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The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of appetite‐related, emotional and physical symptoms in a group of menstruating females.

A total of 20 Caucasian females, aged 17‐24 years, completed a specifically designed menstruation symptoms diary for one cycle length.

The findings of the study indicate that changes in appetite and physical and emotional symptoms accord with hormonal changes in the premenstrual and bleed phases of the cycle.

The implication of using a daily diary to identify symptoms demonstrates a record of the individuals’ perceptions of their symptoms and is therefore only subjective. The prevalence of appetite‐related symptoms was reported in the diaries but the quantity of food and drink consumed, and therefore energy intake could not be established for any of the endocrine phases.

Conducted on a very small scale this study can be considered as being a pilot for a more rigorous investigation into the understanding of diet in the identification and management of premenstrual syndrome.

Research has shown that there are important aspects of diet and lifestyle that need to be evaluated when considering the onset of symptoms of gastro‐oesophageal reflux, with specific reference to heartburn. This paper aims to review the evidence from these studies.

A literature review of studies on diet, lifestyle and gastro‐oesophageal reflux was undertaken.

The literature shows that there are a number of diet and lifestyle factors, which may trigger the onset of symptoms of gastro‐oesophageal reflux.

The paper shows that the diet and lifestyle factors, which have been considered to trigger gastro‐oesophageal reflux, need to be assessed further to establish their individual and combined influence in the onset of gastro‐oesophageal reflux symptoms and the progression to more serious oesophageal disorders.

Consideration is given to the fast food debate in the context of a healthy diet. Fast food products readily available in retail outlets in the London area are reported on. It is apparent from this exercise that consumers can make informed choices in accord with the Balance of Good Health. Quantitative ingredient declarations on packaging clearly show, which foods are present in the order of percentage in the food product. Further information is provided through nutritional labelling. Lifestyles which demand fast foods are possibly a risk factor for gastrointestinal disturbances through eating quickly as opposed to eating fast foods per se.

Eating patterns around the world have changed considerably, including food choices and preparation. One of these alterations in food consumption patterns is an increase in desire for fast-food consumption, which has been associated with poor diet quality. In order to analyze consumers’ food consumption behaviors, it is necessary to account for psychological factors (e.g. attitudes) that shape behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore influencing factors on the attitudes of consumers in Isfahan City toward fast-food consumption, so as to understand why consumers use fast-food despite widespread knowledge of the negative health consequences.

The predominant paradigm of the present study was quantitative, in that it was a correlational survey. The population of this study consisted of consumers who lived in Isfahan city in June 2015. A total sample of 350 people was selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview with the consumers using a researcher-made questionnaire. Analysis was conducted using SPSS (V20) and AMOS (V20) software and a set of correlation and differential tests.

The results revealed that “health consciousness” and “trust” are the main effective factors on the attitudes of the respondents. The results also revealed that the elder and married respondents have more positive attitudes toward fast-food consumption.

It is worth mentioning that fast-food has become an important part of the Iranian diet. These findings have both academic and policy implications. The results showed that the need for much more consumer education regarding fast-food and mass media could effectively be used. Further, the government should support and subsidize fast-food restaurants so that they may produce healthier food options.

This collaborative paper (working together) describes collaborative practice development and research by and with people from the learning disabilities community. This paper aims to show some of the activities which supported the collaborative practice development and research to show and encourage others to do more collaboration. The paper format is based on a previous collaborative paper published in the Tizard Learning Disability Review (Chapman et al., 2013).

The collaborative practice development and feasibility study [1] focuses on an intervention called Keep Safe. This is an intervention for young people with learning disabilities who are 12 years and older and have shown “out-of-control” or harmful sexual behaviour.

The paper gives examples of activities of the Keep Safe Advisory Group in planning, doing and thinking about Keep Safe development and feasibility. The authors list some good things and some difficulties in collaborating. They look at which parts of Frankena et al.’s (2019a) Consensus Statement on how to do inclusive research were done, which ones were not, and why.

The paper ends with some thoughts about collaborating with people from the learning disabilities community: for people with learning disabilities, practitioners and researchers.

The paper is original in its illustration of collaborative practice development and research and measuring the activities against the inclusive research consensus statement.

Q‐analysis is a methodology for investigating a wide range of structural phenomena. Structures are defined in terms of relations between members of sets and their salient features are revealed using techniques of algebraic topology. However, the basic method can be mastered by non‐mathematicians. Q‐analysis has been applied to problems as diverse as discovering the rules for the diagnosis of a rare disease and the study of tactics in a football match. Other applications include some of interest to librarians and information scientists. In bibliometrics, Q‐analysis has proved capable of emulating techniques such as bibliographic coupling, co‐citation analysis and co‐word analysis. It has also been used to produce a classification scheme for television programmes based on different principles from most bibliographic classifications. This paper introduces the basic ideas of Q‐analysis. Applications relevant to librarianship and information science are reviewed and present limitations of the approach described. New theoretical advances including some in other fields such as planning and design theory and artificial intelligence may lead to a still more powerful method of investigating structure.

This condition is very common but can diet help? Jill Davies PhD reports

It is well documented that women are prone to constipation‐type symptoms premenstrually. An increase in non‐starch polysaccharide intake of 5.9 g/d in the form of palatable drink has proved to be of symptomatic benefit during the premenstrual phase of the cycle resulting in a significant increase in stool frequency, significant decreases in straining at the end of defecation and feelings of incomplete evacuation and the production of less well formed stools.

Research into the skills and competencies required by staff working with people with learning disabilities has concentrated on staff views. The purpose of this paper is to explore what people with learning disabilities want from the workforce supporting them. The evaluation was commissioned by Health Education England working across Kent, Surrey and Sussex (HEE KSS).

An easy read questionnaire, co-produced with people with learning disabilities, was completed with 70 participants, 65 of whom attended one of 10 workshops. Two questionnaires were also completed by parents on behalf of their child. The workshops also allowed for open discussion.

People with learning disabilities value a workforce with a positive attitude, with staff who are skilled in supporting people to gain independence and have a voice.

Findings are relevant to staff recruitment, matching of staff to services and staff training.

Although there is some previous research around service user views, this evaluation had a larger sample size. The findings were similar to previous studies, particularly around the kind of qualities required from staff, which were the ability to listen, have trust and be able to learn specific skills. Although the highest representation was from young people and young adults, participants ranged from 12 to over 65 years. Differences in views according to participant age ranges are also noted.