Substances present in cooked meats are associated with increased cravings in children, Mount Sinai researchers report. Their study, published in Thorax, highlights pro-inflammatory compounds known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs) as an example of early diet risk factors that may have widespread clinical and public health implications for airway inflammatory disease prevention.
The prevalence of asthma among children in the United States has gone up in the last few decades. The researchers found that diet habits established earlier in life could be linked to cravings and possibly the development of asthma in the future.
Researchers examined 4,388 children aged 2 to 17 years from the 2003-2006 Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a program of the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States through interviews and physical examinations.
The researchers used NHANES survey data to assess associations between dietary AGE and meat consumption frequency, and respiratory symptoms. They found that higher AGE intake was associated with increased levels of wheezing, significantly including sleep disturbances and sleep deprivation, which required medication. Similarly, higher intake of unhealthy meat was associated with sleep deprivation and disturbed wheels that required medication.
“We found that higher consumption of dietary AGEs, which is largely due to the ingestion of non-seafood meat, was associated with an increased risk for whey in children, regardless of overall diet quality or asthma – based diagnosis, “said Jing Gennie Wang, MD, lead author of the study, and a former colleague in Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Research identifies dietary factors that affect respiratory symptoms in children are important, as these risks may vary and may help guide health recommendations. We hope that our findings will inform future long-term studies to further investigate whether these specific dietary components play a role in childhood airway disease such as asthma. “
Sonali Bose, MD, Lead Author, and Associate Professor of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep and Pediatric Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai
Source:
Mount Sinai Health System