title: Newly derived children-based food index. An index that may detect childhood overweight and obesity.
abstract: A food index (FI) based on a priory knowledge was developed to assess the role of diet on overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) in school-aged children. This included «positive» and «negative» foods based on research evidence and food guidelines, with scores set accordingly. Statistical tests were used to strengthen the sensitivity of the index. The FI was validated using data from the GRECO study. The score ranged from 17 to 53.5 (mean 34.8 ± 5.01) and was inversely associated with body mass index (BMI) (-0.057 ± 0.02; 95% CI -0.098, -0.017) and waist circumference (WC) (-0.08 ± 0.03, 95% CI: -0.137, -0.022). Associations remained significant upon adjusting for age, gender and physical-inactivity (p = 0.02 ad 0.013, respectively). When stratified by gender, the association between FI and WC was not significant for boys (p = 0.08). The association with BMI remained significant for females and males (p = 0.047 and 0.037, respectively). The derived FI seems a valuable tool in detecting OW in children.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Unit of Human Nutrition , Agricultural University of Athens , Athens , Greece .
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Magriplis
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Unit of Human Nutrition , Agricultural University of Athens , Athens , Greece .
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Farajian
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Unit of Human Nutrition , Agricultural University of Athens , Athens , Greece .
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Risvas
authors.affiliation: b Department of Science and Dietetics-Nutrition , Harokopio University , Athens , Greece , and.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Panagiotakos
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Unit of Human Nutrition , Agricultural University of Athens , Athens , Greece .|c Department of Nutrition and Health , College of Food and Agriculture, United Arab Emirates University , Al Ain , United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zampelas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D050177:Overweight / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: Children; dietary habits; epidemic; food; obesogenic factors