Abstract
Dietary fiber (DF) intake may be beneficial for cardiometabolic health. However, whether this already occurs in early childhood is unclear. We investigated associations between DF intake in infancy and cardiometabolic health in childhood among 2032 children participating in a population-based cohort in The Netherlands. Information on DF intake at a median age of 12.9 months was collected using a food-frequency questionnaire. DF was adjusted for energy intake using the residual method. At age 6 years, body fat percentage, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, insulin, triglycerides, and blood pressure were assessed and expressed in age- and sex-specific standard deviation scores (SDS). These five factors were combined into a cardiometabolic risk factor score. In models adjusted for several parental and child covariates, a higher DF intake was associated with a lower cardiometabolic risk factor score. When we examined individual cardiometabolic factors, we observed that a 1 g/day higher energy-adjusted DF intake was associated with 0.026 SDS higher HDL-cholesterol (95% CI 0.009, 0.042), and 0.020 SDS lower triglycerides (95% CI −0.037, −0.003), but not with body fat, insulin, or blood pressure. Results were similar for DF with and without adjustment for energy intake. Our findings suggest that higher DF intake in infancy may be associated with better cardiometabolic health in later childhood.
Highlights
Several studies suggest that dietary fiber (DF) is beneficial for various aspects of cardiometabolic health in adults, such as lower insulin and cholesterol concentrations, and a lower blood pressure [1,2].High Dietary fiber (DF) intake has been proposed to lower cardiometabolic risk through lower absorption of cholesterol and fat, improved glucose and insulin metabolism after meals, or via increased satiety and a subsequent lower energy intake [3]
A few previous studies in children suggested that the beneficial effect of DF on cardiometabolic health may already be present in childhood: a higher DF intake was, for example, associated with a lower body fat percentage in children around the age of 9 years [8], and with lower serum total cholesterol in children at ages of 13 months to 9 years [9]
To explore whether potential associations of DF intake with cardiometabolic health were explained by energy intake, we examined both absolute DF and energy-adjusted DF intake
Summary
Several studies suggest that dietary fiber (DF) is beneficial for various aspects of cardiometabolic health in adults, such as lower insulin and cholesterol concentrations, and a lower blood pressure [1,2].High DF intake has been proposed to lower cardiometabolic risk through lower absorption of cholesterol and fat, improved glucose and insulin metabolism after meals, or via increased satiety and a subsequent lower energy intake [3]. Several studies suggest that dietary fiber (DF) is beneficial for various aspects of cardiometabolic health in adults, such as lower insulin and cholesterol concentrations, and a lower blood pressure [1,2]. Overweight often already occurs in early childhood and is associated with a higher risk of overweight, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerosis in later life [4,5]. A few previous studies in children suggested that the beneficial effect of DF on cardiometabolic health may already be present in childhood: a higher DF intake was, for example, associated with a lower body fat percentage in children around the age of 9 years [8], and with lower serum total cholesterol in children at ages of 13 months to 9 years [9]
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