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Accurate food and nutrient intake assessment is essential for investigating diet–disease relationships. In the present study, food and nutrient intake assessment among European adolescents using 24 h recalls (mean of two recalls) and a FFQ (separately and the combination of both) were evaluated using concentration biomarkers. Biomarkers included were vitamin C, β-carotene, DHA+EPA, vitamin B12 (cobalamin and holo-transcobalamin) and folate (erythrocyte folate and plasma folate). For the evaluation of the food intake assessment 390 adolescents were included, while 697 were included for the nutrient intake assessment evaluation. Spearman rank and Pearson correlations, and validity coefficients, which are correlations between intake estimated and habitual true intake, were calculated. Correlations were higher between frequency of food consumption (from the FFQ) and concentration biomarkers than between mean food intake (from the recalls) and concentration biomarkers, especially for DHA+EPA (r 0·35 v. r 0·27). Most correlations were higher among girls than boys. For boys, the highest validity coefficients were found for frequency of fruit consumption (0·88) and for DHA+EPA biomarker (0·71). In girls, the highest validity coefficients were found for fruit consumption frequency (0·76), vegetable consumption frequency (0·74), mean fruit intake (0·90) and DHA+EPA biomarker (0·69). After exclusion of underreporters, correlations slightly improved. Correlations between usual food intakes, adjusted for food consumption frequency, and concentration biomarkers were higher than correlations between mean food intakes and concentration biomarkers. In conclusion, two non-consecutive 24 h recalls in combination with a FFQ seem to be appropriate to rank subjects according to their usual food intake. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Unlabelled: Early menarche has been associated with adult overweight, cardiovascular risk factors, and other diseases. Little is known about the determinants of menarcheal age (MA). Therefore, the main aim of this study was to examine the associations between early life programming factors and menarcheal age in European adolescents. Secondly, the influence of sociodemographical factors on menarcheal age was also studied. A total of 1,069 European girls from the HELENA cross-sectional study, aged 12.5-17.5 years, were included in this study. Using multilevel linear regression models, a possible association between birth weight and length, ponderal index at birth, gestational age, duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and menarcheal age was examined. Associations between geographical gradient, number of siblings, physical activity (PA), dietary factors, and menarcheal age were also examined. After adjustment, menarcheal age was positively associated with birth weight and length (p = 0.01 and p = 0.01)., Conclusion: These findings confirm that birth weight and length may have a programming effect on menarcheal age. Next to this finding, sociodemographic factors were not associated with menarcheal age.

The present study examined the associations of food behaviours and preferences with markers of insulin resistance and clustered metabolic risk factors score after controlling for potential confounders, including body fat in European adolescents. A cross-sectional study "Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence Cross-Sectional Study" of 3546 European adolescents aged 12.5-17.5 years was conducted, using a complete dataset on at least glucose, insulin and "Food Choice Questionnaire". Results indicated skipping breakfast, as well as the preference of some foods such as nuts, chocolate, burgers and pizzas, soft drinks or juices, explain part of homeostasis model assessment index variance. In addition, snacking regularly during school day is associated with higher metabolic risk score in females. In conclusion, the present findings suggest that intervention studies aimed to prevent insulin resistance and metabolic risk factors in youth should focus not only in influencing food and drink preferences, but also to ensure healthy food behaviour in adolescents. The harmful consequences in the choice of certain foods or drinks and food habits can be countered with proper planning and intervention programs to prevent insulin resistance and metabolic risk factors., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To describe self-reported physical activity (PA) patterns in the various domains (school, home, transport, leisure time) and intensity categories (walking, moderate PA, vigorous PA) in European adolescents. Furthermore, self-reported PA patterns were evaluated in relation to gender, age category, weight status category and socio-economic status (SES)., Design: Cross-sectional study., Setting: Ten European cities., Subjects: In total, 3051 adolescents (47·6 % boys, mean age 14·8 (sd 1·2) years) completed an adolescent-adapted version of the validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire., Results: The total sample reported most PA during leisure time (485 min/week) and least PA at home (140 min/week). Boys reported significantly more school-based PA (P < 0·001), leisure-time PA (P = 0·003), vigorous PA (P < 0·001) and total PA (P = 0·002) than girls, while girls reported more home-based PA (P < 0·001) and walking (P = 0·002) than boys. Self-reported PA at school (P < 0·001), moderate PA (P < 0·001), vigorous PA (P < 0·001) and total PA (P < 0·001) were significantly higher in younger age groups than in older groups. Groups based on weight status differed significantly only in leisure-time PA (P = 0·004) and total PA (P = 0·003), while groups based on SES differed in all PA domains and intensities except transport-related PA and total PA., Conclusions: The total sample of adolescents reported different scores for the different PA domains and intensity categories. Furthermore, patterns were different according the adolescents' gender, age, weight status and SES.

Introduction: Analysis of several biological markers improves the quality and physiologic comprehension of data obtained in epidemiological nutritional studies., Aim: To develop a methodology that guarantees the centralized analysis and quality assurance of the most relevant blood parameters from fresh blood samples in adolescents in a European multicenter study., Materials and Methods: Stability of selected nutrients and biomarkers (vitamins, fatty acids, iron metabolism and immunological parameters) chosen with respect to time and temperature of sample transport and storage was evaluated as part of the pilot study of the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) project., Results: Routine biochemistry and iron status parameters included in the HELENA Cross-Sectional Study (CSS) protocol could be analyzed within 24 h from fresh blood samples without any stability problems (coefficient of variation (CV)<5%, P<0.05). However, stability tests for lymphocyte subpopulations, vitamin C and fatty acids showed that they are very unstable at room temperature without any treatment. Therefore, a special handling for these samples was developed. Vitamin C was stabilized with metaphosphoric acid and transported under cooled conditions (CV 4.4%, recovery rate >93%, P>0.05). According to the results, a specific methodology and transport system were developed to collect blood samples at schools in 10 European cities and to send them to the centralized laboratory (IEL, Bonn, Germany). To guarantee good clinical practice, the field workers were instructed in a training workshop and a manual of operation was developed., Conclusion: The handling and transport system for fresh blood samples developed for the European multicenter study HELENA is adequate for the final part of the HELENA-CSS and will provide, for the first time, reference values for several biological markers in European adolescents.