Intake of fruit and vegetables in European children and their mothers, folate intake in Swedish children and health indicators : overweight, plasma homocysteine levels and school performance

• Main Author: Yngve, Agneta
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: Institutionen för medicinsk näringslära / Department of Medical Nutrition 2005
• Subjects: Folate status; MTHFR polymorphisms; BM; recommendations; dietary guidelines; Norway; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10616/43482

An adequate fruit and vegetable intake provides essential nutrients and nutritive compounds and is considered an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Within the Pro Children project, an instrument for assessment of fruit and vegetable intake was developed, for use in nine European countries. This thesis describes the fruit and vegetable intake of 11-year-old children and their mothers and looks at the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the group. From the European Youth Heart Study, the folate intake of 9- and 15-year old children and adolescents in Sweden is described. The thesis also investigates folate status and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms, and associations with school performance. Method and material: The subjects in the Pro Children cross-sectional study were 13,037 school children born in 1992 and 9,241 mothers from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. The survey was conducted in October/December 2003. Height and weight of the children from parent questionnaires were analyzed in relation to fruit and vegetable intake. Overweight and obesity rates were assessed using international cut-off levels. A 24-hour recall was used to assess folate intake of 1,137 children aged 9 or and 15, in Sweden during 1998/99. Genotyping of MTHFR polymorphisms was performed by pyrosequencing and homocysteine (tHcy) analyzed using an immunoassay. School grades were reported from schools. Results: Vegetable intake was lower than fruit intake, boys consumed less fruit and vegetables than girls did. The highest total fruit and vegetable intake for children was found in Austria and Portugal, the lowest in Spain and Iceland. For mothers, the highest fruit intake levels were seen in Portugal, Denmark and Sweden and the lowest in Iceland. A high vegetable intake was found in Portugal and Belgium, the lowest in Spain. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was highest in Portugal and Spain. No correlation was seen in fruit and vegetable intake ...