In my February column, I discussed the importance of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) and the impact they have on the entire potato industry. Although the government released the 2015-2020 DGAs just a few weeks ago, the groundwork is being laid for the developing the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The DGAs are always controversial, but the 2020 DGAs could set a new record. That’s because these guidelines, for the first time, will include federal nutrition policy for infants and toddlers from birth to 24 months of age. Attention also will focus on the infant feeding practices by caregivers, especially low-income mothers who participate in federally funded nutrition assistance programs, such as WIC.
The process to develop guidelines for babies and toddlers began in 2012 with the creation of a federal working group that spanned multiple agencies within the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA). The objective of the multi-agency project—named the Birth to 24-month Project (B-24)—was to compile the scientific evidence and identify research gaps on nutrient needs and dietary patterns of our youngest children, as well as the feeding practices of their caregivers. The outcome of B-24 will incorporate dietary recommendations for children in this age group in the 2020 DGAs. USDA and other federal regulatory agencies will use these guidelines to develop regulations specific to WIC.
With a vision toward the 2020 DGAs, in November 2014, APRE collaborated with the Baylor College of Medicine/USDA Children’s Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) to examine various aspects of children’s vegetable consumption in an invitational scientific roundtable, “Science and Policy: Adopting a Fruitful Vegetable Encounter for Our Children.” The review papers and original research presented at the roundtable were published together as a supplement in the January 2016 issue of Advances in Nutrition and the January/February issue of Nutrition Today, both peer-reviewed journals.
While there isn’t enough space to summarize thoroughly each of the published papers, I will focus on a few of them, including three original studies that are certain to be of interest to potato growers and processors. First, Dr. Theresa Nicklas of the Bayer College of Medicene/CNRC and her colleagues conducted a complicated analysis using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to determine the effect on children’s potassium intake if potatoes were replaced with other vegetables. Since potatoes—with or without the skin—are a very rich source of potassium, the researchers concluded that replacing potatoes with other vegetables could reduce intake of this key nutrient.
Second, also using NHANES, Patricia Anderson and I published an original research study finding that children one to three years of age had excessive intakes of most nutrients, except potassium, dietary fiber and vitamin D. Our study set the record straight that children in this age group do not consume enough vegetables, including starchy vegetables such as potatoes.
Researchers from Texas A&M University presented more results of the APRE-supported plate waste study. The Texas A&M team found that potatoes served in schools were wasted the least of all vegetables and therefore delivered more nutrition for less cost than did other vegetables. What’s the message? Potatoes delivered a “win-win-win”: less waste and cost for schools, more nutrition that parents want and a tasty meal that children enjoy eating.
In addition, Dr. Julie Mennella, a biopsychologist from Monell Chemical Senses Center, discussed the research showing that a baby’s “learning to like” different tastes appear to begin in utero. Foods eaten by the mother during breastfeeding potentially serve as a flavor bridge to the liking of the flavor in the solid foods during late infancy and toddlerhood. The caregivers’ role in encouraging vegetable consumption has its challenges. Dr. Susan Johnson, professor of pediatrics from the University of Colorado, published that toddlers have an innate aversion to new foods, especially vegetables that may have bitter flavors. Finally, Dr. Harvey Anderson from the University of Toronto explained how hormonal changes during puberty influence food regulation in the pre-adolescent. Consumption of carbohydrates influences the rate of stomach emptying and satiety signals to the brain.
As we look ahead and prepare for the 2020 DGAs, the papers published from the Baylor Roundtable, as well as other studies supported by APRE, will reinforce the important nutritive value provided by potatoes for all ages, including babies and toddlers.