Intakes and sources of fat, free sugars and salt among Lebanese children and adolescents.

Abstract

Lebanon, a small country of the Eastern Mediterranean region, is currently witnessing a high burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).There is increasing evidence linking unhealthy dietary practices in children and adolescent to nutrition-related NCDs later in life. This study aims to determine the intake levels and main dietary sources of fat, sugar and salt among Lebanese children and adolescents, to benchmark the estimated intake levels against the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations and to investigate the socioeconomic and anthropometric factors that are associated with high intakes of these nutrients The study is based on secondary analyses of data stemming from two observational, cross-sectional national surveys conducted among under-five children (survey 1) and 5-18 year old children and adolescents (survey 2) in Lebanon. In both of these surveys, data on dietary intake (24-hr recall), socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics were collected. For the purpose of this study, intakes of fat, saturated fat (SFA), free sugars and sodium were estimated using the Nutritionist Pro software (version 5.1.0, 2014) and the intake estimates were benchmarked against the WHO recommendations. The main food sources of dietary fat, saturated fat and sugar were identified by age group. Regression analyses were used to investigate the association of anthropometric and socioeconomic factors with high intakes of these nutrients (defined as exceeding the WHO upper limits). Intakes of free sugars among under-five children and those aged 6-18 years were estimated at 6.3-11.9percent and 12.6-12.9percent of energy intake (EI), respectively. In these age groups, 24.8-54.2percent and 58.1-62.2percent of children exceeded the WHO upper limit for free sugar (10percent EI), respectively. The main dietary contributors to free sugar intake included sweetened juices (14.9-21.2percent) and sweetened dairy products (9.8percent) in under-five children, while in5-18 year old children, the main sources were comprised of sweetened juices (15.1-22.2percent), regular