ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the visual and taste liking of three commercial gluten-free (GF) foods in a group of celiac children. Thirty celiac children, with diagnosis of celiac disease from more than 2 years, were recruited and 28 (21 females and 7 males, mean age 8.7 years) completed the study. Subjects performed individually six sensory tests, two for each product in different days separated by a week. In the test day, children had to evaluate the liking of the same type of product but of different four brands, before and after tasting them with a 5-point facial rating scale. Overall, the results showed that the majority of children appreciated more the appearance than the taste of all the GF products analysed. The present study provides the first and useful indications on the hedonic perceptions of celiac children about some commercial GF products.
Subject(s)
Celiac Disease/diet therapy , Diet, Gluten-Free , Food Preferences , Foods, Specialized , Bread/analysis , Bread/economics , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Foods, Specialized/analysis , Foods, Specialized/economics , Humans , Italy , Male , Outpatient Clinics, Hospital , Sensation , Taste , Visual PerceptionABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate growth in Italian patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A multicentre cross-sectional study was carried out on patients with CF attending Italian reference centres. Anthropometric data were evaluated using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 reference data. Nutritional failure was defined as height-for-age percentile (HAP) <5th (all patients); weight-for-length percentile (WLP) <10th (patients <2 years); body mass index percentile (BMIp) <15th (patients between 2 and 18 years). The risk of malnutrition (defined as HAP, WLP, and BMIp <25th) and the proportion of patients below the "BMIp goal" (BMIp > or =50th) were also evaluated. Nutritional status was evaluated in the whole population and in relation to age, sex, pancreatic insufficiency, meconium ileus, and lung function. RESULTS: A total of 892 patients with CF (50.7% males, mean age 9.2 years, range 0.1-18 years) were enrolled. The proportion of children with HAP <5th, WLP<10th and BMIp<15th was 12.2%. 12.9%, 20.9%, respectively, and 54.4% did not fulfill the BMIp > or =50th goal. HAP <25th identified the highest proportion of children at risk of malnutrition, whereas BMIp <15th identified the highest proportion of children with nutritional failure. Whatever the criterion used to define malnutrition, the highest proportion of children with nutritional failure was found in adolescence (11-18 years). z scores for height, weight, and BMI were significantly associated with pancreatic status and lung function. Differences among centres for the auxologic parameters were not significant, except for BMIp. CONCLUSIONS: Nutritional failure is present in a minority of Italian patients with CF, particularly during adolescence. Different auxologic indicators should be used for identifying children at risk for or with actual malnutrition.
