BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam//NONSGML v1.0//EN NAME:PhD defence V. Rashid METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20260121T154500 DTEND:20260121T171500 DTSTAMP:20260121T154500 UID:phd-defence-v-rashid@8F96275E-9F55-4B3F-A143-836282E12573 CREATED:20260925T010037 LOCATION: SUMMARY:PhD defence V. Rashid X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Dietary patterns in children

The rising prevalence of overweight and (severe) obesity among young children remains a major societal problem. Overwe ight and obesity are more common in children of non-Dutch descent and with a lower socioeconomic status (SEP). A healthy diet contributes to healthy weight development in childhood and a healthy weight in ad ulthood. However, little is known about ethnic and socioeconomic diff erences in children's diets and how these diets influence body weight and body composition later in life. Therefore, Viyan Rashid investig ated:
1. Which dietary patterns can be defined in 5-year-old child ren using different dietary pattern definition methods?
2. Are cer tain dietary patterns more common in children of a certain ethnic or socioeconomic background?
3. To what extent are the defined dietar y patterns associated with BMI and body composition later in life?
Five-year-old children in our cohort consume dietary patterns that c an be labeled as healthy, unhealthy, traditional, and a pattern in wh ich the intake of whole and low-fat food groups was relevant. Nutriti onal intake is suboptimal, and only whole-grain products meet current dietary guidelines.

Children of non-Dutch descent, with less e ducated mothers and fathers, from families with lower household finan ces, and from neighborhoods with a lower socioeconomic status (SES) a re more likely to consume unhealthy diets. The mother's education lev el was the strongest socioeconomic predictor of unhealthy diets.

< p>Viyan Rashid observed contradictory and unexpected associations bet ween dietary patterns and BMI and body composition later in life. Sur prisingly, a high score for a healthy diet or a diet with a high inta ke of low-fat and healthy foods led to higher weight gain in most gro ups, while a high score for a high-fat diet led to lower weight gain.
It is important that public health continues to focus on healthy weight and weight gain, particularly for children of non-Dutch descen t and/or a lower socioeconomic status, to prevent overweight and obes ity.

The suboptimal nutritional intake in our cohort argues for changes in children's current food environment. We found that all so cioeconomic factors, including neighborhood socioeconomic status, inf luence unhealthy snacking patterns (intake of both savory and sweet s nacks). And an unfavorable financial situation can override the influ ence of the mother's education level. Children with a non-Dutch backg round and/or lower socioeconomic status are more likely to live in ne ighborhoods with a lower socioeconomic status, where there is greater access to fast food and advertisements for unhealthy foods.

Th is study also demonstrates the relevance of further research to explo re the association between healthy, high-fat, and low-fat diets and w eight gain.

More information on the thesis

DESCRIPTION: Dietary patterns in children The rising prevalence of ove rweight and (severe) obesity among young children remains a major soc ietal problem. Overweight and obesity are more common in children of non-Dutch descent and with a lower socioeconomic status (SEP). A heal thy diet contributes to healthy weight development in childhood and a healthy weight in adulthood. However, little is known about ethnic a nd socioeconomic differences in children's diets and how these diets influence body weight and body composition later in life. Therefore, Viyan Rashid investigated:
1. Which dietary patterns can be define d in 5-year-old children using different dietary pattern definition m ethods?
2. Are certain dietary patterns more common in children of a certain ethnic or socioeconomic background?
3. To what extent a re the defined dietary patterns associated with BMI and body composit ion later in life?
Five-year-old children in our cohort consume di etary patterns that can be labeled as healthy, unhealthy, traditional , and a pattern in which the intake of whole and low-fat food groups was relevant. Nutritional intake is suboptimal, and only whole-grain products meet current dietary guidelines.Children of non-Dutch descen t, with less educated mothers and fathers, from families with lower h ousehold finances, and from neighborhoods with a lower socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to consume unhealthy diets. The mother's education level was the strongest socioeconomic predictor of unhealt hy diets.Viyan Rashid observed contradictory and unexpected associati ons between dietary patterns and BMI and body composition later in li fe. Surprisingly, a high score for a healthy diet or a diet with a hi gh intake of low-fat and healthy foods led to higher weight gain in m ost groups, while a high score for a high-fat diet led to lower weigh t gain.
It is important that public health continues to focus on h ealthy weight and weight gain, particularly for children of non-Dutch descent and/or a lower socioeconomic status, to prevent overweight a nd obesity.The suboptimal nutritional intake in our cohort argues for changes in children's current food environment. We found that all so cioeconomic factors, including neighborhood socioeconomic status, inf luence unhealthy snacking patterns (intake of both savory and sweet s nacks). And an unfavorable financial situation can override the influ ence of the mother's education level. Children with a non-Dutch backg round and/or lower socioeconomic status are more likely to live in ne ighborhoods with a lower socioeconomic status, where there is greater access to fast food and advertisements for unhealthy foods.This stud y also demonstrates the relevance of further research to explore the association between healthy, high-fat, and low-fat diets and weight g ain.More information on the thesis END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR