Children's sugar-sweetened beverages consumption: associations with family and home-related factors, differences within ethnic groups explored.

BACKGROUND: The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) may contribute to the development of overweight among children. The present study aimed to evaluate associations between family and home-related factors and children's SSB consumption. We explored associations within ethnic background of the child. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the population-based 'Water Campaign' study were used. Parents (n = 644) of primary school children (6-13 years) completed a questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, family and home-related factors and child's SSB intake. The family and home-related factors under study were: cognitive variables (e.g. parental attitude, subjective norm), environmental variables (e.g. availability of SSB, parenting practices), and habitual variables (e.g. habit strength, taste preference). Regression analyses were used to evaluate the associations between family and home-related factors and child's SSB intake (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Mean age of the children was 9.4 years (SD: 1.8) and 54.1% were girls. The child's average SSB intake was 0.9 litres (SD: 0.6) per day. Child's age, parents' subjective norm, parenting practices, and parental modelling were positively associated with the child's SSB intake. The availability of SSB at home and school and parental attitude were negatively associated with the child's SSB intake. The associations under study differed according to the child's ethnic background, with the explained variance of the full models ranging from 8.7% for children from Moroccan or Turkish ethnic background to 44.4% for children with Dutch ethnic background. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide support for interventions targeting children's SSB intake focussing on the identified family and home-related factors, with active participation of parents. Also, the relationships between these factors and the child's SSB intake differed for children with distinct ethnic backgrounds. Therefore, we would recommend to tailor interventions taking into account the ethnic background of the family. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Number NTR3400 ; date April 4th 2012; retrospectively registered.

Do children report differently from their parents and from observed data? Cross-sectional data on fruit, water, sugar-sweetened beverages and break-time foods.

BACKGROUND: Reliable assessment of children's dietary behaviour is needed for research purposes. The aim of this study was (1) to investigate the level of agreement between observed and child-reported break-time food items; and (2) to investigate the level of agreement between children's reports and those of their parents regarding children's overall consumption of fruit, water and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). METHODS: The children in this study were 9-13 years old, attending primary schools in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Children were observed with respect to foods brought for break-time at school. At the same day, children completed a questionnaire in which they were asked to recall the food(s) they brought to school to consume during break-time. Only paired data (observed and child-reported) were included in the analyses (n = 407 pairs). To determine each child's daily consumption and average amounts of fruit, water and SSB consumed, children and their parents completed parallel questionnaires. Only paired data (parent-reported and child-reported) were included in the analyses (n = 275 pairs). The main statistical measures were level of agreement between break-time foods, fruit, water and SSB; and Intra-class Correlation Coefficients (ICC). RESULTS: More children reported bringing sandwiches and snacks for break-time than was observed (73 % vs 51 % observed and 84 % vs 33 % observed). The overall agreement between observed and child-reported break-time foods was poor to fair, with ICC range 0.16-0.39 (p < 0.05). Children reported higher average amounts of SSB consumed than did their parents (1.3 vs 0.9 L SSB, p < 0.001). Child and parent estimations of the child's water and fruit consumption were similar. ICC between parent and child reports was poor to good (range 0.22-0.62, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Children report higher on amount of break-time foods as compared to observations and children's reports of SSB consumption are higher than those of their parents. Since the level of agreement between the observed break-time foods and that reported by children and the agreement of child's intake between parent and child reports are relatively weak, future studies should focus on improving methods of evaluating children's consumption behaviour or on ways on how to best use and interpret multiple-source dietary intake data. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials NTR3400 .

Associations between the home environment and children's sweet beverage consumption at 2-year follow-up: the 'Be active, eat right' study.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluates the association between home environmental characteristics and sweet beverage consumption (i.e. beverages that contain sugar) of 7-year-old children. METHODS: The population for analysis consisted of n = 2047 parents and their children from the population-based 'Be active, eat right' study. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, parental beliefs, parenting practices and child's sweet beverage consumption were obtained by parental report with questionnaires. We performed linear and multinomial regression analyses evaluating associations between characteristics at age 5 years and (i) consumption at 7 years and (ii) consumption patterns between age 5 and 7 years with reference category 'low consumption'. RESULTS: Based on the report from their parents, 5-year-old children drank on average 3.0 (SD:1.4) sweet beverage per day. Children consumed less sweet beverages at age 7 years (beta -0.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.24 to -0.09) when there were less sweet beverages available at home. The multinomial regression model showed that children with parents who discouraged sweet beverage consumption were more likely to decrease their sweet beverage consumption over the study period (odds ratio: 1.24, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.43). Moreover, when there were less sweet beverages available at home, children were less likely to increase their consumption or have a high consumption over the study period (odds ratio: 0.70, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.83 and 0.61, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.70, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that characteristics of the home environment are associated with the consumption of sweet beverages among children. Specifically, the availability of sweet beverages at home is associated with the child's sweet beverage consumption.

Identification and Characterization of Pale Potato Cyst Nematode (Globodera pallida) in Teplá, the Czech Republic.

Potato cyst nematode poses a significant threat to potato producers in the Czech Republic. Both species of potato cyst nematodes (Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida) are listed as quarantine pests in the Czech Republic and also by the European Union, European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization, and North American Plant Protection Organization. To date, G. rostochiensis was responsible for all damage to potatoes caused by cyst nematodes in the Czech Republic, while G. pallida was recorded only once in the Czech Republic (2) 8 years ago. It is important to note that this occurrence of G. pallida was not located in the free-cultivation area. In July 2011, soil samples from a potato field located in the area of Teplá (Karlovy Vary Region) were collected, and the cysts extracted were identified as G. pallida according to microscopic observation of cyst fenestra and morphology of juveniles (1). Cyst morphometrics (means from 10 cysts) included: fenestra diameter 21.2 µm, distance fenestra to anus 56.8 µm, Granek's ratio 2.7, number of cuticular ridges between fenestra and anus 14; while second stage juvenile morphometrics (means of 13 specimens) were: L 466.7 µm, stylet 24.2 µm, tail 53.2 µm, body width at anus 13.2, h 28.6, c 8.8, c' 4.0. Terminus of juvenile tails was rounded, and stylet knobs possessed distinct forward projections. Total DNA was extracted from single cysts using the TriPure reagent (Roche), and the DNA samples were used to amplify cistron rDNA with the following primers: 18S, 5'-TTGATTAGGTCCCTGCCCTTT-3', and 21S, 5'-TTTCACTCGCCGTTACTAAGG-3'. The amplified region contains the 3' end of the 18S gene, ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2, and the 5' end of the 28S gene. Pfu DNA polymerase (Fermentas) was used for accurate amplification. A PCR product of approximately 1.0 kb was amplified from three individual cysts. The PCR amplicons were cloned into pJET1.2 using the CloneJET PCR Cloning Kit (Fermentas) and sequenced in both directions. The sequences of representative isolates were deposited in GenBank (Accession Nos. JQ692592, JQ692593, and JQ692594). The resultant 1.0 kb sequences showed 99% nucleotide identity to sequences of G. pallida from Canada (GenBank Accession Nos. GQ294522.1, GQ355975.1, and GQ294523.1), thus confirming the results of the morphological analyses. To our knowledge, this is the first detection of G. pallida in the free-cultivation area of Karlovy Vary Region, and only the second in the Czech Republic since the first report in 2003 (2). References: (1) M. W. Brzeski. Page 237 in: Nematodes of Tylenchina in Poland and Temperate Europe. Muzeum I Instytut Zoologii Polska Akademia Nauk, Warszawa 1998. (2) M. Zouhar et al. Plant Disease, 87:98, 2003.

First Report of the Potato Cyst Nematode (Globodera pallida) in the Czech Republic.

Potato cyst nematode, Globodera pallida, was detected in several soil samples collected from various areas of the Czech Republic. Globodera rostochiensis pathotype Ro1 is known to be widespread in the Czech Republic. G. pallida was reported from the neighboring countries of Austria, Germany, and Poland, and also was suspected to be present in the Czech Republic, but it has never been unambiguously proved (1). Recently, nematode isolates have been recovered that multiply readily on Ro1 resistant potato cultivars. These isolates were identified on the basis of three tests: (i) microscopic observations of cyst vulval area morphology and stylets of second-stage larvae; (ii) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a commercial kit; and (iii) a polymerase chain reaction method (2). A complete series of G. pallida and G. rostochiensis pathotypes from Scotland and Germany served as controls. Results were identical for all three methods used. One sample contained G. pallida only, five samples contained mixtures of G. rostochiensis and G. pallida, and one sample contained G. rostochiensis only. The origin of G. pallida contamination is unknown. Strict quarantine measures have been taken to prevent G. pallida from spreading into neighboring areas. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of the occurrence of G. pallida in the Czech Republic. References: (1) J. Potocek et al. EPPO Bull. 21:81, 1991. (2) M. Zouhar et al. Plant Prot. Sci. 36:81, 2000.