The Impact of Vitamin K2 (Menaquionones) in Children's Health and Diseases: A Review of the Literature.

Vitamin K2 activates vitamin K-dependent proteins that support many biological functions, such as bone mineralization, the inhibition of vascular stiffness, the improvement of endothelial function, the maintenance of strong teeth, brain development, joint health, and optimal body weight. Due to the transformation of food habits in developed countries over the last five decades, vitamin K and, specifically, vitamin K2 intakes among parents and their offspring have decreased significantly, resulting in serious health implications. The therapeutics used in pediatric practice (antibiotics and glucocorticoids) are also to blame for this situation. Low vitamin K status is much more frequent in newborns, due to both endogenous and exogenous insufficiencies. Just after birth vitamin K stores are low, and since human milk is relatively poor in this nutrient, breast-fed infants are at particular risk of a bleeding disorder called vitamin K deficiency bleeding. A pilot study showed that better vitamin K status is associated with lower rate of low-energy fracture incidence. An ongoing clinical trial is intended to address whether vitamin K2 and D3 supplementation might positively impact the biological process of bone healing. Vitamin K2 as menaquinone-7 (MK-7) has a documented history of safe and effective use. The lack of adverse effects of MK-7 makes it the ideal choice for supplementation by pregnant and nursing women and children, both healthy and suffering from various malabsorptions and health disorders, such as dyslipidemia, diabetes, thalassemia major (TM), cystic fibrosis (CF), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), and chronic liver diseases. Additionally, worthy of consideration is the use of vitamin K2 in obesity-related health outcomes.

A Comparison of the Impact of Two Methods of Nutrition-Behavioral Intervention on Selected Auxological and Biochemical Parameters in Obese Prepubertal Children-Crossover Preliminary Study.

Obese children are exposed to short and long-term health consequences, such as dyslipidemia, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. For these reasons, the prevention and treatment of obesity in the pediatric population is a challenge for health care professionals. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether an intensive intervention based on diet and physical activity has a better impact on the auxological and biochemical parameters than standard care (intervention). The study included 20 children (six boys, 14 girls), of the mean age 8.9 (SD 1.4) before puberty. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups: Group I (starting treatment with intensive intervention), and II (starting treatment with standard intervention). After three months, the groups were switched. The comparison of the two interventions in the study group indicates a better effectiveness of intensive intervention in the improvement of anthropometric parameters and majority of biochemical ones (except for insulin concentration, HOMA IR index and LDL cholesterol). As the result of intensive intervention, the mean % of weight-to-height excess and hip circumference decreased significantly (p < 0.005). Our results confirm that complex intervention based on systematic control visits, including personalized dietitian counselling and physician care, during the weight reduction process is more effective than a one-off standard visit.

Policies to promote healthy eating in Europe: a structured review of policies and their effectiveness.

This review provides a classification of public policies to promote healthier eating as well as a structured mapping of existing measures in Europe. Complete coverage of alternative policy types was ensured by complementing the review with a selection of major interventions from outside Europe. Under the auspices of the Seventh Framework Programme's Eatwell Project, funded by the European Commission, researchers from five countries reviewed a representative selection of policy actions based on scientific papers, policy documents, grey literature, government websites, other policy reviews, and interviews with policy-makers. This work resulted in a list of 129 policy interventions, 121 of which were in Europe. For each type of policy, a critical review of its effectiveness was conducted, based on the evidence currently available. The results of this review indicate a need exists for a more systematic and accurate evaluation of government-level interventions as well as for a stronger focus on actual behavioral change rather than changes in attitude or intentions alone. The currently available evidence is very heterogeneous across policy types and is often incomplete.