THE ROLE OF DIETARY FIBERS IN CHILDREN’S HEALTH

Volume 9, Issue 1, February 2024     |     PP. 127-135      |     PDF (352 K)    |     Pub. Date: December 6, 2016
DOI:    397 Downloads     4019 Views  

Author(s)

Ieda Regina Lopes Del Ciampo, Professor, Department of Medicine, Federal University of São Carlos
Luiz Antonio Del Ciampo, Professor, Department of Puericulture and Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto

Abstract
Dietary fiber (DF) is a polymer of high molecular weight carbohydrates which are not hydrolyzed by endogenous enzymes in the intestine of human beings, which are found in food and which have physiological effects beneficial for health. The major sources of DF are of plant origin: cereals, legumes, fruits, vegetables and tubercles. DF can be classified in soluble (pectins, hemicelluloses, inulin, gums, mucilage, psyllium, and glucomannan] and insoluble (cellulose, hemicellulose, methylcellulose, lignin, and synthetic fibers) and has the ability to retain toxic substances ingested or produced in the alimentary tract during digestive processes, to reduce intestinal transit time, to promote rapid elimination of the fecal bolus, to reduce the time of contact of the intestinal mucosa with carcinogenic and mutagenic substances, to increase the microbial biomass, to reduce the pH of the medium, and to form protective substances by means of bacterial fermentation of food compounds. Although the literature has reported several effects of the intake of DF (reduction of coronary diseases, control of arterial hypertension, dyslipidemias, diabetes, cerebrovascular accidents, gastrointestinal disease, and cancer), little is known about the effect of DF on children’s health. The objective of the present study was to describe the main characteristics of DF, its role in the diet and its effects in the presence of two very common problems in the pediatric age range, i.e., constipation and obesity.

Keywords
dietary fibers – nutrition – children’s nutrition - puericulture

Cite this paper
Ieda Regina Lopes Del Ciampo, Luiz Antonio Del Ciampo, THE ROLE OF DIETARY FIBERS IN CHILDREN’S HEALTH , SCIREA Journal of Clinical Medicine. Volume 9, Issue 1, February 2024 | PP. 127-135.

References

[ 1 ] Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Health Implications of Dietary Fiber J Acad Nutr Diet 2015;115:1861-70.
[ 2 ] Howlett JF, Betteridge VA, Champ M, Craig SA, Meheust A, Jones JM. The definition of dietary fiber – discussions at the Ninth Wahouny Fiber Symposium: building scientific agreement. Food Nutr Res 2010;54:5750-5.
[ 3 ] Hutkins RW, Krumbeck JA, Bindles LB, Cani PD, Fahey Jr G, Goh YJ et al. Prebiotics: why definitions matter. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2016;37:1-7.
[ 4 ] Wang Y. Prebiotics: present and future in food science and technology. Food Res Int 2009;42:8-12.
[ 5 ] Xu Q, Chao YL, Wan QB. Health benefit application of functional oligossacharides. Carbohydr Poly 2009;77:435-41.
[ 6 ] Seal CJ, Nugent AP, Tee E, Thielecke F. Whole-grain dietary recommendations: the need for a unified global approach. B J Nutr 2016;115:2031-8.
[ 7 ] Mackowiak K, Torlinska-Walkowiak N, Torlinska B. Dietary fibre as an important constituent of the diet. Postepy Hig Med Dosw 2016;70:104-9.
[ 8 ] Vandenplas Y, De Gree FE, Veereman G. Prebiotics in infant formula. Gut microbes 2014;5:681-7.
[ 9 ] Fuller S, Beck E, Salman H, Tapsell L. New horizons for the study of dietary fiber and health: a review. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 2016;71:1-12.
[ 10 ] Dhingra D, Michael M, Rajput H, Patil RT. Dietary fibre in foods: a review. J Food Sci Technol 2012;49:255-66.
[ 11 ] Alexiou A, Franck A. Prebiotic inulin-type fructans: nutritional benefits beyond dietary fibre source. Nutr Bull 2008;33:226-33.
[ 12 ] Pandey KR, Naik SR, Vakil BV. Probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics – a review. J Food Sci Technol 2015;52:7577-87.
[ 13 ] Bernaud FSR, Rodrigues TC. Dietary fiber – Adequate intake and effects on metabolism health. Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab 2013;57:397-405.
[ 14 ] Svaran S, Muir J, Chey WD. Fiber and functional gastrointestinal disorders. Am J Gastroenterol 2013;108:718-27.
[ 15 ] Academy of Nutritional and Dietetics. Position of the Academy of Nutritional and Dietetics: Health implication of dietary fiber. J Acad Nutr Diet 2015;115:1861-70.
[ 16 ] Institute of Medicine. (2006) Dietary reference intakes; the essential guide to nutrient requirements. National Academy Press, Washington (DC).
[ 17 ] Otles S, Ozgoz S. Health effects of dietary fibers. Acta Sci Pol Technol Aliment 2014;13:191-202..
[ 18 ] Threapleton DE, Greenwood DC, Evans CE, Cleghorn CL, Nykjaer C, Woodhead C et al. Dietary fiber intake and risk of cardiovascular disease: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ 2013;347:1-12.
[ 19 ] Seyedamini B, Malek A, Moradi A, Ebrahimi-Mameghani M. Relationship between obesity/overweight and internalized behavior problems in elementary Schools Girls. Med J Tabriz Univ Med Sci Health 2010;31:40–4.
[ 20 ] Shinozaki K, Okuda M, Sasaki S, Kunitsugu I, Shigeta M. Dietary fiber consumption decrease the risk of overweight and hypercholesterolemia in Japanese children. Ann Nutr Metab 2015;67:58-64.
[ 21 ] Gijssel RMA, Braun KVE, Jong JCK, Jaddoe VWV, Franco OH, Voortman T. Associations between dietary fiber intake in infancy and cardiometabolic health at school age: The Generation R study. Nutrients 2016;8:531-45.
[ 22 ] Mugie SM, Benninga MA, Di Lorenzo C. Epidemiology of constipation in children and adults: a systematic review. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 2011;25:3-18.
[ 23 ] Kaugars AS, Silverman A, Kinservik M. Families’ perspectives on the effect of constipation and fecal incontinence on quality of life. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2010;51:747-52.
[ 24 ] Schmier JK, Miller PE, Levine JA, Perez V, Maki KC, Rains TM et al. Cost savings of reduced constipation rates attributed to increased dietary fiber intakes: a decision-analytic model. BMC Public Health 2014;14:374
[ 25 ] Chan MF, Chan YL. Investigating factors associated with functional constipation of pri-mary school children in Hong Kong. J Clin Nurs 2010;19:3390–3400.
[ 26 ] Kranz S, Brauchla M, Slavin JL, Miller KB. What do we know about dietary fiber intake in children and health? The effects of fiber intake on constipation, obesity, and diabetes in children. Adv Nutr 2012;3:47-53.
[ 27 ] Zaslavsky C, Reverbel da Silveira T, Maguilnik I. Total and segmental colonic transit time with radio-opaque markers in adolescents with functional constipation. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 1998;27:138–42.
[ 28 ] Oozeer R, van Limpt K, Ludwig T, Ben Amor K, Martin R, Wind RD, Boehm G, Knol J. Intestinal microbiology in early life: specific prebiotics can have similar functionalities as human-milk oligosaccharides. Am J Clin Nut 2013;98:561S-71S.
[ 29 ] Loening-Baucke V, Miele E, Staiano A. Fiber (glucomannan) is beneficial in the treatment of childhood constipation. Pediatrics 2004113:e259-64.
[ 30 ] Phatak UP, Pashanka DS. Prevalence of functional gastrointestinal disorders in obese and overweight children. Int J Obesity 2014;38:1324-7.
[ 31 ] Papandreou D, Karabouta Z, Pantoleon A, Rousso I. Investigation of anthropometric, biochemical and dietary parameters of obese children with and without non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Appetite 2012;59:939-44.
[ 32 ] Erejuwa OO, Sulalman SA, Wahab MSA. Modulation of gut microbiota in the management of metabolic disorders: the prospects and challenges. In t J Mol Sci 2014;15:4158-88.
[ 33 ] Whisner CM, Martin BR, Schoteeman MH, Nakatsu CH, McCabe LD, MacCabe GP et al. Galacto-oligossaccharides increase calcium absorption and gut bifidobacteria in young girls: a double-blind cross-over trial. Br J Nutr 2013;110:1292-1303.
[ 34 ] Slavin J. Fiber and prebiotics: mechanisms and health benefits. Nutrients 2013;5:1417-35.
[ 35 ] Donath MY, Shoelson SE. Type 2 diabetes as an inflammatory disease. Nat Rev Immu-nol 2011;11:98–107.
[ 36 ] Xu G, Zhou Z, Zhu W, Fan X, Liu X. Plasma C-reactive protein is related to cognitive deterioration and dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment. J Neurol Sci 2009;284:77–80.
[ 37 ] Khandekar MJ, Cohen P, Spiegelman BM . Molecular mechanisms of cancer develop-ment in obesity. Nat Rev Cancer 2011;11:886–95.
[ 38 ] Fardet A. New hypotheses for the health-protective mechanisms of whole-grain cereals: what is beyond fibre? Nutr Res Rev 2010;23:65–134.
[ 39 ] Ambrosini GL, Emmett PM, Northstone K. Identification of a dietary pattern prospec-tively associated with increased adiposity in childhood and adolescence. Int J Obes 2012;36:1299-1305.
[ 40 ] Edwards CA, Xie C, Garcia AL. Dietary fibre and health in children and adolescents. Proc Nutr Soc 2015;74:292-302.
[ 41 ] WHO. Global strategy on diet, physical activity, and health. Geneva:2013.