In the Labyrinth of Dietary Patterns and Well-Being—When Eating Healthy Is Not Enough to Be Well

Adhere to the Chinese dietary guidelines associated with better subjective well-being: evidence from a cross-sectional survey and a daily diary investigation

BACKGROUND

Subjective well-being (SWB) plays an essential role in general health. Although beneficial effects of selected micronutrients and foods on SWB have been reported, they do not reflect the impact of the habitual diet on SWB. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the association between adherence to the Chinese Dietary Guidelines (CDG) with SWB.

METHODS

This study combined a cross-sectional survey and a daily diary investigation. The cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1,433 students from 8 universities in southern China between October and November 2020. The daily diary investigation was conducted in November 2022, collecting 10-day daily data from 115 students at two universities in southern China over ten consecutive days, resulting in 1,020 valid matched daily responses. Adherence to the CDG was assessed by the China Prime Diet Quality Score (CPDQS), SWB was measured by the Index of Well-being (IWB) and the Affect Valuation Index (AVI). Correlation analysis, multiple regression analyses, and hierarchical regression were conducted to examine the associations of adherence to the CDG with its components, and SWB.

RESULTS

The cross-sectional survey revealed significant predictors of SWB, including adherence to the CDG (β = 0.24, p<0.001) and its components: cereals and tubers (β = 0.07, p = 0.024), vegetables and fruits (β = 0.11, p<0.001), dairy/soy/nuts (β = 0.11, p = 0.002), and condiments and alcoholic beverages (β = 0.08, p = 0.002). The daily diary investigation showed positive associations between adherence to the CDG (β = 0.19, p<0.001), and its components: vegetables and fruits (β = 0.11, p = 0.001), dairy/soy/nuts (β = 0.06, p = 0.009), animal source food (β = 0.06, p = 0.026), and condiments and alcoholic beverages (β = 0.07, p = 0.026), with higher levels of daily SWB.

CONCLUSIONS

Adherence to healthy dietary patterns such as the CDG, rather than focusing on individual components in isolation, is associated with better SWB. Furthermore, the consumption of CDG components had an impact on SWB, although the specific effects varied between the two studies. This study offers modest evidence supporting the role of the CDG in promoting positive mental health.

Profiles of older adults according to their life and food-related life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic: the importance of the social environment

Introduction

Older adults are a highly heterogeneous population, as individuals of the same age can show considerable variations in personal characteristics and living conditions. Risk and protective factors for older adults' subjective wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic can be explored by examining how life satisfaction, food-related life satisfaction, and associated variables coexist among these individuals. On this basis, this study aimed to identify older adult profiles based on their levels of life and food-related life satisfaction; to characterize these profiles by diet quality, social support, financial wellbeing, and sociodemographic characteristics; and to identify variables associated with higher life and food-related life satisfaction.

Methods

The sample included 1,371 institutionalized and non-institutionalized individuals over the age of 60, from four cities in Chile. Participants answered a survey, either online or face to face, with questions about life and food-related life satisfaction, perceived social support from family, friends, and others, food quality, financial wellbeing/distress, sociodemographic characteristics, and prior COVID-19 infection.

Results

Using a latent profile analysis, we identified three profiles of older adults: Profile 1: Unsatisfied with their life, somewhat satisfied with their food-related life (5.40%); Profile 2: Somewhat satisfied with their life, satisfied with their food-related life (65.06%); Profile 3: Extremely satisfied with their life and food-related life (29.54%). Profiles differed by residence (institutionalized vs. independent), age, marital status, social support, financial wellbeing, COVID-19 infection, and city of residence.

Discussion

The patterns of association between life and food-related satisfaction and related variables indicate conditions of vulnerability and protection related to living conditions, the social dimensions of food consumption, and social support. These results underscore the need for identifying groups of older adults based on diverse characteristics and conditions outside of chronological age.

The Impact of Social Well-Being on Population Diet Nutritional Value and Antiradical Status

The paper presents the result of assessing the antiradical status of consumers (in the context of Russia) in connection with their well-being. This approach is based on a multistage study, in which the results of sociological surveys were applied, as well as estimates of the antiradical potential (ARP) of diets obtained using neural networks, bootstrapping the chemical composition of diets, and calculating reference values using mathematical models. The paper presents data collected from residents living in the territories of at least 21 regions and cities of Russia: Magadan, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Krasnodar, Lipetsk, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Voronezh, etc. A total of 1001 people were interviewed, which, according to our calculations, gives a margin of error in value of approximately 3.1%. To calculate the lack of vitamins in the diets of residents of the Russian Federation, data on the chemical composition of food products from the FNDDS database were used. The assessment of dietary habits showed a lack of vitamins below the recommended level in 73% of Russians for vitamin D, 59% for retinol, 38% for β-carotenes, 13% for vitamin E, and 6% for ascorbic acid. The study showed that at least 36% of the Russian population has a low antiradical status, while it was found that "poor" consumers are more likely to consume economically more expensive foods (in terms of their nutritional value). The "poor" segments of the population consume 180-305% more canned food and 38-68% more sweet carbonated drinks than other social groups, but their consumption of vegetables is 23-48% lower. On the contrary, "wealthy" consumers consume 17-25% more complex (varied) dishes, 10-68% more fresh vegetables, and 8-39% more fish. From the obtained values it follows that consumers with low levels of ARP in their diets are in a group with an increased probability of a number of "excess" diseases (diseases of the cardiovascular system, obesity, etc.). In general, the ARP values of food consumed for low-income segments of the population were 2.3 times lower (the ratio was calculated as the percentage of consumers below the level of 11,067 equivalents necessary for the disposal of free radicals generated in the human body per day) than for those who can afford expensive food (consumers with high income). A simple increase in consumption of unbalanced foods, in our opinion, will only contribute to the entry of these consumers into the "average diet trap". All this makes it imperative to develop comprehensive measures to create a new concept of public catering; otherwise, we can expect a reduction in both the health of the population and the performance of the economy of the whole country.

Public Awareness of Food Products, Preferences and Practices: Old Challenges and New Insights

Food is not only a source of nutrition for humans; it also encompasses social, cultural, and psychological dynamics [...].

Satisfaction with Food: Profiles of Two-Parent Families with Adolescent Children

The objectives of this study were to distinguish family profiles based on the level of satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL) of mothers, fathers, and adolescents, and to characterize the profiles based on the three family members' diet quality and nutritional status, family's eating habits, parental feeding practices, parent's nutritional knowledge, and sociodemographic characteristics. Questionnaires were applied to a sample of 300 two-parent families with adolescent children, aged between 10 and 17 years, in Temuco, Chile. The questionnaires used were: satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL); adapted healthy eating index (AHEI); family eating habits questionnaire (FEHQ); and the nutritional knowledge subscale. They also answered questions about eating habits and provided data to determine BMI and sociodemographic characteristics. Four different profiles were identified with respect to SWFoL: "Families satisfied with their food" (50.6%); "Fathers and mothers moderately satisfied with their food, children satisfied" (23.2%); "Families extremely satisfied with their food" (16.6%); and "Fathers and mothers satisfied with their food, children extremely dissatisfied" (9.7%). The profiles demonstrated heterogeneity in SWFoL. Higher levels of SWFoL (mothers, fathers and adolescents) were associated with healthier eating habits. These results contribute to new studies that enable understanding of how families' healthy eating habits are part of improving quality of life.