Search results

The lack of food-based dietary guidelines for managing cancer among hospitalized patients has led to an increasing economic burden on the government and families in low- and middle-economy countries. There have been increasing medical costs due to delayed recovery, readmission and mortality. The purpose of this study is to contribute in reducing these effects by developing context-specific food-based dietary guidelines to assist health-care professionals and caregivers in planning diets for cancer patients.

For seven days, the dietary intakes of 100 cancer patients in the hospital were recorded using weighed food records. Data on the costs of commonly consumed foods during hospitalization were obtained from hospital requisition books as well as nearby markets and shops. The information gathered was used to create optimal food-based dietary guidelines for cancer patients.

Most patients did not meet the recommended food group and micronutrient intake according to their weighed food records. Sugar intake from processed foods was (51 ± 19.8 g), (13% ± 2%), and calories (2585 ± 544 g) exceeded recommendations. Optimized models generated three menus that met the World Cancer Research Fund 2018 cancer prevention recommendation at a minimum cost of 2,700 Tanzanian Shillings (TSH), 3500TSH, and 4550TSH per day. The optimal dietary pattern includes nutrient-dense foods from all food groups in recommended portions and within calorie limits.

Findings show that optimal dietary guidelines that are context-specific for managing cancer in hospitalized patients can be formulated using culturally acceptable food ingredients at minimum cost.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the latest mounting evidence reporting associations between the important role of whole grains and fibre in lowering the risk of chronic diseases and health.

A general systematic review was conducted to locate and summarise up-to-date published studies within the field. A Medline search identified human-controlled trials and observational studies published in the past five years.

A total of 49 studies were identified. In observational studies, higher intakes of whole grain and dietary fibre were associated with a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, abdominal adiposity and certain cancers. This was further supported by human intervention trials, which reported benefits for appetite control, blood lipid levels, glycaemic control, digestive health and secondary cancer prevention. Mechanisms may relate to the micronutrients and phytonutrients present in high fibre foods.

Practical advice is needed to help people identify foods rich in whole grains, e.g. breakfast cereals. UK fibre recommendations should be aligned with European guidelines and food labelling regulations, and a whole grain dietary recommendation, e.g. similar to the US guideline of three portions a day, could be introduced. Government and industry should play a role in communicating dietary fibre guidelines and the health benefits associated with whole grain and fibre, particularly insoluble fibre.

This paper develops knowledge about whole grains, health and the importance of establishing whole-grain dietary recommendations.

There is a strong interest in the quality of children's diets as this can impact on current and future health. The aim of this paper is to review current and past literature on UK children's diets to evaluate the adequacy of nutrient intakes in comparison with recommendations, and to identify population groups that may be at particular risk of nutritional deficiencies.

A literature review was carried out to locate and summarise up‐to‐date published studies and reports which addressed dietary intakes of UK children, trends overtime and current dietary issues.

Although UK children's diets appear to have improved in recent years, intakes of several key nutrients remain below dietary recommendations. Iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and zinc are especially low in some groups, whilst intakes of saturated fat and sugar exceed current targets. Thus, further improvements are needed. In the meantime, parents may consider giving children a daily multi‐vitamin to ensure that micronutrient recommendations are achieved. The lack of child‐specific targets for fibre, long‐chain omega‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn3PUFA), vitamin D and fruit and vegetables portions makes it difficult to properly evaluate children's diets for these important dietary components.

Future studies should use consistent age ranges and methods of dietary assessment to enable better comparisons. Research is needed to underpin child‐specific dietary guidelines for LCn3PUFA, fibre and vitamin D.

This paper gives a concise, up‐to‐date overview of the current diet quality of UK children.

The study aims to assess the dietary habits and frequency of food intake by preschool-aged children in Kosovo.

The study is based on a survey of meal patterning and frequency of food group intake, using a combined 24-hour recall and Dietary history questionnaires. The assessment took place in different towns of Kosovo. Parents completed 232 questionnaires with data on dietary habits and food frequency intake of their children. Intake frequencies were computed and included in the analyses.

Dietary habits and frequency of food intake for specific foods (the main typical foods from the food groups) did not show significant differences (P > 0.05) between age groups, except in terms of milk consumption (P < 0.05) and soft drinks intake (P < 0.001). It was found that the consumption of fruits and vegetables as well as other high-fiber foods is very limited.

Despite the limitation in terms of sample, the results can be used by Kosovo’s authorities as an indication for an assessment of child’s development patterns in the country.

This assessment reports for the first time the dietary habits and frequency of food intake by preschool-aged children in Kosovo. The dietary pattern was shown to be low in wholegrain products and fruits and vegetables, and high in soft drinks and sweet and salty foods. Health and education authorities should develop national programs and dietary guidelines on recommended dietary intakes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore reasons behind meat consumption. It aims to find out what motivates meat consumers and explore the opportunities of social marketing to counteract negative environmental and health trends.

An exploratory Australian survey of Sydney consumer red meat choices is used covering dietary preferences, meat eating patterns, reasons and levels of concern for economic and environmental issues. Analysis of dietary guidelines and marketing campaigns in relation to the survey findings is conducted.

The survey highlights: lack of awareness about the link between meat consumption and environmental well-being; widespread inaccuracy of health messages related to meat consumption; influence of the meat industry in promoting excessive meat consumption; pervasiveness of the link between red meat consumption and national identity, social status, prestige and masculinity; and urgent need for government-supported social marketing interventions and the demarketing of meat.

This is the first study to propose social marketing based on the health and environmental co-benefits of reduced red meat consumption.

This study aims to evaluate the nutrient profile, carbon footprint and water footprint of one-month menus presented in five hospitals in Turkey and compare their environmental impacts with that of the Mediterranean diet.

The energy and nutrient content of menus were compared with recommendations of the Turkey Dietary Guidelines (TUBER) 2022. Nutrient profiles of hospital menus were evaluated using Nutrient Rich Food 9.3 (NRF 9.3) and SAIN-LIM models. The carbon and water footprints of the menus were calculated and compared with those of the Mediterranean diet.

Menus’ energy and nutrient content did not conform with TUBER 2022. The SAIN-LIM score of Hospital A (5.7 ± 1.1) was significantly higher than that of Hospitals C (4.8 ± 0.7, p = 0.001) and E (5.1 ± 0.7, p = 0.025). The carbon footprint of Hospital A was significantly lower (2.6 ± 0.3 kg CO₂ eq/person/day) and that of Hospital D (4 ± 0.9 kg CO₂ eq/person/day) was significantly higher than those of others (p < 0.001). While other menus were similar (p > 0.05), the water footprint of Hospital A was significantly lower (3.5 ± 0.7 L/kg, p < 0.001). In addition, if the menus were suitable for the Mediterranean diet, a reduction of 2.2–23.4% in the carbon footprint and 37.5–58.6% in the water footprint could be achieved. Moreover, menus’ carbon and water footprints were negatively correlated with NRF 9.3 and SAIN-LIM scores.

The primary aim should be to ensure that the planned menus follow the dietary guidelines. In addition, it is an undeniable fact that sustainable nutrition is a complex process with many dimensions. However, it seems possible to improve the nutrient profiles of the menus and reduce their environmental footprint with minor changes to be made in food services.

It seems possible to improve the nutrient profiles of the menus and reduce their environmental footprint with minor changes. For both health and environmental impacts, food services should switch to menus suitable for the Mediterranean diet.

The findings provide new insights into hospital menus’ quality and environmental impact.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of urbanicity on rural–urban migrants' dietary diversity and nutrition intake and whether its effect differs across various urban environments of migrants.

Using the individual- and time-invariant fixed effects (two-way FE) model and five-year panel data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), this paper estimates a linear and nonlinear relationship between urbanicity and nutrition. The paper also explores the spatial heterogeneity between rural–urban migrants and rural–suburban migrants. Dietary diversity, total energy intake and the shares of energy obtained from protein and fat, respectively, are used to measure rural–urban migrants' nutrition on both quality and quantity aspects.

The study shows that rural–urban migrants have experienced access to more diverse, convenient and prepared foods, and the food variety consumed is positively associated with community urbanicity. Energy intake is positively and significantly affected by community urbanicity, and it also varies with per capita household income. The obvious inverse U-shaped relationship reveals that improving community urbanicity promotes an increase in the shares of energy obtained from protein and fat at a decreasing rate, until reaching the urbanicity index threshold of 66.69 and 54.26, respectively.

This paper focuses on the nutritional status of rural–urban migrants, an important pillar for China's development, which is often neglected in the research. It examines the urbanicity and the nutrition of migrants in China, which provides a new perspective to understand the dietary and nutritional intake among migrants in the economic and social development. Moreover, the urbanicity index performs better at measuring urban feathers rather than the traditional rural/urban dichotomous classification.

The objectives of this study were: to investigate Irish consumers' attitudes to diet, health and health‐enhancing foods; to determine Irish consumers' knowledge and awareness of the health benefits of health‐enhancing foods; to examine the health‐related factors perceived to be most important in food choice; and to examine the relationships between attitudes, beliefs and dietary behaviour.

A total of 340 questionnaires were distributed to consumers using a multi‐stage cluster‐sampling technique.

The key variables that accounted for the variation in dietary behaviour were attitudes to healthy food behaviours, perceived influence of diet on health, and nutrition knowledge. Differences were observed between attitudes and awareness of health‐enhancing foods across gender, age and social grouping.

The results and conclusions of this research are derived from a study conducted in Dublin only and, therefore, it is not possible to generalise about the Irish population from these results. It would prove beneficial to conduct further consumer research on determinants of consumers' dietary behaviour for health‐enhancing foods at different urban and rural centres in Ireland, as well as across European states for a cross‐cultural perspective.

Market segmentation, accompanied by appropriate carefully targeted educational messages, and addressing the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of the target group can help to close the gap between actual and healthful diets for the entire population.

This research can assist health policy makers implement promotional strategies to improve the nutritional status of at‐risk groups while supporting efforts by the food industry in identifying appropriate marketing strategies within the healthy foods sector.

Dietary intake is a modifiable risk factor for metabolic syndrome (MetS). Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the association between the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) and MetS.

MetS was diagnosed among 2,326 adults. Dietary intake was assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire. The HEI-2015 was administered to assess the diet qualities. Multivariate logistic regression was also used to evaluate the relationship of HEI-2015 with MetS and its components.

The odds of MetS was lower in women who were in the third quintile of HEI-2015 compared with those in the first quintile after adjusting for age and energy intake (OR: 0.62, CI: 0.41 to 0.93). In addition, moderate adherence to HEI-2015 reduced the odds of high fasting blood glucose levels in both men and women (OR men: 0.30, CI: 0.11 to 0.85 OR women: 0.34, CI: 0.14 to 0.79). However, these relations were not linear. Adherence to HEI-2015 had no significant relationship with the prevalence of MetS and its components in the whole population.

A significant relationship was observed between moderate adherence to HEI-2015 and fasting blood glucose in both men and women. Moreover, moderate adherence to this dietary pattern decreased the prevalence of MetS in women.