Seesaw Science: Balancing Kids Calories

By Donna Berry, Contributing Editor

With Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, reporting that approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of U.S. children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 are obese, many blame the food industry for making too many calorically dense, nutrient-void junk" foods readily available. Even real" food and beverage options are not always the best choice when it comes to balancing the seesaw of calorie intake and output, as most of todays youth continue to prefer chicken nuggets, mac-and-cheese and soda pop to broiled fish, steamed rice and fat-free white milk. As a result, product designers are trying to reduce the calorie content of kids favorite foods and beverages, as well as develop new low-calorie options, in order to help the next generation of adults slim down and reduce their risk of developing chronic diet-related diseases.

The epidemic of obesity among children and adolescents is now widely regarded as one of the most important public health problems in the United States," according to Jill Reedy and Susan Krebs-Smith, both of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, and authors of an article that appeared in the October 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association (110(10):1,477-1,484). Most experts agree that the solution will involve changes in both diet and physical activity, in order to affect energy balance. For diet, this means a reduction in energy from current consumption levels."

Mary Lynne Shafer, manager, beverage strategy and business development, Corn Products International, West Chester, IL, says: Balance is the key for kids caloric consumption. Kids need calories, but the balance is choosing the right calories that will nourish their growth."

Reedy and Krebs-Smith found that the top sources of energy for kids and adolescents were grain desserts, pizza and soda, with nearly 40% of total calories consumed by this demographic in the form of empty calories from solid fat and from added sugars. Product reformulation alone is not sufficient, according to the authors. The flow of such empty calories into the food supply must be reduced.

Hence, as Eric Reamer, associate industry manager, beverage and confectionery, Danisco USA Inc., New Century, KS, explains, The most common calorie-reduction strategies for foods and beverages targeted to kids are full or partial replacement of sugar, fat or both."

How sweet it is

A childs affinity toward sweet foods begins at birth with their moms milk, which has a slightly sweet profile that a baby becomes fond of very quickly. Finding comfort in sweet foods often remains for many throughout their adult life. The good news is that modern food science allows for the source of sweetness to be modified.

Sugar can often be replaced with high-intensity sweeteners, which typically contribute zero calories," says Reamer. In many cases, this allows formulators to target specific calorie-reduction goals while maintaining sensory acceptance. This strategy is especially effective in beverages, where the volume removed when replacing sugar can be added back as water and possibly a small amount of hydrocolloid to provide texture.

It is more difficult in food formulations, where the bulk typically must be replaced with another ingredient, which also likely contributes calories," Reamer continues. For example, adding back bulk with maltodextrin or dextrose may lead to a product with reduced sugar but approximately the same amount of calories as a full-sugar version." This is exemplified in many of the original sweet treats for diabetics, where product packaging included phrases such as: Sugar free. Not a low-calorie food." 

In order to get a net-calorie reduction, reduced-calorie ingredients must be used instead," Reamer says. This is often found in carbohydrates defined as sugar alcohols and fiber."

One common bulking agent is the all-natural sugar alcohol erythritol, which is manufactured by the fermentation of corn. Because of its chemical structure, it is not fully metabolized, resulting in negligible caloric contributions (about 0.2 calories per gram) to most applications. However, erythritol is about 60% less sweet than table sugar while having a bulk density similar to sugar in crystalline or powder form. Because of the lower sweetness level, it pairs well with high-intensity sweeteners to deliver a well-rounded flavor profile with sugar mouthfeel and functionality.

Another common source of solids is polydextrose, which is obtained from thermal polymerization of glucose. Polydextrose is classified as a digestion-resistant oligosaccharide, contributing a mere one calorie per gram. It is used to provide body and texture to reduced-calorie, no-added-sugar and sugar-free foods. Its relative sweetness to sugar is practically zero, thus it is usually used in combination with high-intensity sweeteners and together they can replace all or part of the caloric sweetener in a product formulation.

It is well known that there is a big push for all-natural ingredients right now, and more and more options are becoming available for natural, reduced-calorie sugar alternatives," says Reamer. Stevia-based sweeteners, monk fruit extract and certain sugar alcohols are several that are currently gaining momentum in this area. If natural is a requirement, these options are well-suited to many applications. However, these are typically priced significantly higher than their synthetic alternatives while offering the same level of calorie-reduction potential."

Though many sugar-replacement systems are not allowed in foods served through the National School Lunch Program, formulators are finding that parents are open to many sweetener and bulking-agent combinations when the end result is a reduction in calories. Formulators are increasingly relying on blends of nutritive (caloric) and non-nutritive (high-intensity) sweeteners to achieve a desirable sweet taste and functionality in the finished product.

To fully understand parents attitudes about sweeteners in childrens products, Tate & Lyle, Decatur, IL, commissioned a consumer study to gauge parents level of comfort with a variety of sweeteners.

Tate & Lyles research found 72% of parents generally accept the use of no-calorie sweeteners to reduce sugar for their children ages 3 to 15," said Dave Tuchler, vice president of global marketing. More specifically, when parents were presented with ingredient and nutritional information for two flavored-milk formulas, 8 out of 10 parents preferred a chocolate milk drink that was lower in calories and sugar and that had been sweetened with a combination of sugar and sucralose, compared to a typical low-fat flavored milk."

Reducing added fat

With fat contributing 9 calories per gram, direct replacement of fat with any other food ingredient results in an automatic reduction in calories, as traditional carbohydrates and proteins provide 4 calories per gram, and unique, modified versions often provide even less.  

In some applications, partial fat replacement can be accomplished using a variety of hydrocolloids or even polydextrose," says Reamer. These ingredients can mimic the sensory characteristics of a full-fat product."

Pat OBrien, marketing manager, bakery, National Starch Food Innovation, part of Corn Products International, Bridgewater, NJ, says: When you reduce fat and build back texture using starch-based texturants, you are often able to replace fat and oil at a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio. The fat mimetic attributes of the texturizer allow you to build back the full-fat eating experience." 

Most fat-replacement systems are based on water-binding principles. After all, water is naturally calorie-free and relatively inexpensive, making carefully manipulated carbohydrates and proteins that bind water an attractive solution for reducing fat and calories from kids food products.

We recently launched a clean-label, specialty wheat flour derived from a unique variety of waxy wheat that allows for the reduction of costly fat ingredients in indulgent baked goods while maintaining consumer-expected product taste, texture and quality," says OBrien. The ingredient can help improve the nutritional profile by reducing total calories, calories from fat and grams of fat per serving. For example, in a standard industry brownie formulation, a 25% reduction in fat led to a decrease in 20 total calories and calories from fat per 28-gram serving."

Most children love crunchy, high-fat fried foods, but there is a push to reduce these types of items for healthier kids fare. We have texture ingredients for coatings that help retain crispness in baked breaded products, such as chicken nuggets," says OBrien. These ingredients help mimic fried coatings with less fat overall."

Flavored milks are big business with kids, as milk is an economical nutrient-dense food that has proven to be an easy way to get kids to consume important vitamins and minerals. In addition to the controversies surrounding the sugar content of flavored milk, fat content, too, is often criticized. But fat influences mouthfeel.

We have ingredients that allow for no fat in flavored milk, as they build back the creaminess of milkfat without the empty calories," says Sue Mutz-Darwell, senior market development manager, texture, National Starch Food Innovation. These co-texturizers enhance mouthcoating and meltaway."

A similar strategy can be used with mac and cheese and other cheese sauces for pasta. We can reduce the fat by reducing the cream or butter in the cheese sauce, and building back the appearance and eating experience by using a customized texturant system," suggests Mutz-Darwell.

Beyond sugar and fat

There are other ways to reduce calories beyond manipulating sugar and fat content. For example, in pasta, a favorite food for most kids, nutritionally challenged noodles made from refined flour can become nutrition powerhouses with the use of whole grains and fiber food ingredients.

High-fiber, whole-wheat pasta can be used to replace macaroni in mac-and-cheese products," says Jit Ang, executive vice president of research and development, International Fiber Corp., North Tonanwanda, NY. We have made high-fiber pasta enriched with wheat fiber that provides 60 fewer calories per serving when compared to regular pasta. Besides nutritional benefits, fiber can increase the rate of pasta extrusion, resulting in faster cooking times."

Pizza is another kid-friendly food that can benefit from added fiber. We also can make high-fiber, reduced-calorie pizza using combinations of different fibers to achieve both functional and economical benefits," says Ang. An approximate 40% calorie reduction is possible, delivering 5 grams of fiber per serving." This is accomplished by adding different fibers to the varying pizza components, including the crust, sauce, cheese and meat topping.

Using these fibers in different pizza components also offers other benefits, including better dough handling, improved sauce cling, free-flowing cheese shreds and reduced shrinkage in the meat," says Ang. Cost savings and improved cook yield are also often realized.

Fiber food ingredients can also be used to reduce the fat and calories in hot dogs and buns," Ang says. Besides a calorie reduction, other advantages include shelf-life extension, increased cooked yield and enhanced juiciness in the frankfurters.

Ang adds that Setting a target for maximum calories per serving for some food products may not be as easy as it is for some products, since the preservation of desired eating attributes is paramount."

Remember, kids have always been picky eaters. Are you up for the seesaw challenge?

Donna Berry, president of Chicago-based Dairy & Food Communications, Inc., a network of professionals in business-to-business technical and trade communications, has been writing about product development and marketing for 13 years. Prior to that, she worked for Kraft Foods in the natural-cheese division. She has a B.S. in Food Science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She can be reached at [email protected].

Stealth Health

The average child in the United States only eats about 40% of the government's daily recommended vegetable intake. It may sound a little sneaky, but incorporating vegetables into kid-approved foods is a sure-fire way to ensure theyre getting the nutrition they need, and depending on the product, make a dent in the calorie count. Cathy Katavich, director of specialty vegetables, Olam Spices & Vegetable Ingredients, Summit, NJ, offers the following stealth-health ideas for making sure the kids are all right for the long haul.

Macaroni and cheese: Add colorful diced vegetables like bell peppers, corn and zucchini. Or, for a more stealth version that adds vibrant color and spicy heat, add puréed red bell peppers and mild chiles to the cheese sauce.

Potatoes: To add vegetable nutrition to kids favorite vegetable, mix frozen or refrigerated mashed potatoes with corn, diced carrots, peppers and/or onions; fill a frozen baked potato with vegetable filling like creamed spinach, zucchini in tomato sauce or Southwestern corn and black beans with green chiles; mix diced tomatoes and corn into potato matrix for potato nuggets; or make "mater" tots by filling breaded potato nuggets with tomato sauce or seasoned tomato dices, corn, black beans and diced green chili.

Spaghetti and meatballs: Add diced vegetables, or puréed red bell peppers to tomato sauce. Or, add diced vegetables like onions, peppers and chiles to meatballs.

Smoothies: Add spinach purée to a blueberry smoothie for added antioxidants and fiber.

Energy bars: Add dehydrated peppers, carrots, tomatoes or a blend of these into a grain-based bar for a slightly sweet snack with no vegetable" flavor.

Fruit leather: Create vegetable leather" snacks with peppers or tomatoes, or add vegetable purées to the fruit purées for a fusion" leather.

Filled appetizers: Package mozzarella sticks with a tomato-based sauce, or mix mozzarella with diced vegetables and form into sticks. Other kid-friendly snacks include mini egg rolls with all-vegetable fillings.

Breakfast: Make egg patties with spinach or chopped bell peppers for a breakfast sandwich. Substituting spinach for sausage reduces fat and increases fiber. Mix scrambled eggs for a breakfast burrito with fire-roasted zucchini, onions and pepper.

Filled pasta: Add tomato or bell pepper purée to cheese filling for ravioli, a great stealth" opportunity.