Worksite nutrition supports and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption

Impact of an Educational Intervention on Oral Health Knowledge and Bacterial Plaque Control in Male Secondary School Students in a Peruvian Province: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention on oral health knowledge and bacterial plaque control in male secondary school students in a Peruvian province.

Methods

This quasi-experimental study evaluated 294 male secondary school students in southern Peru. Oral health knowledge was measured with a validated 20-item questionnaire. Bacterial plaque was measured with the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S). This was rated as Excellent: 0, Good: 0.1-1.2, Fair: 1.3-3.0 and Poor: 3.1-6.0, before receiving the educational intervention and after four weeks of receiving it. Variables such as age, area of residence, having health professionals as family members, educational level of mother and father, and living with parents were considered. A significance level of p<0.05 was considered.

Results

The comparison between the level of oral health knowledge and the OHI-S, before and after 4 weeks of receiving the educational intervention, showed a significant improvement (p<0.05) in all the categories of the variables studied. Likewise, before the educational intervention, there were significant differences in global knowledge about oral health among the categories of the following variables: age group (p=0.040), area of residence (p<0.001), educational level (father) (p=0.011) and living with parents (p<0.001). However, after four weeks of receiving the educational intervention, no significant differences were observed in all the variables studied (p>0.05). Regarding the OHI-S, no significant differences were observed in any of the variables studied, both before (p>0.05) and after four weeks (p>0.05) of receiving the educational intervention.

Conclusion

After four weeks, the educational intervention significantly improved oral health knowledge and significantly reduced plaque bacterial plaque in male secondary school students in a Peruvian province, regardless of age, area of residence, having health professional family members, educational level of mother and father, and living with parents.

Factors that Influence the Perceived Healthiness of Food-Review

The interest of consumers is the consumption of healthy food, whereas the interest of food manufacturers is that consumers recognize the produced “healthier” food items on the shelves, so they can satisfy their demands. This way, identifying the factors that influence the perceived healthiness of food products is a mutual interest. What causes consumers to consider one product more beneficial to health than another? In recent years, numerous studies have been published on the topic of the influence of several health-related factors on consumer perception. This analysis collected and categorized the research results related to this question. This review collects 59 articles with the help of the search engines Science Direct, Wiley Online Library, MDPI and Emerald Insight between 1 January 2014 and 31 March 2019. Our paper yielded six separate categories that influence consumers in their perception of the healthiness of food items: the communicated information—like FoP labels and health claims, the product category, the shape and colour of the product packaging, the ingredients of the product, the organic origin of the product, and the taste and other sensory features of the product.

Linoleic acid in diets of mice increases total endocannabinoid levels in bowel and liver: modification by dietary glucose

AIM

Linoleic acid (LA) is an essential fatty acid involved in the biosynthesis of arachidonic acid and prostaglandins. LA is known to induce obesity and insulin resistance. In this study, two concentrations of LA with or without added glucose (G) were fed to mice to investigate their effects on endocannabinoid (EC) biology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Four groups of C57BL/6 mice were provided with diets containing 1% or 8% LA with or without added G (LAG) for 8 weeks. Body weights, food intake, circulating glucose and insulin levels were measured throughout the study. Following euthanasia, plasma, bowel and hepatic ECs, monoacylglycerol lipase and fatty acid amide hydroxylase protein levels (enzymes responsible for EC degradation) and transcriptional activity of PPARα in liver were quantified. Liver was probed for evidence of insulin receptor activity perturbation.

RESULTS

Increasing dietary LA from 1% to 8% significantly increased circulating, small bowel and hepatic ECs. 1%LAG fed mice had lowest feed efficiency, and only liver levels of both ECs were reduced by addition of G. Addition of G to 1% LA diets resulted in elevated monoacylglycerol lipase and fatty acid amide hydroxylase protein levels (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) in liver due to increased transcriptional activity of PPARα (p < 0.05). The reduced EC levels with addition of G also correlated with a measure of enhanced insulin action.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, body weight of mice is influenced by the source of calorie intake. Furthermore, tissue EC/g are dependent on tissue-specific synthesis and degradation that are modulated by dietary LA and G which also influence food efficiency, and down-stream insulin signalling pathways. The findings could potentially be useful information for weight management efforts in humans.

The Impact of Worksite Supports for Healthy Eating on Dietary Behaviors

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to assess the availability of worksite supports (WSS) for healthy eating and examine associations between existing supports and dietary behaviors.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, telephone-based study was conducted with 2013 participants in four metropolitan areas in 2012. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between dietary behaviors and the availability or use of WSS.

RESULTS

Those reporting the availability of a cafeteria/snack bar/food services at the worksite were more likely to consume fruits and vegetables more than twice/day, and less likely to consume fast food more than twice/week.

CONCLUSIONS

Study results highlight the utility of specific WSS to improve employee dietary behaviors while raising questions about why the presence of healthy foods at the worksite may not translate into employee consumption of such foods.

Worksite nutrition supports and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption

Objective

This study examined the link between worksite environmental supports for nutrition behaviours and sugar‐sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and offers insight into potential intervention points for reducing SSB consumption and combatting overweight and obesity.

Methods

Perceived worksite supports for healthy nutrition and self‐reported SSB consumption were analysed for 2,015 working adults in the state of Missouri using a subset of questions from the Supports at Home and Work for Maintaining Energy Balance (SHOW‐ME) study.

Results

Employees' use of vending facilities and the availability of water coolers/water bottles was significantly associated with increased SSB consumption, while use of cafeterias was significantly associated with decreased SSB consumption. Symbols or signs to identify healthy alternatives were significantly associated with sports drink consumption.

Conclusions

This study supports previous work indicating the worksite as a necessary environment for nutrition interventions. When choices (vending and cafeteria) are provided, employees report making healthier decisions. For worksites without cafeterias, alternatives should be explored including mobile food trucks and farmer's markets.