NEWSBREAKS INCLUDE:

* Hydration Matters

* Foritified Foods and Vitamin B12

* Using Digital Self Monitoring

INCREASED MEAL PREPARATION TIME IMPROVES NUTRITION QUALITY IN SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance to low-income people; however, its current design does not account for the time availability of SNAP recipients to prepare meals. To examine this relationship, researchers used an analytical model to evaluate the nutritional quality of meals of SNAP recipients, specifically, the number of home-cooked meals and the amounts of fruits, vegetables, protein, sodium, sugar, and fiber consumed from generated meal plans. Amounts were evaluated as a percentage of the quantity recommended by established dietary guidelines. The model describes food and grocery purchasing, in-home meal preparation, and meal plan choices of a family of SNAP participants (2 adults and 2 children) while considering food preferences, meal preparation time, and food costs. The model assumes food preferences match the foods typically purchased by SNAP households. Costs of food ingredients and prepared foods are taken from a single zip code. Time availability and total amount and type of funding were varied. Allowing prepared delicatessen foods and disallowing frozen prepared foods for purchase using SNAP funds were considered.

The results showed increased time availability was associated with increases in the percentage of home-cooked meals and servings of fruits/vegetables, and decreased sodium consumption. Higher levels of funding were associated with increased consumption of fiber, fruits/vegetables, protein, sodium, and sugar. With 20 min/d of cooking time, $400/mo of SNAP benefits, and $100/mo of self-funding, the meal plan had a mean (SE) of 20.1% (0.3%) of home-cooked meals, 0.5 (<0.1) servings/d per person of fruits/vegetables, 100.3% (0.6%) of daily recommended protein per person, 115.1% (0.8%) of daily recommended sodium per person, 241.8% (1.0%) of daily recommended sugar per person, and 31.2% (0.3%) of daily recommended fiber per person. With 20 min/d of cooking time, $400/mo of SNAP benefits, and $600/mo of self-funding, the meal plan had a mean (SE) of 23.9% (1.0%) of home-cooked meals, 2.8 (0.1) servings/d per person of fruits/vegetables, 134.9% (1.6%) of daily recommended protein per person, 200.9% (3.1%) of daily recommended sodium per person, 295.1% (3.1%) of daily recommended sugar per person, and 90.1% (1.0%) of daily recommended fiber per person. With 60 min/d of cooking time, $400/mo of SNAP benefits, and $100/mo of self-funding, the meal plan had a mean (SE) of 52.7% (0.9%) of home-cooked meals, 1.4 (<0.1) servings/d per person of fruits/vegetables, 109.0% (1.1%) of daily recommended protein per person, 108.7% (1.0%) of daily recommended sodium per person, 298.6% (2.0%) of daily recommended sugar per person, and 38.8% (0.4%) of daily recommended fiber per person. With 60 min/d of cooking time, $400/mo of SNAP benefits, and $600/mo of self-funding, the meal plan had a mean (SE) of 42.8% (1.2%) home-cooked meals, 4.3 (0.1) servings/d per person of fruits/vegetables, 144.4% (1.8%) of daily recommended protein per person, 165.2% (2.8%) of daily recommended sodium per person, 322.4% (2.4%) of daily recommended sugar per person, and 91.0% (0.9%) of daily recommended fiber per person. The findings of this study suggest that meal preparation time was associated with the ability of SNAP recipient families to consume nutritious meals. These results suggest that increased funding alone may be insufficient for improving the nutritional profiles of SNAP recipients. Given the current US food supply, governmental interventions that provide the equivalence in increased time availability to achieve nutritious meals may be needed.

Source: Matt Olfat, PhD,^1,2 Barbara A. Laraia, PhD, MPH, RD,³ and Anil J. Aswani, PhD¹; Association of Funding and Meal Preparation Time With Nutritional Quality of Meals of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program Recipients.

HYDRATION LEVEL MAY IMPACT CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK IN OLDER ADULTS

Water is essential to life and is both the largest constituent of the human body and the most abundant nutrient in the diet. If consumed in accordance with the Institute of Medicine adequate intakes of 2.7 and 3.7 L of total water each day, respectively, for adult women and men and although water is an essential nutrient, it has often been overlooked in nutrition and health research. Emerging evidence links underhydration and habitual low water intake to higher cardiometabolic risk, but evidence is limited in community-dwelling older adults. In a new study, researchers examined whether higher water intake and better hydration are associated with better cardiometabolic health. They used a cross-sectional analysis that included 2238 participants from the Framingham Heart Study Second Generation and First Generation Omni cohorts with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of greater than 30 mL[degrees][middle dot][degrees]min^-1[degrees][middle dot][degrees]1.73 m^-2 and a valid food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for the assessment of water intake. Of these participants, 2219 had fasting spot urinary creatinine data and 950 had 24-hour urine creatinine data to assess hydration. Cardiometabolic risk factors included fasting glucose, triglycerides (TGs), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and calculated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol; glycated hemoglobin A_1c; C-reactive protein; and systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

The combined cohorts were, on average, aged 70 years; 55% were women. Mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) daily total water intakes were 2098 (2048-2150) mL for men and 2109 (2063-2156) mL for women. Total daily water, beverage (including plain water), and plain water intakes demonstrated significant positive trends with HDL cholesterol (P < .01). Triglyceride concentrations were significantly lower among the highest plain water consumers (P < .05). The 24-hour urine concentration, as measured by creatinine, was positively associated with LDL cholesterol and TG concentrations (P < .01) and inversely associated with HDL cholesterol concentrations (P < .002). Neither water intake nor urine concentration was associated with glucose or hemoglobin A_1c (P > .05). The findings show a consistent pattern between circulating lipid concentrations and different water sources, and hydration markers support an association between hydration and lipid metabolism in older adults and add to the growing evidence that inadequate water intake and underhydration may lead to a higher cardiometabolic risk.

Source: Jaques PF, Rogers G, Stookey JD, Perrier ET. Water intake and markers of hydration are related to cardiometabolic risk biomarkers in community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional analysis. J Nutr. 2021;1-9.

ULTRAPROCESSED FOODS NOW COMPRISE TWO-THIRDS OF CALORIES IN CHILDREN AND TEEN DIETS

Ultraprocessed foods are ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat items often high in added sugar, sodium, and carbohydrates, and low in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. They typically contain added sugars, hydrogenated oils, and flavor enhancers. Examples include packaged sweet snacks and desserts, sugary breakfast cereals, French fries, fast food burgers, and some lunchmeats such as bologna and salami. When consumed in excess, these foods are linked with diabetes, obesity, and other serious medical conditions, such as certain cancers. A new study from researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University showed that the calories that children and adolescents consumed from ultraprocessed foods jumped from 61% to 67% of total caloric intake from 1999 to 2018. The study analyzed dietary intake from 33 795 children and adolescents nationwide. The largest spike in calories came from such ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat dishes as takeout and frozen pizza and burgers: from 2.2% to 11.2% of calories. The second largest spike in calories came from packaged sweet snacks and desserts, the consumption of which grew from 10.6% to 12.9%.

There was a larger increase in the consumption of ultraprocessed foods among non-Hispanic Blacks (10.3%) and Mexican Americans (7.6%) than non-Hispanic Whites (5.2%). Trends in other racial/ethnic groups were not assessed because of lack of sufficient data that allow for nationally representative estimates across survey cycles.

There were no statistically significant differences in the overall findings by parental education and family income. During the study period, calories from often healthier unprocessed or minimally processed foods decreased from 28.8% to 23.5%. The remaining percentage of calories came from moderately processed foods such as cheese and canned fruits and vegetables, and consumer-added flavor enhancers such as sugar, honey, maple syrup, and butter. There was good news: Calories from sugar-sweetened beverages dropped from 10.8% to 5.3% of overall calories, a 51% drop.

According to the researchers, "Food processing is an often-overlooked dimension in nutrition research. We may need to consider that ultraprocessing of some foods may be associated with health risks, independent of the poor nutrient profile of ultraprocessed foods generally."

Source: Wang L, Martinez Steele E, Du M, et al. Trends in consumption of ultraprocessed foods among US youths aged 2-19 years, 1999-2018. JAMA. 2021;326(6):519-530. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.10238