Associations of food choice values and food literacy with overall diet quality: a nationwide cross-sectional study in Japanese adults

Nutrition literacy and its relationship with diet quality and quality of life among white-collar employees: a study from Türkiye

BACKGROUND

Nutrition literacy is an important component of health and healthy eating behaviors. The aim of this study was to determine the nutrition literacy (NL) status of white-collar employees and its relationship with adherence to the Mediterranean diet, anthropometric measurements, and lifestyle behaviors, including eating habits, dietary intake, and physical activity level.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted with 3459 white-collar employees aged 18-65 who lived in Türkiye. A questionnaire prepared by the researchers was used to obtain information about the demographic characteristics and anthropometric measurements of the participants. Evaluation Instrument of Nutrition Literacy on Adults (EINLA) was used to assess NL, the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) was used to assess diet quality, and the Quality of Life Test Short Form-36 (SF-36) was used to determine quality of life. Data analysis was conducted using the IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0 program.

RESULTS

With an average age of 24.3 ± 10.5 years and 50.7% women, women presented higher nutrition literacy than men did (p < 0.001). Most participants held university or postgraduate degrees with medium to high income levels and the majority demonstrated sufficient NL. Compared with other participants, those with adequate NL had significantly higher Mediterranean diet adherence, and SF-36 physical (77.27 ± 16.26), and mental (65.45 ± 17.00) scores (p < 0.001). Negative correlations were found between the EINLA score and BMI (r=-0.082), waist circumference (r=-0.072), hip circumference (r=-0.036), waist/hip ratio (r=-0.074), and waist/height ratio (r=-0.056) (p < 0.05). Additionally, weak positive correlations were observed between the EINLA score and the SF-36 physical (r = 0.158) and mental scores (r = 0.088), as well as the metabolic equivalent of task (MET) score (r = 0.042) (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study demonstrated that NL is a significant predictor of anthropometric measurements and healthy lifestyle behaviors including dietary habits, and quality of life among adults. Nutrition literacy can enable individuals to make informed choices and thus contribute to the prevention of many noncommunicable chronic diseases.

Comparative analysis of COVID-19 responses in Japan and Africa: diet, phytochemicals, vitamin D, and gut microbiota in reducing mortality-A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

As the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic subsides, the clinical sequelae are becoming more problematic. Interestingly, the statistical data indicate that Africa has experienced the lowest number of cases and deaths, with an unexpected phenomenon where the number of deaths from COVID-19 has not increased significantly. Several studies have investigated the relationship between diet and coronavirus. However, no systematic review/meta-analysis has conclusively linked diet (phytochemicals and vitamin D) and the gut microbiota in the context of COVID-19.

Methods

This study examined the responses to COVID-19 in Japan and Africa, formulating the following hypotheses: (1) a healthy diet is effective against COVID-19, (2) blood vitamin D levels are associated with COVID-19 mortality, and (3) COVID-19 is associated with the gut microbiota. To investigate these hypotheses, a keyword search and meta-analysis were conducted using PubMed, and each hypothesis was tested.

Results

This study found that a healthy diet, particularly rich in phytochemicals such as polyphenols and flavonoids, is effective against COVID-19. An association was detected between blood vitamin D levels and COVID-19 mortality. The gut microbiota was linked to COVID-19 and its amelioration. These findings may have significant implications for not only understanding COVID-19 but also future prevention of pneumonia.

Associations of Eating Out and Dietary Diversity with Mild Cognitive Impairment among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

BACKGROUND

Dementia is a critical late-life health issue that occurs among members of aging societies. This study examined the relationships between eating out, dietary diversity, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among community-dwelling older adults.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 597 older adults (median age 73.0 years, interquartile range 69.0-78.0 years; 62.6% females). We applied the food frequency score to evaluate diet variety and the weekly consumption frequencies of ten food items were determined. The National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology Functional Assessment Tool (NCGG-FAT) was used to evaluate MCI. Finally, we asked the participants how often they ate out each month; those who replied "none" were categorized into the "non-eating out" group.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of MCI was 122 (20.4%), with a higher prevalence in the low dietary diversity group than in the high dietary diversity group (28.6% vs. 18.6%). After adjusting for covariates, the participants who self-described as not eating out were independently associated with low dietary diversity (odds ratio [OR]=1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20-3.20), while low dietary diversity was associated with MCI (OR=1.72; 95% CI 1.02-2.87). Structural equation models revealed that not eating out had no direct effect on MCI but was associated with MCI via low dietary diversity (root mean square error of approximation=0.030, goodness-of-fit index=0.999, and adjusted goodness-of-fit index=0.984).

CONCLUSIONS

Although non-eating out may not have a direct effect on MCI, an indirect relationship may exist between eating-out habits and MCI via dietary diversity status.

A cross-sectional study on the moderating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between sociodemographic variables and nutrition literacy among older adults in rural areas of North Sichuan

Objective

The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of self-efficacy among rural elderly individuals in northern Sichuan Province in the relationship between certain sociodemographic variables and nutritional literacy.

Methods

Convenience sampling was used to select 264 elderly individuals aged 60 and above from rural communities in Cangxi County, Guangyuan City, Yilong County, Nanchong City, and Bazhou District, Bazhong City, Sichuan Province. A self-designed questionnaire, including sociodemographic variables, the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and the Nutrition Literacy Questionnaire for the Elderly (NLQ-E), was administered through face-to-face interviews using a paper-based version. The relationships between sociodemographic variables, self-efficacy, and nutritional literacy in the elderly were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and the Process plugin to examine the relationships between variables and to test for moderation effects.

Results

(1) There were significant differences in nutrition literacy scores among elderly people of different ages, genders, marital statuses, educational levels, personal monthly living expenses, dental conditions, and number of chronic diseases (p < 0.05). (2) When elderly individuals have lower self-efficacy, their nutritional literacy is lower as they become older, and they have poorer nutritional literacy with a higher number of chronic diseases.

Conclusion

General population demographic data has a significant impact on the nutritional literacy level of elderly people in rural areas of northern Sichuan. Self-efficacy plays a moderating role in the relationship between age and nutritional literacy, as well as the relationship between the number of chronic diseases and nutritional literacy.

The Recommendation of the Mediterranean-styled Japanese Diet for Healthy Longevity

The Mediterranean diet, listed as the intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO, is known as healthy and consumed worldwide. The Japanese diet is also listed and considered healthy. This narrative review compares the Mediterranean diet with its Japanese counterpart. Research has reported that people in Mediterranean regions, such as Italy and Greece, have one-third of the mortality ratio from cardiovascular diseases compared to people in the United States and Northern Europe because of the difference in eating habits. Therefore, Mediterranean diets are considered as healthy. A typical Western diet containing high amounts of fat, sugar, and calories is responsible for several diseases like metabolic syndrome and obesity, which are induced by chronic inflammation. In contrast, Mediterranean and Japanese diets contain them only less. The similarity between Mediterranean and Japanese diets is the substantial intake of vegetables, beans, and fish. On the other hand, the Mediterranean diet consumes large amounts of olive oil, especially polyphenol-rich extra virgin olive oil and dairy products, but meat consumption is relatively small. In contrast, the Japanese diet does not use oil and fat, contains abundant fermented foods, and consumes seaweed. Japan is known for its longevity, and people think that a well-balanced diet daily is good for preventing and curing illness. In this regard, finding non-disease conditions, so-called "ME-BYO," and curing them before the manifestation of diseases is becoming more common. In this review, we discuss the healthy eating habit, "The Mediterranean-styled Japanese diet," which prevents ME-BYO condition and reduces the risk of various diseases. The Mediterranean-styled Japanese diet, a hybrid of Mediterranean and Japanese diets, reduces the risk of various diseases by suppressing chronic inflammation. This nutritional intervention prevents ME-BYO and is beneficial for healthy longevity. Hence, a Mediterranean-styled Japanese diet might be helpful for healthy longevity in Japan and around the world.

Exploring the Impact of Sociodemographic Characteristics and Health Literacy on Adherence to Dietary Recommendations and Food Literacy

This study investigates food literacy-related abilities and adherence to dietary recommendations in relation to sociodemographic characteristics and health-related features (health literacy, self-rated health and morbidity) in the North-Western region of Romania. This is a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data collected in 2019 from a representative and randomised sample of 1572 individuals. A questionnaire was employed to record participants' sociodemographic characteristics, food-related and health-related features. Most participants were non-adherent to dietary recommendations for fruit and vegetables (83.5%), fish and seafood (61.3%), and water intake (67.9%). However, most participants reported an adequate ability to understand the connection between nutrition and health (89.1%), to distinguish between healthy and less healthy options (84.4%), and to acquire nutrition information (75.6%). Non-adherence to dietary recommendations and low food literacy abilities were more prevalent in disadvantaged groups (older age, rural settings, retirement or social welfare, low educational attainment, formerly married). Health literacy was negatively associated with not adhering to dietary recommendations and poor self-rated food literacy abilities. The study suggests that low socioeconomic status negatively impacts food literacy and adherence to dietary recommendations among Romanian adults. Identifying target populations to improve food-related abilities and health literacy can aid public health services in improving health outcomes.