Abstract
BackgroundIn childhood, inadequate fluid intakes can lead on the short term, to reduced physical and cognitive performances. However, few data are available on the fluid intake among schoolchildren in Belgium. The main aim of this study is to evaluate total fluid intake provided by different types of beverages in a sample of Belgian schoolchildren, in order to assess the percentage of individuals complying with the European Food Safety Authority recommendations for total fluid intake. A secondary aim was to characterize the study population in terms of determinants of the total fluid intake requirements.MethodsA child friendly “fluids and liquid food” diary was used to prospectively record the volume and frequency of beverage consumption over 7 days from 1045 schoolchildren. This diary also recorded the practice of physical activity. An adequate fluid intake was defined as an intake ≥ 75% of the age-specific adequate intake recommended by the EFSA.ResultsThe median (P25-P75) of habitual daily fluid intake was 864 (608–1104) ml/day, with 355 (194–579) coming from drinking water. This habitual daily fluid intake varied significantly among the three investigated EFSA groups (girls and boys aged from 8 years, girls from 9 to 13 and boys from 9 to 13), except for the drinking water (P = 0.906). The highest medians of fruit juice, sugar-sweetened beverages and milk and derivatives were found among boys of 9–13. Only 9.5% of the children had an adequate fluid intake, with a value of 19.2% among the 8 years old girls and boys, 7.0% among girls of 9–13 and 8.4% among boys of 9–13. In the whole sample, 27.7% of the children declared to drink less than 3-4x/day, 56% drunk water less than 2x/day and 7.7% drunk no water at all. Every day, 27.1% and 34.1% of the children drank respectively one fruit juice and one sugar-sweetened beverage.ConclusionBelgian schoolchildren have an inadequate total fluid intake. Given the potential health consequences, interventions involving parents and school environment to promote water consumption seem pertinent.
Highlights
In childhood, inadequate fluid intakes can lead on the short term, to reduced physical and cognitive performances
The main aim of the present study was to evaluate total fluid intake provided by different types of beverages in a sample of children representative of the Belgian schoolchildren aged 8 to 13 years, in order to assess the percentage of individuals complying with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) adequate intake for total fluid and for water intake
Total fluid intake provided by beverages As observed by other teams in others countries, the results of the survey showed an insufficient total fluid intake provided by beverages: The adequate intake for total fluid intake published by the EFSA was reached by only 9.5% of all the children
Summary
Inadequate fluid intakes can lead on the short term, to reduced physical and cognitive performances. An adequate hydration is obtained by balancing the sum (EFSA) defined adequate intakes (AI) for total water intake (water from fluids and food) from a combination of observed intakes in populations with desirable osmolarity values of urine and desirable water volumes per energy unit consumed [2] For both boys and girls aged from 4 to 8 years, the adequate total water intakes are 1600 ml/day; for girls aged from 9 to years, they are 1900 ml/day and for boys of this age group, they are 2100 ml/day [2]. A low water intake has been associated with the development of chronic kidney disease, lithiasis and hyperglycemia [4,5,6] Even though these researches were performed among adults, similar research among children is merging [7,8]. A cross sectional study (HELENA-CSS) collecting data of 2741 European adolescents (age 12.5-17.5 years) residing in 8 countries (Greece, Germany, Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Austria and Spain) showed that sugarsweetened beverages (SSBs) and juices represent an important part of the daily fluid consumption [13]
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