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In this paper we question whether prior cross-national differences in food attitudes still exist and if so, to what extent. Due to societal evolutions such as sedentarism and globalization, international variations in food attitudes may not be as pronounced as currently believed. A cross-sectional web-based survey was carried out in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Belgium. A total of 2167 respondents (52% women; mean age = 39.0 years, SD = 11.4) participated. To successfully combat obesity, a joint approach focusing on food choice and physical activity is required; therefore we included behavioral measures by means of choice tasks for these two important drivers. Further, the extent to which respondents subscribe to the unhealthy = tasty intuition, together with health and taste interest were investigated. Socio-demographic information and self-reported heights and weights were also incorporated. Logistic regressions were fitted with weight status as the dependent variable and the attitudinal and behavioral measures as independent variables. Our findings indicate that having a higher interest in healthy eating decreases the chance of being overweight (odds = 0.88) and believing that unhealthy food is tasty significantly increases the chance of being obese by 1.18 times. Overall, we find that food attitudes have largely converged across the countries we investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present paper examined the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and food-related family lifestyle (dinner with parents, family food rules, and television viewing behaviors) in a sample of 14,407 adolescents from Belgium Flanders (N =7,904) and the Veneto Region of Italy (N =6,503) using multilevel binary logistic regression analyses. The data are part of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children cross-sectional survey. Daily dinner with parents, having more strict family food rules, and low television viewing behaviors were associated with daily fruit and vegetable intake. Watching television during meals was not associated with the outcome variables. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reports findings from a cross-sectional survey carried out in April–May 2006 among international students enrolled at Ghent University in Belgium. The aim of the study was to assess their knowledge and attitudes related to nutrition, perceived changes in dietary habits, perceived barriers to healthy eating and the determinants of dietary changes since their arrival in Belgium. In total, 235 students from 60 countries participated. Following the reported dietary changes, which were factor-analyzed into “less energy-dense” foods, “more fruits and vegetables” and “less processed” foods, three clusters could be identified. Cluster 1 composed of students who increased their fruits, vegetables and fiber intake. Cluster 2, the largest, reported dietary changes overall and in particular towards less processed foods. Cluster 3 composed of students who changed in the main towards less energy-dense foods. Gender differences were observed in healthy dietary changes, particularly in males. Healthier choices were hindered by a perceived unavailability of healthy food products. Gender and availability of healthy foods should be taken into consideration when informing temporal migration populations, such as international students in this study, about the healthy food options available during their stay in a different cultural, food and dietary environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]