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Abreu F, Hernando A, Goulão LF, Pinto AM, Branco A, Cerqueira A, Galvão C, Guedes FB, Bronze MR, Viegas W, de Matos MG, Sousa J. Mediterranean diet adherence and nutritional literacy: an observational cross-sectional study of the reality of university students in a COVID-19 pandemic context. BMJ Nutr Prev Health 2023; 6:221-230. [PMID: 38357557 PMCID: PMC10862292 DOI: 10.1136/bmjnph-2023-000659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Aim To evaluate the adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and the level of nutritional literacy (NL) among university students from different academic fields of study, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A total of 1114 first-year undergraduate students at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, were included in this study. A self-administered online questionnaire was applied that included questions regarding sociodemographic information, the MD measured by the PREDIMED questionnaire (PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea) and NL assessed using the Newest Vital Sign questionnaire. Results The average PREDIMED score revealed a low adherence (6.79±2.14 points) to the MD. Notably, students in the Social Sciences and Humanities academic fields showed the highest level of adherence (U=21 071; p<0.05). Within the Health field, there was a greater prevalence of dietary behaviours aligned with the MD, contributing to higher overall adherence scores. Furthermore, 84.1% of the participants demonstrated adequate NL. Interestingly, students in the Exact Sciences and Engineering field demonstrated the highest levels of NL (5.07±1.19), particularly in questions involving mathematical reasoning. Conclusions Our findings suggest that university students in Lisbon do not follow a MD and are far from the recommendations of this dietary pattern. While most participants showed adequate NL, it is essential to highlight the link between knowledge and application to daily practice. Despite positive literacy levels, there remains a deficit in translating this knowledge into correct dietary practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filipa Abreu
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa, Laboratório de Nutrição, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana Hernando
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa, Laboratório de Nutrição, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Luís Filipe Goulão
- Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Alexandra Marques Pinto
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Psicologia, Centro de Investigação em Ciência Psicológica, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Amélia Branco
- Universidade de Lisboa, ISEG - Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, GHES, Research Center – Office of Economic and Social of History, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana Cerqueira
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Lisboa, Portugal
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Cecília Galvão
- Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Fábio Botelho Guedes
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Lisboa, Portugal
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Maria Rosário Bronze
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, Lisboa, Portugal
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica (iBET), Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Wanda Viegas
- Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Margarida Gaspar de Matos
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Lisboa, Portugal
- Universidade de Lisboa, APPsyCI - Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Joana Sousa
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa, Laboratório de Nutrição, Lisboa, Portugal
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, Instituto de Saúde Ambiental, Lisboa, Portugal
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Béjar LM, Mesa-Rodríguez P, Quintero-Flórez A, Ramírez-Alvarado MDM, García-Perea MD. Effectiveness of a Smartphone App (e-12HR) in Improving Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Spanish University Students by Age, Gender, Field of Study, and Body Mass Index: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients 2023; 15:nu15071688. [PMID: 37049528 PMCID: PMC10096856 DOI: 10.3390/nu15071688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
There is an urgent need to implement intervention programs to promote adherence to the Mediterranean diet (AMD) in university students to prevent non-communicable diseases. A powerful tool for this is smartphone apps. Furthermore, it is necessary to determine the subgroups that are most likely to benefit from these technologies. The objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of an app (e-12HR) at improving AMD in a sample of Spanish university students and different strata. The study method was a controlled and randomized clinical trial over a four-week follow-up period and involving 385 participants (76.9% women). The participants were in two parallel groups: the control group (CG) and the intervention group (IG), with only the IG receiving feedback to improve their AMD. There were significant statistical improvements (with higher values in the IG) at week four, after no significant statistical differences at baseline (Week One): in the whole sample: +25.7% AMD index and +74.5% percentage with moderate/high AMD index. In the subgroups, seven of eight subgroups, ranging in AMD index from +17.8% (≥20 years) to +33.0% (<20 years); and for males, in weeks two (+27.9%) and three (+23.9%), but not at week four. In conclusion, e-12HR could improve AMD among university students (in the total sample and all subgroups, except ≥25 kg/m2).
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Calderón-Asenjo RE, Jalk-Muñoz MC, Calizaya-Milla YE, Calizaya-Milla SE, Ramos-Vera C, Saintila J. Association Between Emotional Eating, Sociodemographic Characteristics, Physical Activity, Sleep Duration, and Mental and Physical Health in Young Adults. J Multidiscip Healthc 2022; 15:2845-2859. [PMID: 36536663 PMCID: PMC9759015 DOI: 10.2147/jmdh.s391752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emotional eating (EmE) is one of the most common eating behaviors maladaptive among young adults, however, in the Peruvian context, it remains unexplored. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to determine the association between negative EmE, sociodemographic characteristics, physical activity, sleep duration, and mental and physical health in young adults. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in 400 young Peruvian adults living in three regions of Peru (coast, jungle, and highlands). An online survey was used to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics, physical activity, sleep duration, depressive symptoms, anxiety, hypertension, and negative EmE. In addition, self-reported anthropometric data were collected to calculate body mass index (BMI). RESULTS Approximately 55.8% of women presented negative EmE. Logistic regression analysis revealed that participants aged 30-39 years were less likely to have negative EmE in both female and male gender, OR; 0.24, 95% CI; 0.08-0.66, p<0.01 and OR; 0.40, 95% CI; 0.16-0.97, p<0.05, respectively. Perform physical activity 3 to 4 times 5.22 (95% CI: 1.31-20.78), 1 to 2 times a week 5.77 (95% CI: 1.91-17.44), and never 15.18 (95% CI: 3.90-59.00) were associated with negative EmE. Moreover, sleeping less than 7 hours per day (OR; 2.26, 95% CI; 1.04-4.90), depressive symptoms (OR = 6.29, 95% CI: 1.27-31.19), anxiety (OR = 14.13, 95% CI: 2.46-80. 97, p<0.01), hypertension (OR = 7.58, 95% CI: 1.24-46.17), and BMI ≥25 (overweight/obese) (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.66-3.41) were associated with negative EmE. CONCLUSION The findings show that there is an association between negative EmE, sociodemographic characteristics, physical activity, sleep duration, and mental and physical health in young adults.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yaquelin E Calizaya-Milla
- School of Human Nutrition, Peruvian Union University, Lima, Peru
- Research Group for Nutrition and Lifestyle, Peruvian Union University, Lima, Peru
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Liu DT, Prem B, Sharma G, Kaiser J, Besser G, Mueller CA. Eating behavior in patients with smell loss. Front Nutr 2022; 9:993639. [DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.993639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundThe objective of this study was to determine how clinical characteristics and validated quality of life (QoL)-measures are associated with eating behavior in patients with olfactory dysfunction (OD).MethodsFor this cross-sectional study, 150 OD patients of different causes were retrospectively recruited. Olfactory function was measured using the Sniffin’ Sticks (TDI), while olfactory-related QoL was evaluated with the Questionnaire of OD negative and positive statements (QOD-NS and QOD-PS). The importance of olfaction was measured using the Importance of Olfaction Questionnaire (IOQ). The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) assessed eating behavior based on emotional, external, and restrained eating. Associations were sought between eating behavior metrics (as dependent variables) with clinical characteristics and olfactory-related outcome measures.ResultsEmotional, external, and restrained eating behavior deviating from normative standards were reported in 54%, 71.3%, and 68% of patients, respectively. Multivariate regression modeling revealed that emotional eating was associated with age (ß = –0.227, p = 0.032), the body mass index (BMI, ß = 0.253, p = 0.005), the TDI (ß = 0.190, p = 0.046), and the QOD-NS (ß = 0.203, p = 0.049). External eating was associated with OD duration (ß = 0.291, p = 0.005), the TDI (ß = 0.225, p = 0.018), the QOD-PS (ß = –0.282, p = 0.008), and the IOQ (ß = 0.277, p = 0.004). Restrained eating was associated with age (ß = 0.216, p = 0.033), the BMI (ß = 0.257, p = 0.003), male gender (ß = –0.263, p = 0.002), and the IOQ (ß = 0.332, p < 0.001).ConclusionClinical characteristics and olfactory outcome measures differentially impact eating styles in OD patients. Our study’s results highlight the importance of considering unfavorable changes in eating behavior during clinical counseling.
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Jiang J, Ma M, He L. Comment on "Effect of the Mediterranean diet in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria". Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992) 2022; 68:301. [PMID: 35442352 DOI: 10.1590/1806-9282.20211190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Meilin Ma
- Taizhou University, School of Medicine - Taizhou, China
| | - Lianping He
- Taizhou University, School of Medicine - Taizhou, China
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A Glimpse of the Sports Nutrition Awareness in Spanish Basketball Players. Nutrients 2021; 14:nu14010027. [PMID: 35010902 PMCID: PMC8746623 DOI: 10.3390/nu14010027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Basketball is a team sport, with many fans and practitioners worldwide from all ages and levels. In all cases, players accumulate high levels of fatigue, and there is also limited time to recover between games or practices. In particular, nutrition plays a key role in optimizing performance and recovery. However, it is typical to observe erroneous nutritional behaviors among basketball players. It has been theorized that these behaviors are influenced by habits acquired based on the individual’s knowledge. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to conduct a descriptive research of the sports nutrition knowledge and practices in a sample of Spanish basketball players, from athletes under 18 years old (n = 69) to nonprofessional (n = 14) and professional adult players (n = 21). The sample was comprised of 49 men and 55 women. This was a transversal, cross-sectional, observational and descriptive study. All participants (n = 104) completed an anonymous online survey in order to analyze their sports nutrition knowledge and practices. In view of the obtained results, we can conclude that the knowledge of sport-specific nutrition in players under 18 years old, as well as non-professional and professional adult basketball players, is insufficient through all the categories and levels. The lack of professional support and time management difficulties were identified as some of the main barriers.
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Demirbas N, Kutlu R, Kurnaz A. The Relationship between Mindful Eating and Body Mass Index and Body Compositions in Adults. ANNALS OF NUTRITION AND METABOLISM 2021; 77:262-270. [PMID: 34518446 DOI: 10.1159/000518675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Obesity and overweight are important public health problems. Mindfulness can promote healthier living and dietary habits, which might support weight loss. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between eating awareness and body mass index (BMI) and body composition in adults. METHODS This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with 446 volunteers. The heights, weights, and waist circumferences of the participants were measured, and bioelectrical impedance analyses were performed. A sociodemographic information form prepared by the researchers and the Turkish version of the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) were administered to the volunteers. RESULTS In this study, 31.2% (n = 139) of the participants were overweight and 46.9% (n = 209) were obese. There was no statistically significant relationship between gender and BMI. The total mean MEQ score was found to be 88.26 ± 13.3 (53-144). The awareness scores of women of normal weight were statistically significantly higher than those of women with obesity (p = 0.001). There was no difference between BMI categories and awareness scores among male participants. While participants with obesity had higher scores for eating disinhibition, their eating control, eating discipline, and interference scores were lower than those of participants with normal weight (p < 0.001). A weak statistically significant correlation was found between the awareness subdimension of the scale and the ages, BMIs, waist circumferences, and body fat rates of the participants. CONCLUSION It was observed that mindful eating was lower in women with overweight and obesity than that in women with normal weight. We believe that it is important to increase awareness of eating in order to protect against the diseases caused by obesity and for a healthy life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nur Demirbas
- Department of Family Medicine, Meram Medical Faculty, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey
| | - Ruhusen Kutlu
- Department of Family Medicine, Meram Medical Faculty, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey
| | - Aysel Kurnaz
- Department of Family Medicine, Meram Medical Faculty, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey
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Eating Behavior during First-Year College Students, including Eating Disorders-RUVIC-RUNEAT-TCA Project. Protocol of an Observational Multicentric Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18189457. [PMID: 34574382 PMCID: PMC8469904 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18189457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
(1) Introduction: Changes in eating behavior and eating disorders are especially common in young people, especially teenage and college women. The first year of college is a critical period, as students acquire freedoms that can lead to poor eating habits. During this first year, students usually gain weight. The aims of this project are to analyze the risk of developing eating disorders, the composition and dietary intake and the changes in the body composition of two groups of college students (independent from the family nucleus or still living within the family) in the first year of college. (2) Material and Methods: Multicentric prospective observational study protocol in which first-year students at the Universidad Europea del Atlántico and Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya voluntarily took part in the study. The students will be divided into two groups, independent and those residing in the family home, and the evolution of both groups will be compared at the beginning and at the end of the school year by performing anthropometric measurements, tests on lifestyle and eating habits (Test of Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, MEDAS-14; Emotional Eater Questionnaire, EEQ), validated questionnaires on eating disorders (Eating Attitude Test, EAT26; Teen Figure Drawing Scales; SCOFF, Eating Behavior Test; Bulimia Investigatory Test Edinburgh, BITE) and their intake will be evaluated through 72 h dietary records. (3) Discussion: Determining the risk of suffering eating disorders of alimentary behavior, knowing eating consumption, perception of the corporal image and body composition through the first year of college will be decisive in establishing alimentary education strategies to prevent possible eating disorders in young students.
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