Food and eating patterns are important cultural and social referents of the different societies. During the past years, dietary habits have been considered social and sanitary indicators of a particular population due to scientific studies related to diet and health condition. The idea of "Mediterranean diet" comes from the eating habits that are traditional part of the culture of certain countries of the Mediterranean area. The fact that every food group, in appropriate proportions, is included in the Mediterranean diet has aroused great nutritional interest, being its main focus the balance calorie and nutrient intake through the combination of fruits and vegetables, pasta and rice, legumes, dairy products, fish and red meat and olive oil as cooking fat.
In addition to this recognition of the Mediterranean diet as a prototype of varied and nutritional diet, it has been observed that it contributes to prevent cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, etc. and, overall, to a higher life expectancy.
However, it is outstanding the series of changes that society is going through nowadays and it affects as well the feeding habits of the population through the industrialization of the food chain or the mass production of processed food. The acceptance of a dietary pattern that allows an excessive intake of food from animal origin, specially meat and derivatives, and added sugars has meant a detriment of the intake of cereals, vegetables and fruits leading to an increase of saturated fat and cholesterol in diet.
This damage of dietary patterns in society has begun a fear of the disappearance of Mediterranean diet. This fear highly justifies the study of the quality of feeding habits in general population and the focus on the most sensitive sectors such as children and youth.
The aim of this book is to evaluate the dietary pattern of a young population which includes children and undergraduates from a Mediterranean area, as well as to analyze their energy and nutrient intake in order to create nutrition intervention strategies.
All authors included in every chapter are M.D.

Preface vii

Chapter 1 Catch-Up on Very Low Birth Weight Infants 1

Chapter 2 Adherence to Mediterranean Diet in Students of Compulsory Secondary Education (13-16 Years) 15

Chapter 3 Natural Evolution of Excess Body Weight (Overweight and Obesity) in Children 27

Chapter 4 Dietary Patterns in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Treated with Extended-Release Methylphenidate 41

Chapter 5 Dietary Pattern in Schoolchildren with Normal Nutritional Status in Navarre, Spain 53

Chapter 6 Tracking of Overweight and Obesity in Childhood and Its Impact on Adolescents 71

Chapter 7 The Contribution of Milk and Dairy Products to Nutrient Intake in Children (9-12 Years) and Adolescents (13-16 Years) 85

Chapter 8 Nutritional Analysis of Breakfast on Rising and Mid-Morning Snack in an Undergraduate Population 97

Chapter 9 Intake of Milk and Dairy Products in an Undergraduate Population 115

Chapter 10 Quality of Dietary Habits (Adherence to Mediterranean Diet) in an Undergraduate Population 129

Editor's Contact Information 143

Index 145

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