Nutrition Bulletin最新文献

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.

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.

At both UK and global level, dietary consumption patterns need to change to address environmental, health and inequality challenges. Despite considerable policy interventions, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United Kingdom has continued to rise with obesity now a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Obesity prevalence is greater among those on lower incomes and the current UK food system, including government policy, does not effectively address this. Current behavioural approaches, without the support of structural changes in the system, may even widen the inequalities gap. Hence, using behavioural insights from those living with obesity and food insecurity, the project will explore potential avenues that can be applied in the food system to promote healthier choices in the food retail environment. The National Food Strategy report recommends that the UK food system should ensure "safe, healthy, affordable food; regardless of where people live or how much they earn". However, the association between food insecurity and the development of obesity is not well understood in relation to purchasing behaviours in the UK retail food environment, nor is the potential effectiveness of interventions that seek to prevent and reduce the impact of diet-induced health harms. The FIO Food (Food insecurity in people living with obesity - improving sustainable and healthier food choices in the retail food environment) project provides a novel and multi-disciplinary collaborative approach with co-development at the heart to address these challenges. Using four interlinked work packages, the FIO Food project will combine our knowledge of large-scale population data with an understanding of lived experiences of food shopping for people living with obesity and food insecurity, to develop solutions to support more sustainable and healthier food choices in the UK retail food environment.

This study explores beliefs about protein in dairy and plant-based (PB) alternatives among stakeholders in the US marketplace and whether beliefs are associated with product preferences. Eight thousand and fifty-two unique comments submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to a request for public input on the labelling of PB dairy alternatives (FDA-2018-N-3522) were coded. Of these, 383 (4.8%) discussed protein and were analysed for protein-specific themes. Themes were examined in relation to the submitter's product preference. Most comments that discussed protein focused on protein content and/or health outcomes believed to be associated with intake. Only one commenter who preferred dairy demonstrated an inaccurate understanding of protein content in dairy and PB alternatives, although nearly all failed to identify fortified soy beverage as an appropriate protein replacement; meanwhile, 14.2% who preferred PB alternatives demonstrated an inaccurate understanding regarding protein content in dairy and PB products. The results suggest knowledge gaps exist regarding protein in PB dairy alternatives, especially among those who prefer non-dairy options.

Both sodium intake and sleep have an important effect on cardiovascular health. However, few studies have looked at the association between sodium intake and sleep. Therefore, we analysed the association of sodium intake with sleep quality, sleep duration and nocturnal urination. The data for the present study were obtained from the Kangbuk Samsung Health Study. Study participants were 156 696 working-aged Korean adults (average age 38.0 years ±8.0 in men and 36.0 years ±8.1 in women). They were categorised into five groups by quintile of sodium intake, measured by food frequency questionnaire. Poor sleep quality and short sleep duration were determined by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index >5, and sleep duration <7 h, respectively. Nocturnal urination was defined as awakening to urinate more than three times a week. Multivariable adjusted logistic regression analysis was used in calculating the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for poor sleep quality, short sleep duration and nocturnal urination (adjusted OR [95% CI]) across five study groups. In all study participants, increased sodium intake was significantly associated with poor sleep quality (quintile 1: reference, quintile 2: 1.07 [1.04-1.11], quintile 3: 1.12 [1.08-1.16], quintile 4: 1.15 [1.11-1.19] and quintile 5: 1.13 [1.09-1.18]). This pattern of relationship was similarly observed in association of sodium intake with short sleep duration (p for trend <0.001) and nocturnal urination (p for trend <0.001). In gender subgroup analysis, increased sodium intake had a significant association with poor sleep quality and short sleep duration in men and with poor sleep quality and nocturnal urination in women. In conclusion, high sodium intake is associated with an increased likelihood of poor sleep quality, short sleep duration and nocturnal urination.