High-fiber, low-fat food habits mean better nutrition for teens

Few teens have eating habits that mirror U.S. dietary recommendations for fat and fiber.  But, those who do have more nutritious diets overall, according to research in the February on-line issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.

"Teens whose diets were rich in fiber and low in total fat consumed more vitamins and minerals and less total cholesterol and saturated fat than their peers," said Dr. Theresa Nicklas, a nutritionist with the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine. The diet's nutritional advantage included more iron, zinc, calcium, folate, and vitamin C, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, B6, and B12.

To assess eating habits, hundreds of 15-year-old students were asked to recall what they had eaten in the prior 24-hours.   Reports from 319 teens fell into one of four eating patterns, high-fat/high-fiber, high-fat/low-fiber, low-fat/low-fiber, and low-fat/high-fiber.  These were further analyzed for nutritional content.

Food reports classified "low-fat" met the U.S. dietary recommendation that fat provide no more than 30 percent of total daily energy, while "high-fat" diets had levels of 40 percent or more.  "High-fiber" diets provided at least 20 grams of fiber and met the "age plus five" recommendation for this age group.  The age plus 5 recommendation is five grams of fiber plus one gram per year of life through age 20.  "Low fiber" diets contained 15 grams or less. 

According to Nicklas, although the low-fat/high-fiber diets provided higher levels of nutrients, the energy level was about the same as those from most other groups. 

"This eases concern that low-fat, high-fiber diets might be too low in energy for growing teens, and that those who choose this eating pattern are overly calorie conscious," said Nicklas, a Baylor professor of pediatrics.  A low-fat, high-fiber diet is recommended for all Americans over the age of 2 to reduce cardiovascular disease and cancer risk.

Individuals who met the dietary recommendations for fat and fiber eat more whole-grain breads and ready-to-eat cereals, fruit, salads, beans, vegetables, smaller portions and leaner cuts of meat, skinless poultry, low-fat dairy products, and few fried and high-fat foods. 

Yet, despite the nutritional and disease-preventing advantages of a low-fat/high-fiber diet, only one-third of the 319 students in the study had this eating pattern, including just nine percent of those from non-white teens. 

 "We know that low-fat, high-fiber diets are healthier.   Now, we need to do a better job of helping teens make appropriate food choices, such as opting to snack on fruit and vegetables instead of munching on low-fiber, high-fat treats," Nicklas said.

Also see:
Fiber
Healthy Habits
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