Both sleep duration and screen time have been suggested to affect children’s diet, although in different directions and presumably through different pathways. The present cross-sectional study aimed to simultaneously investigate the associations between sleep duration, screen time and food consumption frequencies in children. The analysis was based on 10 453 children aged 6–9 years from five European countries that participated in the World Health Organization European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative. Logistic multilevel models were used to assess associations of parent-reported screen time as well as sleep duration (exposure variables) with consumption frequencies of 16 food items (outcome variables). All models were adjusted for age, sex, outdoor play time, maximum educational level of parents and sleep duration or screen time, depending on the exposure under investigation. One additional hour of screen time was associated with increased consumption frequencies of ‘soft drinks containing sugar’ (1.28 [1.19;1.39]; odds ratio and 99% confidence interval), ‘diet/light soft drinks’ (1.21 [1.14;1.29]), ‘flavoured milk’ (1.18 [1.08;1.28]), ‘candy bars or chocolate’ (1.31 [1.22;1.40]), ‘biscuits, cakes, doughnuts or pies’ (1.22 [1.14;1.30]), ‘potato chips (crisps), corn chips, popcorn or peanuts’ (1.32 [1.20;1.45]), ‘pizza, French fries (chips), hamburgers’(1.30 [1.18;1.43]) and with a reduced consumption frequency of ‘vegetables (excluding potatoes)’ (0.89 [0.83;0.95]) and ‘fresh fruits’ (0.91 [0.86;0.97]). Conversely, one additional hour of sleep duration was found to be associated with increased consumption frequencies of ‘fresh fruits’ (1.11 [1.04;1.18]) and ‘vegetables (excluding potatoes)’ (1.14 [1.07;1.23]). The results suggest a potential relation between high screen time exposure and increased consumption frequencies of foods high in fat, free sugar or salt whereas long sleep duration may favourably be related to children’s food choices. Both screen time and sleep duration are modifiable behaviours that may be tackled in childhood obesity prevention efforts.

In objective physical activity (PA) measurements, applying wider frequency filters than the most commonly used ActiGraph (AG) filter may be beneficial when processing accelerometry data. However, the vulnerability of wider filters to noise has not been investigated previously. This study explored the effect of wider frequency filters on measurements of PA, sedentary behavior (SED), and capturing of noise. Apart from the standard AG band-pass filter (0.29–1.63 Hz), modified filters with low-pass component cutoffs at 4 Hz, 10 Hz, or removed were analyzed. Calibrations against energy expenditure were performed with lab data from children and adults to generate filter-specific intensity cut-points. Free-living accelerometer data from children and adults were processed using the different filters and intensity cut-points. There was a contribution of acceleration related to PA at frequencies up to 10 Hz. The contribution was more pronounced at moderate and vigorous PA levels, although additional acceleration also occurred at SED. The classification discrepancy between AG and the wider filters was small at SED (1–2%) but very large at the highest intensities (>90%). The present study suggests an optimal low-pass frequency filter with a cutoff at 10 Hz to include all acceleration relevant to PA with minimal effect of noise.

Many different front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labels have been introduced worldwide. To continue the debate on the most effective FOP labels for increased consumer health, full comprehension of their visual and functional features is relevant. This paper compares and provides an overview of all FOP labels currently in practice or in preparation in Europe, by means of the visually oriented Funnel Model. The Funnel Models were completed in collaboration with the respective FOP labelling initiatives. In total, six positive FOP labels, two mixed FOP labels and one negative FOP label were compared. There are multiple similarities and differences between the FOP labels, with each FOP label being characterised by a unique set of criteria and methodological approach. This Funnel Model comparison provides the knowledge to ultimately find more common ground for all stakeholders involved in the FOP labelling debate. Importantly, implementation and evaluation activities carried out by FOP labelling organisations are crucial success factors for FOP labels in practice. We conclude that more attention should be paid to methodological differences between FOP labels and recommend that the current comparison is expanded to a global level and periodically updated, as the variety of FOP labels in the global marketplace is changing constantly.

Information on familial resemblance is important for the design of effective family-based interventions. We aimed to quantify familial correlations and estimate the proportion of variation attributable to genetic and shared environmental effects (i.e., familiality) for dietary intake variables and determine whether they vary by generation, sex, dietary quality, or by the age of the children. The study sample consisted of 1435 families (1007 mothers, 438 fathers, 1035 daughters, and 1080 sons) from the multi-center I.Family study. Dietary intake was assessed in parents and their 2–19 years old children using repeated 24-h dietary recalls, from which the usual energy and food intakes were estimated with the U.S. National Cancer Institute Method. Food items were categorized as healthy or unhealthy based on their sugar, fat, and fiber content. Interclass and intraclass correlations were calculated for relative pairs. Familiality was estimated using variance component methods. Parent–offspring (r = 0.11–0.33), sibling (r = 0.21–0.43), and spouse (r = 0.15–0.33) correlations were modest. Parent–offspring correlations were stronger for the intake of healthy (r = 0.33) than unhealthy (r = 0.10) foods. Familiality estimates were 61% (95% CI: 54–68%) for the intake of fruit and vegetables and the sum of healthy foods and only 30% (95% CI: 23–38%) for the sum of unhealthy foods. Familial factors explained a larger proportion of the variance in healthy food intake (71%; 95% CI: 62–81%) in younger children below the age of 11 than in older children equal or above the age of 11 (48%; 95% CI: 38–58%). Factors shared by family members such as genetics and/or the shared home environment play a stronger role in shaping children’s intake of healthy foods than unhealthy foods. This suggests that family-based interventions are likely to have greater effects when targeting healthy food choices and families with younger children, and that other sorts of intervention are needed to address the intake of unhealthy foods by children.

Nearly 10 years ago, the World Health Organization reported the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide as a challenge for public health due to the associated adverse consequences. Epidemiological studies established a firm relationship between an elevated body mass index and chronic conditions such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, heart disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and some types of cancer. Omic studies demonstrated that microRNA (miRNA) profile changes in tissues correlate with a number of diseases, including obesity. Recent studies showed a remarkable stability of miRNAs also in blood, emphasizing their potential as theranostic agents for a variety of disorders and conditions. A number of miRNAs enriched in homeostasis of obesity and metabolic disorders have been characterized in previous researches. This work was finalized to investigate the differential circulating miRNAs signature in early childhood obesity. Our cross-sectional study analyzed the signature of circulating miRNAs in plasma samples of normal weight (n = 159) and overweight/obese (n = 149) children and adolescents participating to the I.Family study, an EC-funded study finalized to investigate the etiology of overweight, obesity and related disorders and the determinants of food choice, lifestyle, and related health outcomes in children and adolescents of eight European countries ( www.ifamilystudy.eu ). Differences in miRNA signature with respect to anthropometric and biochemical variables were analyzed. A high degree of variability in levels of circulating miRNAs was identified among children from different countries, in line with recent reports supporting the hypothesis that these molecules are likewise affected by environmental and lifestyle factors. A panel of miRNAs differentially expressed in overweight/low-grade obesity children was characterized (miR-551a and miR-501-5p resulted upregulated; miR-10b-5p, miR-191-3p, miR-215-5p, and miR-874-3p resulted downregulated). ROC curves were also constructed for experimentally confirmed miRNAs. Single miRNAs generally exhibited low AUC values with the highest values for miR-874-3p and miR-501-5p which in combination provided an interesting value (AUC = 0.782). Pearson’s analysis confirmed that miR-10b-5p, miR-215-5p, miR-501-5p, miR-551a, and miR-874-3p significantly correlated with BMI z-score. Molecular interactions of obesity-associated miRNAs were also predicted by bioinformatics tools. Our work showed that several circulating miRNAs are differentially represented in overweight/low-grade obesity children and adolescents. Although causal pathways cannot be firmly inferred, it is conceivable that circulating miRNAs may be new biomarkers of early childhood obesity. ISRCTN, ISRCTN62310987 . Registered 23/02/2018 - Retrospectively registered.

In children the relationship between a healthy diet and psychosocial well-being has not been fully explored and the existing evidence is inconsistent. This study investigates the chronology of the association between children’s adherence to healthy dietary guidelines and their well-being, with special attention to the influence of weight status on the association. Seven thousand six hundred seventy five children 2 to 9 years old from the eight-country cohort study IDEFICS were investigated. They were first examined between September 2007 and June 2008 and re-examined again 2 years later. Psychosocial well-being was measured using self-esteem and parent relations questions from the KINDL® and emotional and peer problems from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. A Healthy Dietary Adherence Score (HDAS) was calculated from a 43-item food frequency questionnaire as a measure of the degree to which children’s dietary intake follows nutrition guidelines. The analysis employed multilevel logistic regression (country as random effect) with bidirectional modeling of dichotomous dietary and well-being variables as both exposures and outcomes while controlling for respective baseline values. A higher HDAS at baseline was associated with better self-esteem (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0;1.4) and fewer emotional and peer problems (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1;1.3 and OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.2;1.4) 2 years later. For the reversed direction, better self-esteem was associated with higher HDAS 2 years later (OR 1.1 95% CI 1.0;1.29). The analysis stratified by weight status revealed that the associations between higher HDAS at baseline and better well-being at follow-up were similar in both normal weight and overweight children. Present findings suggest a bidirectional relation between diet quality and self-esteem. Additionally, higher adherence to healthy dietary guidelines at baseline was associated with fewer emotional and peer problems at follow-up, independent of children’s weight status.