| Description |
Nutrition management is crucial to the health of children and adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome. However, minimal evidenced-based information is available to provide health care professionals with specific nutrient-based recommendations and guidelines for assessing diet quality for individuals in the Prader-Willi syndrome population. With tight control of energy intake and maintenance of a healthy weight, lifespan can be that of a typically developing individual. Therefore, more research is needed on dietary quality in the Prader-Willi syndrome population. This pilot study analyzed diet quality in children and adolescents aged 10-16 years with Prader-Willi syndrome (N=6). Diet recalls were collected using the Automated Self-administered 24-hour Recall (ASA24) system, developed by the National Cancer Institute. Diet quality was determined from the recalls using the Healthy Eating Index-2010 criteria. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and means, were computed for demographic and socioeconomic information, food-related behaviors, physical activity levels, and Healthy Eating Index-2010 scores. The independent samples t-test was used to compare Healthy Eating Index-2010 mean total scores between the study participants and the 2007-2008 NHANES reference population. The Healthy Eating Index-2010 mean score was significantly higher for the study participants with Prader-Willi syndrome, as compared to that of the 2007-2008 NHANES reference population (N=2703) (66.9 vs. 49.8, p<0.001). In summary, this study provides preliminary data on the dietary quality of children and adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome. Further research, with larger sample sizes, is needed to understand diet quality and potentially apply the information to optimize evidenced-based nutrition recommendations that promote appropriate growth outcomes for children and adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome. |
