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Nutrients
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Dietary Habits and Body Composition of Children, Adolescents and Young...
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Dietary Habits and Body Composition of Children, Adolescents and Young Adults

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2024) | Viewed by 5327

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Miriam Garrido Miguel

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Health and Social Research Center, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 16002 Cuenca, Spain
2. Faculty of Nursing, Castilla-La Mancha, 02006 Albacete, Spain
Interests: epidemiology and public health; lifestyle; nutrition; mental health; body composition; physical activity
Dr. Carlos Pascual-Morena

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Health and Social Research Center, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 16002 Cuenca, Spain
2. Faculty of Nursing, Castilla-La Mancha, 02006 Albacete, Spain
Interests: epidemiology; nutrition; nutraceuticals; genetics; pharmacology; physical activity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The relationship between dietary habits and body composition in children, adolescents, and young adults is complex. Research has shown that the types of foods consumed, the overall quality of the diet, and other factors, such as portion size, meal timing, and overall caloric intake, play a significant role in determining body composition parameters.

Establishing healthy eating habits is important during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, given that these behaviors may have cumulative effects on health and tend to continue into adulthood. In this sense, the relationship between dietary habits and body composition in young people is critical and requires attention and intervention. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue of Nutrients is to update the latest evidence on these topics, especially in relation to aspects related to diet and different body composition parameters specifically in the young population.

We are also seeking studies that investigate new approaches or innovative strategies for promoting a healthy lifestyle among youth. This Special Issue is open to original research, reviews, and meta-analyses.

Dr. Miriam Garrido Miguel
Dr. Carlos Pascual-Morena
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • diet
  • eating behaviours
  • obesity
  • overweight
  • fat mass
  • lean mass
  • bone mass
  • young population

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2303 KiB  
Article
Comparing Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, Air Displacement Plethysmography, and Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry for Body Composition in Pediatric Obesity
by Alexandra Thajer, Martin Vasek, Sophie Schneider, Alexandra Kautzky-Willer, Franz Kainberger, Sebastian Durstberger, Andreas Kranzl, Brian Horsak and Susanne Greber-Platzer
Nutrients 2025, 17(6), 971; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17060971 - 10 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1099
Abstract
Background: Body composition analysis is crucial in clinical practice, yet few methods are suitable for pediatric patients, and data on young children with obesity are limited. Methods: This study measured body fat percentage (BFP), fat mass (FM), and fat-free mass (FFM) in 26 [...] Read more.
Background: Body composition analysis is crucial in clinical practice, yet few methods are suitable for pediatric patients, and data on young children with obesity are limited. Methods: This study measured body fat percentage (BFP), fat mass (FM), and fat-free mass (FFM) in 26 pediatric patients with obesity (BMI: 35.6±6.9 kg/m2), using two bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) devices (TANITA and BIACORPUS), and the results were compared to those of the gold-standard dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Additionally, air displacement plethysmography (BODPOD) was compared with DXA, and all methods were evaluated against each other. Results: Significant differences were observed between all methods and parameters (p < 0.05). For example, Bland–Altman analysis for BFP identified differences between BIACORPUS and DXA (mean: −3.5%; 95% limits of agreement: −16.7% to 9.8%) and between TANITA and DXA (mean: −3.1%; 95% limits of agreement: −12.2% to 6.1%). These differences can be regarded as clinically relevant, especially when considering the 95% limits of agreement. Further, moderate differences between BODPOD and DXA were identified, which could be clinically relevant (mean: 2.1%; 95% limits of agreement: −4.2% to 8.5%). Conclusions: TANITA was the most comparable BIA method to the gold standard, DXA. Therefore, TANITA is recommended for assessing body composition in young patients with obesity to monitor therapy progress in clinical settings. When using BODPOD as an alternative to DXA, caution is warranted since we found relevant differences between both methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Habits and Body Composition of Children, Adolescents and Young Adults)
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16 pages, 1033 KiB  
Article
The Association Between Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in University Students: The Mediating Role of Lean Mass and the Muscle Strength Index
by Sofía Alfaro-González, Miriam Garrido-Miguel, Carlos Pascual-Morena, Diana P. Pozuelo-Carrascosa, Rubén Fernández-Rodríguez, José Alberto Martínez-Hortelano, Arthur E. Mesas and Vicente Martínez-Vizcaíno
Nutrients 2025, 17(2), 346; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17020346 - 18 Jan 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1921
Abstract
Background/objectives: recent studies have suggested that components typical of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) are associated with depression and anxiety prevention. In this sense, the main objective of this study was to analyse the associations between adherence to the MedDiet and depression and anxiety [...] Read more.
Background/objectives: recent studies have suggested that components typical of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) are associated with depression and anxiety prevention. In this sense, the main objective of this study was to analyse the associations between adherence to the MedDiet and depression and anxiety symptoms and to examine whether this relationship is mediated by lean mass and the muscle strength index (MSI). Methods: a cross-sectional study (based on data obtained from the Nuts4Brain-Z study) was conducted from 2023–2024, involving 428 university students, aged 18–30 years, from a Spanish public university. Depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and anxiety was assessed via the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) tool. Adherence to the MedDiet was assessed using the MEDAS questionnaire. Lean mass was assessed via bioimpedance, and MSI was measured via a dynamometer. ANCOVA models were used to test the mean differences in depression and anxiety scores using MEDAS categories (low adherence < 9 points vs high adherence ≥ 9 points). Serial multiple mediation models, adjusted for the main confounders, were used to explore the role of lean mass and MSI in the relationships between adherence to the MedDiet and depression and anxiety symptoms. Results: university students with high adherence to the MedDiet exhibited lower scores for depression and anxiety symptoms (p < 0.05) than did students with low adherence to the MedDiet. The mediation analysis preliminarily revealed that both lean mass and MSI acted as mediators of the relationships between adherence to the MedDiet and depression and anxiety. Conclusion:adherence to the MedDiet in university students per se does not appear to have a direct effect on depression and anxiety symptoms because these associations are partially (for depression) or entirely (for anxiety) explained by lean mass and MSI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Habits and Body Composition of Children, Adolescents and Young Adults)
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Graphical abstract

15 pages, 241 KiB  
Article
Interrelation Between BMI, Dietary Habits, Self-Rated Health, and Body Image Perception Among Korean Adolescents: The Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (2022)
by Jeongha Oh, Woo-Lim Mun, Ye-Eun Lee, Su-Yeon Roh and Geunkook Kim
Nutrients 2025, 17(2), 253; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17020253 - 11 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1272
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Adolescent obesity is highly likely to lead to adult obesity and is associated with dietary habits, subjective health, and body image perception. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between BMI, dietary habits, subjective health perception, and body image perception among Korean [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Adolescent obesity is highly likely to lead to adult obesity and is associated with dietary habits, subjective health, and body image perception. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between BMI, dietary habits, subjective health perception, and body image perception among Korean adolescents using data from the 18th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted in 2022 to explore strategies for reducing adolescent obesity rates. Methods: Data from 50,427 participants were analyzed, including BMI, seven lifestyle factors (intake frequencies of water, milk, fruit, soft drinks, vegetables, breakfast, and late-night snacks), and responses to one item each for subjective health perception and body image perception. Results: Higher intake frequencies of breakfast, fruits, soft drinks, and late-night snacks were associated with lower BMI (p < 0.001). However, among high school students, those with lower water and breakfast intake but higher soft drink and late-night snack intake exhibited an increasing trend in BMI. Subjective health perception and body image perception were interrelated, with subjective health perception influencing body image perception (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Addressing nutritional issues within schools, including improving school meals, regulating accessible products, and providing nutritional intake guidelines, is essential. Additionally, developing tailored health education programs to promote healthy body image perceptions is necessary. This study can serve as a foundational resource for analyzing adolescent health and developing strategies to improve health behaviors in changing environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Habits and Body Composition of Children, Adolescents and Young Adults)
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