effect of high fiber snacks on digestive function and diet quality in a sample of school-age children

BACKGROUND: Dietary fiber (DF) intake in American children is suboptimal, increasing the risk of GI distress and contributing to poor diet quality. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of introducing two high-fiber snacks per day on gastrointestinal function as well as nutrient an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrition journal 2013-11, Vol.12 (1), p.153-153, Article 153
Main Authors: Brauchla, Mary, McCabe, George P, Miller, Kevin B, Kranz, Sibylle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Child
Child Behavior
children
Children & youth
Classrooms
Constipation
Constipation - etiology
Constipation - physiopathology
Constipation - prevention & control
Demographics
Diet
Diet - adverse effects
diet recall
Dietary fiber
Dietary Fiber - administration & dosage
Dietary Fiber - adverse effects
Dietary Fiber - therapeutic use
Digestion
distress
Elementary school students
Female
Fiber in human nutrition
Follow-Up Studies
Food
Food and nutrition
Food consumption
food groups
Food Preferences
Food Services
gastrointestinal system
Gastrointestinal Tract - physiology
Gastrointestinal Tract - physiopathology
Health aspects
Health care
Health Promotion
Health surveys
Humans
Indiana
Male
Nutrition Policy
Nutrition research
nutritional adequacy
Parents & parenting
Patient Compliance
Questionnaires
risk
Rural Health
Schools
Snack foods
Snacks
t-test
whole grain foods
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Summary:BACKGROUND: Dietary fiber (DF) intake in American children is suboptimal, increasing the risk of GI distress and contributing to poor diet quality. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of introducing two high-fiber snacks per day on gastrointestinal function as well as nutrient and food group intake in healthy children ages 7–11 years old. METHODS: This study was a randomized controlled prospective intervention study of children 7–11 years of age (n = 81) attending a rural Midwestern elementary school. Children were randomized by classroom to consume two high-fiber snacks per day (total of 10-12 g DF) or their usual snacks for 8 weeks. Participants completed two 24-hour dietary recalls and a questionnaire about their GI health at baseline, mid-intervention (week 4), and post-intervention. Dietary data was entered into NDSR 2011 and t-tests utilized to assess changes. Analyses were completed in SAS 9.2. RESULTS: Children consumed at least half their snack 94% of the time when a snack was chosen (89% of time). Participants in both the intervention and control group had healthy scores on the GI health questionnaire at all time points. The intervention group increased DF (P = 0.0138) and whole grain (WG) intake (P = 0.0010) at mid-intervention but after the intervention returned to their baseline DF intake (P = 0.2205) and decreased their WG intake (P = 0.0420) compared to baseline. Eating high-fiber snacks increased DF intake by 2.5 g per day (21% increase), suggesting displacement of other fiber-rich foods. CONCLUSIONS: Study results indicate that children accept high-fiber foods, thus making these high-fiber foods and snacks consistently available will increase DF intake.
ISSN:1475-2891
1475-2891
DOI:10.1186/1475-2891-12-153