Evaluation of the nutritional quality of French children breakfasts according to the Breakfast Quality Score (BQS).

Background: Breakfast meals provide essential nutrients and energy to children and adolescents. Based on recommendations from the International Breakfast Research Initiative (IBRI), the Breakfast Quality Score (BQS) was developed to assess breakfast nutritional value among the French adult population. However, its application to children remains unexplored. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the BQS in assessing the nutritional quality of breakfasts consumed by French children aged 4-17 years. Methods: A total of 4,015 breakfasts, obtained from dietary recalls provided by 1,448 children participating in the French representative dietary survey (INCA3), were analyzed. As for adults, the performance of the BQS was tested through correlations with other nutritional indicators and comparison of nutrients and dietary components between tertiles of scores. The study examined the regularity of breakfast consumption and compared the BQS of children's breakfasts across socio-demographic modalities and breakfast categories distinguished by their primary grain component. Additionally, a predictive modeling using Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression identified influential INCA3 food groups. Results: The majority of children consumed solid breakfasts regularly. Socio-professional category, household income and food insecurity influenced BQS, revealing contradictory disparities. Ready-to-eat cereal (RTEC) breakfasts had the highest BQS (73.5% for children and 73.1% for adolescent), while biscuits and viennoiseries scored the lowest (52% for children and 49.1% for adolescent). PLS highlighted RTECs, milk, and hot beverages (mainly containing chocolate milk) as being positively associated with BQS, while sweet beverages and viennoiseries were negatively associated. Conclusion: The study demonstrates the effectiveness of the BQS in assessing children's breakfast quality, with RTEC breakfasts showing the highest nutritional value. The findings provide insights into factors influencing breakfast nutritional quality and underscore the importance of promoting healthier breakfast choices among all children.

Improving the antinutritional profiles of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) moderately impacts carotenoid bioaccessibility but not mineral solubility.

Common beans are a common staple food with valuable nutritional qualities, but their high contents in antinutritional factors (ANFs) can decrease the bioavailability of (i) fat-soluble micronutrients including carotenoids and (ii) minerals. Our objective was to select ANF-poor bean lines that would not interfere with carotenoid and mineral bioavailability. To achieve this objective, seeds of commercial and experimental Phaseolus vulgaris L. bean lines were produced for 2 years and the bean's content in ANFs (saponins, phytates, tannins, total polyphenols) was assessed. We then measured carotenoid bioaccessibility and mineral solubility (i.e. the fraction of carotenoid and mineral that transfer into the aqueous phase of the digesta and is therefore absorbable) from prepared beans using in vitro digestion. All beans contained at least 200 mg/100 g of saponins and 2.44 mg/100 g tannins. The low phytic acid (lpa) lines, lpa1 and lpa12 exhibited lower phytate levels (≈ - 80%, p = 0.007 and p = 0.02) than their control BAT-93. However, this decrease had no significant impact on mineral solubility. HP5/1 (lpa + phaseolin and lectin PHA-E free) bean line, induced an improvement in carotenoid bioaccessibility (i.e., + 38%, p = 0.02, and + 32%, p = 0.005, for phytofluene bioaccessibility in 2021 and 2022, respectively). We conclude that decrease in the phytate bean content should thus likely be associated to decreases in other ANFs such as tannins or polyphenols to lead to significant improvement of micronutrient bioaccessibility.

Dietary Flavonoid Intakes in France Are Linked to Brewed Tea Consumption and to Socioeconomic Status: Analyses of the Third French Individual and National Food Consumption (INCA3) Survey for Children and Adults.

Flavonoids from green and black tea may benefit cardiovascular health. Brewed tea consumption and flavonoid intake in France have not been previously explored. This study assessed the dietary intake of flavonoids among French children and adults, using 3 days' dietary recall for 3896 persons aged >4 y in the Third French Individual and National Food Consumption Survey (INCA3). Foods consumed by INCA 3 participants were manually matched with the flavonoid content of foods from the French PhenolExplorer database and the US Department of Agriculture expanded flavonoid database (2018 version). The six subclasses of flavonoids were flavan-3-ols, flavanones, anthocyanidins, flavonols, flavones, and isoflavones. Flavonoid intake was stratified by age subgroups (children and adults separately) and examined using socio-demographics and tea consumption patterns. Mean flavonoid intake was 210 mg/d. Flavonoids in the French diet were predominantly flavan-3-ols (147 mg/d), of which tea is the main source. The effects of age, education, income, and socio-professional category (SPC) on flavonoid intake were all significant (p < 0.0001). Brewed tea consumers were 31.88% of French adults and 3.79% of children. Brewed tea consumption and flavonoid intake were highly correlated. The highest brewed tea and flavonoid intakes were found among individuals with the highest SPC and education levels. Flavonoid intake in France was associated with brewed tea consumption and with higher education and income.