Convenience food products. Drivers for consumption

Natural Sweeteners: The Relevance of Food Naturalness for Consumers, Food Security Aspects, Sustainability and Health Impacts

At a moment when the population is increasingly aware and involved in what it eats, both consumers and the food sector are showing more interest in natural foods. This review work discusses, addresses and provides details of the most important aspects of consumer's perceptions of and attitudes to natural foods and in-depth research into natural sweeteners. It also includes issues about their use and development as regards health impacts, food security and sustainability. In line with our main research outcome, we can assume that consumers are very keen on choosing foods with clean labelling, natural ingredients, preferably with other functional properties, without the loss of taste. In response to such a phenomenon, the food industry offers consumers alternative natural sweeteners with the advantage of added health benefits. It is noteworthy that Nature is a superb source of desirable substances, and many have a sweet taste, and many still need to be studied. Finally, we must stress that being natural does not necessarily guarantee market success.

Study about Food Choice Determinants According to Six Types of Conditioning Motivations in a Sample of 11,960 Participants

Many aspects linked to personal characteristics, society and culture constitute some of the motivators that drive food choice. The aim of this work was to determine in what extent the eating behaviors of individuals are shaped by six different types of determinants, namely: health, emotions, price and availability, society and culture, environment and politics, and marketing and commercials. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, involving a non-probabilistic sample of 11,960 participants from 16 countries. The objective of this work was to validate the questionnaire, so as to make it suitable for application in different contexts and different countries. For that, six scales were considered for validation by confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modelling. The obtained results showed that the six individual scales evaluated presented good or very good fitting indices, with saturation in goodness-of-fit index in all cases. The values of chi-square ratio were 6.921 (for health), 0.987 (environment), 0.610 (emotions) and 0.000 in the remaining cases (convenience, society, marketing). Furthermore, the fit was perfect, with saturation for all indices, in three of the six models (convenience, society and marketing). The results of this wok allowed the validation of the six scales, and the assessing of different types of factors that can influence food choices and eating behaviors, namely in the categories: health, emotions, price and availability, society and culture, environment and politics, and marketing and commercials.

Segmentation of Polish Households Taking into Account Food Waste

Currently, food waste is estimated at more than one-third of all food produced, and the primary responsibility for this phenomenon is attributed to households. Therefore, it seems reasonable to take action to limit food waste and to raise awareness about this link in the chain. To develop and implement educational programs addressed at consumers it is necessary to understand the factors determining food waste in households. Segmentation is a tool that can help effectively reach consumers who are to the greatest extent wasting food which identifies homogeneous clusters of consumers. The aim of this study was to perform segmentation to identify consumer groups with similar behaviors in relation to food, with particular emphasis on food wastage. We carried out segmentation on a representative sample of Polish people over 18 years of age and to identified three clusters of consumers. The three consumer segments diagnosed differed in sociodemographic terms, i.e., number of adults, number of children, subjective assessment of the financial situation, and percentage of spending on food. The segment exhibiting a high frequency of discarding food due to too large package size included single and double households.

Food Agency in the United States: Associations with Cooking Behavior and Dietary Intake

“Food agency” is one’s ability to procure and prepare food within the contexts of one’s social, physical, and economic environment. In 2018, we used Amazon TurkPrime to field two large national surveys in the United States (US) to examine food agency and several food- and cooking-related factors. The first survey (n = 1,457) was fielded in a national sample of US adults. The second survey (n = 1,399) comprised of parents of 2–9-year-old children. Analyses included hierarchical linear regression to examine factors that explained variation in food agency and used Poisson and generalized linear models to examine the association between food agency and between cooking behavior and dietary intake, respectively. Cooking skills; food skills; and cooking confidence, attitudes, and perceptions explained a high degree of food agency variance. Higher food agency was associated with more frequent cooking of all meals, more frequent scratch cooking, and less frequent cooking with packaged ingredients among both adults and parents. Higher food agency was also associated with higher consumption of vegetables among both adults and children. Food agency encompasses a number of the interrelated factors important for home cooking and is a useful construct for understanding and promoting home cooking behavior.

A segmentation of Swiss fluid milk consumers and suggestions for target product concepts

The objective of this study was to understand the priorities and motives of Swiss consumers when choosing and buying fluid milk and to provide evidence-based recommendations for the development of target product concepts and category adaptations. Data were collected through a postal survey sent to a randomly selected sample of German-speaking Swiss residents, yielding a final sample size of n = 712 (39% response rate). Hierarchical cluster analysis disclosed the presence of 3 distinct consumer segments: the uncompromising consumers (24%), who have high and numerous expectations; the locavores (56%), who ensure that they consume primarily milk of local origin; and the indifferent consumers (20%), who have modest expectations, especially in taste, origin, and production conditions. The market review revealed that none of the 7 largest market players offered the right product mix to match the needs of its effective or targeted consumers. Overall, the current offer is too broad and untargeted. A large share of the offer lacks sufficient differentiation; furthermore, available added-value concepts often do not combine the right product attributes. Based on these results, 5 product concepts were elaborated. Two products were designed for the uncompromising consumers: a protein-enhanced, semi-skimmed (1.5%) milk and a fair milk (fair price paid to the milk producers); a twin concept was designed for the locavores: a 100% local pasteurized milk available in both conventional and organic quality; and one product was designed for the indifferent consumers: an all-purpose, long-life, part-skimmed (2.5%) milk. By including the product concepts dedicated to their targeted consumers' segments and downsizing their assortment depth, retailers could optimize their sales per square foot.

Aiming for better use of convenience food: an analysis based on meal production functions at home

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the evaluation of convenience food has changed. It came to be considered not to have a negative effect on health and is now positioned as a tool to support dietary habits of elderly and other people. In advanced countries where the population is aging, convenience foods are expected to improve the eating habits of the elderly.

METHODS

We defined the indicators of cooking effort and usage intensity of convenience food and presented a model wherein a "meal" is home-produced. In the model, a home cook decides the optimal cooking effort to apply for a given usage intensity of convenience food. Using an empirical form of the proposed model, we performed a multiple regression analysis and calculated "the elasticity of cooking effort with respect to the usage intensity of convenience food" for home cooks, with each attribute defined by a combination of different personality and demographic factors, using the estimated coefficients.

RESULTS

Regression analysis results revealed a negative correlation between cooking effort and the usage intensity of convenience food, which is consistent with our theoretical model of home meal production. The results showed that home cooks who have special food preferences may not be satisfied with accepting convenience foods purchased from the market as they are and that these home cooks will require a higher cooking effort to obtain higher satisfaction. The elasticity of elderly home cooks was low, implying that they are not flexible enough to accept convenience food.

CONCLUSIONS

The results revealed that existing convenience foods do not have the same impact on home cooks with attributes. This problem can be solved with smart food systems that utilize information and communication technology, which allow home cooks to explore information on convenience foods that match their preferences and enable food providers to offer food that matches the specific tastes of home cooks. The regression results suggest this possibility.

The Importance Given to Food Naturalness Attributes by Millennial University Students

So-called natural food is one of the most significant current trends in the food business. Despite this trend, previous research on the measurement of naturalness has made no distinction between different groups of consumers. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore the attributes important to millennial university students when evaluating food naturalness. The study is based on a questionnaire administered to a sample of 372 respondents. Using a partial least square (PLS) methodology, it performs a standard confirmatory factor analysis for measurement and validations. As a result, it identifies one attribute linked to how the food is grown and eight attributes associated to how it is produced and processed. These findings have several implications. Apart from testing previous scales in a millennial context, they confirm that market strategies must take different understandings of naturalness into account contingent upon the consumer group.

Perceptions of commercial snack food and beverages for infant and young child feeding: A mixed-methods study among caregivers in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Ensuring nutritious complementary feeding is vital for child nutrition. Prior research in Kathmandu Valley found high consumption rates of commercially produced snack foods among young children, which are often energy‐dense/nutrient poor. This mixed‐methods study was conducted to elicit Nepali caregivers' perceptions of commercial snack foods and beverages and factors influencing their use for young child feeding. Seven facilitated focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with Kathmandu Valley caregivers of children 12–23 months, and a survey of 745 primary caregivers of children 12–23 months of age was then conducted. During the FGD, caregivers reported commonly providing commercial food and beverage products to their children as snacks, and 98.6% of caregivers participating in the survey reported feeding their child such a food in the previous week. Because of processing and packaging, snack foods were not trusted by many FGD participants and considered as “junk foods” and not healthy for children. However, commercial snack foods were consistently ranked highly on convenience, both because of minimal preparation and ease of feeding; 48.5% of all surveyed caregivers reported providing a snack food because of convenience. Other family members' diets or provision of snack foods as treats also influenced children's consumption of these snack foods and beverages. This study indicates that caregivers of young children prefer snack options that are nutrient rich; however, this may conflict with preferences for foods that require minimal preparation and are appealing to young children. Such findings carry programmatic implications for interventions aiming to address children's diet quality in urban Nepal.

Meal planning by high and low health conscious individuals during a simulated shop in the supermarket: A mixed methods study

Planning is an essential component of home meal preparation. While level of health consciousness permeates both activities, this relationship is underexplored in the scientific literature. Using a mixed-methods convergent parallel design this study identified the reasoning behind meal planning and compared the characteristics of meals planned by high and low health-conscious adults during a simulated shopping task in a supermarket store. Participants were assigned a task where they were asked to choose ingredients to prepare a hot evening meal for a last-minute guest. High Health Conscious (HHC) participants planned healthier meals with more whole grains/breads/pasta, fruits, and vegetables than Low Health Conscious (LHC) participants. HHC participants mentioned not only health-related motives, but also ingredients' characteristics and cooking habits as influencers of their choices. LHC individuals focused on their own preferences, acknowledged that they struggled with the skills needed to prepare a meal and considered the presence of a guest as the only reason why they would prepare a meal. The mixed methods approach enabled us to link the participants' reasoning with the quantitative differences between meals planned by them - HHC individuals planned healthier meals and manifested closeness to the act of cooking. This suggests that the link between health interest and learning how to cook deserves to be further explored.

Exploratory Analysis of Nutritional Quality and Metrics of Snack Consumption among Nepali Children during the Complementary Feeding Period

The World Health Organization recommends feeding snacks between meals to young children. This study explored nutritional quality of snacks consumed between meals and consumption metrics (% total energy intakes (%TEI) and amount of kcal from snacks) to understand correlations with dietary outcomes (total energy intakes and dietary adequacy) and body-mass-index-for-age z-scores (BMIZ). Data used were 24-h dietary recalls and anthropometric measurements among a representative sample (n = 679) of one-year-olds in Nepal. Nepali meal patterns for young children were identified through formative research and all foods/beverages consumed outside of meals were categorized as snacks. A nutrient profiling model was used to categorize snacks as healthy or unhealthy, based on positive and negative nutrient content. Snacks consumed between meals provided half of all energy consumed, and were associated with increased energy and nutrient intakes. The positive effect of snacks between meals on dietary adequacy was greater when these snacks were healthy, while increasing %TEI from unhealthy snacks consumed between meals was negatively associated with dietary adequacy. Consumption of snacks between meals was not associated with mean BMIZ among the children. These findings indicate that the provision of and nutritional quality of snacks are important considerations to communicate to caregivers. Discouragement of unhealthy, nutrient-poor snacks is critical for complementary feeding dietary guidelines in contexts experiencing nutrition transition.

Investigating the Maternal Factors Associated with Preschool Children's Food Preferences; A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Dietary patterns of children are determined by their food preferences, and mothers have important implications for these preferences. This study was aimed to investigate the maternal factors associated with children's food preferences.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, a total of 576 healthy children aged 3-6 years participated from nursery schools through simple cluster sampling method and maternal factors associated with children's food preferences were determined using a researcher designed, validated tool through face-to-face interview with mothers. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16 using General Linear Model to assess the correlations between different variables.

RESULTS

The children with diploma-educated mothers had fewer preferences in consuming nuts, vegetables, and fruits, and children with academic-educated mothers had fewer preferences in consuming nuts, beans, vegetables, fruits, drinks, condiments, and snacks (P<0.05). Children with employed mothers had fewer preferences for beans and drinks (P<0.02). Drinks preferences were lower among children whose mothers had good nutritional knowledge score (P<0.03). Proteins, beans, fruits, condiments, and snacks preferences were higher among children whose mothers had good nutritional attitude score (P<0.05). A positive correlation was found between the food preferences of children and mothers (0.377

CONCLUSION

The results of the study showed that mothers̓ educational level and their high nutritional knowledge and attitude could not guarantee the healthy dietary patterns of children. To promote children's dietary patterns, it is imperative to improve the food preferences of mothers through specialized training.

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Key Words

• Attitude
• Children
• Food Preferences
• Knowledge
• Mothers

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MESH Headings Collapse

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Affiliation(s)

Nayyereh Farajzadeh-Moghanjoughi Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Sorayya Kheirouri Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Mohammad Alizadeh Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Alireza Farsad-Naeimi Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

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Ready-to-Eat Salad Crops: A Plant Pathogen's Heaven

The ready-to-eat salad sector, also called fresh-cut or bagged salads, is a fast-growing segment of the fresh-food industry. The dynamism and specialization of this sector, together with the lack of adequate crop rotation, the globalization of the seed market, and climate change, are the main causes of the development of many new diseases that cause severe production losses. Newly detected diseases of the most important crops grown (lettuce, wild and cultivated rocket, lamb's lettuce, chicory, endive, basil, spinach, and Swiss chard) are critically discussed. The management of these diseases represents a formidable challenge, since few fungicides are registered on these minor-use crops. An interesting feature of the ready-to-eat salad sector is that most crops are grown under protection, often in soilless systems, which provide an environment helpful to the implementation of innovative control methods. Current trends in disease management are discussed, with special focus on the most sustainable practices.

Perception of Healthy Eating among Romanian Adults

Background: Totaling about 60% of all causes of death, chronic illnesses are the main cause of global mortality. Unhealthy behaviors, such as unbalanced eating or insufficient physical activity, can trigger metabolic changes, manifested by hypertension, high blood sugar, hyperlipidemia, obesity. These changes are grouped into the category of metabolic risk factors. Over time, these factors can cause cardiovascular diseases associated with a high mortality rate.

Aim of the study: To evaluate the perception of healthy eating in a Romanian population.

Material and methods: We applied a validated online questionnaire aimed to investigate people’s attitude towards diet and their motivation regarding food consumption in ten countries, based on an international project. For the present paper, we evaluated a Romanian sample of 821 adult respondents.

Results: Most of the subjects (82.82%) were from an urban area, and 68.94% were women. Regarding the prevalence of chronic diseases, 3.53% of participants had cardiovascular disease, 6.69% had high cholesterol levels, 7.18% were obese, and 6.57% were suffering from high blood pressure. Significant correlations have been identified between calorie count, excessive sugar and salt consumption, gender variables, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and high blood pressure. Also, tradition is very important in relation to eating behaviors, being highly correlated with obesity. The general direction of answers was correct, even if half of the questionnaire items were formulated in a ‘negative’ way, and disagreement is needed for a consistent response with a correct perception of healthy diets. The overall perception of healthy eating was consistent with scientific information in the field.

Conclusion: Women are generally better informed than men regarding healthy eating. Also, there is a possible conflict between traditional food-related cultural values and modern nutritional guidelines based on scientific information.

Energy intake from unhealthy snack food/beverage among 12-23-month-old children in urban Nepal

Unhealthy snack food and beverage (USFB) consumption among young children has been noted in many low‐income and middle‐income countries (LMIC), however, there is a lack of information on the contribution of these foods to children's diets in these contexts. This study describes the nutrient profiles and costs of snacks consumed by young children in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, and assesses the proportion of total energy intake from nonbreastmilk foods (%TEI‐NBF) contributed by USFB and factors associated with high USFB consumption. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted among 745 randomly sampled primary caregivers of children aged 12–23 months. Of 239 unique snack foods and beverages consumed, 180 (75.3%) were classified as unhealthy based on nutrient profiling, with 158 of these being commercially branded. Median cost/100 kcal of USFB was lower as compared with healthy snacks. Ninety‐one percent of children had consumed a USFB in the previous 24 hr, with these foods contributing a mean %TEI‐NBF of 24.5 ± 0.7 among all children. Biscuits (10.8%), candy/chocolate (3.5%), and savoury snacks (3.4%) provided the largest %TEI‐NBF. Children who were older, female, or from the poorest households had significantly higher odds of high USFB consumption, whereas children whose caregivers were of upper caste/ethnicity or had achieved tertiary education had lower odds of consumption than other children. To reduce USFB consumption, interventions should seek to further understand social/cultural drivers of feeding practices, target disadvantaged populations, and ensure caregivers are fully aware of the nutritional quality of food products they choose for their children.

Consumers' Views on the Importance of Specific Front-of-Pack Nutrition Information: A Latent Profile Analysis

Nutrition labelling can influence consumers’ assessments of food healthiness and their food choices. However, there is a lack of consensus about the optimal type and amount of nutrition information to provide on food packages. This study analysed consumers’ preferences for front-of-pack information relating to energy and various nutrients (sugar, saturated fat, sodium, fibre, carbohydrate, and protein). The aim was to identify discrete preference segments within the Australian market where the current Health Star Rating front-of-pack labelling system can be displayed with different levels of nutrition information. Adults (n = 1558) completed a survey assessing socio-demographics, self-reported nutrition knowledge, diet healthiness, special dietary requirements, and perceived importance of the provision of energy and nutrient information on the front of food packs. Latent profile analysis identified five consumer segments within the sample that ranged from groups exhibiting high levels of interest in various forms of nutrition information to one with very low interest and one with divergent scores according to whether nutrients were perceived as positive or negative for health. The results indicate that different forms of front-of-pack labelling featuring varying degrees of information about energy and specific nutrients are likely to be of interest and use to different market segments.

Frequency of Use of Added Sugar, Salt, and Fat in Infant Foods up to 10 Months in the Nationwide ELFE Cohort Study: Associated Infant Feeding and Caregiving Practices

The consumption of sugar, salt, and fat in infancy may influence later health. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of use of added sugar, salt, and fat during the complementary feeding period and the associated infant caregiving practices. Data were obtained from a monthly questionnaire filled by parents for 10,907 infants from the French Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance (ELFE) cohort. A score of frequency of use (SU) for added sugar, salt, and fat (oil, margarine, butter, and/or cream) was calculated from the age at complementary feeding introduction (CFI) to the 10th month. Associations between the SU of each added ingredient with infant feeding and caregiving practices were studied with multivariable linear regressions adjusted for familial characteristics. Only 28% of the parents followed the recommendation of adding fat and simultaneously not adding sugar or salt. Breastfeeding mothers were more prone to add sugar, salt, and fat than non-breastfeeding mothers. CFI before four months was positively associated with the SU of added sugar and salt and negatively associated with the SU of added fat. The use of commercial baby food was negatively related to the SU of added salt and fat. The use of these added ingredients was mainly related to breastfeeding, age at CFI, and use of commercial food, and it was independent of the household socioeconomic characteristics.

The Segmentation of Polish One-Person Households Due to Consumption

The scientific objective of the study was to identify consumption patterns in one-person households, living independently. The households’ clusters were emerged using Ward’s grouping method. It can be concluded that distinguishing the consumption patterns for one-person households is possible on the basis of diversifying both level and structure of incomes as well as socio-demographic differences between them. Depending on economic and socio-demographic variables, disparate consumption patterns for these types of households can be observed. In addition, it is worth stressing that households have different levels of income (although coming from similar sources) but similar demographic structure show greater similarity than households having similar financial situation. Both the growing number and social significance of one-person households make this research subject useful. This study contributes to understanding differences between consumption in various types of one-person households.

Consumer preferences for nutritional claims: An exploration of attention and choice based on an eye-tracking choice experiment

Nutritional claim (NC) requirements on food packages are among the most important and influential EU policy measures related to diet and have the capacity to promote healthy eating. This study combines a discrete choice experiment (DCE) method with eye-tracking (ET) technology to assess consumer preferences for multiple NCs in yogurt selection and explores the relationships between the NC preferences and the visual attention paid to these claims and the visual attention and choice decisions. The results indicate that the low-sugar NC was the least-preferred claim in all the models. Overall, the presence of NCs generally increases visual attention in terms of fixation count, which may be linked to an increased likelihood of affecting the final decision to purchase yogurts with NCs.

LC⁻Q⁻TOF⁻MS/MS Identification of Specific Non-Meat Proteins and Peptides in Beef Burgers

Beef burgers are a popular food choice, due to their taste and convenience. The extensive range of beef burgers with different flavours currently offered on the market is adding to their growing consumption. This study detected and identified specific non-meat proteins and peptide markers originating from functional preparations, i.e., powdered mixes of protein additives and spices, used as meat substitutes in the production of ready-to-cook beef burgers. Twenty-eight soy proteins, including isoforms (nine milk-, three pea- and one beetroot-specific protein) were found concurrently with a set of peptide markers unique to soy glycinin and β-conglycinin, pea vicilin and provicilin, milk α_S1-casein, β-lactoglobulin, as well as beetroot elongation factor 2. Soy and beetroot proteins and peptides were observed in all burgers containing additives. Milk and pea proteins were included in powdered mixes but were not detected in burgers, indicating that their content was below the limit of detection. The study demonstrates that the proposed method can be implemented to analyse protein additives in cooked burgers; however, the presence of low amounts of additives, below 1–2%, should be further confirmed by using a more sensitive triple quadrupole instrument.

Determination of Temperature Dependent Growth Parameters in Psychrotrophic Pathogen Bacteria and Tentative Use of Mean Kinetic Temperature for the Microbiological Control of Food

Temperature is the main factor to control the microbial growth in perishable foods. The psychrotrophic pathogen bacteria are microorganisms of concern for food products with extended shelf life in chilling conditions. The aims of this work were two. Firstly, to evaluate growth behavior of Aeromonas hydrophila DSM-30187, Listeria monocytogenes DSM-20600, and Yersinia enterocolitica DSM-27689 strains, at different temperatures (4, 7, 10, 15, 25, and 30°C) and starting cell concentrations (10 and 106 CFU/mL), in order to determine the activation energies (E a) of the relevant lag phases and growth rates. Secondly, to investigate if Mean Kinetic Temperature (MKT) might be applied in recording temperature devices to alert a thermal abuse in a management control system for food safety. As expected, lag phase and growth rate proved to be heavily affected by temperature whereas the inoculum size did not. The E a values involved in the duration of latent periods, calculated on the basis of the Arrhenius model, were comparable for A. hydrophila and L. monocytogenes strains (from 21.3 to 24.4 kcal/mol), while significantly differed for Y. enterocolitica (16.6 kcal/mol). The E a values of growth rates were similar for A. hydrophila and L. monocytogenes strains (from 20.9 to 21.1 kcal/mol), while were considerably lower for Y. enterocolitica (from 14.2 to 16.7 kcal/mol). The use of MKT is widespread and well-accepted in pharmaceutical field as convenient method for estimating drugs degradation in relation to storage temperature. The E a value of the lag phase found for L. monocytogenes (23.9 ± 1.2 kcal/mol) was included in the MKT formula. In this work, the air temperature of two chilling rooms was monitored during the normal operating activity in a catering company for a period of 8 months. The MKT profiles were then compared with those of mean temperatures in different conditions (short or prolonged events of thermal abuse) with the purpose to evaluate if it may be applicable to reduce false alarms without lowering the safety level of stored food.

Influence of food preparation behaviors on 5-year weight change and obesity risk in a French prospective cohort

BACKGROUND

Food preparation behaviors may markedly determine dietary intake and consequently influence weight status. However, the few available studies have found equivocal results. No study has prospectively investigated the association between food preparation behaviors and weight change over time. We estimated the associations of food preparation behaviors with the 5-year relative weight change and the risk of developing obesity in 12,851 French adults participating in the NutriNet-Santé cohort study. The mediating effect of dietary intake was also addressed.

METHODS

Frequency and time for meal preparation, cooking skills, preparation from scratch, kitchen equipment, cooking enjoyment, willingness to cook better/more frequently and dietary intake were assessed at baseline using web-based questionnaire and 24 h records, respectively. Self-reported anthropometric data were collected using questionnaire, at baseline and after 5 years of follow-up. Associations of such behaviors with 5-year relative weight change and the mediation analyses were assessed through multivariate linear regression models, and obesity risk was analyzed with logistic regression, stratified by sex and adjusted for age, household composition, education, occupation, income, physical activity, smoking and history of dieting.

RESULTS

In women, preparation from scratch was prospectively associated with a decreased risk of obesity over the 5-year follow-up (OR = 1.32 (1.08; 2.32)) after adjustment. After including dietary mediating factors, the association between preparation from scratch and obesity risk in women did not remain significant (P = 0.08). This association appeared to be partly mediated by dietary factors with a difference of 59% of the estimate, in the group with the low score, between the adjusted model and those with mediators (OR = 1.13 (0.71; 1.77)). Regarding 5-year relative weight change, after adjustment for confounding factors, all associations between indicators of food preparation behaviors and weight change became non significant.

CONCLUSIONS

In the context from reduced time spent preparing meals that could have an impact on dietary quality and health in industrialized countries, our prospective study does not show effect of food preparation behaviors on 5-year relative weight change and obesity risk, except for preparation from scratch on obesity risk in women. Our study provides useful information about the long term implications of food preparation behaviors on health and should be corroborated by future studies, particularly on the effect of food preparation behaviors on chronic diseases such as incident diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular diseases, compared with other determinants.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT03335644 on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Dietary patterns of university students in the UK: a cross-sectional study

Background

University represents a key transition into adulthood for many adolescents but there are associated concerns about health and behaviours. One important aspect relates to diet and there is emerging evidence that university students may consume poor quality diets, with potential implications for body weight and long-term health. This research aimed to characterise dietary patterns of university students in the UK and their sociodemographic and lifestyle antecedents.

Methods

An online, cross-sectional survey was undertaken with a convenience sample of 1448 university students from five UK universities (King’s College London, Universities of St Andrews, Southampton and Sheffield, and Ulster University). The survey comprised a validated food frequency questionnaire alongside lifestyle and sociodemographic questions. Dietary patterns were generated from food frequency intake data using principal components analysis. Nutrient intakes were estimated to characterise the nutrient profile of each dietary pattern. Associations with sociodemographic variables were assessed through general linear modelling.

Results

Dietary analyses revealed four major dietary patterns: ‘vegetarian’; ‘snacking’; ‘health-conscious’; and ‘convenience, red meat & alcohol’. The ‘health-conscious’ pattern had the most favourable micronutrient profile. Students’ gender, age, year of study, geographical location and cooking ability were associated with differences in pattern behaviour. Female students favoured the ‘vegetarian’ pattern, whilst male students preferred the ‘convenience, red meat & alcohol’ pattern. Less healthful dietary patterns were positively associated with lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, low physical activity and take-away consumption. The health-conscious pattern had greatest nutrient density. The ‘convenience, red meat & alcohol’ pattern was associated with higher weekly food spending; this pattern was also identified most consistently across universities. Students reporting greater cooking ability tended towards the ‘vegetarian’ and ‘health-conscious’ patterns.

Conclusions

Food intake varied amongst university students. A substantial proportion of students followed health-promoting diets, which had good nutrient profiles obviating a need for dietary intervention. However, some students consumed poor diets, incurred greater food costs and practised unfavourable lifestyle behaviours, which may have long-term health effects. University policy to improve students’ diets should incorporate efforts to promote student engagement in cooking and food preparation, and increased availability of low cost healthier food items.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12937-018-0398-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Positive impact of a cooking skills intervention among Brazilian university students: Six months follow-up of a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the Nutrition and Culinary in the Kitchen (NCK) Program to evaluate the improvement of cooking skills and healthy eating of university students.

METHODS

A randomized controlled trial with six months follow-up was used incorporating an intervention group (IG) and a control group (CG). The IG participated in the NCK program over a six-week period, three hours weekly, based on five hands-on cooking classes and one food market visit, while CG continued their usual activities. Outcome measures included changes in relation to a) accessibility and availability of fruits and vegetables (AAFV); b) cooking attitudes (CA); c) cooking behaviors at home (CBH); d) cooking behaviors away from home (CBAH) e) produce consumption self-efficacy (SEPC); f) self-efficacy for using cooking techniques (SECT); g) self-efficacy for using fruits, vegetables, and seasonings (while cooking) (SEFVS); and h) knowledge of cooking terms and techniques (CTT). An online self-completed validated survey was answered, at three time points: baseline (T1), after intervention (T2) and six months after intervention (T3). Statistical analyses were conducted to evaluate changes in outcomes within and between groups over time.

RESULTS

76 students completed the online questionnaire at the 3 time points. Findings revealed a statistically significant increase (p < 0.05) in all outcomes evaluated in the IG, except for CBH and CBAH. This effect was sustained at T3 (p < 0.001). Results were similar to the adjusted model (p < 0.001), thus, indicating that IG changes, when compared to CG, were due to the intervention effect.

CONCLUSION

NCK culinary intervention program demonstrated efficacy for the increased on AAFV, CA, SEPC, SECT, SEFVS and CTT with university students.

Consumer accounts of favourable dietary behaviour change and comparison with official dietary guidelines

OBJECTIVE

The current study aimed to assess Uruguayan consumers' accounts of their own need to change their dietary patterns, their intended changes and the barriers related to doing so, and to compare the intentions and barriers with the recommendations of the national dietary guidelines.

DESIGN

An online survey with 2381 Uruguayan employed adults, aged between 18 and 65 years, 65 % females, was conducted. Participants had to answer two open-ended questions related to changes they could make in the foods they eat and/or the way in which they eat to improve the quality of their diet and the reasons why they had not implemented those changes yet. Content analysis using inductive coding by two researchers was used to analyse the responses.

RESULTS

Consumers mainly intended to change consumption of types of foods, particularly eating more fruits, vegetables and legumes and consuming less flour, but also intended to alter their eating patterns. Lack of time and the fact that healthy foods are perceived as being more expensive than unhealthy foods were major barriers to behaviour change. Some of the recommendations of the dietary guidelines, particularly those related to enjoying cooking and meals and engaging in it as a social activity, were not represented in consumer accounts.

CONCLUSIONS

Accompanying policies to the dietary guidelines need to underline the importance of changes in dietary patterns, including greater enjoyment and sharing food preparation and meals in the company with others, address misconceptions about flour, and provide concrete, consumer-derived recommendations on how to enact the guidelines.

The role of IL-1 in postprandial fatigue

OBJECTIVES

Cytokines such as IL-1 seems to play a role in the pathogenesis of fatigue associated with some chronic diseases and anti-inflammatory treatment has been shown to reduce these symptoms. Ingestion of a calorie rich meal leads to postprandial fatigue, and is associated with increased systemic concentrations of cytokines, which is more pronounced in obese than lean subjects. We investigated whether postprandial fatigue is regulated by IL-1, and therefore reduced by IL-1 antagonism, in lean and obese subjects.

METHODS

In a double-blind, crossover study in 8 lean and 8 obese male subjects, randomized to receive either saline (placebo) or the IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra, we investigated whether postprandial fatigue was regulated by IL-1. To promote postprandial fatigue, subjects ran 30 min prior to a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal. Fatigue was determined using the Stanford Sleepiness Scale and blood samples were drawn at baseline and after the intervention.

RESULTS

IL-1 antagonism led to a reduction in postprandial fatigue and this effect was more pronounced in obese than lean individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that IL-1 is involved in the regulation of postprandial fatigue under physiologic conditions in lean and obese individuals. It remains to be shown whether this effect translates into clinical relevant effects.

Utilization of food outlets and intake of minimally processed and ultra-processed foods among 7 to 14-year-old schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Access to food retailers is an environmental determinant that influences what people consume. This study aimed to test the association between the use of food outlets and schoolchildren's intake of minimally processed and ultra-processed foods.

DESIGN AND SETTING

This was a cross-sectional study conducted in public and private schools in Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, from September 2012 to June 2013.

METHODS

The sample consisted of randomly selected clusters of schoolchildren aged 7 to 14 years, who were attending 30 schools. Parents or guardians provided socioeconomic and demographic data and answered questions about use of food outlets. Dietary intake was surveyed using a dietary recall questionnaire based on the previous day's intake. The foods or food groups were classified according to the level of processing. Negative binomial regression was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

We included 2,195 schoolchildren in the study. We found that buying foods from snack bars or fast-food outlets was associated with the intake frequency of ultra-processed foods among 11-14 years old in an adjusted model (incidence rate ratio, IRR: 1.11; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.01;1.23). Use of butchers was associated with the intake frequency of unprocessed/minimally processed foods among children 11-14 years old in the crude model (IRR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.01;1.22) and in the adjusted model (IRR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.06;1.17).

CONCLUSIONS

Use of butchers was associated with higher intake of unprocessed/minimally processed foods while use of snack bars or fast-food outlets may have a negative impact on schoolchildren's dietary habits.

Rabbit meat production and consumption: State of knowledge and future perspectives

Since the 1970s, in some European countries rabbit meat production has progressively become a highly specialized industry, which has made Europe the second (after China) largest rabbit meat producer in the world. However, the industry is currently facing a critical period due to structural weaknesses, progressive and constant reductions in consumption, and raising criticism related to welfare conditions and other ethical issues. This trend is questioning the future of the rabbit meat industry, which could lead to the loss of knowledge and technical expertise acquired over decades of major investments and research efforts (a valuable cultural and professional heritage for future generations). In the present review, we provide an overview of the rabbit meat industry, market and value chain, we depict consumer's attitude towards rabbit meat, highlighting strengths and weaknesses, and factors driving their current purchase behavior. Finally, we will attempt to outline possible strategies to ensure a sustainable future for the production of rabbits for commercial meat purposes.

Investigating the role of personal and context-related factors in convenience foods consumption

In the scenario of food consumptions, we witness the consumer's growing consideration for the "convenience" attribute. Our study intends to understand the consumer behaviour towards convenience-processed foods by analysing in a single model the role of beliefs, personal traits, social influence and market availability. We applied a Structural Equation Model (SEM) to a representative sample of 426 Italian consumers. The results show a correlation between intention to consume convenience-processed foods and social influence, market availability and several personal traits, suggesting strategies for the development of the convenience food market.

Barriers to and facilitators of ultra-processed food consumption: perceptions of Brazilian adults

OBJECTIVE

To explore how individuals perceive the availability of ultra-processed foods in their neighbourhoods and the barriers to and facilitators of consumption of such foods.

DESIGN

A qualitative design was chosen. In-depth, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted and a content analysis was performed.

SETTING

São Paulo, Brazil.

SUBJECTS

A purposeful sample of adults (n 48), stratified by sex and age group (20-39 years and 40-59 years).

RESULTS

All participants perceived their neighbourhoods as favourable regarding the availability of ultra-processed foods. Three barriers were identified: health concerns, not appreciating the taste of these foods and not being used to eating them. Five facilitators, however, were identified: appreciating the taste of these foods, their children's preference, convenience, addiction and cost.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants perceived their neighbourhoods as favourable to the consumption of ultra-processed foods and reported more facilitators than barriers to their consumption. Reported barriers point to the need to include measures promoting a healthy food system and traditional eating practices. The facilitators reinforce the idea that these foods are habit-forming and that regulatory measures to offset the exposure to ultra-processed foods are necessary.