Relation between hydration status in children and their dietary profile – results from the DONALD study

Abstract

Objective: To describe associations between hydration status and dietary behaviour in children, as current research indicates that hydration status is influenced by nutrition vice versa, hydration status may influence dietary behaviour. Design: Cross-sectional analyses of data from the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed Study, (DONALD) using 24-h urine samples to determine the hydration status and 3-day weighed food records to describe the dietary profile of the children. Setting: Secondary analyses of data from an observational study. Subjects: A group of 4-11 year old children living in Dortmund, Germany; N ¼ 717. Methods: Hydration status was determined by calculating the 'free water reserve', using analyses of the 24-h urine samples. Nutrient intake per day was calculated from the 3-day weighed food records. Children were categorized into groups of hydration status and analysed for significant differences in their dietary profile. Results: Children in the highest group of the hydration status had significant higher total water intake, lower energy density of the diet and a lower proportion of metabolic water compared to children in the lowest group of the hydration status. In addition, analyses showed -although not significant in all subgroups -that better hydrated children consumed more water from beverages and water-supplying foods and less energy from fat. Conclusions: Euhydrated children, that are children in the highest group of hydration status, had a more preferable dietary profile than children at risk of insufficient hydration. Sponsorship:

Dietary intake according to hydration status in 9-10 year-old soccer players

“…Although there is no fully accepted method to characterize hydration status, FWR may be recommended to define 24-h hydration status (23), and previous studies also revealed that FWR values may be affected by the quality of the diet (24,25). Montenegro-Bethancourt (2013) provided, for the first time, evidence for an association between fruit and vegetables intake and children hydration status.…”

Contribution of fruit and vegetable intake to hydration status in schoolchildren

“…In children and young adults consuming a typical affluent Western diet, with a high intake of protein, fat, and sodium chloride and a relatively low intake of complex carbohydrates from starch-and fiber-containing foods, this value is w830 mOsm/L (7). Positive values of FWR are defined as "euhydration"; negative values of FWR denote "risk of hypohydration" (7,17). Furthermore, we estimated the Adequate Intake of total water (mL/d) for our population (7).…”

“…However, to our knowledge, so far no study has investigated the impact of the latter on the physiologically well-regulated HS. This fact becomes relevant when it is hypothesized that HS might influence an individual's food intake, ie, that a water deficit may induce an individual to prefer a diet with higher water content, potentially as a compensatory mechanism to counteract the deficit (17). To date, no study has investigated that hypothesis in free-living children.…”

Diet, behaviour and cognition in children

“…The interpretation of this finding is not straightforward. Stahl et al (2007), in German children aged four to eleven years, used 24-hour urine samples to determine the hydration status and three-day weighed food records to describe the diet. The more hydrated children drank more water, ate more water-supplying foods and consumed less energy from fat.…”