1 - NOVA Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal;
2 - Pediatric Department, Hospital Dona Estefânia, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central, Portugal;
3 - Faculty of Medicine, Porto University, Portugal;
4 - Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Porto, Portugal;
5 - Child and Adolescent Service, Hospital CUF Porto, Portugal;
6 - Pediatric Unit, Verona University Medical School, Verona, Italy;
7 - Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2016;13:E572. (versão inegral)
- Italian Journal of Pediatrics 2016, 42(Suppl 1):A7. (abstract)
This systematic review discusses data on the dietary intake of preschool children living in the Mediterranean countries of the European Union, including the comparison with a Mediterranean-like diet and the association with nutritional status. Specifically, data from the multinational European IDEFICS study and national studies, such as the EPACI study and Geração XXI cohort in Portugal, ALSALMA study in Spain, EDEN cohort in France, NUTRINTAKE study in Italy, and GENESIS cohort in Greece, were analyzed. In the majority of countries, young children consumed fruit and vegetables quite frequently, but also consumed sugared beverages and snacks. High energy and high protein intakes mainly from dairy products were found in the majority of countries. The majority of children also consumed excessive sodium intake. Early high prevalence of overweight and obesity was found, and both early consumption of energy-dense foods and overweight seemed to track across toddler and preschool ages. Most children living in the analyzed countries showed low adherence to a Mediterranean-like diet, which in turn was associated with being overweight/obese. Unhealthier diets were associated with lower maternal educational level and parental unemployment. Programs promoting adherence of young children to the traditional Mediterranean diet should be part of a multi-intervention strategy for the prevention and treatment of pediatric overweight and obesity.
Palavras-chave: dietary intake, European Union