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This paper aims to review the metabolism, epidemiology and treatment of vitamin D and calcium insufficiency as well as its relation to rickets and diabetes type 1 during childhood and adolescence.

The most up‐to‐date and pertinent studies within the literature are included in this narrative review.

Vitamin D deficiency is common in developing countries and exists in both childhood and adult life. The great importance of vitamin D is the moderation of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) homeostasis as well as the absorption of Ca. While insufficiency of vitamin D is a significant contributing factor to the risk of rickets in childhood, it is possible that a more marginal deficiency of vitamin D during life span contributes to osteoporosis as well as potentially to the development of various other chronic diseases such as diabetes type 1.

This paper gives a concise, up‐to‐date overview to nutritionists and dietitians on how vitamin D deficiency may effect rickets and type 1 diabetes.

The aim of this study is to record the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to explore any relationship with nutritional status in Greek children aged 6‐15 years.

A total of 524 children participated in the study. Anthropometric and dietary characteristics were recorded for all subjects.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 21.1 per cent and 8.4 per cent for boys and 17.6 and 7.3 per cent for girls, respectively. Dietary intakes of energy, fat, protein, lipids and sugar were higher in overweight and obese children compared with the normal ones ( p < 0.001), while fibre intake was lower in the overweight and obese group ( p < 0.001) than in the normal group. The current study gives an estimation of overweight and obesity in children from Northern Greece. The composition of diet, especially low in fibre, vitamin D and high in energy and fat may play a role in the etiology of obesity.

The paper presents information on obesity prevalence in a Mediterranean country as well as integration of some nutrients in the etiology of obesity.

It is commonly asserted that a lot of people may gain about 2.5 kg of weight or more over holiday periods, however data are limited. The purpose of this paper is to assess potential changes that may occur in body weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference during Easter holidays.

A total of 138 college students participate in the study in the morning after a 12 h fasting. Body weight is assessed using an electronic scale (Seca ± 0.1 g), wearing minimal clothing. Paired t‐test is used to assess changes in body weight before and after a holiday period.

The mean (±SD) weight increases significantly during the holiday period (+1.5 ± 2.4 kg, p < 0.001) and (+1.7 ± 1.3 kg, p < 0.001) for both males and females, respectively. When subjects are classified by BMI as normal or overweight (OW)/obese, a significant 2.6 ± 3.5 kg gain is found (p < 0.05) in the OW/obese group (≥25 kg/m²). The average holiday gain is less than what is commonly asserted. This gain is not usually reversed and may contribute to the increase of body weight that frequently occurs during adulthood.

A convenience sample (college students), rather than a population‐based sample is used; also the activity level of the subjects is not measured, which might influence the body weight gain.

The paper should be of value to nutritionists and clinical dietetics.

The paper aims to describe the role and effects of carnosine and β-alanine on exercise.

The review includes the most updated studies found in Pub-Med all of which are in relation to carnosine and β-alanine on exercise performance.

The use of β-alanine in recent research has shown to increase muscle carnosine concentrations in as short as two weeks, with increasing levels with longer supplementation periods. Although there is strong support that β-alanine supplementation during training possesses ergogenic value, the specific mechanism of action and ergogenic value remains to be fully examined.

The paper gives information to nutritionists, clinical dietitians and sports nutritionists on the newest data about the role and effects of carnosine and β-alanine on exercise performance.

This paper seeks to present the current evidence on maternal diet, birth weight, breastfeeding and antioxidants with regard to pediatric leukemia and to show the potential role of specific nutrients in the nutrition management of a child with cancer.

The most up‐to‐date literature on various aspects of nutrition in pediatric leukemia have been considered and included in this report.

One of the most common pediatric cancers is leukemia. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common childhood malignancy, with a cure rate of 80 per cent. Maternal diet, breastfeeding and weight of child may play a significant role in the development of leukemia. Antioxidants and non‐antioxidants nutrients also appear to be important contributors in decreasing the risk of leukemia.

Information on the role of diet in pediatric leukemia is presented for expert dietitians.

Previous research indicates that vitamin D and omega-3 co-supplementation may benefit overall health, but current evidence regarding its effects on lipid profile remains unclear. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of vitamin D and omega-3 co-supplementation on lipid profile (total cholesterol [TC], low-density lipoprotein [LDL], triglyceride [TG] and high-density lipoprotein [HDL]) in adults.

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, relevant studies were obtained by searching the PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases (from inception to January 2022). Weighted mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were estimated via a random-effects model. Heterogeneity, sensitivity analysis and publication bias were reported using standard methods.

Pooled analysis of six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) revealed that vitamin D and omega-3 co-supplementation yielded significant reductions in TG (p = 0.631). A pooled analysis of five trials indicated a significant association between omega-3 and vitamin D treatment and reductions in TC (p = 0.001) and LDL (p = 0.001). Although, pooled analyses of omega-3 and vitamin D did not significantly affect HDL.

The findings suggest that vitamin D and omega-3 co-supplementation lowers TG, TC and LDL in adults. Future, large-scale, RCTs on various populations are needed to elucidate further beneficial effects of vitamin D and omega-3 co-supplementation on lipid profile and establish guidelines for clinical practice.

The purpose of this study is to assess the adherence to MedDiet among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, using the validated 14-item MedDiet assessment tool.

A quantitative research approach, based on the distribution of an online survey throughout the social media platforms, via networking, was the applied method. The structure of the survey included the socio-economic and demographic data along with the weekly adherence to physical activity; and the validated MedDiet assessment tool. The target population included 1,030 Lebanese adults from all provinces. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the characteristics of the sample population. Adherence to the MedDiet was determined by the Med-Diet score ≥ 9. Significant differences among the variables and the adherence to the MedDiet were examined using the chi-square test.

Mean adherence to the MedDiet was found to be lower than an adequate score among 60.8% of participants [mean adherence 8/14 < 9 (S.D. 2.2)]. Participants from North Province, those aged 45 years and above, university graduates, participants with an average income and those who exercised for a minimum of 30 min for three times/week had a higher mean of adherence compared to other groups. Higher percentage of those who exercised had adequate adherence compared to those who exercised less or did not. More than 50% of the participants consumed olive oil, vegetables, red meat, butter/margarine, sugary drinks, commercial sweets and sofrito according to recommendations. Less than 50% of the participants consumed fruits, nuts, fish and wine according to the MedDiet standards. More men consumed fruits (55.1%), wine (21%), fish (29%) and nuts (48.5%) than women according to the MedDiet recommendations; however, more women consumed legumes (69.7%) and Sofrito (88.4%) than men, in addition more women preferred consuming chicken over meat (72.3%).

The findings call for an urgent need of spreading national awareness among adult population in Lebanon to increase the adherence to MedDiet. To add, information gained from this study serve to help understanding nutritional behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, so public health authorities can start planning to save the threatened health-care system and preserve the wellness of the population.

From a relational political brand perspective, newly elected governments are primarily concerned with maintaining the trust of the electoral coalition that brought them in office in order to secure their re-election. Hence, as Needham (2005) has suggested, governing parties tend to employ a political communication strategy aimed at promoting an effective brand consisted of six components: simplicity, uniqueness, reassurance, aspiration, values and credibility. In this context, this study examines the communication strategies of three Greek governments (PASOK, New Democracy and SYRIZA) in the period 2009–2019 that failed to be re-elected once they implemented the bail-out packages, against the six branding criteria. Following a qualitative methodological approach, this chapter analyses the key speeches of the respective prime ministers along with polling evidence and secondary data. It argues that all these three governments failed to be re-elected once they implemented the memoranda, not only because of the unpopular nature of the austerity measures but also because of their failure to fully retain their political brands in office since they hardly succeed to deliver on their promises, though it is unclear whether they employed self-consciously such a branding strategy.

The study attempts to investigate the role of social media in spreading awareness regarding ayurvedic immunity boosters (AIB) and changes in diet. Further, the study examines the factors affecting the willingness to pay for ayurvedic immunity boosters (WPIB) during the pandemic and new normal situation with the moderating effect of the “fear of COVID-19 infection.”

The data were collected from millennials in two phases, i.e. the first phase (1 July–August 2021) with 300 respondents and a second phase with (June–August 2022) 257 respondents. An online questionnaire was shared with millennials using the snowball sampling technique. Descriptive statistics with SPSS and SmartPLS 4.0 software were applied to analyze the data.

The results found a variation in AIB content sharing on social media during 2021 and 2022. Results found that respondents reported significant changes in their lifestyle and diet, like consuming honey, khada, tulsi tea, etc. In 2021, health consciousness and trust significantly affected WPIB, whereas in 2022, only health consciousness was substantially affected. Fear of COVID-19 infection moderates the relationship between health consciousness, perceived fear and willingness to pay for ayurvedic products, whereas the effect on consumer preference and trust remains insignificant.

Results could help ayurvedic product manufacturing companies understand the consumers' mindset and the factors that stimulate consumers to buy these immunity boosters. Ayurvedic advertisers should design unambiguous messages that focus on health consciousness and have trustable components to encourage consumers to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

This is one of its kinds of studies that presents the contrasts of how the COVID-19 crisis has significantly changed individuals' dietary intake and affected lifestyle patterns.