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Supermarket circulars contribute to the consumer's food environment by promoting sales of specific foods. We used NOVA classification to classify products advertised on the first page of Bronx-based circulars for 12 weeks. In this classification, foods are assigned to one of the four groups, depending on the degree of processing. Of the 2,913 products, minimally processed NOVA1 foods were represented almost equally (43.4%, n = 1263) as NOVA4 ultra-processed foods (41.3%, n = 1203), with comparable circular space for both groups (T = 5.76, p >.05). Our results indicate that supermarkets in nutritionally compromised neighborhoods promote minimally processed, NOVA1 foods and such promotions must be leveraged to improve health outcomes in these communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Voluntary and mandatory fortification of pediatric foods, along with widespread consumption of dietary supplements have resulted in an increased proportion of children with excessive micronutrient intake. Aim: This study aimed to analyze the proportion of pediatric dietary supplements that exceed the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and Tolerable Upper Limit for the individual micronutrients. We further identified the proportion of supplements with large amounts of micronutrients that were marketed through child-friendly and parent-geared promotional language and graphics on the packaging. Methods: The nutrient facts label on pediatric supplement packages sold by three large retail pharmacy chains was analyzed for micronutrient content. Labels were examined for the presence of trademarked or generic cartoon characters and parent-geared health promotional statements. Results: More than a third and almost a fifth of the samples contained vitamin A and niacin respectively in amounts equivalent to or above the established tolerable upper limit for one- to three-year-old children. A major proportion of these supplements had child-friendly and parent-targeted promotional language on the package. Conclusion: The potential for pediatric supplements as a source for excessive micronutrient consumption underscores the need for parents and health care professionals to use nutrition labels as a valuable tool to prevent micronutrient toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There has been substantial debate surrounding the use of genetically modified foods (GMFs). Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe the content of news articles covering GMFs. Methods: A search was completed on Google News using the key words "genetically modified foods" and the resulting 100 English-language news articles were analyzed for content. Results: Only 26% of the articles analyzed were from professional or government sources. Among all content categories, definition or explanation of GMFs with a featured product as an example had the highest coverage, being addressed in 74% of the sample. Identification of GMFs from food labels (p =.001), was significantly associated with the source of the article (p >.05). Conclusions: Opportunities exist for scientists, educators, and health experts to present evidence-based and science-based information, with a balanced emphasis on the risks and benefits of GMFs to help consumers to make well-informed choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : For individuals suffering from chronic disease, more than being an information source for health information, social media serves as a dynamic forum for shared goals, emotional and practical support through the sharing of lived experiences. Aim: This study envisaged a content analysis of the 100 most widely-viewed English language videos related to celiac disease posted on TikTok. Methods: TikTok was searched using the hashtag #celiacdisease. This search term was chosen as it represented the broadest summation of the desired topic with the most views (80 million) of any related hashtag. The first 100 English language videos were selected. The video content was analyzed against predetermined descriptive categories, deductively derived content related to facts about celiac disease from a reliable source, and inductive content categories derived during the coding process. Results : The 100 videos included in this study received a total of 44,056,600 likes. The average number of likes across all videos was 440,566 with a standard deviation of 656,642.06. Two of the three categories were present in a majority (>50) of the videos. They were practical information on diet therapy management (n = 63) and challenges in managing celiac disease (n = 73). In both instances, videos featuring this content also garnered a majority of the likes, 74.18% and 82.9% respectively. Independent one-tailed t-tests (α =.05) returned significant results for the diagnosis-related information (p =.0390) and practical information in diet therapy management (p =.0358) categories. On average, videos that included diagnosis-related information received more likes than those that did not: 672,983.33 vs. 340,958.57. Similarly, the average number of likes was significantly higher for videos that included practical information on diet therapy management (518,715.87) vs. those that did not (307,500). Conclusions : This study further confirms the growing trend of people using social media to discuss health issues in a way that is free and easily accessible among communities with shared experiences. The long-term effects of using personal narratives as credible sources of behavioral change for health, medical, or professional resources can be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim is to assess the nutritive value and acceptability (enjoyment, palatability, and desirability) of a cricket flour (CF) muffin compared to an all-purpose flour (AP) muffin. Participants (n = 198) completed a blind taste test and survey about demographics, muffin characteristics, and attitudes toward food products. Scores for enjoyment did not differ significantly but scores were significantly higher for the texture of the CF muffin. Rejection of crickets emerged as a primary reason for low desirability of CF muffins. These findings indicate that CF may be used to create an enjoyable muffin but one that may not be widely accepted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]