish Reference Cohort (A) and the Adapted Milk Consumers Cohort (B). * p ≤ 0.05 compared to reference cohort (Mann-Whitney test). *** p ≤ 0.001 compared to reference cohort (Mann-Whitney test). Only foods contributing ≥0.1% to total carbohydrates intakes of the population have been included.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Dietary food and beverage groups contributing to total fiber intakes (%) from the EsNuPI study population (“Spanish Pediatric Population”) in both the Spanish Reference Cohort (A) and the Adapted Milk Consumers Sample (B). *** p ≤ 0.001 compared to reference cohort (Mann-Whitney test). Only foods contributing ≥0.1% to total carbohydrates intakes of the population have been included.
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