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Assessing children's diet quality in Crete based on Healthy Eating Index: the Children Study
P Angelopoulos1, G Kourlaba, K Kondaki
1Department of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Insights
Most children in Crete have a poor diet quality, highlighting the need for nutrition education. Improving children's diets requires increased vegetable and fruit intake and reduced fat consumption.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Public Health
- Dietary Assessment
Background:
- Assessing children's diet quality in Crete.
- Investigating socio-demographic factors influencing children's diets.
Purpose of the Study:
- Evaluate the diet quality of primary school children in Crete.
- Identify potential socio-demographic factors associated with diet quality.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 481 primary school children in Crete (Oct 2005–Mar 2006).
- Collected dietary intake data using 24-hour recall and 3 food diaries.
- Calculated the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) based on 10 components.
Main Results:
- 84.5% of children had diets needing improvement (HEI 51-80); 12% had poor diets.
- Mean HEI score was 60.5; lowest scores for vegetables (2.8) and fats (3.7/3.4).
- HEI score showed strong associations with dietary macronutrient and micronutrient intake.
Conclusions:
- The majority of children exhibit suboptimal diet quality based on HEI scores.
- Urgent need for nutrition education programs for children and families.
- Programs should focus on increasing fruit/vegetable intake and reducing fat consumption.
Background:
This study aimed to assess children's diet quality in Crete and the potential role of several socio-demographic factors related to it.
Methods:
Between October 2005 and March 2006, 481 primary school children were recruited from Crete. Dietary intake data was obtained using a combination of techniques comprising a 24 h recall and 3 food diaries. The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) was calculated summing the individual scores (0-10) assigned to 10 index components.
Results:
The majority of participants (84.5%) had diet that 'needs improvement' (HEI score: 51-80). Twelve percent of participants had 'poor diet' and only 3.5% of schoolchildren had 'good diet' (HEI score >80). The overall mean of the HEI score was 60.5. The mean values of the HEI components score ranged between 2.8 (that is, the HEI component that measures vegetables intake) and 9.9 (that is, component that expresses the variety of consumed foods). Low mean values were found in the total fat and saturated fat components (3.7 and 3.4, respectively). Moreover, the HEI score was strongly associated with dietary macronutrients and micronutrients intake.
Conclusion:
On the basis of the HEI score, the vast majority of children were found to have a diet that 'needs improvement'. This indicates the increased necessity of drawing and implementing nutrition education programs targeting both children and their families and aiming to increase vegetables and fruits intake and reduce fat intake.
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