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Background: In January 2017, the nutrition societies of ­Germany, Austria and Switzerland revised the reference values for sodium and chloride intake. Methods: For adults, the estimated value for sodium intake was derived on the basis of a balance study. The estimated values for children and adolescents were extrapolated from this estimated value considering differences in body mass. For infants aged 0 to under 4 months, an estimated value was set based on the sodium intake via breast milk. From this value the estimated value for infants aged 4 to under 12 months was also derived by extrapolation. The estimated value for lactating women takes into account the fact that the sodium loss via breast milk is compensated through homoeostatic mechanisms. Except for infants, the reference values for chloride intake were derived based on the estimated values for sodium intake. Results: For adults, pregnant and lactating women, the estimated values for sodium and chloride intake are set at 1,500 and 2,300 mg/day. Discussion andConclusion: Reference values for sodium and chloride can be derived in terms of estimated values. Considering dietary recommendations for sodium and chloride, it must be taken into account that high intake of sodium chloride (salt) is associated with adverse health effects, for example, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to lower salt intake in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The nutrition societies of Germany, Austria and Switzerland have revised the reference values for potassium intake in January 2017. Methods: For adults, the estimated value was based on the 24-h urinary potassium excretion and on preventive considerations regarding hypertension and stroke. The estimated values for children and adolescents were extrapolated from the adult estimated value considering differences in body mass. For infants aged 0 to under 4 months, the estimated value was set based on the potassium intake via breast milk. From this reference value, the estimated value for infants aged 4 to under 12 months was also derived by extrapolation. The estimated value for lactating women takes into account the potassium loss via breast milk. Results: The estimated values for potassium intake are set at 400 mg/day for breastfed infants aged 0 to under 4 months, 600 mg/day for infants aged 4 to under 12 months, 1,100-4,000 mg/day for children and adolescents, 4,000 mg/day for adults and pregnant women and 4,400 mg/day for lactating women. Conclusions: The consumption of potassium-rich foods should be generally increased. Supplemental intake beyond the estimated values has no health benefit and is therefore not recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of achievement of set targets is a necessary step in landscape planning in order to learn from the past, reassess implemented measures and enhance trust in public managers and institutions. Though it is commonly accepted that indicators play a major role in such evaluations, so far no accepted framework for evaluating planning outcomes exists. Furthermore, the selection of appropriate indicators and reference values to effectively assess conditions of landscapes and determine whether observed developments can be considered positive or negative remains challenging. Our study contributes to much-needed research on this topic with a proposed evaluation framework built on goals, indicators and reference values. We analyzed the landscape section of eight Swiss cantonal comprehensive plans to specifically address (1) whether currently tracked indicators suffice to evaluate landscape-planning goals; (2) what a minimal set of landscape indicators for regional planning might look like; and (3) how the ratified value approach could be operationalized to develop reference values for landscape indicators. All eight plans have a similar hierarchical goal system with six major landscape goals, up to 18 themes and 21-33 subordinate goals. The studied cantons track from 29 to 84 indicators. We found a considerable imbalance in the ratio between subordinate goals and indicators, with comparatively few indicators being tracked to assess visual and recreational landscape quality. Our proposed minimal indicator set is well balanced since it lists 5-7 indicators for each theme. The general procedure for modeling reference values is based on the assumption that the protection status of a landscape is a proxy for high societal appreciation of a place. Consequently, indicator values for these areas would reflect reference values (ratified values). We illustrate the procedure with the exemplary indicator impervious surface. The proposed indicators and maps are powerful tools for outcome evaluation and also facilitate benchmarking, i.e. interregional comparisons of landscape qualities, which could be very useful for landscape planning in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is a simple, low tech, safe and well established, self-paced assessment tool to quantify functional exercise capacity in adults. The definition of normal 6MWT in children is especially demanding since not only parameters like height, weight and ethnical background influence the measurement, but may be as crucial as age and the developmental stage. The aim of this study is establishing reference values for the 6MWT in healthy children and adolescents in Switzerland and to investigate the influence of age, anthropometrics, heart rate, blood pressure and physical activity on the distance walked. Methods: Children and adolescents between 5-17 years performed a 6MWT. Short questionnaire assessments about their health state and physical activities. anthropometrics and vitals were measured before and after a 6-minute walk test and were previously defined as secondary outcomes. Results: Age, height, weight and the heart rate after the 6MWT all predicted the distance walked according to different regression models: age was the best single predictor and mostly influenced walk distance in younger age, anthropometrics were more important in adolescents and females. Heart rate after the 6MWT was an important distance predictor in addition to age and outreached anthropometrics in the majority of subgroups assessed. Conclusions: The 6MWT in children and adolescents is feasible and practical. The 6MWT distance depends mainly on age; however, heart rate after the 6MWT, height and weight significantly add information and should be taken into account mainly in adolescents. Reference equations allow predicting 6-minute walk test distance and may help to better assess and compare outcomes in young patients with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and are highly warranted for different populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Following a timely update process, the nutrition societies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (D-A-CH) revised the reference values for the intake of protein in 2017. The Working Group conducted a structured literature search in PubMed considering newly published papers (2000- 2017)., Summary: For infants < 4 months, the estimated values were set based on the protein intake via breast milk. Reference values for infants > 4 months, children, adolescents, pregnant, and lactating women were calculated using the factorial method considering both requirement for growth and maintenance. For adults, reference values were derived from nitrogen balance studies; for seniors (> 65 years), reports on metabolic and functional parameters under various protein intakes were additionally considered. Reference -values (g protein/kg body weight per day) were set as follows: infants  < 4 months: 2.5-1.4, children: 1.3-0.8, adults < 65 years: 0.8, adults > 65 years: 1.0. Key Messages: The reference values for infants, children, adolescents, and adults < 65 years are essentially unchanged compared to recently published values. Scientifically reliable data published between 2000 and 2017 guided the D-A-CH Working Group to set a higher estimated value for adults > 65 years. Since the energy consumption continuously decreases with age, this new estimated protein intake value might be a challenge for the introduction of food-based nutrition concepts for older people., (© 2019 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)