The Decreasing Trend in Dietary Glycaemic Index and Glycaemic Load in Australian Children and Adolescents between 1995 and 2012

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 10; no. 9; p. 1312
• Main Authors: Yeung, Chris Ho Ching, Kusnadi, Devina Tri Lestrai, Barclay, Alan Winston, Brand-Miller, Jennie Cecile, Louie, Jimmy Chun Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 16.09.2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Adolescents; Age Factors; Australia; Australian children and adolescents; Beverages; Bread; Carbohydrates; Child; Child Behavior; Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Child, Preschool; Children; Data collection; Degenerative diseases; Diet - adverse effects; Diet - trends; Diet Surveys; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food; Fruit juices; Glucose; glycaemic index; glycaemic load; Glycemic Index; Glycemic Load; Health education; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health risks; Health surveys; Humans; Immigrants; Male; national nutrition surveys; Nutrition; Nutritional Status; Nutritive Value; Obesity; Polls & surveys; Potatoes; Quality; Recommended Dietary Allowances - trends; Response rates; Risk factors; Science; Teenagers; Time Factors; trend analysis; Trends; Variance analysis; Australia; glycaemic load; national nutrition surveys; Australian children and adolescents; trend analysis; glycaemic index
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu10091312

This study aims to examine whether there were changes between 1995⁻2012 in the dietary glycaemic index (dGI) and glycaemic load (dGL) in Australian children (<16 years) according to three national surveys in 1995 (1995NS), 2007 (2007NS), and 2011⁻2012 (2012NS). Glycaemic index (GI) values of foods were assigned using published methodology. Plausible 24-h recall data from the 1995NS, 2007NS and 2012NS (weighted = 2475, 4373 and 1691 respectively) were compared for differences in dGI and dGL, and the contribution to dGL from different foods using one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc comparisons and linear regression. Decreasing trends across surveys were found in dGI and dGL ( < 0.001). Between 1995 and 2012, dGI and dGL per Megajoule (MJ) dropped by 2% and 6% respectively. The per capita dGL contribution from breads and bread rolls, fruit and vegetable juices, sweetened beverages and potatoes showed strong decreasing trends ( ² 0.7). Our findings suggest that dGI and dGL of Australian youths declined between 1995 to 2012, which may be due to increased awareness of the GI concept and healthy diet, widened food choices and immigrants with diverse dietary habits. This may lower the future risks of chronic degenerative diseases in Australian youths.