Less Sugar and More Whole Grains in Infant Cereals: A Sensory Acceptability Experiment With Infants and Their Parents.

There is an urgent need to reduce sugar intake in early childhood. Commercial infant cereals are among the first solid foods introduced to infants at the beginning of the complementary feeding period in most countries. The aim of this study was to examine infants' overall acceptability of low-sugar complementary cereals. To do so, a between-subjects experimental study with 165 parents and their infants aged 6-24 months was conducted where one group tested a high-sugar refined cereal (21 g/100 g), and the other a low-sugar cereal (<1 g/100 g) with 50% of whole grain, which represented a 95.2% decrease in sugar content. We found no significant differences between the two groups in terms of infants' overall acceptability (infant's reaction, estimated intake and relative intake). Importantly, infants' reactions to high- and low-sugar cereals were not influenced by the time that infants had been consuming sweet cereals (15-25% sugar) before the experiment took place. In addition, parent's overall liking and sensory evaluation (sweetness, color, taste, texture, and aroma) was positive and very similar in both groups. Overall, our findings show that it is feasible to reduce sugar content in infant cereals without sacrificing its sensory acceptability by infants and their parents. This represents a good opportunity for the infant food industry to adhere to current healthy and sustainable demands of lowering the sugar intake leading to important benefits in infants' health, without compromising competitiveness in the market.

Are Homemade and Commercial Infant Foods Different? A Nutritional Profile and Food Variety Analysis in Spain.

Complementary feeding (CF) is an important determinant of early and later life nutrition with great implications for the health status and the development of an adequate growth. Parents can choose between homemade foods (HMFs) and/or commercial infant foods (CIFs). There is no consistent evidence as to whether HMFs provide a better nutritional profile and variety over CIFs. The aim of this study was to compare the nutritional profiles and food variety of HMFs versus CIFs in the Spanish market targeted for infants (6-11 months) and young children (12-18 months). Thirty mothers with their children aged 6 to 18 months were included in this cross-sectional study, following a 3-day weighed food diary of which HMFs were collected and chemically analyzed. HMFs meals for infant provided significantly lower energy, higher protein and higher fiber, for young children provided significantly higher protein and fiber than CIFs meals. HMFs fruit purees for infant shown significantly higher fiber and for young children provided higher energy than CIFs. HMFs meals contained a significantly greater number of different vegetables than CIFs meals (3.7 vs. 3.3), with carrot as the most frequently used in both. However, in CIFs fruit purees shown higher different fruits than HMFs, in both the banana was the fruit most frequently used. There was a predominance of meat and lack of oily fish and legumes in both HMFs and CIFs meals. HMFs and CIFs were equally characterized by a soft texture and yellow-orange colours. Importantly, our findings emphasize the need for clear guidelines for the preparation of HMFs as well as the promotion of food variety (taste and textures) in both HMFs and CIFs to suit infants' and young children's nutritional and developmental needs.

Complementary Feeding Practices and Parental Pressure to Eat among Spanish Infants and Toddlers: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The introduction of complementary foods is a crucial stage in the development and determination of infants' health status in both the short and longer-term. This study describes complementary feeding practices among infants and toddlers in Spain. Also, relationships among sample characteristics (both parents and their child), feeding practices (timing, type of complementary food), and parental pressure to eat were explored. Cognitive interviewing with 18 parents was used to refine the survey questions. Responses from a national random sample of 630 parents, who were responsible for feeding their infants and toddlers aged 3-18 months, were obtained. Solids, often cereals and/or fruits first, were introduced at a median age of five months. Fish and eggs were introduced around the age of nine and ten months. Almost all children were fed with home-prepared foods at least once per week (93%), and in 36% of the cases, salt was added. Interestingly, higher levels of parental pressure to eat were found in female infants, younger parents, parents with a full-time job, the southern regions of Spain, and in infants who were not fed with home-prepared foods. Our insights underline the importance of clear feeding recommendations that can support health care professionals in promoting effective strategies to improve parental feeding practices.

On the putative role of intervening events in exogenous attention.

In exogenous attention, two main behavioural effects are usually observed across time: facilitation at short cue-target onset asynchronies (CTOAs), and Inhibition of Return (IOR) at longer CTOAs. The presentation of an intervening event (IE)-i.e., a cue presented at fixation between the peripheral cue and target period-favours the appearance of IOR. However, although there is a general consensus on this empirical modulation, there is no agreement about the putative role of IEs and/or the mechanism/s underlying their effect. While some authors consider IEs as a "cue-back", automatically reorienting attention to fixation, thus allowing IOR to occur, others have considered IEs as events modulating cue-target integration processes, consequently affecting exogenous cueing. Even in this later case, it is not clear whether IEs modulate cueing by inducing an attentional set (top-down) modulation or by inducing a trial-by-trial (bottom-up) online modulation. To disentangle this issue, in two experiments, we manipulated the proportion of trials in which the IE was presented, thus being able to measure the effect of the presence/absence and proportion of IEs. We observed a gradual influence of the % of IEs over cueing effects, which becomes less positive or more negative as the % of IEs increases. This pattern of findings fits well with the idea that facilitation and IOR depend on cue-target integration processes, and presents critical implications for the open debate about the mechanism/s underlying exogenous spatial cueing effects.

Functional flexibility in institutionalized sedentary older adults / A flexibilidade funcional em idosos sedentários institucionalizados

Abstract The aging process leads to deterioration in physiological functions, decreasing functional capacity. Since physical exercise reduces deleterious effects, measuring physical condition is necessary in older adults. The aim of this study was to verify the evolution of the range of motion in institutionalized sedentary older adults. The sample consisted of 19 volunteers aged 65-95 years who completed the Chair Sit-and-Reach test (CSR) and the Back-Scratch test (BS) to measure flexibility of the lower and upper limbs, respectively, before and after a period of 12 weeks without intervention. The results showed significant decrease during the control period (BS, p=0.004; CSR, p=0.001). These findings confirm that physical inactivity could lead to important loss of flexibility of institutionalized individuals, indicating decline of the elastic properties of musculoskeletal tissues and of connective tissues of joints. Therefore, the participation of institutionalized older adults in properly prescribed and guided physical exercises should be continuous and regular.

Resumo O envelhecimento implica uma deterioração das funções fisiológicas, podendo diminuir a capacidade funcional. O exercício físico poderia minimizar esses efeitos deletérios, por isso é necessário conhecer a condição física dos idosos. O objetivo deste estudo é verificar a evolução da amplitude de movimento em idosos institucionalizados e sedentários. A amostra foi composta por 19 voluntários, com idades entre 65 e 95 anos, que concluíram os testes Chair Sit and Reach (CSR) e Back Scratch (BS) para medir a flexibilidade dos membros inferiores e superiores, respectivamente; antes e depois de um período de 12 semanas sem intervenção. Os resultados mostraram uma diminuição significativa durante o período de controle (BS, p=0.004; RSE, p=0.001). Esses achados confirmam que a inatividade física pode implicar uma perda significativa de flexibilidade dos idosos institucionalizados, indicando uma diminuição nas propriedades elásticas do tecido musculoesquelético e dos tecidos conjuntivos nas articulações. Portanto, a participação de idosos institucionalizados no exercício físico orientado e adequadamente prescrito deve ser contínua e regular.

Are Sugar-Reduced and Whole Grain Infant Cereals Sensorially Accepted at Weaning? A Randomized Controlled Cross-Over Trial.

The way infants are fed during the complementary period can have a significant impact on infants' health and development. Infant cereals play an important role in complementary feeding in many countries. In spite of well documented benefits of a low sugar and high whole grain diet, commercial infant cereals are often refined and contain a high amount of sugars. The aim of the present study was to compare the sensory acceptability, gastrointestinal tolerance and bowel habits of two commercially available infant cereals in Spain with varying sugar and whole grain contents in infants at weaning. Forty-six healthy infants (mean age = 5.2 ± 0.4 months) received one of the two infant cereals containing either 0% whole grain flour and a high sugar content produced by starch hydrolysis (24 g/100 g) (Cereal A) or 50% whole grain flour and a medium-sugar content produced by hydrolysis (12 g/100 g) (Cereal B) in a randomized, triple blind, cross-over controlled trial. Both types of infant cereals were consumed for seven weeks. The cross-over was carried out after seven weeks. Sensory acceptability, anthropometry, gastrointestinal tolerance and adverse events were measured, and results evaluated using a linear regression model. No significant differences were observed between groups in any of the main variables analyzed. Importantly, the long-term health implications of our findings represent a wake-up call for the food industry to reduce or even eliminate simple sugars in infant cereals and for regulatory bodies and professional organizations to recommend whole grain infant cereals.

Reduction of emotional distraction during target processing by attentional manipulations.

Previous research has demonstrated that fully irrelevant distractors - i.e., not sharing any feature with the target - capture our attention and modulate our responses. In the present study, we explored this interference by irrelevant distractors in a series of three experiments wherein the emotional valence of distractors (negative vs. neutral valence) was manipulated along with endogenous and exogenous attention. We aimed at jointly investigating - within the same paradigm - the possible modulations over the interference effect by these three critical variables in a systematic way. Although we replicated the interference effect by distractors previously reported in Martín-Arévalo et al. (2015), results showed no attentional and only weak emotional valence modulations over the interference effect. We discuss the possible boundary conditions underlying the absence (or weakness) of modulations over the interference effect by distractors observed in our experiments.

Sensory Acceptability of Infant Cereals with Whole Grain in Infants and Young Children.

In many countries, infant cereals are one of the first foods introduced during the complementary feeding stage. These cereals are usually made with refined cereal flours, even though several health benefits have been linked to the intake of whole grain cereals. Prior evidence suggests that food preferences are developed at early stages of life, and may persist in later childhood and adulthood. Our aim was to test whether an infant cereal with 30% of whole grain was similarly accepted both by parents and infants in comparison to a similar cereal made from refined flour. A total of 81 infants between 4 and 24 months old were included in the study. Parent-infant pairs participated in an 8-day experimental study. Acceptance was rated on hedonic scales (4-points for infants and 7-points for parents). Other attributes like color, smell, and taste were evaluated by the parents. Acceptability for infant cereals with whole grain and refined cereals was very similar both for infants (2.30 ± 0.12 and 2.32 ± 0.11, p = 0.606) and parents (6.1 ± 0.8 and 6.0 ± 0.9, p = 0.494). Therefore, our findings show that there is an opportunity to introduce whole grain cereals to infants, including those who are already used to consuming refined infant cereals, thereby accelerating the exposure of whole grain in early life.

Validez de cuatro cuestionarios para valorar la actividad física en adolescentes españoles / Validity of four questionnaires to assess physical activity in Spanish adolescents

ObjetivosEs necesario conocer la actividad física que realizan los adolescentes españoles para valorar cómo la falta de este hábito afecta al incremento de la prevalencia de la obesidad. Por ello, para medir la actividad física en estas edades es imprescindible tener instrumentos de medición válidos. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la validez de cuatro cuestionarios de fácil aplicabilidad (las preguntas enKid y FITNESSGRAM, el cuestionario PACE y una escala comparativa) para medir la actividad física en adolescentes españoles, utilizando como criterio un acelerómetro.Métodos232 adolescentes rellenaron los cuestionarios y usaron durante siete días el acelerómetro ActiGraph. Se utilizó la correlación de Spearman (rho) para comparar los resultados de los cuestionarios y la actividad física total, moderada, vigorosa y moderada a vigorosa obtenida por el acelerómetro.ResultadosTodos los cuestionarios obtuvieron correlaciones moderadas en comparación con la actividad física total (rho=0,36–0,43) y moderada a vigorosa obtenidas por el acelerómetro (rho=0,34–0,46) en el total de la muestra. Se encontraron correlaciones más altas al comparar los cuestionarios con la actividad física vigorosa (rho=0,42–0,51) que con la moderada (rho=0,15–0,17). La pregunta FITNESSGRAM y el cuestionario PACE obtuvieron débiles correlaciones en las chicas, mientras que la pregunta enKid y la escala comparativa obtuvieron correlaciones moderadas para chicos y chicas.ConclusionesLos cuatro cuestionarios presentan una aceptable validez para valorar la actividad física de la población adolescente española(AU)

ObjectivesThe physical activity (PA) levels of Spanish adolescents must be determined to assess how the lack of PA may affect the increasing prevalence of obesity. Thus, to assess PA in this age range valid measurement instruments are essential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of four easily applied questionnaires (the enKid and FITNESSGRAM questions, the Patient-Centered Assessment and Counselling [PACE] questionnaire, and an activity rating) to assess PA in Spanish adolescents by using an accelerometer as the criterion instrument.MethodsA total of 232 adolescents (113 girls) completed the questionnaires and wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for 7 consecutive days. Spearman's correlation coefficient (rho) was used to compare the questionnaires and total PA, moderate PA, vigorous PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) assessed by the accelerometer.ResultsAll the questionnaires showed moderate correlations when compared against total PA (rho=0.36–0.43) and MVPA (rho=0.34–0.46) obtained by the accelerometer in the total sample. Higher correlations were found when comparing the questionnaires against vigorous PA (rho=0.42–0.51) than against moderate PA (rho=0.15–0.17). The FITNESSGRAM question and the PACE questionnaire obtained weak correlations in girls and the enKid question and activity rating were moderately correlated for boys and girls.ConclusionsThe four questionnaires evaluated showed acceptable validity in the assessment of PA in the Spanish adolescent population(AU)

[Reliability and validity of the PAQ-A questionnaire to assess physical activity in Spanish adolescents]. / Fiabilidad y validez del cuestionario de actividad física PAQ-A en adolescentes españoles.

BACKGROUND: Questionnaires are feasible instruments to assess physical activity (PA) in large samples. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the PAQ-A questionnaire in Spanish adolescents using the measurement of PA by accelerometer as criterion. METHODS: In a sample of 82 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years, 1-week PAQ-A test-retest was administered. Reliability was analyzed by the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the internal consistency by the Cronbach's alpha Coefficient. Two hundred thirty-two adolescents, aged 13-17 years, completed the PAQ-A and wore the ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer during 7-days. The PAQ-A was compared against total PA and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) obtained by the accelerometer. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability showed ICC = 0.71 for the final score of PAQ-A. Internal consistency was alpha = 0.65 in the first self-report, alpha = 0.67 in the retest in 82 adolescents sample, and alpha = 0.74 in the 232 adolescents sample. The PAQ-A was moderately correlated with total PA (rho = 0.39) and MVPA (rho= 0.34) assessed by the accelerometer. The PAQ-A obtained significantly moderate correlations in boys but not in girls against the accelerometer. CONCLUSIONS: The PAQ-A questionnaire shows an adequate reliability and a reasonable validity for assessing PA in Spanish adolescents.

[Validity of four questionnaires to assess physical activity in Spanish adolescents]. / Validez de cuatro cuestionarios para valorar la actividad física en adolescentes españoles.

OBJECTIVES: The physical activity (PA) levels of Spanish adolescents must be determined to assess how the lack of PA may affect the increasing prevalence of obesity. Thus, to assess PA in this age range valid measurement instruments are essential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of four easily applied questionnaires (the enKid and FITNESSGRAM questions, the Patient-Centered Assessment and Counselling [PACE] questionnaire, and an activity rating) to assess PA in Spanish adolescents by using an accelerometer as the criterion instrument. METHODS: A total of 232 adolescents (113 girls) completed the questionnaires and wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for 7 consecutive days. Spearman's correlation coefficient (rho) was used to compare the questionnaires and total PA, moderate PA, vigorous PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) assessed by the accelerometer. RESULTS: All the questionnaires showed moderate correlations when compared against total PA (rho=0.36-0.43) and MVPA (rho=0.34-0.46) obtained by the accelerometer in the total sample. Higher correlations were found when comparing the questionnaires against vigorous PA (rho=0.42-0.51) than against moderate PA (rho=0.15-0.17). The FITNESSGRAM question and the PACE questionnaire obtained weak correlations in girls and the enKid question and activity rating were moderately correlated for boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS: The four questionnaires evaluated showed acceptable validity in the assessment of PA in the Spanish adolescent population.

Fiabilidad y Validez del Cuestionario de acitividad física PAQ - A en adolescentes españoles / Reliability and Validity of the PAQ-A Questionnaire to Assess Physical Activity in Spanish Adolescents

Fundamentos: Los cuestionarios son una herramienta útil para valorar la actividad física (AF) en grandes poblaciones. El objetivo de esta investigación fue valorar la fiabilidad y validez del cuestionario de AF PAQ-A en adolescentes españoles utilizando como criterio de referencia la medición de la AF por acelerómetro.Métodos: En una muestra de 82 adolescentes entre 12 y 17 años se evaluó la fiabilidad test-retest de la versión española del cuestionario PAQ-A en una semana. La fiabilidad se calculó mediante el Coeficiente de Correlación Intraclase (CCI), y la consistencia interna mediante el coeficiente α de Cronbach. En otra muestra de 232 adolescentes de 13 a 17 años se administró el PAQ-A, a la vez que se midió su AF durante 7 días mediante el acelerómetro ActiGraph GT1M. La asociación entre los resultados del PAQ-A y de la AF total y AF de moderada a vigorosa (AFMV) obtenidos por el acelerómetro se analizó mediante la correlación de Spearman (rho).Resultados: La fiabilidad test-retest del PAQ-A mostró un CCI = 0,71 para la puntuación final del cuestionario. La consistencia interna mostró un coeficiente α = 0,65 para el primer cuestionario, α = 0,67 para el retest en la muestra de 82 adolescentes, y un coeficiente α = 0,74 en la muestra de 232 adolescentes. El PAQ-A mostró correlaciones moderadas con la AF total (rho = 0,39) y la AFMV (rho = 0,34) medidas mediante el acelerómetro. El PAQ-A obtuvo correlaciones moderadas y significativas para los chicos y no para las chicas al comparse con las medidas del acelerómetro.Conclusiones: El cuestionario de AF PAQ-A presenta una adecuada fiabilidad y una razonable validez para valorar la AF en adolescentes españoles (AU)

Background: Questionnaires are feasible instruments to assess physical activity (PA) in large samples. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the PAQ-A questionnaire in Spanish adolescents using the measurement of PA by accelerometer as criterion.Methods: In a sample of 82 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years, 1week PAQ-A test-retest was administered. Reliability was analyzed by the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the internal consistency by the Cronbach’s α Coefficient. Two hundred thirty-two adolescents, aged 13-17 years, completed the PAQ-A and wore the ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer during 7-days. The PAQ-A was compared against total PA and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) obtained by the accelerometer.Results: Test-retest reliability showed ICC = 0.71 for the final score of PAQ-A. Internal consistency was α = 0.65 in the first selfreport, α = 0.67 in the retest in 82 adolescents sample, and α = 0.74 in the 232 adolescents sample. The PAQ-A was moderately correlated with total PA (rho = 0.39) and MVPA (rho= 0.34) assessed by the accelerometer. The PAQ-A obtained significantly moderate correlations in boys but not in girls against the accelerometer.Conclusions: The PAQ-A questionnaire shows an adequate reliability and a reasonable validity for assessing PA in Spanish adolescents (AU)

[6S]-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate enhances folate status in rats fed growing-up milk.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To investigate the efficiency of [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate or Metafolin ([6S]-5-CH(3)-H(4)folate) on the recovery of folate status, we conducted a depletion-repletion rat model study using a growing-up milk as the folate carrier. METHODS: The effect of [6S]-5-CH(3)-H(4)folate was compared to that of folic acid (PGA or Pte-Glu), by feeding two groups of folate-depleted rats a diet of fortified growing-up milk containing either 1,000 microg/l (2.2655 micromol/l) of Pte-Glu or 1,041.91 microg/l (2.2655 micromol/l) of [6S]-5-CH(3)-H(4)folate over a 4-week period. At the end of the study, the folate concentration in plasma, erythrocytes and liver was measured to establish the folate status of the animals. The folate content was determined in the plasma and erythrocytes by a time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay method and in the liver by a HPLC method. RESULTS: Plasma, erythrocyte and liver folate concentrations were significantly (P < 0.001) lower after a depletion period in rats fed the folate-deficient diet compared to rats fed a control diet. The folate form used significantly influenced the folate concentration in erythrocytes and liver, but not in plasma, after the rats' body folate reserves were replenished by consuming the fortified growing-up milk. Thus, rats fed [6S]-5-CH(3)-H(4)folate-fortified growing-up milk showed significantly higher folate content in erythrocytes and liver (1,100.37 ng/ml and 4.22 microg/g, respectively), than did those fed Pte-Glu-fortified growing-up milk (827.71 ng/ml and 3.04 microg/g, respectively, in erythrocytes and liver). CONCLUSION: We conclude that the natural diastereomer [6S]-5-CH(3)-H(4)folate may adequately serve as an alternative to folic acid for the folate fortification of infant foods.

Does ascorbic acid supplementation affect iron bioavailability in rats fed micronized dispersible ferric pyrophosphate fortified fruit juice?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Food iron (Fe) fortification is an adequate approach for preventing Fe-deficiency anemia. Poorly water-soluble Fe compounds have good sensory attributes but low bioavailability. The reduction of the particle size of Fe fortificants and the addition of ascorbic acid might increase the bioavailability of low-soluble compounds. The present work aims to compare the Fe absorption and bioavailability of micronized dispersible ferric pyrophosphate (MDFP) (poorly soluble) to ferrous sufate (FS) (highly soluble) added to a fruit juice in presence or absence of ascorbic acid (AA) by using the hemoglobin repletion assay in rats. METHODS: After a hemoglobin depletion period, four fruit juices comprised of (1) FS, (2) MDFP, (3) FS + AA, (4) MDFP + AA were produced and administered to a different group of rats (n = 18) over 21 days. During the repletion period, Fe balance, hemoglobin regeneration efficiency (HRE), relative bioavailability (RBV) and Fe tissue content were determined in the short, medium and long term. RESULTS: Fe absorption and bioavailability showed no significant differences between fortifying the fruit juice with FS or MDFP. The addition of AA to the juice enhanced Fe absorption during the long-term balance study within the same Fe source. HRE and Fe utilization increased after AA addition in both FS and MDFP groups in every period. CONCLUSION: Fe absorption and bioavailability from MDFP were comparable to FS added to a fruit juice in rats. Further, the addition of AA enhanced Fe absorption in the long term, as well as Fe bioavailability throughout the repletion period regardless of the Fe source employed.

Benign fibrous histiocytoma with indeterminate cells and eosinophils: collision, differentiation, or involution?

This report describes the clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features of a benign fibrous histiocytoma of 3 years' duration situated on the posterior right arm of a 17-year-old woman. To our knowledge, this is the first published description of an association between the histologic features of benign fibrous histiocytoma with proliferating dermal dendrocytes and solid clusters of indeterminate cells and inflammatory infiltrate containing numerous eosinophils. Cell type identification was confirmed by immunohistochemical demonstration of positivity of indeterminate cells for CD1a and S-100 protein, by absence of Birbeck granules in electron microscopy study, and by positivity of fibroblast-like cells for factor XIIIa and negativity for CD34. Mitosis or cytologically atypical cells were absent. The MIB1-measured proliferative index of the tumor cells was less than 5% in spindle cells and approximately 15% in indeterminate cells. Possible pathogenic pathways are discussed that could account for divergent differentiation or a combination of neoplasms of different lineages.

Enriquecimiento en minerales y antioxidantes / No disponible

En esta ponencia se presenta, de modo general y con algunos ejemplos, la situación del enriquecimiento mineral y la optimización en el contenido en antioxidantes en los alimentos desde el punto de vista nutricional y de la salud de los consumidores, técnicas y de aseguramiento de la calidad (AU)

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