Temperament profiles are associated with dietary behavior from childhood to adulthood.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Temperament may be associated with eating behaviors over the lifespan. This study examined the association of toddlerhood temperament with dietary behavior and dietary intervention outcomes across 18 years. METHODS: The study comprised 660 children (52% boys) from The Special Turku Intervention Project (STRIP), which is a longitudinal randomized controlled trial from the age of 7 months until the age of 20 years (1990-2010). Temperament was assessed using Carey temperament scales when the participants were 2 years of age. Latent profile analysis yielded three temperament groups, which were called negative/low regulation (19% of the children), neutral/average regulation (52%) and positive/high regulation (28%). Dietary behavior was examined from 2 to 20 years of age using food records, which were converted into a diet score (mean = 15.7, SD 4.6). Mixed random-intercept growth curve analysis was the main analytic method. RESULTS: Dietary behavior showed a significant quadratic U-shaped curve over time (B for quadratic association = 0.39, P<.001; B for linear association = 0.09, P = 0.58). Children in the negative/low regulation temperament group had a lower diet score (less healthy diet) across the 18 years compared to children in the neutral/average or in the positive/high regulation group. Temperament was not associated with the rate of change in diet over time. Temperament did not have any interactive effects with the intervention (F [2, 627], P = 0.72). CONCLUSION: Children with a temperament profile characterized by high negative mood, high irregularity and high intensity in emotion expression constitute a risk group for less healthy eating over the lifespan.

Association of Adiponectin with Adolescent Cardiovascular Health in a Dietary Intervention Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether an infancy-onset, low saturated fat-oriented dietary intervention influences serum adiponectin concentration in adolescents, and to study the association of adiponectin with subclinical markers of vascular health, and cardio-metabolic risk factors. STUDY DESIGN: The longitudinal, randomized Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project aimed to modify child's dietary fat quality replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat. Serum adiponectin (n = 521) along with weight, height, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, C-reactive protein (CRP), triglycerides, and insulin were measured at age 15 years. Adiposity was assessed using body mass index, waist circumference, and abdominal fat thickness measured with ultrasound. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to International Diabetes Foundation criteria. Vascular ultrasound measures including carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) were assessed. RESULTS: Adiponectin concentrations were similar in the intervention and control groups (P = .16). Adiponectin associated with carotid IMT (r = -0.13, P = .005), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = 0.18, P < .0001), triglycerides (r = -0.16, P = .0004), CRP (r = -0.10, P = .02), insulin (r = -0.14, P = .002), and adiposity (r = -0.18-0.24, P ≤ .0001). When adjusted for adiposity indices, the association with carotid IMT was only marginally diluted (P = .03-.06), but the associations with insulin and CRP became nonsignificant. Adolescents with adiponectin ≤median had 4-fold risk of metabolic syndrome than peers with adiponectin >median (CI 1.8-10.2, P = .0001). CONCLUSIONS: In healthy adolescents, low serum adiponectin is related with carotid IMT and metabolic syndrome. We found no evidence that repeated low saturated fat-oriented dietary counseling would influence serum adiponectin in adolescence. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00223600.

Childhood exposure to parental smoking and life-course overweight and central obesity.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between childhood parental smoking exposure and the risk of overweight/obesity from childhood to adulthood. METHODS: This study leverages the data from two longitudinal population based cohort studies, the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study between years 1980-2011/2012 (YFS; N = 2,303; baseline age 3-18 years) and the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project between years 1989-2009/2010 (STRIP; N = 632; baseline age 7 months). Weight, height and waist circumference were measured from childhood to adulthood. Overweight/obesity was defined as body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 in adults and using the Cole criteria in children. Central obesity was defined as waist circumference > 100/90 cm in men/women and as a waist-to-height ratio > 0.50 in children. Statistical analyses were adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, smoking, birth weight, parental ages, diet and physical activity. RESULTS: Childhood parental smoking exposure was associated with increased risk for life-course overweight/obesity (YFS: RR1.13, 95%CI 1.02-1.24; STRIP: RR1.57, 95%CI 1.10-2.26) and central obesity (YFS: RR1.18, 95%CI 1.01-1.38; STRIP: RR1.45, 95%CI 0.98-2.15). CONCLUSIONS: Childhood exposure to parental smoking is associated with increased risk of overweight/obesity over the life-course. KEY MESSAGES Exposure to parental smoking in childhood was associated with increased risk of overweight/obesity, central obesity and adiposity measured by skinfold thickness from childhood to adulthood.

Longitudinal effect of 20-year infancy-onset dietary intervention on food consumption and nutrient intake: the randomized controlled STRIP study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Coronary heart disease begins in childhood and warrants prevention strategies such as dietary modification. The objective was to determine the effect of the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP) dietary intervention on food consumption and nutrient intake over 20-year intervention period. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The STRIP is a prospective, randomized trial conducted between 1990 and 2011. Enrolled 6-month-old infants (n = 1062) were randomized to an intervention group (n = 540) receiving dietary counseling biannually from age 7 months to 20 years or control group (n = 522) not receiving any intervention. Food and nutrient intake was assessed annually using 4-day food records. A food-based diet score was calculated. RESULTS: The intervention led to (1) higher consumption of low-fat unsweetened dairy (ß = 177.76, 95% CI 157.36-198.16 g/day), vegetable-oil based fats (ß = 6.00, 5.37-6.63 g/day), fish (ß = 2.45, 1.44-3.45 g/day), fiber-rich grain products (ß = 5.53, 3.17-7.89 g/day), fruits/berries (ß = 9.93, 4.44-15.43 g/day), vegetables (ß = 11.95, 7.74-16.16 g/day); (2) lower consumption of desserts (ß = - 4.10, 95% CI - 6.50 to - 1.70 g/day); (3) lower intake of sucrose (ß = - 1.61, 95% CI - 2.88 to - 0.35 g/day), and higher intake of fiber (ß = 0.83, 0.55-1.11 g/day), folate (ß = 11.14, 95% CI 8.23-14.05 µg/day), vitamin D (ß = 0.52, 0.39-0.64 µg/day), C (ß = 8.08, 4.79-11.38 mg/day), E (ß = 0.93, 0.81-1.05 mg/day), iron (ß = 0.31, 0.18-0.44 mg/day), zinc (ß = 0.29, 0.17-0.40 mg/day), magnesium (ß = 12.17, 9.02-15.33 mg/day), sodium (ß = 55.00, 24.40-85.60 mg/day), potassium (ß = 157.11, 107.24-206.98 mg/day). No effect was found on nut/seed, red/processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverage, salty snack consumption, or vitamin A and calcium intake. Intervention effect was more pronounced in boys. CONCLUSIONS: The STRIP intervention improved children's diet quality over 20 years, indicating that beneficial dietary changes can be introduced and sustained in youth.

Longitudinal child-oriented dietary intervention: Association with parental diet and cardio-metabolic risk factors. The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project.

Background The child-oriented dietary intervention given in the prospective Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP) has decreased the intake of saturated fat and lowered serum cholesterol concentration in children from infancy until early adulthood. In this study, we investigated whether the uniquely long-term child-oriented intervention has affected also secondarily parental diet and cardio-metabolic risk factors. Methods The STRIP study is a longitudinal, randomized infancy-onset atherosclerosis prevention trial continued from the child's age of 8 months to 20 years. The main aim was to modify the child's diet towards reduced intake of saturated fat. Parental dietary intake assessed by a one-day food record and cardio-metabolic risk factors were analysed between the child's ages of 9-19 years. Results Saturated fat intake of parents in the intervention group was lower [mothers: 12.0 versus 13.9 daily energy (E%), p < 0.0001; fathers: 12.5 versus 13.9 E%, p < 0.0001] and polyunsaturated fat intake was higher (mothers: 6.1 versus 5.4 E%, p < 0.0001; fathers: 6.3 versus 5.9 E%, p = 0.0003) compared with the control parents. Maternal total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were lower in the intervention compared with the control group (mean ± SE 5.02 ± 0.04 versus 5.14 ± 0.04 mmol/l, p = 0.04 and 3.19 ± 0.04 versus 3.30 ± 0.03 mmol/l, p = 0.03, respectively). Paternal cholesterol values did not differ between the intervention and control groups. Other cardio-metabolic risk factors were similar in the study groups. Conclusions Child-oriented dietary intervention shifted the dietary fat intakes of parents closer to the recommendations and tended to decrease total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the intervention mothers. Dietary intervention directed to children benefits also parents.