Intake of Vegetables, Fruits and Berries and Compliance to "Five-a-Day" in a General Norwegian Population-The Tromsø Study 2015-2016

Social inequality in prevalence of NCD risk factors: a cross-sectional analysis from the population-based Tromsø Study 2015-2016

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to examine associations between educational level, serving as an indicator of socioeconomic position, and prevalence of WHO-established leading behavioural and biological risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), in middle-aged to older women and men.

DESIGN

Population-based cross-sectional study.

SETTING

All inhabitants of the municipality of Tromsø, Norway, aged ≥40 years, were invited to the seventh survey (2015-2016) of the Tromsø Study; an ongoing population-based cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS

Of the 32 591 invited; 65% attended, and a total of 21 069 women (53%) and men aged 40-99 years were included in our study.

OUTCOME MEASURES

We assessed associations between educational level and NCD behavioural and biological risk factors: daily smoking, physical inactivity (sedentary in leisure time), insufficient fruit/vegetable intake (<5 units/day), harmful alcohol use (>10 g/day in women, >20 g/day in men), hypertension, obesity, intermediate hyperglycaemia and hypercholesterolaemia. These were expressed as odds ratios (OR) per unit decrease in educational level, with 95% CIs, in women and men.

RESULTS

In women (results were not significantly different in men), we observed statistically significant associations between lower educational levels and higher odds of daily smoking (OR 1.69; 95% CI 1.60 to 1.78), physical inactivity (OR 1.38; 95% CI 1.31 to 1.46), insufficient fruit/vegetable intake (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.43 to 1.66), hypertension (OR 1.25; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.30), obesity (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.18 to 1.29), intermediate hyperglycaemia (OR 1.12; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.19), and hypercholesterolaemia (OR 1.07; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.12), and lower odds of harmful alcohol use (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.72 to 0.78).

CONCLUSION

We found statistically significant educational gradients in women and men for all WHO-established leading NCD risk factors within a Nordic middle-aged to older general population. The prevalence of all risk factors increased at lower educational levels, except for harmful alcohol use, which increased at higher educational levels.

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.

Determinants of Consumption of Vegetables among the Spanish Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

The consumption of vegetables is one of the fundamentals of a healthy diet. The purposes of the present study were to describe the frequency of consumption of vegetables in the general Spanish population and to explore the relations between the consumption of vegetables and sex, age, cohabitation circumstances, educational level, and body mass index (BMI).

METHODS

An analytical cross-sectional study was accomplished based on data from the European Health Survey in Spain (2020).

RESULTS

A total of 20,745 (52.1% women) subjects with a median age of 54 years old were included. Only 2.8% of them ate vegetables at least three times a day. The adjusted generalized linear model showed that being a woman increased the odds of consuming vegetables at least three times a day by 1.666 times (p < 0.001). Not cohabiting as a couple decreased the odds by 0.783 (p < 0.001). Having studied at a university increased the odds by 1.812 times (p < 0.001) and possessing a certificate of higher education by 1.408 (p = 0.030). Being overweight decreased the odds by 0.924 (p = 0.006). For every additional year of age, the odds of consuming vegetables at least three times a day increased by 1.3% (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The vast majority of the general Spanish population did not consume an optimal amount of vegetables. Women, people with higher levels of education, and older individuals reported having a more frequent intake of vegetables. Not cohabiting as a couple and being overweight were related to a less frequent intake of vegetables.

Toward an Integrated Consideration of 24 h Movement Guidelines and Nutritional Recommendations

While physical activity, sleep and sedentary behaviors are almost always considered independently, they should be considered as integrated human behaviors. The 24 h Movement approach proposes a concomitant consideration of these behaviors to promote overall health. Not only do these behaviors impact energy expenditure, but they have also been shown to separately impact energy intake, which should be further explored when considering the entire integration of these movement behaviors under the 24 h movement approach. After an evaluation of the prevalence of meeting the 24 h Movement and dietary recommendations, this review summarizes the available evidence (using English publications indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE) regarding the association between the 24 h Movement Guidelines and eating habits. Altogether, the results clearly show the beneficial impact of promoting the 24 h guidelines simultaneously, highlighting that the higher the number of respected movement recommendations, the better eating behaviors in both children and adults. Importantly, our results point out the importance of emphasizing the need to reach sedentary guidelines for better eating habits. Movement and dietary behaviors appear closely related, and giving recommendations on one might impact the other. Combining the 24 h Movement with dietary Guidelines might be more efficient than promoting them separately in public health strategies.