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US schools have fast-food restaurants nearby, encouraging student patronage, unhealthy consumption, and weight gain. Geographers have developed an activity space framework which suggests this nearby location effect will be moderated by whether people perceive the location as their activity space. Therefore, we study whether students perceive a fast-food restaurant near school as their activity space, and whether social marketing messages can change that perception. We conducted six studies: a secondary data analysis with 5986 students, a field experiment with 188 students, and four lab experiments with 188, 251, 178, and 379 students. We find that students who strongly identify with their student community patronize a fast-food restaurant near school (vs. farther away) because they view it as their activity space, while students who weakly identify do not. For example, in our field experiment, 44% vs. 7% of students who strongly identified with the student community patronized the near versus farther restaurant, while only 28% versus 19% of students who weakly identified patronized the near and farther restaurants comparably. We also find that to deter the strong identifiers, messages should convey that patronage is a social liability, e.g., portray student activism against fast food. We show that standard health messages do not change perceptions of restaurants as social activity spaces. Thus, to combat the problem of fast-food restaurants near schools causing unhealthy consumption, policy and educational interventions should focus on students who strongly identify with their student community and find ways to weaken their perceptions that fast-food restaurants near schools are their activity spaces.

The most extensive research areas in the food environment literature include identifying vulnerable dietary environments and studying how these environments affect eating behaviors and health. So far, research on people’s willingness to pay (WTP) for residing in different types of food environments is limited. Therefore, this study aims to estimate WTP for different types of food environments by using spatial hedonic pricing models. The empirical application applies to the Canadian city of Edmonton. The results show that people are willing to pay a premium to live in neighborhoods with poor access to supermarkets and grocery stores (food-desert type) and neighborhoods with excessive access to fast-food restaurants and convenience stores (food-swamp type). Why do rational people prefer to live in disadvantaged food environments? The seemingly counter-intuitive result has its rationality. The premium paid to live in food-desert type environment may reflect people’s dislike of noise, traffic jams, and potential safety issues brought by supermarkets and grocery stores. The WTP for living in food-swamp type environment may reflect people’s preference for convenience and time-saving brought by fast-food consumption in modern urban society. Additionally, the inability of low-income families to afford healthy food may be a deeper reason for choosing to live in neighborhoods with excess access to fast food. To improve the eating environment and encourage healthy lifestyles, the government can encourage healthier fast-food restaurants, provide grocery shopping vouchers, and promote community garden projects.

High fast-food consumption is a common public-health concern among adolescents, due to its link to a number of non-communicable diseases. Frequent consumption of fast food may also affect diets of individuals; however, research addressing this issue is lacking in Saudi Arabia. We aimed to investigate the association between fast-food consumption, dietary quality, and dietary intake of adolescents in Saudi Arabia. This is a cross-sectional study of 617 healthy adolescents aged 11–18 years, who were recruited randomly from 16 middle- and high-schools located in Jeddah and Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Sociodemographic data were collected from parents. Dietary data, including the frequency of fast-food consumption, dietary quality (assessed using the short-form food frequency questionnaire), and dietary intake (assessed using multiple 24 h diet recalls from a subsample), were collected from the adolescents. Approximately one-third of adolescents (28.5%) reported frequent fast-food consumption (>two times a week). Results showed that a higher proportion of male adolescents frequently consumed fast-food, compared with female adolescents (32.8% vs. 24.8%, p = 0.039). Adolescents with the highest monthly family-income (≥SAR 21,000 ) reported a significantly higher frequency of fast-food consumption compared with families with a lower monthly income (p = 0.009). Frequency of fast-food consumption predicted lower dietary-quality in adolescents (Beta (B) = −0.27 [95% confidence interval (CI): −0.35 to –0.18]) and higher carbohydrate and free-sugar intake (B = 6.93 [95% CI: 0.78 to 13.1], and B = 3.93 [95% CI: 1.48 to 6.38], respectively). In conclusion, nutrition-intervention programs aiming to limit fast-food consumption and enhance the dietary quality of adolescents in Saudi Arabia, are warranted.

Cooking is crucial to the achievement of healthy eating habits, and the internet, as host of culinary recipes websites, is a medium for the dissemination of cooking-related content. Research has revealed that most recipes available on internet sites do not have healthy characteristics when compared to recommendations for healthy eating, even the ones promoted as ‘healthy’. This study investigated culinary recipes available on the ‘healthy eating’ section of a popular Brazilian recipe-sharing website. Recipes (n = 814) were analyzed with a validated framework based on national dietary guidelines. Ingredients (n = 5887) were classified according to the extension and purpose of their industrial processing. The recipes’ titles were content analyzed to identify the health-related words and phrases used. Recipes contained ultra-processed foods and not enough unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such as legumes (4.7%, n = 380), nuts and seeds (18.4%, n = 150), and fruits (n = 32.7%, n = 263). The recipes’ titles mentioned 564 health-related terms, appealing to physical characteristics, including weight loss, and fads, such as gluten-free, dukan, low-carb, detox, fitness, ripped body, and belly burner. Therefore, the ‘healthy’ recipes available on the Brazilian recipe-sharing website presented many aspects not in accordance with national dietary guidelines.

The high prevalence of non-communicable disease in New Zealand (NZ) is driven in part by unhealthy diet selections, with food costs contributing to an increased risk for vulnerable population groups. This study aimed to: (i) identify the nutrient density-to-cost ratio of NZ foods, (ii) model the impact of substituting foods with a lower nutrient density-to-cost ratio with those with a higher nutrient density-to-cost ratio on diet quality and affordability in representative NZ population samples for low and medium socioeconomic status (SES) households by ethnicity, and (iii) evaluate food processing level. Foods were categorized, coded for processing level and discretionary status, analyzed for nutrient density and cost, and ranked by nutrient density-to-cost ratio. The top quartile of nutrient dense, low-cost foods were 56% unprocessed (vegetables, fruit, porridge, pasta, rice, nuts/seeds), 31% ultra-processed (vegetable dishes, fortified bread, breakfast cereals unfortified &lt, 15 g sugars/100 g and fortified 15–30 g sugars/100 g), 6% processed (fruit juice), and 6% culinary processed (oils). Using substitution modeling, diet quality improved by 59% and 71% for adults and children, respectively, and affordability increased by 20–24%, depending on ethnicity and SES. The NZ diet can be made healthier and more affordable when nutritious, low-cost foods are selected. Processing levels in the healthier, modeled diet suggest that some non-discretionary ultra-processed foods may provide a valuable source of low-cost nutrition for food insecure populations.

Food cues in the environment may contribute to obesity as the consumption of unhealthy foods may reinforce reward pathways in the brain. To understand how person-level differences in reward sensitivity may be associated with diet quality, this study aimed to examine the moderating role of the availability of fast food in the environment on the relationship between reward sensitivity and diet quality in adolescents. Participants (n = 152, 55% female, Mage: 12.5 ± 0.93 y) completed the drive and reward subscales of the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)/Behavioral Activation System (BAS) Scale to assess reward sensitivity and completed two 24 h dietary recalls from which Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores (total score and subscales of adequacy and moderation) were calculated. Fast-food environment (FFE) was operationalized as the total number of fast-food outlets within 1 km around participants’ home address. Linear regressions were used to examine the main effects and interactions between reward sensitivity and FFE in relation to HEI score. Interactions were found between FFE and BAS drive (p = 0.02) and BAS reward (p &lt, 0.01) on HEI adequacy. There were no interaction effects on HEI moderation or HEI total scores. For individuals who had lower access exposure to fast-food outlets (−1 SD), there was a stronger positive association between higher BAS drive (t = 2.85, p = 0.01, 95% CI (0.35, 1.94)) and HEI adequacy scores and between higher BAS reward (t = 3.27, p &gt, 0.01, 95% CI (0.72, 2.93)) and HEI adequacy scores. By examining reward sensitivity to potential food cues in residential neighborhood food environments, it is possible to understand which adolescents are more sensitive to environmental food cues and implement interventions to buffer these influences.

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a scoring system, based on AUDITNOVA, to assess the healthiness of the consumer food environment, considering food availability, price, advertising, and placement strategies. Audited data of 650 food retailers were used to develop, validate, and test the consumer food environment healthiness score. To compose the score, the reference was the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population. The total and subscores were standardized for a scale from 0 to 100. Construct validity was assessed using the Kruskal–Wallis Dunn tests. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated to determine the consistency of the scores. The median score was 33.7 (p25 = 26.9, p75 = 42.1). The public and private specialized indoor fresh food markets showed the highest medians, otherwise, bakeries and food retailers with the predominant sale of ultra-processed foods showed the lowest. The score was able to satisfactorily classify the extreme food retailer groups by the predominant sale of fresh or minimally processed foods and the predominant sale of ultra-processed foods. The results of Cronbach’s alpha showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.91). The score helped to provide an overall assessment of consumer food environment healthiness and was able to classify food retailer groups as healthy and unhealthy according to the degree of processing of the available foods.

Digital food ordering platforms are used by millions across the world and provide easy access to takeaway fast-food that is broadly, though not exclusively, characterised as energy dense and nutrient poor. Outlets are routinely rated for hygiene, but not for their healthiness. Nutritional information is mandatory in pre-packaged foods, with many companies voluntarily using traffic light labels to support making healthier choices. We wanted to identify a feasible universal method to objectively score takeaway fast-food outlets listed on Just Eat that could provide users with an accessible rating that can infer an outlet&rsquo, s &lsquo, healthiness&rsquo, Using a sample of takeaway outlets listed on Just Eat, we obtained four complete assessments by nutrition researchers of each outlet&rsquo, s healthiness to create a cumulative score that ranged from 4 to 12. We then identified and manually extracted nutritional attributes from each outlet&rsquo, s digital menu, e.g., number of vegetables that have the potential to be numerated. Using generalized linear modelling we identified which attributes were linear predictors of an outlet&rsquo, s healthiness assessment from nutritional researchers. The availability of water, salad, and the diversity of vegetables were positively associated with academic researchers&rsquo, assessment of an outlet&rsquo, s healthiness, whereas the availability of chips, desserts, and multiple meal sizes were negatively associated. This study shows promise for the feasibility of an objective measure of healthiness that could be applied to all outlet listings on Just Eat and other digital food outlet aggregation platforms. However, further research is required to assess the metric&rsquo, s validity, its desirability and value to users, and ultimately its potential influence on food choice behaviour.

The beneficial effects of vegetarian diets are known in the general population and in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In recent years, the market has developed a number of processed plant-based products because of several factors (lifestyle changes, ethical concerns, and sustainability). The composition in terms of nutrients, ingredients, and additives of 560 products available on the market and on online shopping sites was analyzed to understand the characteristics of these products. Processed plant-based meat substitutes have a higher content of salt (+467%), lipids (+26%), mostly unsaturated, and fiber with respect to regular animal-based ones. Protein content is lower (−40%) in plant-based products with respect to corresponding animal ones. Of the 49 additives on the label (on average 2 per product), 20 contain phosphorus, sodium, potassium, or nitrogen. Several plant-based processed products may contain elevated amounts of salt and additives, which make them not optimal for CKD patients. Although a plant-based diet remains a very important tool for CKD nutritional management, patients should be aware regarding the extra content of sodium and additives in processed plant-based products compared to animal-based processed food.

This study investigated the associations between obesity and unhealthy food/drink intake with both the frequency of social media platform usage and food/drink marketing exposure on social media. Data were obtained from 316 university students aged 18–29 years at two universities in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. These participants completed online questionnaires with sections on demographics, anthropometric measurements, social media platform usage, food marketing exposure via social media, and unhealthy food consumption. All of the participants, 20.3% and 13.6% were overweight and obese, respectively. Snapchat was the most popular application (85.8%), followed by Instagram (75%), YouTube (61%), Twitter (51%), and TikTok (50%). The obese participants were more likely to purchase foods/drinks after watching relevant social media advertisements than their non-obese counterparts (p < 0.04). Moreover, those who purchased foods/drinks more frequently after watching such advertisements consumed higher amounts of potato chips (p < 0.01) and fast foods (p < 0.03). Finally, those who used Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram tended to have higher consumption rates for potato chips (p < 0.02), fast foods (p < 0.01), sweets (p < 0.02), and sugary drinks (p < 0.04). Public health policymakers in Saudi Arabia should consider regulating unhealthy food and drink advertisements on social media platforms, especially those targeted at younger generations.

Children’s nutrition is highly influenced by community-level deprivation and socioeconomic inequalities and the health outcomes associated, such as childhood obesity, continue to widen. Systems Thinking using community-based system dynamics (CBSD) approaches can build community capacity, develop new knowledge and increase commitments to health improvement at the community level. We applied the formal structure and resources of a Group Model Building (GMB) approach, embedded within an Indigenous worldview to engage a high deprivation, high Indigenous population regional community in New Zealand to improve children’s nutrition. Three GMB workshops were held and the youth and adult participants created two systems map of the drivers and feedback loops of poor nutrition in the community. Māori Indigenous knowledge (mātauranga) and approaches (tikanga) were prioritized to ensure cultural safety of participants and to encourage identification of interventions that take into account social and cultural environmental factors. While the adult-constructed map focused more on the influence of societal factors such as cost of housing, financial literacy in communities, and social security, the youth-constructed map placed more emphasis on individual-environment factors such as the influence of marketing by the fast-food industry and mental wellbeing. Ten prioritized community-proposed interventions such as increasing cultural connections in schools, are presented with the feasibility and likely impact for change of each intervention rated by community leaders. The combination of community-based system dynamics methods of group model building and a mātauranga Māori worldview is a novel Indigenous systems approach that engages participants and highlights cultural and family issues in the systems maps, acknowledging the ongoing impact of historical colonization in our communities.

High consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) increases the risks of non-communicable diseases and all-cause mortality in adulthood, and the risk of early childhood caries. Limited evidence about factors influencing children’s consumption of UPF exists. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of UPF consumption among children less than three years of age, and identify its associations with caregivers’ emotional and instrumental feeding, and children’s emotional eating. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China. Caregivers caring for children aged 6–36 months (n = 408) were recruited. Caregivers’ emotional and instrumental feeding practices and children’s emotional eating were assessed by the Parents’ Feeding Practices Scale for Infant and Young Child and Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, respectively. Children’s UPF consumption was assessed by a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Of the children, 86.8% consumed UPF. The highest percentage of UPF consumed was pastries (63.5%), followed by solid or semi-solid dairy products (58.8%), and reconstituted meat products (56.4%). Caregivers’ emotional and instrumental feeding was positively associated with children’s consumption of UPF (OR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.01, 2.49), a higher frequency of UPF consumption weekly (OR = 1.80, 95%CI: 1.35, 2.39), and a larger amount of UPF consumption weekly (OR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.38, 2.49). Children’s higher frequency of emotional undereating was associated with their UPF consumption (OR = 1.61, 95%CI: 1.07, 2.42) and a higher frequency of UPF consumption weekly (OR = 1.33, 95%CI: 1.03, 1.73). Children’s emotional undereating significantly mediated the associations between caregivers’ emotional and instrumental feeding and children’s consumption of reconstituted meat products. Caregivers should be educated to avoid emotional and instrumental feeding practices, and cultivate children’s good eating habits to improve children’s diet quality.

Food-based analyses of the healthiness, environmental sustainability and affordability of processed and ultra-processed foods are lacking. This paper aimed to determine how ultra-processed and processed foods compare to fresh and minimally processed foods in relation to nutritional quality, greenhouse gas emissions and cost on the food and food group level. Data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey nutrient databank year 11 (2018/2019) were used for this analysis. Median and bootstrapped medians of nutritional quality (NRF8.3 index), greenhouse gas emissions (gCO2-equivalents) and cost (in GBP) were compared across processing categories. An optimal score based on the medians was created to identify the most nutritional, sustainable, and affordable options across processing categories. On a per 100 kcal basis, ultra-processed and processed foods had a lower nutritional quality, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and were cheaper than minimally processed foods, regardless of their total fat, salt and/or sugar content. The most nutritious, environmentally friendly, and affordable foods were generally lower in total fat, salt, and sugar, irrespective of processing level. The high variability in greenhouse gas emissions and cost across food groups and processing levels offer opportunities for food swaps representing the healthiest, greenest, and most affordable options.

To improve urban adolescents&rsquo, dietary behaviors and health, factors that influence them to buy meals in convenience stores with regard to urban food environments must be determined. This study investigated the factors which influence adolescents&rsquo, substitution of meals with convenience store meals and its impact on their health in Seoul (South Korea). Multilevel analysis and logistic regression analysis were conducted using data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a national health survey with a representative sample of Korean adolescents. Among 17,624 teenagers who responded to surveys in 2017 and 2019, 30.5% of them substituted meals with convenience store meals more than three times a week. Girls and students with a lower family economic level were more likely to frequently consume food from convenience stores. Unhealthy lifestyles and poor mental health status also influenced their decisions to substitute meals with convenience store food. Those who frequently consumed meals from convenience stores were more likely to have unhealthy lifestyles, featuring bad diets, smoking, drinking, and sedentary behaviors. They also reported significantly poorer self-rated health and mental health. To promote healthy lifestyles among adolescents, efforts to raise awareness and develop supportive environments for healthy diets are strongly recommended.

Obesity is considered a global pandemic. Different countries have worked to implement front-of-package (FOP) labeling systems that define thresholds for critical nutrients (CN) as part of their public health policies. The objective of this study is to identify the proportion of Processed (PF) and Ultra-Processed (UPF) Foods marketed in Honduras, which meet or fall short of the criteria of three Nutrient Profile Models (NPM): PAHO (2016), Chile (2017) and the Central American Technical Regulation Proposal-Nutritional Warning Front Labeling (CATRP-NWFL 2017). This study is descriptive, 1009 products from 206 brands were collected nationwide. Descriptive statistics were performed. The mean CN compliance with the three models was 49.3% for sodium, 30.6% for sugars, 63.1% and 96% for saturated and trans fats. The PAHO and Chilean (NPM) similarly concentrated on the lower compliance with the established criteria, unlike the CATRP, which has less stringent criteria. This is the first assessment of CN content in PF and UPF in Honduras under three different NPMs. We highlight the importance of defining or adopting criteria for the implementation of NWFL as information for the consumer and thereby contribute to reducing the risks of obesity and related diseases.

Caregiver mobile phone use while monitoring children is a behavior of increasing prevalence. Family mealtimes have long been considered a time in which parents and children connect emotionally and model eating behaviors, but prior studies have documented less parent-child conversation and more negative parent reactions to child behavioral bids at the table during parent phone use. Research on this topic to date is sparse and focuses only on US populations. The current study used non-participant naturalistic observation to record data on parental mealtime device use and family interactions while dining with children in a fast food restaurant in Italy. Thirty seven families (individuals observed = 129) were observed at a restaurant for the duration of their meal. Qualitative analysis of field notes indicated that mobile phones are frequently used by caregivers during feeding interactions. A novel observation in the current study was different patterns of use by parent gender and age. Mothers appeared to divide their attention between phone and child, whereas fathers evidenced more continuous mobile phone use during which there was lower responsiveness towards children during the meal. Younger parents more frequently used mobile phones, compared to older parents. Parents who missed child bids for attention were all phone users during the mealtime.

Although consumers&rsquo, food purchase/transport have been reported as causes of food safety risks, there is a lack of empirical data that are feasible to identify persistent and emerging risky behaviors of consumers. This longitudinal trend study consists of individual consumer surveys in 2010 (n = 609) and 2019 (n = 605) to analyze changes in risky behaviors linked to food purchase/transport over a decade. Overall, the results identified purchase/transport time and purchase order as the emerging and unchanged risk factors, respectively. Consumers&rsquo, preferences into channels for purchase (large discount stores rather than small/traditional markets) and transport (using cars or delivery) implied the convenience as the noticeable trend. Whereas, unexpected increases in purchase/transport time highlighted the underestimated risks in long-term exposure of foods under inadequate temperature. Food should not be exposed to danger zones &gt, 1&ndash, 2 h, but consumers might be unaware of the risk especially for preferred channels (e.g., 77 and 36 min. are required for purchase and transport from large discount stores, respectively). In the case of unchanged risky behavior, more than half of consumers in both surveys did not follow proper purchasing orders. Our findings highlight the necessity for novel countermeasures and the improvement of current consumer guidelines against emerging and unchanged risky behaviors, respectively.

Salt content in processed foods is high, and it is usually used as preservatives, stabilizers, and color enhancers in the products. Increased consumption of processed foods in the modern world has contributed to a high salt intake and thus increased the prevalence of hypertension among Malaysian populations. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and compare salt content in processed food products available in supermarkets and determine the percentage of processed food products exceeding the reference value stated in International Product Criteria (2016). The percentage of processed food products without salt and sodium labeling was determined in this study, in which 76.5% of unlabeled processed food products were made in Malaysia, while 23.5% were imported products. The food group with the highest average salt content was gravy and sauce (3.97 g/100 g), followed by soup (2.95 g/100 g), cheese (2.14 g/100 g), meat (1.37 g/100 g), fish (1.25 g/100 g), chicken (1.20 g/100 g), vegetables (1.18 g/100 g), butter and margarine (1.13 g/100 g), breakfast cereal (0.94 g/100 g), savory snacks (0.90 g/100 g), flatbread (0.86 g/100 g), sweet snacks (0.30 g/100 g), and potato (0.29 g/100 g). In addition, 79.5% of butter and margarine products had an average salt content above the reference value stated in the International Product Criteria, followed by gravy and sauce (79.3%), vegetables (72%), soup (50%), fish (49.2%), breakfast cereal (41%), cheese (36.6%), potato (36%), savory and sweet snacks (29.1), meat (12.5%) and chicken products (2.3%). Most processed food products available in local supermarkets were high in salt content.

Food and beverage marketing is considered a determinant of childhood obesity. Sponsorship is a marketing technique used by the food industry to target young people when they are engaged in sports. The purpose of this study was to document the frequency and nature of food company sponsorship of children&rsquo, s sports clubs in Ottawa, Canada. Using national data on sports participation, the five most popular sports among Canadian children aged 4&ndash, 15 years were first selected for inclusion in the study and relevant sports clubs located in Ottawa (Canada) were then identified. Sports club websites were reviewed between September and December 2018 for evidence of club sponsorship. Food company sponsors were identified and classified by food category. Of the 67 sports clubs identified, 40% received some form of food company sponsorship. Overall, sports clubs had 312 commercial and noncommercial sponsors. Food companies constituted 16% of total sponsors and were the second most frequent type of sponsor after sports-related goods, services, and retailers (25%). Fast food restaurants and other restaurants accounted for 45% and 41% of food company sponsors, respectively. Food company sponsorship of children&rsquo, s sports clubs is frequent with some promoting companies or brands associated with unhealthy foods. Policymakers should consider restricting the sponsorship of children&rsquo, s sports clubs by food companies that largely sell or promote unhealthy foods.

The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases have been on the rise, especially in developing countries due to life-style changes. The study aimed to investigate the association between the frequency of fast food consumption with wheeze and asthma among adolescents. A previously validated self-completed questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood was used to collect information on demographics, socioeconomic status, house characteristics, adolescent respiratory health and diet. The prevalence of wheeze was 38.2% and of asthma was 16.37% among the adolescents. The results from the adjusted regression analyses indicated that eating fast foods three or more times per week was a statistically significant risk factor for wheeze (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.26&ndash, 2.03) and asthma (OR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.04&ndash, 1.91). The study found an association between eating fast foods three or more times per week and wheeze and asthma among adolescents in South Africa. Unhealthy diet plays a crucial role in respiratory health among adolescents, healthy eating habits are encouraged to reduce the burden of respiratory symptoms and diseases.

The influence that marketing for foods high in fat, salt, and/or sugar (HFSS) has on adolescents extends beyond a dose-response relationship between exposure and consumption. It is also important to explore how marketing shapes or reinforces product/brand attitudes, and whether this varies by demography and Body Mass Index (BMI). To examine this, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 11&ndash, 19 year olds in the United Kingdom (n = 3348). Participants watched 30 s video adverts for a fast-food and confectionery brand. For each advert, participants reported reactions on eight measures (e.g., 1 = Makes [product] seem unpopular choice&ndash, 5 = Makes [product] seem popular choice), which were binary coded based on whether a positive reaction was reported (Yes/No). At least half of adolescents had positive reactions to both adverts for 5/8 measures. Positive reactions had associations with age, gender and, to a lesser extent, BMI. For example, 11&ndash, 15 year olds were more likely than 16&ndash, 19 year olds to report appeal to their age group for the fast-food (OR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.13&ndash, 1.58) and confectionery advert (OR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.51&ndash, 2.11). If these reactions are typical of other HFSS products, future research and regulatory change should examine whether additional controls on the content of HFSS marketing, for example mandated health or nutritional information and revised definitions of youth appeal, offer additional protection to young people.

Unhealthy diet has been associated with overweight, obesity, increased cardiometabolic risk, and recently, to impaired cognition and academic performance. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the associations between health behaviors and cognition and academic achievement in children and adolescents under 18 years of age with a special reference to diet quality. Dietary patterns with a low consumption of fish, fruits, and vegetables, and high in fast food, sausages, and soft drinks have been linked to poor cognition and academic achievement. The studies on the associations between the high intake of saturated fat and red meat and low intake of fiber and high-fiber grain products with cognition are limited. The available evidence and physiological mechanisms suggest that diet may have direct, indirect, and synergistic effects on brain and cognition with physical activity, sedentary behaviors, cardiometabolic health, and sleep, but the associations have been modest. Therefore, integrating a healthy diet, physically active lifestyle, and adequate sleep may provide optimal circumstances for brain development and learning. We conclude that most of the existing literature is contained in cross-sectional studies, which therefore highlights the need for longitudinal and intervention studies on the effects of diet, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep on cognition and academic performance. peerReviewed

The present industrial food-production system is not suitably ecological for the environment. Mindful nutrition in sport is a relevant emergent sub-discipline that could help reduce environmental degradation. This case study describes a sustainable support diet during an ultra-endurance running (UR) event called the “Indoor Everest Challenge”. This UR challenge involved attaining the altitude of Mount Everest (8849 m) in a simulated way, in less than 24 h, without using ultra-processed food and without wasting plastics. During this challenge, a male athlete (34 years, weight: 78 kg, and height: 173 cm) wore a SenseWear Armband® (BodyMedia Inc., Pittsburg, PA, USA) accelerometer on his right arm to estimate energy expenditure. To supply his nutritional requirements, the athlete consumed only specially prepared homemade and organic food. All consumption was weighed and recorded in real-time; we determined nutrients using two databases: a food composition software, Dial Alce Ingenieria® (Madrid, Spain), to measure energy and macro- and micro-nutrients, and Phenol Explorer Database® (INRA Institut National de Recherche pour l’Alimentation, Paris, France) precisely to determine polyphenolic content. Most energy intake (up to 96%) came from plant foods. We found that subject consumed 15.8 g/kg−1/d−1 or 1242 g of carbohydrates (CHO), (2.4 g/kg−1/d−1) or 190 g of proteins (P), and 10,692 mL of fluid. The total energy intake (7580 kcal) showed a distribution of 65% CHO, 10% P, and 25% lipids (L). Furthermore, this sustainable diet lead to a high antioxidant intake, specifically vitamin C (1079 mg), vitamin E (57 mg), and total polyphenols (1910 mg). This sustainable approach was suitable for meeting energy, CHO, and P recommendations for UR. Physical and mental training (mindfulness) were integrated from the specific preliminary phase to the day of the challenge. The athlete completed this challenge in 18 h with a low environmental impact. This sports event had an educational component, as it awakened curiosity towards food sustainability.

The prevalence of obesity among preschool children has risen dramatically due to the influx of Western fast food in China. In this study, we aimed to provide clear evidence on the associations between fast-food restaurants and childhood obesity. We collected and combined three unique cross-sectional datasets: physical fitness data, geographic information, and the financial data of each kindergarten. The two-stage least squares were used for empirical analyses. The final data including 75,730 children were from 785 kindergartens in 82 cities and 23 provinces in China in 2018. The mean age of participants was 4.94 ± 0.87, 34,249 (45.2%) females and 41,481 (54.8%) males. The number of fast-food restaurants within 1, 2, and 3 km radii had a significant and positive correlation with obesity, and this correlation decreased as the radius increased. Furthermore, the distance to the nearest fast-food restaurant had a significant and negative correlation with obesity. Western fast-food restaurants contributed more to obesity than the broader definition of fast-food restaurants. There was marked heterogeneity between urban and rural areas. Our findings documented that fast-food restaurants had a significant and positive association with childhood obesity, thus the restriction of fast-food restaurants surrounding kindergartens might be considered.

Background: Canadian provincial policies, like Ontario&rsquo, s School Food and Beverage Policy (P/PM 150), increasingly mandate standards for food and beverages offered for sale at school. Given concerns regarding students leaving school to purchase less healthy foods, we examined student behaviours and competitive food retail around schools in a large urban region of Southern Ontario. Methods: Using a geographic information system (GIS), we enumerated food outlets (convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, full-service restaurants) within 500, 1000 and 1500 m of all 389 regional schools spanning years of policy implementation. Consenting grade 6&ndash, 10 students within 31 randomly selected schools completed a web-based 24-h diet recall (WEB-Q) and questionnaire. Results: Food outlet numbers increased over time (p &lt, 0.01), post-policy, within 1000 m, they averaged 27.31 outlets, with a maximum of 65 fast-food restaurants around one school. Of WEB-Q respondents (n = 2075, mean age = 13.4 &plusmn, 1.6 years), those who ate lunch at a restaurant/take-out (n = 84, 4%) consumed significantly more energy (978 vs. 760 kcal), sodium (1556 vs. 1173 mg), and sugar (44.3 vs. 40.1 g). Of elementary and secondary school respondents, 22.1% and 52.4% reported ever eating at fast food outlets during school days. Conclusions: Students have easy access to food retail in school neighbourhoods. The higher energy, sodium and sugar of these options present a health risk.

Exposure to food environments has mainly been limited to counting food outlets near participants&rsquo, homes. This study considers food environment exposures in time and space using global positioning systems (GPS) records and fast food restaurants (FFRs) as the environment of interest. Data came from 412 participants (median participant age of 45) in the Seattle Obesity Study II who completed a survey, wore GPS receivers, and filled out travel logs for seven days. FFR locations were obtained from Public Health Seattle King County and geocoded. Exposure was conceptualized as contact between stressors (FFRs) and receptors (participants&rsquo, mobility records from GPS data) using four proximities: 21 m, 100 m, 500 m, and &frac12, mile. Measures included count of proximal FFRs, time duration in proximity to &ge, 1 FFR, and time duration in proximity to FFRs weighted by FFR counts. Self-reported exposures (FFR visits) were excluded from these measures. Logistic regressions tested associations between one or more reported FFR visits and the three exposure measures at the four proximities. Time spent in proximity to an FFR was associated with significantly higher odds of FFR visits at all proximities. Weighted duration also showed positive associations with FFR visits at 21-m and 100-m proximities. FFR counts were not associated with FFR visits. Duration of exposure helps measure the relationship between the food environment, mobility patterns, and health behaviors. The stronger associations between exposure and outcome found at closer proximities (&lt, 100 m) need further research.

Considering the association between the neighborhood food environment and individual eating behaviors, this study aimed to assess the association between parents&rsquo, reported use of food facilities by their children, and parental perceived travel time to food facilities, with their children&rsquo, s dietary patterns. Parents reported the use of supermarkets, full-service and fast-food restaurants, and perceived travel time to these food retailers. To assess school children&rsquo, s food consumption, a previous day dietary recall was applied. Factor analysis was conducted to identify dietary patterns. To test the association between reported use and perceived travel time to food retailers and school children&rsquo, s dietary patterns, we performed multilevel linear regression analyses. Parents&rsquo, reported use of supermarkets was associated with children&rsquo, s higher score in the &ldquo, Morning/Evening Meal&rdquo, pattern. The use of full-service and fast-food restaurants was associated with children&rsquo, Fast Food&rdquo, pattern. Higher parental perceived travel time to full-service and fast-food restaurants was associated with children&rsquo, s lower score in the &ldquo, pattern. Although the use of full-service and fast-food restaurants was associated with a less healthy dietary pattern, the perception of living further away from these food retailers may pose a barrier for the use of these facilities.

In obesity modelling studies, researchers have been seeking to identify the effective indicators of obesity by using appropriate statistical or mathematical techniques. The main objective of the present study is addressed in three stages. First, a new framework for modelling obesity in university students is introduced. The second stage involves data analysis based on Bayesian Structural Equation Modelling (BSEM) for estimating the Body Mass Index (BMI) (representative of the obesity level) of students at three university levels: Bachelor, Master and PhD. In the third stage, the highest significant correlation is determined between the BMI and other variables in the research model that were found significant through the second phase. The data for this study were collected from students at selected Malaysian universities. The results indicate that unhealthy food intake (fast food and soft drinks), social media use and stress exhibit the highest weightage contributing to overweight and obesity issues for Malaysian university students.

Low self-control and financial strain may limit individuals&rsquo, capacity to resist temptations in the local food environment. We investigated the moderating role of self-control and financial strain in the relation between the food environment and higher body weight. We used data from 2812 Dutch adults who participated in the population-based GLOBE study in 2014. Participants&rsquo, home addresses and the location of food retailers in 2013 were mapped using GIS. The density of fast food retailers and the totality of food retailers in Euclidean buffers of 250, 400 and 800 m around the home were linked to body mass index and overweight status. A higher density of fast food outlets (B (95% confidence interval (CI)) = &minus, 0.04 (&minus, 0.07, &minus, 0.01)) and the totality of food outlets (B (95% CI) = &minus, 0.01 (&minus, 0.01, 0.00)) were associated with a lower body mass index. Stratification showed that associations were strongest for those experiencing low self-control or great financial strain. For example, every additional fast food outlet was associated with a 0.17 point lower BMI in those with great financial strain, while not significantly associated with BMI in those with no financial strain. In conclusion, we did find support for a moderating role of self-control and financial strain, but associations between the food environment and weight status were not in the expected direction.

The purpose of this convergent, multiphase, mixed methods study was to better understand the perceptions of adolescents&rsquo, food environments and related food behaviors using grounded visualization and story mapping. Adolescents from one high school (13&ndash, 16 years) in the southeastern United States were evaluated via data from health behavior surveys (n = 75), school environment maps, focus groups (n = 5 groups), and Photovoice (n = 6) from October 2016 to April 2017. Data from each phase were integrated using grounded visualization and new themes were identified (n = 7). A story map using ArcGIS Online was developed from data integration, depicting the newly identified themes. Participants failed to meet national recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake (2.71 cups). Focus group and Photovoice findings indicated the need for convenience food items in all environments. The story map is an online, interactive dissemination of information, with five maps, embedded quotes from focus groups, narrative passages with data interpretation, pictures to highlight themes, and a comparison of the participants&rsquo, food environments. Story mapping and qualitative geographic information systems (GIS) approaches may be useful when depicting adolescent food environments and related food behaviors. Further research is needed when evaluating story maps and how individuals can be trained to create their own maps.

Background: Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations made from food extracts or constituents with little or no intact food and often containing additives that confer hyper-palatability. The consumption of these products increases the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases. Stressed people may engage in unhealthy eating as a way to cope. This study aimed to verify whether ultra-processed food consumption was associated with perceived stress levels in industrial and retail workers from Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out between July 2017 and August 2018. During the study period, 1270 participants completed a survey administered by an interviewer. Stress levels were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale. Information regarding weekly ultra-processed food consumption was collected. Ultra-processed foods were classified into four groups: sugary drinks, sugary foods, fast foods, and canned foods, frozen foods, or processed meat. The Student’s t-test or one-way analysis of variance was used to assess the differences in stress levels and ultra-processed food consumption. Ordinal regression was used to determine the association between the degrees of stress and ultra-processed food consumption levels. Results: Factors such as a young age, being unmarried, smoking, high-risk alcohol consumption, negative health perception, and high perceived stress level indicated higher rates of ultra-processed food consumption. Ordinal regression analysis showed that high stress levels were associated with increased odds of higher ultra-processed food consumption (odds ratio: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.54–2.45). Conclusions: These findings could help identify appropriate target areas for interventions aimed at mental health promotion and healthier food consumption.

As one of the most important criteria for measuring the quality of urban life and the environment, urban vitality has become the focus of urban-related research and related disciplines with an increasing number of advocates for the rapid and harmonious development of urban cities. Urban takeaway can represent urban vitality, but studies have not investigated this in a quantitative manner. Furthermore, current studies rarely focus on or even mention the urban food takeaway vitality generated by the spatial distribution of urban takeaway. This study first calculated the vitality of urban takeaways based on the urban takeaway distribution, building footprint, Open Street Map (OSM) data, and the Rapidly Exploring Random Tree (RRT). Then, the urban vitality was obtained using Tencent-Yichuxing data and night-time light data, followed by a spatial correlation analysis between the urban takeaway vitality and urban vitality. Finally, the results for Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou were compared, and the following conclusions were drawn: (1) there is a significant spatial correlation between the urban takeaway vitality and urban vitality, but the correlation varies in different cities at different times, and (2) even in the same city, different road and building densities have an impact on the correlation. The urban takeaway vitality proposed in this study can be used as a new index to evaluate the urban vitality, which has important theoretical and practical significance for the sustainable development of future urban cities.