Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Patterns and Risk of Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle among University Students in Kenya

Changes in food consumption and nutrition intake of rural residents in central China

Food security and diet diversity is essential to sustainable food system all over the world. As the income of rural residents achieves great increase, the structure of food consumption and food diversification face significant change. Rural residents' food consumption and nutrients intake worth more attention. Chinese government has been striving to achieve sustainable development in rural areas. We conducted this study to explore area-level practices aiming at achieving food and nutrition security in rural China. In order to search for the change principle and main influencing factors of residents' food consumption, three rural areas in Henan Province were selected. According to the data obtained from the Henan Province Bureau of Statistics, changes in food consumption from 2012 to 2021 in three rural areas were analyzed in this study. This study led to the following remarkable results: (1) The per capita consumption of poultry, meat, sugar, and eggs of the three rural residents has increased much more than that of other food items. (2) In the three rural areas, the proportions of grains, vegetables, liquor, and edible oils have decreased overall. The proportions of other categories, such as poultry, meat, and fruits, have increased. (3) The rural residents' per capita nutrition intake has increased remarkably. The results provide some empirical foundation for local government who need suggest that rural residents should control their intake of high-energy food, such as poultry, meat, and sugar. This study has significant policy implication for achieving sustainable goals in rural areas of China.

Exploring food consumption patterns in the province of Kenitra, Northwest of Morocco

BACKGROUND

Morocco is currently undergoing rapid changes in diets and lifestyles, influenced by globalization and urbanization, leading to a shift away from the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) toward Western diets.

OBJECTIVE

Describe and explore the food consumption patterns of the population of Kenitra province and their adherence to the MedDiet using a validated survey.

METHOD

The current cross-sectional study involved 442 respondents from Kenitra province, comprising individuals aged 18 and above. The survey included a combination of closed and open-ended questions regarding food consumption patterns and socio-demographic characteristics. Adherence to the MedDiet was assessed using the Panagiotakos method to calculate the MedDiet score (MDS). Additionally, each participant's adherence to the MedDiet was evaluated using a method based on Martínez-González's approach.

RESULTS

The results indicate that 31% of the participants eat vegetables, 28% eat fruits, and 19% eat wholegrain bread daily. Furthermore, 58% regularly use olive oil in their cooking. Eating out of home (OOH) was high, with popular places being restaurants and cafes (70%), fast food outlets (20%), and workplace canteens (7%). Overall, participants showed moderate adherence to the MedDiet, with a mean MDS of 36.3 ± 19.7.

CONCLUSIONS

Promoting healthy eating habits is crucial in Kenitra. With moderate consumption of nutrient-dense foods and the popularity of the MedDiet, targeted interventions and educational initiatives can promote healthy dietary behaviors, improving overall public health.

Tracking the Variations in Trace Elements, Some Nutrients, Phenolics, and Anthocyanins in Grewia asiatica L. (Phalsa) at Different Fruit Development Stages

Grewia asiatica L. (phalsa) is a very prevalent berry in Pakistan and is consumed extensively as raw or in the form of juice. Here, for the first time, we assessed phalsa from Pakistan in terms of variations in macro and micro minerals, nutrients, and bio-active phyto-constituents including total phenolic and anthocyanin contents at different fruit developmental stages. It was found that the sugars in phalsa increased from D1 (small at the initial fruit setting stage) to D6 development stage (fully ripened fruit) where sugars at D5 (near to fully ripe) and D6 stages were many times greater than at D1, D2 (unripe close to full-size completion), D3 (close to semi ripe), and D4 stage (semi ripened and full-size attainment). Total acidity of was declined in all developmental stages, where the D1 stage displayed maximum and D6 with the lowest acidity. Ascorbic acid was decreased from D1 to D2 and then increased gradually from D3 to D5 stages. At the D6 stage, again a steep decline in ascorbic acid was observed. The total phenolics (mg gallic acid equivalents/100g) at stage D6 were higher (136.02 ± 1.17), whereas D1 being the lowermost in total phenolic content (79.89 ± 1.72). For anthocyanins (mg/100g), an increasing pattern of changes was observed in all stages of phalsa fruit where the D1 stage showed lower (13.97 ± 4.84) anthocyanin contents which then increased gradually at stage D2 (67.79 ± 6.73), but increased sharply at D3 (199.66 ± 4.90), D4 (211.02 ± 18.85), D5 (328.41 ±14.96) and D6 (532.30 ± 8.51) stages. A total of four anthocyanins such as cyanidin, delphidine-3-glucoside, pelargonidin, and malvidin in phalsa were identified using HPLC procedures, and a significant > 90 % DPPH inhibition in phalsa was observed at the D5 and D6 development stages. The macro and micro minerals including Ni, Zn, Fe, Ca, Cu, Mg, Na, P, and K contents were decreased from initial (D1) stage to the final (D6) development stage, while only Fe displayed an increasing trend from the initial to final fruit development stages (D1-D6). Conclusively, these findings could be of great interest for patients who are intended to consume phalsa as adjuvant therapy against diabetes and metabolic syndromes and other diseases involving reactive oxygen species with minimum metal toxicity.

Place of Residence Is Associated with Dietary Intake and BMI-SDS in Children and Adolescents: Findings from the DONALD Cohort Study

We aimed to determine whether place of residence in the German urban food environment is associated with habitual dietary intake (energy, macronutrients, and food groups) and body mass index (standard deviation score of BMI and BMI-SDS). Our hypothesis was that place of residence may explain some variation in dietary intake and nutritional outcomes. For the cross-sectional analyses of DONALD study data, we grouped participants according to their geocoded residence in the north or south of Dortmund. We applied robust multi-level mixed effects regression models using residence as a predictor and (1) BMI-SDS or (2) dietary data (daily intake of energy (kcal), macronutrients (energy percentage), or food groups (g/1000 kcal)) as the outcome. Models were adjusted for age, sex, and household socio-economic status. An analysis was carried out on 1267 anthropometric measurements collected annually from 360 participants aged 6-18 years (935 3-day weighed dietary records from 292 participants) between 2014 and 2019. In the fully adjusted models, residence in the south was associated with a lower BMI-SDS (β = -0.42, p = 0.02), lower intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (β = -47.00, p = 0.04), and higher intake of vegetables (β = 11.13, p = 0.04). Findings suggest that the place of residence, beyond individuals' socio-economic statuses, may be a contributing factor to dietary quality.

Food consumption patterns in employees of Ethiopian institute of agricultural research

In developing countries, including Ethiopia, diet-related non-communicable diseases are prevalent among the working population. Understanding this active group's dietary diversity and food consumption patterns is essential to devise alternative solutions and recommend possible improvements. This study investigates the food consumption patterns of employees of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from January 1 to March 31, 2022, involving 13 different research centers of the institute situated in different agro-ecological regions of the country. A validated food frequency questionnaire and a 24-h food recall were administered to a total sample size of 355 employees. A systematic random sampling was used for data collection. Stata survey commands version 16.0 and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data. The research confirmed that socio-demographic determinants, income, and educational level affect the food consumption patterns of employees. The majority of employees have low consumption of foods like fish, fruits, vegetables, and animal products. Consumption of all kinds of animal products was very low on Wednesday and Friday. This result will help employees to give more attention to low-cost healthier food items, as well as institutional management bodies in designing awareness-creation campaigns and government programs to encourage the production and access of nutritious food.

A Culturally Sensitive and Theory-Based Intervention on Prevention and Management of Diabetes: A Cluster Randomized Control Trial

Type 2 diabetes is an emerging concern in Kenya. This clustered-randomized trial of peri-urban communities included a theory-based and culturally sensitive intervention to improve diabetes knowledge, health beliefs, dietary intake, physical activity, and weight status among Kenyan adults. Those in the intervention group (IG) received a culturally sensitive diabetes education intervention which applied the Health Belief Model in changing knowledge, health beliefs and behavior. Participants attended daily education sessions for 5 days, each lasting 3 h and received mobile phone messages for an additional 4 weeks. The control group (CG) received standard education on COVID-19. Data was collected at baseline, post-intervention (1 week), and follow-up assessment (5 weeks). Linear mixed effect analysis was performed to assess within and across group differences. Compared to the control, IG significantly increased diabetes knowledge (p < 0.001), health beliefs including perceived susceptibility (p = 0.05), perceived benefits (p = 0.04) and self-efficacy (p = 0.02). IG decreased consumption of oils (p = 0.03), refined grains (p = 0.01), and increased intake of fruits (p = 0.01). Perceived barriers, physical activity, and weight status were not significantly different between both groups. The findings demonstrate the potential of diabetes education in improving diabetes knowledge, health beliefs, and in changing dietary intake of among adults in Kenya.

Body Composition and Metabolic Status of Italian and Spanish University Students: Relationship with Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Most university students do not follow recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake, with a consequent increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. The aim of this study was to compare obesity prevalence and biomarkers of metabolic status between Italian and Spanish university students, in relation with the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Food consumption, adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MD), level of physical activity (PA), blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides and ketones, blood pressure, and body composition were evaluated. Among CVD risk factors, only glucose was significantly higher in Spaniards (SP), and only 3.1% of SP presented ketosis. SP had a higher percentage of energy from fat. Although adherence to MD and fruit and vegetable consumption did not differ between Italians and SP, students who consumed at least four servings of fruit and vegetables (FV group) showed better values for pressure and metabolic parameters than the no FV group. We observed an association between consumption of fruit and PA. Students who consumed more vegetables than fruit reported a better body composition profile and lower glucose concentrations. As previously suggested, in addition to PA, two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables per day should be recommended.