Gketsios Ioannis, Tsiampalis Thomas, Kanellopoulou Aikaterini, Vassilakou Tonia, Notara Venetia, Antonogeorgos George, Rojas-Gil Andrea Paola, Kornilaki Ekaterina N, Lagiou Areti, Panagiotakos Demosthenes B, Kosti Rena I
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Physical Education, Sports and Dietetics, University of Thessaly, 42132 Trikala, Greece.
Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, School of Health Science & Education, Harokopio University, 17671 Athens, Greece.
Life (Basel). 2023 Feb 24;13(3):633. doi: 10.3390/life13030633.
The consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is high along with the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems among children and adolescents. The present study sought to investigate the synergetic effect of soft drinks and sweet/salty snacks consumption, and the moderating role of obesity on preadolescents' emotions and behavior. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1728 Greek preadolescents aged 10-12 and their parents, during the school years 2014-2016. Parental and child characteristics were collected anonymously, through self-administered and validated questionnaires. Among others, soft drinks and sweet/salty snacks consumption was recorded, classifying preadolescents as low or at least moderate consumers, while anthropometric characteristics (height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI)) were also recorded. Approximately 6 out of 10 preadolescents were characterized by at least moderate consumption of either sweet/salty snacks, or soft drinks, while 22.7% of the participants had at least moderate consumption of both soft drinks and sweet/salty snacks. Boys and preadolescents with a lower level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet, as well as those living in a more obesogenic family environment were more likely to be in the higher consumption groups. When compared to just either the moderate consumption of sweet/salty snacks, or the moderate consumption of soft drinks, the combination of both unhealthy eating habits was associated with significantly higher odds of both aggressiveness and loneliness, while the examined relationships were significantly stronger in overweight/obese children. The positive synergistic effect of soft drinks and sweet/salty snacks consumption on preadolescents' emotions of loneliness and aggressive behavior is even burdened by obesity status highlighting the urgent need for policymakers to take preventive measures to halt the detrimental consequences of UPFs consumption on health outcomes, particularly in overweight/obese children. The importance of the improvement of children's unhealthy eating habits by emphasizing the association between food intake and emotional and behavioral status is highlighted.
超加工食品（UPF）的消费量很高，与此同时儿童和青少年中情绪和行为问题也很普遍。本研究旨在调查软饮料和甜/咸零食消费的协同效应，以及肥胖对青春期前儿童情绪和行为的调节作用。在2014 - 2016学年期间，对1728名10 - 12岁的希腊青春期前儿童及其父母进行了一项横断面研究。通过自行填写并经验证的问卷，匿名收集父母和孩子的特征。除其他信息外，记录了软饮料和甜/咸零食的消费情况，将青春期前儿童分为低消费者或至少中度消费者，同时还记录了人体测量特征（身高、体重、体重指数（BMI））。大约十分之六的青春期前儿童表现为至少中度消费甜/咸零食或软饮料，而22.7%的参与者至少中度消费软饮料和甜/咸零食。男孩以及对地中海饮食依从性较低的青春期前儿童，还有那些生活在更易导致肥胖的家庭环境中的儿童，更有可能属于高消费群体。与仅适度消费甜/咸零食或仅适度消费软饮料相比，这两种不健康饮食习惯的组合与攻击性和孤独感的显著更高几率相关，而在超重/肥胖儿童中，所研究的关系显著更强。软饮料和甜/咸零食消费对青春期前儿童孤独情绪和攻击行为的积极协同效应，甚至因肥胖状况而加重，这凸显了政策制定者迫切需要采取预防措施，以遏制超加工食品消费对健康结果的有害影响，特别是对超重/肥胖儿童。强调了通过强调食物摄入与情绪和行为状态之间的关联来改善儿童不健康饮食习惯的重要性。
