Ibero⁻American Consensus on Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners: Safety, Nutritional Aspects and Benefits in Food and Beverages

International scientific experts in food, nutrition, dietetics, endocrinology, physical activity, paediatrics, nursing, toxicology and public health met in Lisbon on 2⁻4 July 2017 to develop a Consensus on the use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) as substitutes for sugars and other caloric sweeteners. LNCS are food additives that are broadly used as sugar substitutes to sweeten foods and beverages with the addition of fewer or no calories. They are also used in medicines, health-care products, such as toothpaste, and food supplements. The goal of this Consensus was to provide a useful, evidence-based, point of reference to assist in efforts to reduce free sugars consumption in line with current international public health recommendations. Participating experts in the Lisbon Consensus analysed and evaluated the evidence in relation to the role of LNCS in food safety, their regulation and the nutritional and dietary aspects of their use in foods and beverages. The conclusions of this Consensus were: (1) LNCS are some of the most extensively evaluated dietary constituents, and their safety has been reviewed and confirmed by regulatory bodies globally including the World Health Organisation, the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority; (2) Consumer education, which is based on the most robust scientific evidence and regulatory processes, on the use of products containing LNCS should be strengthened in a comprehensive and objective way; (3) The use of LNCS in weight reduction programmes that involve replacing caloric sweeteners with LNCS in the context of structured diet plans may favour sustainable weight reduction. Furthermore, their use in diabetes management programmes may contribute to a better glycaemic control in patients, albeit with modest results. LNCS also provide dental health benefits when used in place of free sugars; (4) It is proposed that foods and beverages with LNCS could be included in dietary guidelines as alternative options to products sweetened with free sugars; (5) Continued education of health professionals is required, since they are a key source of information on issues related to food and health for both the general population and patients. With this in mind, the publication of position statements and consensus documents in the academic literature are extremely desirable.

THAO-CHILD HEALTH PROGRAMME: COMMUNITY BASED INTERVENTION FOR HEALTHY LIFESTYLES PROMOTION TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: RESULTS OF A COHORT STUDY

INTRODUCTION

childhood obesity is one of the main public health concerns. The multifactorial and multilevel causes require complex interventions such the community based interventions (CBI). Thao-Child Health Programme is a CBI implemented in Spain since 2007.

GOAL

show the Thao methodology and the latest cross-sectional and longitudinal results.

METHODS

longitudinal cohort study (4 years of follow- up) and cross sectional study.

RESULTS

the longitudinal study found an increase of 1% in the overweight prevalence after a follow-up of 4 years of Thao-Programme implementation in 10 municipalities with 6 697 children involved. The cross-sectional study carried out with 20 636 children from 22 municipalities found a childhood overweight prevalence of 26.6%.

DISCUSSION

currently a brake in the increase of childhood overweight prevalence is considered a success due to the high prevalence worldwide. More studies well methodologically performed are needed to know the efficacy of the CBI's in this field.

Evaluation of nutritional status and energy expenditure in athletes

Continuous physical exercise leads the athlete to maintain an unstable balance between dietary intake, energy expenditure and the additional demands of a high amount of physical activity. Thus, an accurate assessment of nutritional status is essential to optimize the performance, since it affects health, body composition, and the recovery of the athlete. Specific aspects like the type of sport, specialty or playing position, training schedule and competition calendar, category, specific objectives, which differ from the general population, must be considered. A biochemical assessment can give us a general idea of the nutritional status, lipid profile, liver or kidney function, if diet is too high in proteins or fats, as well as possible nutritional deficiencies and the need for supplementation. Sport kinanthropometry has great utility that enables the assessment of body mass, height, length, diameter, perimeter and skinfolds, where information is processed by applying different equations, obtaining information on somatotype, body composition, and the proportionality of different parts of the body. To give proper nutritional counselling, energy needs of the athlete must be known. If objective measurement is not possible, there are tables including theoretically established energy requirements of different sports. Dietary assessment should include information about food consumption and nutrient intake to establish the relationship between diet, health status and athlete's performance. On the other hand, an adequate hydration status in athletes is essential to maintain adequate performance. Hence, the knowledge of fluid intake by the athlete is a matter of the utmost importance. Dehydration can cause harmful effects on athletes' health. As there is no gold standard, urine gravidity and urine colour are the most extended methods for analyzing hydration status. There is consensus that due to complexity, the combination of different methods assures an effective data collection which will be useful to proceed in dietary and nutritional intervention..