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The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a new nutritional intervention, focused on improving the quality of the diet in children aged 6 to 12 years. A 2-month parallel, controlled randomized trial was conducted in the Spanish child population. The children were randomized to ALINFA nutritional intervention, which consisted of a normocaloric diet that incorporates products, ready-to-eat meals and healthy recipes specifically designed for the study, or a control group, which received the usual advice on healthy eating. The change in diet quality was assessed through the Kidmed index. The secondary outcomes were anthropometry, glucose and lipid profiles, inflammation markers, dietary intake and lifestyle. The participants in the intervention group showed an increase in the mean score of the Kidmed index ( p < 0.001). Alongside that, these children decreased their intake of calories ( p = 0.046), and total and saturated fat ( p = 0.016// p = 0.011), and increased fiber intake ( p < 0.001). Likewise, the children in the ALINFA group increased the intake of white fish ( p = 0.001), pulses ( p = 0.004), whole grains ( p < 0.001) and nuts ( p < 0.001), and decreased fatty meat ( p = 0.014), refined grain ( p = 0.008), pastry ( p < 0.001), fast food ( p < 0.001) and sugar ( p = 0.001) intake. Moreover, these children had a significantly decreased BMI ( p < 0.001), BMI z-score ( p < 0.001), waist circumference ( p = 0.016) and fat mass ( p = 0.011), as well as leptin ( p = 0.004). Participants in the control group did not report significant changes in diet quality. In conclusion, ALINFA nutritional intervention is possibly a useful strategy to increase the diet quality in children, which is associated to improvements in the nutritional status. These results highlight the importance of developing well-designed nutritional interventions.

Dietary habits, that are formed during childhood and consolidated in adulthood, are known to influence the development of future chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes. The aim of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of nutritional interventions carried out in recent years focused on improving the quality of the diet of the child population. A systematic search of the PubMed and Scopus databases was performed from January 2011 until September 2021. A total of 910 articles were identified and screened based on their title, abstract and full text. Finally, 12 articles were included in the current systematic review. Of those, in six studies the intervention was based on the provision of healthy meals and in the other six studies the intervention focused on modifying the school environment. Six of the studies selected included other components in their intervention such as nutritional education sessions, physical activity and/or families. A wide variety of methods were used for diet assessments, from direct method to questionnaires. The results suggest that interventions that modify the school environment or provide different meals or snacks may be effective in improving children's dietary patterns, both in the short and long term. Further research is necessary to evaluate the real effectiveness of strategies with multidisciplinary approach (nutritional sessions, physical activity and family's involvement).

Summary: Gut microbiota seems to play a critical role in health and disease. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a nutritional intervention in children 6–12 years old on the microbiota and to identify possible dietary components involved in the change. A 2‐month parallel, controlled randomised trial was conducted. The nutritional intervention was based on the recommendations of the Mediterranean diet, for both intervention groups, with the difference that in the ALINFA group a more intensive intervention based on a complete diet, while in the control group, dietary advice was provided. After the intervention, ALINFA group showed an increase in the richness and diversity of their microbiota as well as changes in the abundance of different bacterial heels. These changes were mainly influences by fibre intake and the type of fat consumed. The ALINFA nutritional intervention seems to be able to positively influence children's microbiota, showing significant changes within 2 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]