Nutrition Bulletin最新文献

Nutrition professionals are important stakeholders in sustainable food systems with skills to promote the connection between health, food production, environment, culture and economics. Higher education institutions are increasingly recognising the importance of teaching about sustainability, yet there exists a gap in the literature detailing the awareness of sustainability issues by nutrition students. This study aimed to ascertain the level of knowledge of sustainable diets (SDs), the perceived barriers to their adoption in their own diets, students' experience of university-based teaching about SDs and their views on the future role of the nutrition profession in relation to SD amongst nutrition students on Association for Nutrition (AfN)-accredited degrees. The study assessed environmental and sustainable food literacy (SFL) through an online questionnaire and explored the issues in more detail in virtual or face-to-face interviews in 2019. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics (Kruskal-Wallis, Jonckheere-Terpstra, independent t-test, Spearman, Pearson Correlations). Qualitative data were analysed using the Braun and Clark (2006) six-step approach to thematic analysis. The questionnaire responses (n = 51) represented 17 AfN-accredited undergraduate courses (35% of AfN-accredited universities in 2019). The majority (76%) of students had received an introduction, partaken in a module or received teaching on SDs throughout their whole degree. Students were predominantly environmentally literate, yet had a fragmented understanding of SDs, focusing on the environmental aspects of SDs. There was no correlation between SFL and reported sustainability content of university courses, highlighting a need for more effective teaching on sustainability topics. Additionally, no relationship between self-reported diet intake and SFL was found. Students identified a lack of knowledge and education as barriers preventing them from adopting sustainable practices in the present and future. To integrate sustainability into their future practice more consistently and effectively, nutrition students require more structured, holistic sustainability education and knowledge.

There is a lack of research on the combined effects of genetic variations (specifically CD36 SNPs-rs1761667 and rs1527483), dietary food habits (vegetarian or not), and the salivary environment on obesity and taste sensitivity, especially in the Indian population. The current study aims to better understand the relationship between impaired taste perception, fat consumption, higher BMI and obesity development by examining the combined association between CD36 SNPs, oleic acid (OA) detection threshold, and food habits among Indian participants. Furthermore, the relationship between oral fatty acid (FAs) sensitivity and taste physiology factors linked to inflammation and salivary proteins was considered. Participants with the minor allele (AA/AG) of CD36 (in both rs1527483 and rs1761667) consumed more fat, particularly saturated FAs (p = 0.0351). Salivary lipopolysaccharide, which causes inflammation, was significantly greater in non-vegetarians with a higher BMI (p < 0.05), and it exhibited a negative correlation (r = -0.232 and p < 0.05) with Ki67 gene expression, a marker for taste progenitor cells. A positive correlation (r = 0.474, p = 0.04) between TLR4 mRNA levels and the OA detection threshold was also observed. Participants with BMI > 25 kg/m² had substantially higher TNF-α and IL-6 receptor mRNA expression levels, but there were no significant differences between the vegetarian and non-vegetarian groups. However, salivary CA-VI, which has a buffering capability on the oral environment, was lower in non-vegetarian adults with BMI >25. Thus, it was shown that non-vegetarians with overweight and obesity in India were in at-risk groups for the CD36 SNP (AA/AG at rs1761667 and rs1527483) and had higher levels of inflammatory markers, which exacerbated alterations in food behaviour and physiological changes, indicating their relevance in the development of obesity.

Stark, widening health and income inequalities in the United Kingdom underpin the need for increased support for low-income families to access affordable and nutritious foods. Using anonymised supermarket loyalty card transaction records, this study aimed to assess how an additional Healthy Start voucher (HSV) top-up of £2, redeemable only against fruit and vegetables (FVs), was associated with FV purchases among at-risk households. Transaction and redemption records from 150 loyalty card-holding households, living in northern England, who had engaged with the top-up scheme, were analysed to assess the potential overall population impact. Using a pre-post study design, 133 of these households' records from 2021 were compared with equivalent time periods in 2019 and 2020. Records were linked to product, customer and store data, permitting comparisons using Wilcoxon matched-pairs sign-ranked tests and relationships assessed with Spearman's Rho. These analyses demonstrated that 0.9 more portions of FV per day per household were purchased during the scheme compared to the 2019 baseline (p = 0.0017). The percentage of FV weight within total baskets also increased by 1.6 percentage points (p = 0.0242), although the proportional spend on FV did not change. During the scheme period, FV purchased was higher by 0.4 percentage points (p = 0.0012) and 1.6 percentage points (p = 0.0062) according to spend and weight, respectively, in top-up redeeming baskets compared to non-top-up redeeming baskets with at least one FV item and was associated with 5.5 more HSV 'Suggested' FV portions (p < 0.0001). The median weight of FV purchased increased from 41.83 kg in 2019 to 54.14 kg in 2021 (p = 0.0017). However, top-up vouchers were only redeemed on 9.1% of occasions where FV were purchased. In summary, this study provides novel data showing that safeguarding funds exclusively for FV can help to increase access to FV in low-income households. These results yield important insights to inform public policy aimed at levelling up health inequalities.

Food and diet globally have a significant environmental impact. Whilst there is broad agreement on the principles underpinning a healthy, sustainable diet, the interpretation of what it might mean in practice is widely debated. Misconceptions are common, including around the environmental impact of eggs and their place in a healthy, sustainable diet. Eggs are often categorised with other animal proteins such as beef, lamb, poultry, meat and dairy when reporting on the potential environmental impact of food and diets. However, the shift towards more planet-friendly diets demands a clear understanding of the evidence base on which such a diet should be based. This review evaluates scientific reports and peer-reviewed articles that have evaluated the environmental impact of hens' eggs in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs), and land and water use and compared the impacts of eggs with those of other animal and plant proteins. This overview shows that eggs are responsible for less carbon, land and water use than other animal proteins, particularly beef and only slightly more than most plant proteins. Eggs are a nutritious, convenient and relatively inexpensive food, which traditionally has had an important place in the diet both in the United Kingdom and globally. It is therefore important to understand where they fit in terms of environmental impact and into advice on healthier, more sustainable dietary patterns.

Nutritional support often focuses on cooking and food skills such as food selection, recipe planning and meal preparation. Individuals with greater cooking and food skills confidence have previously displayed higher diet quality scores and lower intakes of overall calories, saturated fat and sugar. Despite this, the cooking and food skills of team sport athletes have yet to be investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between cooking and food skills confidence and athletes' demographic characteristics. A validated measure for the assessment of cooking and food skills confidence was distributed via an online survey. Participants were required to rate their confidence on a Likert scale (1 "very poor" - 7 "very good") for 14 items related to cooking skills and 19 items for food skills. Food engagement, general health interest and self-reported fruit and vegetable consumption as a measure of diet quality were also measured. The survey was completed by 266 team sport athletes (male: 150, female: 116, age: 24.8 ± 6.1 years). Group differences were explored using t-tests and ANOVA and associations were evaluated using Spearman's correlation and hierarchical multiple regressions. Athletes' total cooking and food skills confidence was 62.7 ± 17.4 (64.0 ± 17.8%) and 83.8 ± 20.1 (63.0 ± 15.1%), respectively. Females reported greater confidence in both cooking (+20.3%, p < 0.01) and food skills (+9.2%, p < 0.01). Hierarchical multiple regressions explained 48.8% of the variance in cooking skills confidence and 44% of the variance in food skills confidence with gender, previous culinary training, cooking learning stage, general health interest and food engagement all remaining significant in the cooking skills confidence model and cooking frequency, previous culinary training, general health interest and food engagement remaining significant in the food skills confidence model. Male team sport athletes may benefit the most from educational interventions designed to increase cooking and food skills confidence.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are associated with unhealthy diets and chronic diseases. Hence, knowing the consumption pattern of UPFs in the general population is crucial to design policies to improve public health, such as the recently approved law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating in Argentina (Law N° 27.642). The aim of the study was to characterise the consumption of UPFs according to income level and to assess their association with the intake of healthy foods in the Argentinian population. Healthy foods were defined in this study as those non-UPF groups that have been shown to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases and excluded certain natural or minimally processed foods such as red meat, poultry and eggs. We retrieved data from the 2018-2019 National Nutrition and Health Survey (ENNyS 2), a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey performed in Argentina, including 15 595 inhabitants. We classified the 1040 food items recorded by the degree of processing using the NOVA system. UPFs represented nearly 26% of daily energy. The intake of UPFs increased with income, with a difference of up to 5 percentage points between the lowest (24%) and the highest (29%) income levels (p < 0.001). Cookies, industrial pastries, cakes and sugar-sweetened beverages were the most consumed UPF items, accounting for 10% of daily energy intake. We found that UPF intake was associated with a decrease in consumption of healthy food groups, mainly fruits and vegetables, where a difference of -28.3 g/2000 kcal and -62.3 g/2000 kcal between tertile 1 and tertile 3 was estimated, respectively. Therefore, Argentina still maintains a UPF consumption pattern of a low- and middle-income country, where UPF intake increases with income, but these foods also compete with the intake of healthy foods.

Due to sustainability concerns related to current diets and environmental challenges, it is crucial to have sound policies to protect human and planetary health. It is proposed that sustainable diets will improve public health and food security and decrease the food system's effect on the environment. Micronutrient deficiencies are a well-known major public health concern. One-third to half of the world's population suffers from nutrient deficiencies, which have a negative impact on society in terms of unrealised potential and lost economic productivity. Large-scale fortification with different micronutrients has been found to be a useful strategy to improve public health. As a cost-effective strategy to improve micronutrient deficiency, this review explores the role of micronutrient fortification programmes in ensuring the nutritional quality (and affordability) of diets that are adjusted to help ensure environmental sustainability in the face of climate change, for example by replacing some animal-sourced foods with nutrient-dense, plant-sourced foods fortified with the micronutrients commonly supplied by animal-sourced foods. Additionally, micronutrient fortification considers food preferences based on the dimensions of a culturally sustainable diet. Thus, we conclude that investing in micronutrient fortification could play a significant role in preventing and controlling micronutrient deficiencies, improving diets and being environmentally, culturally and economically sustainable.