June 22, 2012
Irish Teenagers and Healthy Eating Guidelines
Emer Dwyer, Nutrition intern, has carried out a research project on the diets of Irish adolescents during her time at Creme. This is a short review of her work and the main findings.
The objective of the study was to analyse the intake of food and nutrients in Irish teenagers using the Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance (IUNA) National Teens’ Food Survey 2006 and compare it against the Food Safety Authority of Ireland FSAI Healthy Eating Guidelines that were released in 2011. The aim was to assess what nutrients their diet lacks, or is in excess of, compared with the guidelines. The Creme Food® software was used to carry out food and nutrient assessments.
The National Teens’ Food Survey 2006 was re-coded using unique food groups, category names and food codes based on the groups and categories used in the FSAI Healthy Eating Guidelines. To calculate the actual intake of fruit and vegetables from all sources, including composite dishes, ingredient fractions were incorporated into the model. Food intake, calcium, saturated fatty acids (SFA), iron, vitamin D, fibre and folate intake were all analysed in Creme Food®.
Our analysis shows the Irish teenage diet to be deficient in protective micronutrients such as vitamin D, iron and folate. The analysis suggested that Irish teens have a calcium intake below the RDA of 1200mg. The required amount could be met by having 1-2 extra portions of dairy per day. It also appears that adolescents are not eating enough fruit and vegetables, having only half the amount of the recommended 400g/day on average. Only 12.9% of the teens examined met this target. In addition, vitamin D intake is below the recommendations, as are fibre, folate and iron. Only 1/5 of total fibre intake came from fruit and vegetables; this should be higher. Folate and iron intake were lower in females when compared to males. Only 16.5% of males met the 400g/day target, while an even lower 9.2% of females consumed this quantity. Low folate may be a result of low consumption of fruit and vegetables.
Certain nutrients were consumed in excess. Cholesterol is above intake recommendations with the average adolescent consuming 351 mg/day. The recommended intake of cholesterol by the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) is to not exceed 300 mg per day. SFA intake in teenagers is also above the recommended 32 g/day. Most of the SFA was found to be coming from high sugar, high salt, and high calorie foods that are low in micronutrients, and also from dairy. The majority of energy (31%) and cholesterol (42%) intake came from foods that are high in sugar, high in salt, high in calories and are low in micronutrients. Examples of these foods are cakes, chocolate, biscuits and crisps.
Given that 1 in 5 teenagers are overweight or obese in Ireland 1; modelling scenarios using food replacement were also carried out to look at ways of improving dietary quality in teens. We modelled the replacement of biscuits, chocolate and crisps in the diet of adolescents by fruit (oranges, apples and bananas).
Significant benefits were achieved with the food replacement scenarios that were assessed. The results not only increased the adolescents’ fruit intake to meet the target, but reduced cholesterol and SFA intake. Also as overall calorie intake was reduced by 169 kcal/day for the average adolescent. This project successfully demonstrates that making healthier choices in regards to snacking can make a significant impact on adolescent health.
For more information on this analysis, please contact creme@cremeglobal.com.
References:
June 14, 2012
From Total Diet Study (TDS) to Population Exposure Results using Creme Food®
by Sandrine Pigat
The global economic trade burden from contaminants in food has a massive impact every year. The WHO found that the ‘contamination of a single batch of animal feed oil with dioxins and PCBs in Belgium resulted in economic losses exceeding US$2 billion.’ The WHO recognizes Total Diet Studies as cost-effective methods of providing general assurance that the food supply is safe from certain chemical hazards and to develop priorities for risk management and interventions.
Even more important than the impact on trade, chemicals in the food chain can cause serious health risks such as cancer, immune suppression, kidney and liver dysfunctions, hormonal imbalance, learning disabilities, dementia etc (WHO 2005). One benefit of a TDS is that it targets the sampling of foods that represent the typical diet of a population. (EFSA, FAO and WHO 2005).
Total diet studies seek to measure toxic chemicals and certain nutrients in foods and drinks (including drinking water and the contribution of water used in cooking) in order to assess the chemical exposure for different demographic groups. These data are essential in order to assess whether or not the selected chemicals and nutrients pose a risk to health.
In the best case scenario, the TDS will include food consumption data at individual consumer level such as a 24 hour food record. Alternatively household budget data or food supply data such as FAOSTAT, EUROSTAT or GEMS/Food cluster diet can be used (EFSA, FAO and WHO 2005). Total Diet Studies also produce data on chemical and nutrition concentrations in foods. Creme Food® is ideal for combining and analysing TDS data to produce accurate and validated population exposure results.
The Irish TDS was carried out by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland using the Republic of Ireland data from the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey. Creme Food® was utilised for this analysis (FSAI 2011). A semi-probabilistic approach was used which considered single or mean occurrence data from heavy metals, some nutrients (iodine, selenium and fluoride), food additives (sulphites, etc), acrylamide, mycotoxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as well as pesticides combined with food intake distributions.
This study showed that the chemicals for which the Irish population were most at risk of exceeding the TDI/TWI (Tolerable Daily/Weekly Intake) or ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) were aluminium, cadmium and sulphite (FSAI 2011).
Contaminant exposure does not only originate from food, but also from other factors, such as the environment or cosmetics. Not only can Creme help to carry out a TDS using Creme Food® but Creme also have software and services in a wide range of environmental and cosmetic exposure. Please contact creme@cremeglobal.com for information on our various exposure services.
The global economic trade burden from contaminants in food has a massive impact every year. The WHO found that the ‘contamination of a single batch of animal feed oil with dioxins and PCBs in Belgium resulted in economic losses exceeding US$2 billion.’ The WHO recognizes Total Diet Studies as cost-effective methods of providing general assurance that the food supply is safe from certain chemical hazards and to develop priorities for risk management and interventions.
Even more important than the impact on trade, chemicals in the food chain can cause serious health risks such as cancer, immune suppression, kidney and liver dysfunctions, hormonal imbalance, learning disabilities, dementia etc (WHO 2005). One benefit of a TDS is that it targets the sampling of foods that represent the typical diet of a population. (EFSA, FAO and WHO 2005).
Total diet studies seek to measure toxic chemicals and certain nutrients in foods and drinks (including drinking water and the contribution of water used in cooking) in order to assess the chemical exposure for different demographic groups. These data are essential in order to assess whether or not the selected chemicals and nutrients pose a risk to health.
In the best case scenario, the TDS will include food consumption data at individual consumer level such as a 24 hour food record. Alternatively household budget data or food supply data such as FAOSTAT, EUROSTAT or GEMS/Food cluster diet can be used (EFSA, FAO and WHO 2005). Total Diet Studies also produce data on chemical and nutrition concentrations in foods. Creme Food® is ideal for combining and analysing TDS data to produce accurate and validated population exposure results.
The Irish TDS was carried out by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland using the Republic of Ireland data from the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey. Creme Food® was utilised for this analysis (FSAI 2011). A semi-probabilistic approach was used which considered single or mean occurrence data from heavy metals, some nutrients (iodine, selenium and fluoride), food additives (sulphites, etc), acrylamide, mycotoxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as well as pesticides combined with food intake distributions.
This study showed that the chemicals for which the Irish population were most at risk of exceeding the TDI/TWI (Tolerable Daily/Weekly Intake) or ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) were aluminium, cadmium and sulphite (FSAI 2011).
Contaminant exposure does not only originate from food, but also from other factors, such as the environment or cosmetics. Not only can Creme help to carry out a TDS using Creme Food® but Creme also have software and services in a wide range of environmental and cosmetic exposure. Please contact creme@cremeglobal.com for information on our various exposure services.
June 8, 2012
8th International Conference on Diet and Activity Methods (ICDAM8)
Sandrine Pigat and Emma Robinson from Creme attended the 8th International Conference on Diet and Activity Methods (ICDAM8) in Rome from the 14th to the 17th of May 2012. The conference was hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). ICDAM allowed experts in the area of diet and activity methods from all over the world to gather, present, learn, and discuss new research. The fundamental aim was to improve the measurement of diet and physical activity, two critical issues for health and the environment.
The conference began with an emphasis on the importance of communication and feedback of benchmarking data and good practice exemplars to public health advocates, politicians, and the food industry. Improvement of dietary intake methods and measures were a key focus along with how to make methods uniform, particularly across national food consumption surveys. It highlighted the importance of applying research findings and translating them in order to set up effective guidance for policy making and support. It also emphasized the planned changes in the production of food and beverages by industry towards healthier products.
With dietary risk assessments increasingly carried out at the international level, the harmonisation of dietary monitoring internationally is of major interest to nutritionists. However, due to differences in methodologies, there is limited comparability between dietary intake data from the various national food consumption surveys. Major steps towards a harmonised pan-European food consumption survey have been made with ongoing pan-European projects such as the EFSA Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. This database monitors food consumption in 22 different Member States. Another project, the European Food Consumption and Validation (EFCOVAL) project, looks at estimating the intake of foods, nutrients and chemicals in the context of pan European food consumption surveys. Although some aspects of measurements can be standardised, for others (e.g. sampling frames), strict standardisation seems impossible.
Another series of talks looked at food supplements. More specifically, how supplement intake should be handled and interpreted in data and how the increasing range of products and the constant change in the market should be tackled. No database currently exists for supplement information. Furthermore findings suggest that concentrations are up to 25% higher than actually indicated on the label. Most commonly consumed supplements vary considerably by countries, The EFCOVAL study showed that supplements containing fatty acids are currently the most consumed.
Other talks looked at the sustainability and diversity aspects of diets, especially in developing countries. For example, India has over 450 types of mangos that are consumed; a few of the varieties contain very large concentrations of beta-carotenes, a pro-vitamin A, which can have an impact on total vitamin A intake. Unfortunately to date, the consumption data is not assessed by food variety and therefore it makes it very hard to assess actual nutrient intakes in this case.
Over 400 posters, of various topics, were presented at the conference. Creme presented their poster on ‘Modelling the impact of reducing saturated fatty acid intake from milk and milk products in US NHANES 2008’. In this project the Creme Food® software was used to model the substitution of high full fat milk by lower fat milk alternatives and assessing its impact on saturated fatty acid intake in the US population.
The ICDAM8 conference in Rome provided a great series of informative and inspiring talks and posters and Creme is looking forward to attend ICDAM9 in Brisbane, Australia 2015.
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| Emma Robinson at her poster 'Modelling the impact of reducing saturated fatty acid intake from milk and milk products in US NHANES 2008' at the ICDAM8 |
With dietary risk assessments increasingly carried out at the international level, the harmonisation of dietary monitoring internationally is of major interest to nutritionists. However, due to differences in methodologies, there is limited comparability between dietary intake data from the various national food consumption surveys. Major steps towards a harmonised pan-European food consumption survey have been made with ongoing pan-European projects such as the EFSA Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. This database monitors food consumption in 22 different Member States. Another project, the European Food Consumption and Validation (EFCOVAL) project, looks at estimating the intake of foods, nutrients and chemicals in the context of pan European food consumption surveys. Although some aspects of measurements can be standardised, for others (e.g. sampling frames), strict standardisation seems impossible.
Another series of talks looked at food supplements. More specifically, how supplement intake should be handled and interpreted in data and how the increasing range of products and the constant change in the market should be tackled. No database currently exists for supplement information. Furthermore findings suggest that concentrations are up to 25% higher than actually indicated on the label. Most commonly consumed supplements vary considerably by countries, The EFCOVAL study showed that supplements containing fatty acids are currently the most consumed.
Other talks looked at the sustainability and diversity aspects of diets, especially in developing countries. For example, India has over 450 types of mangos that are consumed; a few of the varieties contain very large concentrations of beta-carotenes, a pro-vitamin A, which can have an impact on total vitamin A intake. Unfortunately to date, the consumption data is not assessed by food variety and therefore it makes it very hard to assess actual nutrient intakes in this case.
Over 400 posters, of various topics, were presented at the conference. Creme presented their poster on ‘Modelling the impact of reducing saturated fatty acid intake from milk and milk products in US NHANES 2008’. In this project the Creme Food® software was used to model the substitution of high full fat milk by lower fat milk alternatives and assessing its impact on saturated fatty acid intake in the US population.
The ICDAM8 conference in Rome provided a great series of informative and inspiring talks and posters and Creme is looking forward to attend ICDAM9 in Brisbane, Australia 2015.
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