ResearchCurrent ResearchBeverage Patterns, Diet Quality, and Body Mass Index of US Preschool and School-Aged Children
Section snippets
Study Population
NHANES 2001-2002 is a complex, multistage probability sample of the noninstitutionalized population of the United States. Certain population subgroups, including adolescents aged 12 to 19 years, African Americans, and Mexican Americans, were oversampled to allow for precise estimates from each group. Of the 13,156 persons eligible in the 2001-2002 sample, 80% (n=10,477) participated in the physical exams at the mobile examination center and 74% (n=9,701) had completed reliable dietary interview
Results
Four and five beverage clusters were identified for children aged 2 to 5 and 6 to 11 years, respectively. We named the beverage clusters based on the predominant beverage group in the cluster. We labeled the four beverage patterns among children aged 2 to 5 years as mix/light drinker, high-fat milk, water, and fruit juices. Similar beverage patterns were also observed for children aged 6 to 11 years; we labeled the five beverage patterns as mix/light drinker, high-fat milk, water, sweetened
Discussion
The changes in beverage consumption patterns during the past several decades (8) have increased interest in whether or not children are meeting nutrient requirements and whole food recommendations and if beverage intake, specifically calorically sweetened beverages, are related to the increased prevalence of childhood obesity.
In this study, we derived four and five nonoverlapping beverage patterns among children aged 2 to 5 and 6 to 11 years, respectively, in the 2001-2002 NHANES sample using
Conclusions
We observed that diet quality differed across distinct beverage patterns among children aged 2 to 5 and 6 to 11 years, but BMI was only significantly associated with beverage patterns of children aged 6 to 11 years. Our data suggest that beverages are associated with diet quality in children. Moreover, mean HEI scores among children in all beverage clusters were below 81 (a score of 81 or greater representing a “good” diet), indicating that diets of children aged 2 to 11 years need improvement.
T. L. LaRowe is a postdoctoral fellow, Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Cited by (0)
T. L. LaRowe is a postdoctoral fellow, Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
S. M. Moeller is a scientist, Department of Science, Quality, and Public Health, American Medical Association, Chicago, IL; at the time of the study, she was an assistant scientist, Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Science and Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A. K. Adams is an assistant professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.