April

April 2001: Highlights from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Below are summaries of several nutrition research articles published in the April 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. For more information, to receive a copy of a JADA article or this issue’s table of contents, or to interview an article’s author(s), please call Bridget McManamon 800/877-1600, ext. 4769; or e-mail bmcmana@eatright.org.Juice and childhood obesity

The national increase of childhood obesity is causing health professionals to seek reasons why the epidemic is happening and ways to prevent it. Could juice be a cause of this weighty issue? Researchers from the University of Tennessee say they have found no connections between children’s intake of juice and being overweight. They evaluated 72 children between two and six years of age to determine relationships between juice intake and growth - both weight and height -- and to determine the children’s beverage intake patterns over a four year period. The researchers report no significant relationship between juice intake and children’s weight or height. However, they found that as juice intake decreased, intake of carbonated beverages increased. The researchers suggest parents and health professionals generally should encourage children to consume more nutritious beverages such as water, milk and 100 percent juices.

Soy protein in school meals

Trying to find ways to reduce the amount of fat your child eats? School lunches may be the answer. Researchers from the University of South Carolina substituted soy protein in 132 meat-based entrees to determine if it improved the nutritional quality. The meat portion of each entrée was reduced by 30 percent and replaced with a soy protein concentrate. Researchers found that changes in chicken and tuna were minimal, but pork, beef and turkey entrees showed the greatest reduction in calories, fat and saturated fat. Researchers suggest dietitians and school foodservice managers use soy protein to improve the nutritional quality of school lunches.

Maintaining weight with fat-modified foods

A low-fat diet including high use of fat-modified foods may be one effective way of achieving adequate nutrient intake while maintaining weight, according to researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Examining fat-reduction strategies and the role of fat-modified foods in Americans’ diets, they evaluated diets of 878 men and 853 women, divided into low-fat and high-fat groups, as well as non-users, low-users or high-users of fat-modified foods. Researchers found the high-fat group consumed 400 to 500 calories per day more than the low-fat group. They also found adults classified as users of fat-modified foods consumed higher quantities of nutrients such as vitamin A, folate and iron. Non-users of fat-modified foods who consumed a low-fat diet tend to do so by substituting carbohydrates for fat. The study drew on data from the nationally representative 1996 USDA Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals.