Associations between objectively measured nighttime sleep duration, sleep timing, and sleep quality and body composition in toddlers in the Guelph Family Health Study.

The prevalence of child obesity is a worldwide public health concern. Good sleep hygiene is associated with reduced adiposity in older children and adults. More research is needed in younger children to help mitigate risk of obesity.

Postprandial Blood Glucose and Insulin Response in Healthy Adults When Lentils Replace High-Glycemic Index Food Ingredients in Muffins, Chilies and Soups.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess postprandial blood glucose response (PBGR), relative glycemic response (RGR) and insulin response when 25 g available carbohydrates (AC) is replaced with cooked lentils in the formulation of muffins, chilies and soups.

Methods: In randomized, crossover studies, healthy adults consumed foods containing 25 g AC from green lentils, red lentils or a control (wheat muffin, = 24; rice chili, = 24; potato soup, = 20). Blood collected at fasting and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min was analyzed to derive the incremental area under the response curve (iAUC) for glucose, insulin, RGR and maximum concentration (C).

Dietary Sugar Research in Preschoolers: Methodological, Genetic, and Cardiometabolic Considerations.

Excess dietary sugar intake increases the risk of unhealthy weight gain, an important cardiometabolic risk factor in children. To further our understanding of this relationship, we performed a narrative review using two approaches. First, research examining dietary sugar intake, its associations with cardiometabolic health, impact of genetics on sweet taste perception and intake, and how genetics moderates the association of dietary sugar intake and cardiometabolic risk factors in preschool-aged children 1.

Testing a Biobehavioral Model of Chronic Stress and Weight Gain in Young Children (Family Stress Study): Protocol and Baseline Demographics for a Prospective Observational Study.

Background: Chronic stress is an important risk factor in the development of obesity. While research suggests chronic stress is linked to excess weight gain in children, the biological or behavioral mechanisms are poorly understood.

Objective: The objectives of the Family Stress Study are to examine behavioral and biological pathways through which chronic stress exposure (including stress from COVID-19) may be associated with adiposity in young children, and to determine if factors such as child sex, caregiver-child relationship quality, caregiver education, and caregiver self-regulation moderate the association between chronic stress and child adiposity.

Dietary Sugar and Anthropometrics among Young Children in the Guelph Family Health Study: Longitudinal Associations.

Our understanding of the influence of sugar intake on anthropometrics among young children is limited. Most existing research is cross-sectional and has focused on sugar-sweetened beverages. The study objective was to investigate longitudinal associations between young children's total, free, and added sugar intake from all food sources at baseline with anthropometric measures at baseline and 18 months.

Correction: Acosta et al. Plant-Based Dietary Indices in Relation to Nutrient and Food Group Intakes in Preschool-Aged Children. 2023, , 4617.

In the original publication [...

The degree of food processing contributes to sugar intakes in families with preschool-aged children.

Background And Aims: Evidence implicates ultra-processed food intake as a major contributor of excess dietary sugars. However, little research exists on the relationship between the degree of food processing and sugar intake in families with young children. We investigated associations between the degree of food processing and sugar intake (total and free sugars) in Canadian preschool-aged children and parents.

Plant-Based Dietary Indices in Relation to Nutrient and Food Group Intakes in Preschool-Aged Children.

Dietary guidance promotes plant-based foods, yet minimal research has examined intake in children. This study examined plant-based food intake in preschool-aged children using plant-based dietary index (PDI) metrics and related these metrics to nutrient and food group intakes. Dietary data were collected from preschool-aged children ( = 283, 3.

Sugar Intake among Preschool-Aged Children in the Guelph Family Health Study: Associations with Sociodemographic Characteristics.

Background: It is crucial to develop strategies targeted to promote healthy eating patterns in vulnerable populations, especially young children from diverse sociodemographic groups. Thus, the study objective was to investigate the associations between child age, child sex, child ethnicity, parent number of years living in Canada, annual household income, parent education and parent marital status with total, free and added sugar intakes in young children.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was a secondary analysis of data gathered in the Guelph Family Health Study.

Parents' knowledge of the 2019 Canada's Food Guide recommendations.

Little is known about Canadians' knowledge of the 2019 Canada's Food Guide (CFG) recommendations. Using cross-sectional survey data from the Guelph Family Health Study, our brief communication aimed to explore parents' knowledge of the 2019 CFG recommendations through descriptive statistics and content analysis. Among a sample of 122 parents, we found that parents had a general understanding of the 2019 CFG's recommendations but poor knowledge of specific details of the recommendations, such as the names of the three food groups and which foods contain unhealthy fats.

Perspective: Plant-Based Meat Alternatives Can Help Facilitate and Maintain a Lower Animal to Plant Protein Intake Ratio.

The health and environmental advantages of plant-predominant diets will likely lead to increasing numbers of consumers reducing their reliance on animal products. Consequently, health organizations and professionals will need to provide guidance on how best to make this change. In many developed countries, nearly twice as much protein is derived from animal versus plant sources.

The degree of food processing is associated with anthropometric measures of obesity in Canadian families with preschool-aged children.

Adopting a healthy diet remains central for the prevention of obesity. In adults, higher intake of ultra-processed food is associated with a greater risk of overweight and obesity. However, little is known about the degree of food processing and its association with anthropometric measures in families with preschool-aged children, a critical period for the development of dietary patterns.

Comparing the perceptions and opinions of the 2007 and 2019 Canada's food guides among parents of young children.

Background: The Canada's Food Guide (CFG) is recognized as the most prominent authoritative guideline for healthy eating in Canada. In 2019, Health Canada released the latest iteration of the CFG with substantial changes to its messaging and format from the previous 2007 CFG.

Objective: This study compared the awareness, use, knowledge, and opinions of the 2007 and 2019 CFGs among parents with children aged 18 months to 5 years who are participants in a family-based intervention trial, the Guelph Family Health Study.

Breakfast Quality of Preschool-aged Canadian Children.

To investigate the breakfast quality of preschool-aged children through a comparison of their energy and nutrient intakes at breakfast to published benchmarks for a balanced breakfast. Dietary data were collected for 163 children aged 3-5 years enrolled in the Guelph Family Health Study using one parent-reported online 24-hour recall and analyzed for energy and nutrient intakes. Breakfast quality was assessed by tallying the frequency of participants whose nutrient and energy intakes at their breakfast meal met the recommendations for a balanced breakfast established by the International Breakfast Research Initiative (IRBI).

Guidance and perspectives on highly processed foods.

Guidance from Health Canada to limit highly processed foods (HPF) seeks to ensure that Canadians remain within intake recommendations for nutrients of concern. However, HPF can contribute to dietary requirements of specific populations. The Canadian Nutrition Society and Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutritional Sciences convened speakers for a Food for Health workshop in 2021 to provide evidence and perspectives from government, industry, and healthcare on reasons for advocating limits and potential unintended consequences of limiting HPF, and implications and necessity of HPF in clinical settings.

Intakes of PUFA are low in preschool-aged children in the Guelph Family Health Study pilot cohort.

This study investigated intakes of total, n-3, and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in 109 preschool-aged children who participated in the Guelph Family Health Study pilot. Intakes of total, n-3, and n-6 PUFA did not meet recommendations. This study highlights the need for additional monitoring and potential interventions to improve PUFA intake in preschool-aged children.

Non-Nutritive Sweetener Intake Is Low in Preschool-Aged Children in the Guelph Family Health Pilot Study.

There is limited research on the intake of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) among preschool-aged children. Canada’s Food Guide suggests limiting intake of NNS for all population groups and Health Canada recommends that young children (<2 years) avoid consuming beverages containing NNS. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and type of non-nutritive sweetener (NNS) intake in preschool-aged children participating in the Guelph Family Health Study pilots.

Cheese Intake is Inversely Associated with LDL Cholesterol in Young Children.

To determine if intake (servings/day) of total dairy and/or dairy subtypes (milk, cheese, and yogurt) were associated with biomarkers related to dyslipidemia, insulin sensitivity and inflammation in a sample of cardio-metabolically healthy young children from the Guelph Family Health Study at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Baseline data from 42 children (aged 2.0-6.

Canned Beans Decrease Serum Total and LDL Cholesterol in Adults with Elevated LDL Cholesterol in a 4-wk Multicenter, Randomized, Crossover Study.

Background: Practical risk reduction strategies are needed to address cardiovascular disease. Beans can decrease LDL cholesterol; however, research into different daily amounts and varieties is warranted.

Objectives: To examine the effects of canned beans (daily rotation of black, navy, pinto, dark red kidney, white kidney) in 1-cup (1CB, 180 g) and ½-cup (½CB, 90 g) daily amounts compared with a 1-cup white rice (WR) control on serum lipid and glycemic biomarkers in adults with elevated LDL cholesterol.

Dietary sugar intake among preschool-aged children: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Excessive intake of sugar in young children is a public health concern. Our study objectives were to examine intakes of total, free and added sugar among preschool-aged children and to investigate their associations with body weight, body mass index Z-scores, percent fat mass and waist circumference.

Methods: The cross-sectional cohort study included preschool-aged children between 1.

Associations between Family-Based Stress and Dietary Inflammatory Potential among Families with Preschool-Aged Children.

Chronic stress is known to influence dietary choices, and stressed families often report poorer diet quality; however, little is known about how family-based stress is linked with dietary patterns that promote inflammation. This study investigated associations between family-based stress and the inflammatory potential of the diet among preschool-aged children and their parents. Parents ( = 212 mothers, = 146 fathers) and children ( = 130 girls, = 123 boys; aged 18 months to 5 years) from 241 families participating in the Guelph Family Health Study were included in the analyses.

Diet Quality of Canadian Preschool Children: Associations with Socio-demographic Characteristics.

To examine associations between preschoolers' diet quality and parent and child socio-demographic variables. Cross-sectional analysis with 117 preschoolers. Parents reported socio-demographics and their children's diet using 3-day food records.

Food Skills: Associations With Diet Quality and Food Waste Among Canadian Parents.

Objective: To examine the association between self-reported food skills and diet quality along with measured food waste among a sample of Canadian parents.

Design: Cross-sectional data from surveys to assess food skills, 3-day food records to assess the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015, and food waste measured by household waste audits.

Setting: Guelph-Wellington, Ontario.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in sweet, fat, umami, salt, bitter and sour taste receptor genes are associated with gustatory function and taste preferences in young adults.

Taste is a fundamental mechanism whereby compounds are detected orally, yet it is highly variable among individuals. The variability in taste that is attributable to genetics is not well-characterized despite its potential role in food selection, and therefore, eating habits that contribute to risk of overweight and obesity. In order to implicate measures of taste function and preference as potentially deterministic factors in adverse eating behaviors that lead to obesity, it must be shown that a relationship exists between genetic variation in taste receptor genes and psychophysical measures of taste in the absence high body mass index.