title: Convenience foods in children's diet and association with dietary quality and body weight status.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pre-prepared commercial foods (convenience foods, CFs) are one aspect of modern dietary habits. The present paper examines the association between CF consumption and dietary quality or body weight status in a sample of German children and adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Linear mixed-effect regression analyses using data from 586 participants (296 boys, 3-18 years) in the Dortmund Nutritional Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed Study, who yearly completed 1890 3-day dietary records and anthropometric measurements in 2004-2008, was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CF intake (percent total food intake) showed no significant association with macronutrient intakes (%E), with exception of a significant positive association with polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake (P<0.0001). Considering only high-energy-dense (ED)-CF (40% of the CF intake), there was a significant negative association with total protein, carbohydrate and saturated fatty acid intake (%E) (P<0.05), and a positive with total fat and PUFA (P<0.01). The nutrient quality index (harmonic mean of 10 vitamins and minerals as the percentage of the reference intakes) showed a significant negative trend with increased consumption of CF (P=0.0013). No significant association between baseline or change in consumption of CF and baseline or change in parameters of body weight (standard deviation score of body mass index (weight/height(2)) or percentage body fat (%BF) estimated from skinfolds) was found. Among boys, baseline consumption of high-ED-CF significantly predicted change in %BF during the study period (β 0.104, P=0.0098).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results point to an impairment of dietary quality with high consumption of CF and to a small but positive association between consumption of high-ED-CF in boys and weight.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Child Nutrition Dortmund, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Heinstueck 11, Dortmund, Germany. alexy@fke-do.de
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Alexy
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Libuda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mersmann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kersting
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000886:Anthropometry; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake; D057140:Fast Foods; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009753:Nutritive Value
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins