Dietary Fibre in Children – The Impact of Inulin on Health
Dietary fibre is important for child health, yet most UK children fail to meet recommended intakes. This public health issue may have significant implications for gut health, metabolic regulation, and long-term disease prevention. While dietary guidelines recognise the importance of fibre, a key component, inulin, is often overlooked in dietary assessments, meaning its contribution to total fibre intake remains largely invisible.
This session will provide healthcare professionals with an evidence-based understanding of dietary fibre, from its physiological effects to current intake levels in UK children. Dr Gabriela Morillo-Santander will present her research, a feasibility study on estimating inulin intake in school-aged children. You will explore where inulin is found in the typical UK child’s diet, its potential health benefits, and why its inclusion in dietary assessments matters for public health nutrition.
Join Gabriela to:
- Understand the definition, classification, and physiological effects of dietary fibre, and how current recommendations compare to real-world intakes in UK children.
- Discover the role of inulin as a prebiotic fibre, including its main food sources and its contribution to total fibre intake based on recent research.
- Identify key challenges and practical actions to improve fibre and inulin intake in children, with implications for policy and practice.
Curriculum
- 1 Section
- 1 Lesson
- Lifetime
- Dietary Fibre in Children - The Impact of Inulin on Health1
Instructor
Dr Gabriela Morillo-Santander is a dietitian and UK-registered nutritionist (ANutr) with a PhD in Human Nutrition and an MSc in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Glasgow. Her doctoral research focused on dietary fibre in children, including a feasibility study to estimate inulin intake and its contribution to total fibre in UK school-aged children, recently published in Nutrition Bulletin. Gabriela has worked as a Lecturer in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at Glasgow Caledonian University, where she led the undergraduate Therapeutic Dietetic Studies 2 module and co-led the Public Health Nutrition module. She brings extensive research experience in mixed methods, randomised controlled trials, and systematic reviews, with peer-reviewed publications and multiple conference presentations, including for the Nutrition Society. Gabriela has also delivered public engagement activities at the Glasgow Science Centre and has worked for over ten years in private dietetic practice.
