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Background: Accurate estimates of the usual intake of nutrients are important for monitoring nutritional adequacy and diet quality of populations. In Canada, comprehensive, nationally representative nutrient estimates have not been available since the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)-Nutrition 2004 survey., Objective: The objective of this research was to assess nutrient intakes, distributions, and adequacy of the intakes of Canadian adults., Methods: Participants' first 24-h dietary recall, and the second-day recall from a subset of participants from the recently released CCHS 2015 Public Use Microdata File (PUMF) were used to estimate usual intakes of macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals in adults [≥19 y, excluding lactating females and those with invalid energy intake (EI)]. Usual intakes by DRI age-sex groups were estimated using the National Cancer Institute method, adjusted for age, sex, misreporting status, weekend/weekday, and sequence of recall analyzed (first/second) with outliers removed (final sample, n = 11,992). Usual intakes from food were assessed for prevalence of inadequacy in relation to DRI recommendations., Results: Canadian macronutrient intakes were within the recommended acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges. EI was 2154 kcal/d for males (19+) and 1626 kcal/d for females (19+). A high prevalence of inadequate intakes was seen for vitamin A (>47%), vitamin D (>94%), vitamin C (>29% for nonsmokers and >59% for smokers), magnesium (>45%), and calcium (>44%), whereas <25% and <40% of adults (19+) had intakes above the adequate intake for fiber and potassium, respectively. Canadians continue to consume sodium in excess of recommendations (74.8% of males and 47.6% of females)., Conclusions: A significant number of Canadian adults may not be meeting recommendations for several essential nutrients, contributing to nutrient inadequacies. These results highlight the nutrients of concern by specific age-sex groups that may be important for public health interventions aimed at improving diet quality and nutrient adequacy for Canadian adults., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition.)

Background: Hybrid methods of dietary patterns analysis have emerged as a unique and informative way to study diet-disease relationships in nutritional epidemiology research. Objective: To identify an obesogenic dietary pattern using weighted partial least squares (wPLS) in nationally representative Canadian survey data, and to identify key foods and/or beverages associated with the defined dietary pattern. Design: Data from one 24-hr dietary recall data from the cross-sectional Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition (CCHS) 2015 (n = 12,049) were used. wPLS was used to identify an obesogenic dietary pattern from 40 standardized food and beverage categories using the variables energy density, fibre density, and total fat as outcomes. The association between the derived dietary pattern and likelihood of obesity was examined using weighted multivariate logistic regression. Key dietary components highly associated with the derived pattern were identified. Results: Compared to quartile one (i.e. those least adherent to an obesogenic dietary pattern), those in quartile four had 2.40-fold increased odds of being obese (OR = 2.40, 95% CI = 1.91, 3.02, P-trend< 0.0001) with a monotonically increasing trend. Using a factor loading significance cut-off of ≥|0.17|, three food/beverage categories loaded positively for the derived obesogenic dietary pattern: fast food (+0.32), carbonated drinks (including energy drinks, sports drinks and vitamin water) (+0.30), and salty snacks (+0.19). Seven categories loaded negatively (i.e. in the protective direction): whole fruits (-0.40), orange vegetables (-0.32), "other" vegetables (-0.32), whole grains (-0.26), dark green vegetables (-0.22), legumes and soy (-0.18) and pasta and rice (-0.17). Conclusion: This is the first study to apply weighted partial least squares to CCHS 2015 data to derive a dietary pattern associated with obesity. The results from this study pinpoint key dietary components that are associated with obesity and consumed among a nationally representative sample of Canadians adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Consortium for Quality Research on Dietary Sodium/Salt (TRUE) is a coalition of intentional and national health and scientific organizations formed because of concerns low-quality research methods were creating controversy regarding dietary salt reduction. One of the main sources of controversy is believed related to errors in estimating sodium intake with urine studies. The recommendations and positions in this manuscript were generated following a series of systematic reviews and analyses by experts in hypertension, nutrition, statistics, and dietary sodium. To assess the population's current 24-hour dietary sodium ingestion, single complete 24-hour urine samples, collected over a series of days from a representative population sample, were recommended. To accurately estimate usual dietary sodium at the individual level, at least 3 non-consecutive complete 24-hour urine collections obtained over a series of days that reflect the usual short-term variations in dietary pattern were recommended. Multiple 24-hour urine collections over several years were recommended to estimate an individual's usual long-term sodium intake. The role of single spot or short duration timed urine collections in assessing population average sodium intake requires more research. Single or multiple spot or short duration timed urine collections are not recommended for assessing an individual's sodium intake especially in relationship to health outcomes. The recommendations should be applied by scientific review committees, granting agencies, editors and journal reviewers, investigators, policymakers, and those developing and creating dietary sodium recommendations. Low-quality research on dietary sodium/salt should not be funded, conducted, or published. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To align with broader public health initiatives, reformulation of products to be lower in sugars requires interventions that also aim to reduce calorie contents. Currently available foods and beverages with a range of nutrient levels can be used to project successful reformulation opportunities. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between free sugars and calorie levels in Canadian prepackaged foods and beverages. This study was a cross-sectional analysis of the University of Toronto's 2013 Food Label Database, limited to major sources of total sugar intake in Canada (n = 6755). Penalized B-spline regression modelling was used to examine the relationship between free sugar levels (g/100 g or 100 mL) and caloric density (kcal/100 g or 10mL), by subcategory. Significant relationships were observed for only 3 of 5 beverage subcategories and for 14 of 32 food subcategories. Most subcategories demonstrated a positive trend with varying magnitude, however, results were not consistent across related subcategories (e.g., dairy-based products). Findings highlight potential areas of concern for reformulation, and the need for innovative solutions to ensure free sugars are reduced in products within the context of improving overall nutritional quality of the diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic-light labelling has been proposed as a public health intervention to improve the dietary intakes of consumers. OBJECTIVES: to model the potential impact of avoiding foods with red traffic lights on the label on the energy, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, and sugars intakes of Canadian adults. METHODS: Canadian adults aged 19 and older (n = 19,915) who responded to the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), Cycle 2.2. The nutrient levels in foods consumed by Canadians in CCHS were profiled using the United Kingdom’s criteria for traffic light labelling. Whenever possible, foods assigned a red traffic light for one or more of the profiled nutrients were replaced with a similar food currently sold in Canada, with nutrient levels not assigned any red traffic lights. Average intakes of calories, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, and sugars under the traffic light scenario were compared with actual intakes of calories and these nutrients (baseline) reported in CCHS. RESULTS: Under the traffic light scenario, Canadian’s intake of energy, total fat, saturated fat, and sodium were significantly reduced compared to baseline; sugars intakes were not significantly reduced. Calorie intake was reduced by 5%, total fat 13%, saturated fat 14%, and sodium 6%. CONCLUSION: Governments and policy makers should consider the adoption of traffic light labelling as a population level intervention to improve dietary intakes and chronic disease risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to develop evidence-based clinical guidance and effective programs and policies to achieve global health promotion and disease prevention goals depends on the availability of valid and reliable data. With specific regard to the role of food and nutrition in achieving those goals, relevant data are developed with the use of biomarkers that reflect nutrient exposure, status, and functional effect. A need exists to promote the discovery, development, and use of biomarkers across a range of applications. In addition, a process is needed to harmonize the global health community's decision making about what biomarkers are best suited for a given use under specific conditions and settings. To address these needs, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, organized a conference entitled "Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development: Building a Consensus," which was hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Partners included key multilateral, US agencies and public and private organizations. The assembly endorsed the utility of this initiative and the need for the BOND (Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development) project to continue. A consensus was reached on the requirement to develop a process to inform the community about the relative strengths or weaknesses and specific applications of various biomarkers under defined conditions. The articles in this supplement summarize the deliberations of the 4 working groups: research, clinical, policy, and programmatic. Also described are content presentations on the harmonization processes, the evidence base for biomarkers for 5 case-study micronutrients, and new frontiers in science and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population-wide sodium reduction is a cost-effective approach to address the adverse health effects associated with excess sodium consumption. Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries consume excess dietary sodium. Packaged foods are a major contributor to sodium intake and a target for sodium reduction interventions. This study examined sodium levels in 12 categories of packaged foods sold in 14 LAC (n = 16,357). Mean sodium levels and percentiles were examined. Sodium levels were compared to regional sodium reduction targets. In this baseline analysis, 82% of foods met the regional target and 47% met the lower target. The greatest proportion of products meeting the regional target were uncooked pasta and noodles (98%), flavored cookies/crackers (97%), seasonings for sides/main dishes (96%), mayonnaise (94%), and cured/preserved meats (91%). A large proportion of foods met the lower target among uncooked pasta and noodles (88%), cooked pasta and noodles (88%), and meat/fish seasonings (88%). The highest the highest median sodium levels were among condiments (7778 mg/100 g), processed meats (870 mg/100 g), mayonnaise (755 mg/100 g), bread products (458 mg/100 g), cheese (643 mg/100 g), and snack foods (625 mg/100 g). These baseline data suggest that sodium reduction targets may need to be more stringent to enable effective lowering of sodium intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]