Lawson Yolanda, Mpasi Priscilla, Young Michal, Comerford Kevin, Mitchell Edith
Associate Attending, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
ChristianaCare Health System, Assistant Clinical Director Complex Care and Community Medicine, Wilmington, DE, United States.
J Natl Med Assoc. 2024 Apr;116(2 Pt 2):241-252. doi: 10.1016/j.jnma.2024.01.019. Epub 2024 Feb 15.
Adequate nutrition during childhood and adolescence is crucial for proper neurological, musculoskeletal, immunological, and cardiometabolic health and development. Yet, disparities among socially underserved racial/ethnic groups in the United States (US) provide significant challenges to achieving adequate nutrition during these years of rapid growth and maturation. For example, Black children and adolescents are at greater risk for having food insecurity, lower-quality diets, obesity, and numerous associated health challenges that result from these disparities compared to their White peers. A growing body of evidence indicates that improving diet quality is critical for improving childhood and adolescent health and well-being, and that the diverse nutritional profile and bioactive compounds found within dairy foods may play multiple roles in promoting proper growth and development during these life stages. Therefore, to support overall health and development among Black youth, greater education and implementation efforts are needed to help this population meet the national dietary recommendations of 2.5 to 3 servings of dairy foods per day. Continuing to fall short of these recommendations puts Black children and adolescents at risk of multiple nutrient inadequacies and health disparities that can have lifelong impacts on disease development, mental health, and quality of life. This review presents the state of knowledge on health disparities and modifiable nutritional strategies involving milk and dairy foods to support the growth and maturation of children and adolescents, with a special focus on Black youth in the US.
童年和青少年时期充足的营养对于神经、肌肉骨骼、免疫以及心脏代谢的健康和发育至关重要。然而，美国社会经济地位低下的种族/族裔群体之间存在的差异，给在这些快速生长和成熟的年份实现充足营养带来了重大挑战。例如，与白人同龄人相比，黑人儿童和青少年面临粮食不安全、饮食质量较低、肥胖以及由这些差异导致的众多相关健康挑战的风险更高。越来越多的证据表明，改善饮食质量对于改善儿童和青少年的健康和福祉至关重要，并且乳制品中发现的多样化营养成分和生物活性化合物可能在促进这些生命阶段的正常生长和发育中发挥多种作用。因此，为了支持黑人青年的整体健康和发育，需要加大教育和实施力度，以帮助这一人群达到每天摄入2.5至3份乳制品的国家饮食建议。持续未达到这些建议会使黑人儿童和青少年面临多种营养素不足和健康差异的风险，这些差异可能对疾病发展、心理健康和生活质量产生终身影响。本综述介绍了有关健康差异以及涉及牛奶和乳制品的可改变营养策略的知识状况，以支持儿童和青少年的生长和成熟，特别关注美国的黑人青年。
