Consumption Of Energy-dense Foods Research Articles

Association between consumption of nonessential energy-dense food and body mass index among Mexican school-aged children: a prospective cohort study.

Obesity prevalence in Mexican children has increased rapidly and is among the highest in the world. We aimed to estimate the longitudinal association between nonessential energy-dense food (NEDF) consumption and body mass index (BMI) in school-aged children 5 to 11 years, using a cohort study with 6 years of follow-up. We studied the offspring of women in the Prenatal omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, child growth, and development (POSGRAD) cohort study. NEDF was classified into four main groups: chips and popcorn, sweet bakery products, non-cereal based sweets, and ready-to-eat cereals. We fitted fixed effects models to assess the association between change in NEDF consumption and changes in BMI. Between 5 and 11 years, children increased their consumption of NEDF by 225 kJ/day (53.9 kcal/day). In fully adjusted models, we found that change in total NEDF was not associated with change in children's BMI (0.033 kg/m2, [p = 0.246]). However, BMI increased 0.078 kg/m2 for every 418.6 kJ/day (100 kcal/day) of sweet bakery products (p = 0.035) in fully adjusted models. For chips and popcorn, BMI increased 0.208 kg/m2 (p = 0.035), yet, the association was attenuated after adjustment (p = 0.303). Changes in total NEDF consumption were not associated with changes in BMI in children. However, increases in the consumption of sweet bakery products were associated with BMI gain. NEDF are widely recognized as providing poor nutrition yet, their impact in Mexican children BMI seems to be heterogeneous.

Eating out of home in Portugal: characterization and effects on dietary intake.

This cross-sectional study aims to describe and compare energy, nutrient intake, and food consumption according to eating location and by age groups using data from the National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (IAN-AF 2015/2016). Dietary intake was estimated by two non-consecutive days of food diaries (children)/24-hour recalls (other age groups) and four eating location categories were defined according to the proportion of meals consumed at out of home locations: Home (at least 80% of meals at home), Other Homes, School or Work and Restaurants and Other Places. The majority of meals (69.1%) were consumed at home. Meals were also often taken at school by children and adolescents, and in restaurants and similar outlets by adults and elderly. Children and adolescents in the School or Work category ate more fruit, vegetables and pulses and cereals and starchy tubers, whereas adults in this category ate more red and processed meats, sugar sweetened beverages and sweets. Compared to Home category, Restaurants and Other Places was associated with worse diet adequacies among children (β=-1.0; 95%CI=-2.0, -0.04), adolescents: (β=-2.4; 95%CI=-3.2, -1.5) and adults (β=-1.3; 95%CI=-1.6, -1.0) reflecting higher intakes of energy, fat, trans and saturated fatty acids, and sodium. The elderly consumed more free sugars and fat when eating out of home in general. Overall, findings reflect important variation in nutrient profiles by eating location, with meals taken at school or work contributing to higher consumption of nutrient-dense foods and those taken in restaurants and other similar settings implying higher consumption of energy-dense foods.

The role of perceived negative partner behavior in daily snacking behavior: A dynamical systems approach

Past work suggested that psychological stress, especially in the context of relationship stress, is associated with increased consumption of energy-dense food and when maintained for long periods of time, leads to adverse health consequences. Furthermore, this association is moderated by a variety of factors, including emotional over-eating style. That being said, few work utilized a dynamical system approach to understand the intraindividual and interindividual fluctuations within this process. The current study utilized a 14-day daily diary study, collected between January–March 2020, where participants reported their partner's negative relationship behavior and their own snacking behavior. A differential equation model was applied to the daily dairy data collected. Results showed that snacking behavior followed an undamped oscillator model while negative relationship behavior followed a damped coupled oscillator model. In other words, snacking behavior fluctuated around an equilibrium but was not coupled within dyadic partners. Negative relationship behavior fluctuated around an equilibrium and was amplified over time, coupled within dyadic partners. Furthermore, we found a two-fold association between negative relationship behavior and snacking: while the association between the displacement of negative relationship behavior and snacking was negative, change in negative relationship behavior and snacking were aligned. Thus, at any given time, one's snacking depends both on the amount of negative relationship behaviors one perceives and the dynamical state a dyad is engaging in (i.e., whether the negative relationship behavior is “exacerbating” or “resolving”). This former association was moderated by emotional over-eating style and the latter association was not. The current findings highlight the importance of examining dynamics within dyadic system and offers empirical and methodological insights for research in adult relationships.

Long-lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle and body weight: results of representative cross-sectional surveys in adults in Germany.

The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected people's daily lives and health. Few studies have looked into the persistence of these changes. In the current study, we investigated to what extent changes in lifestyle and body weight were sustained after two years of restrictions. We performed two representative online surveys among adults living in Germany. The first survey (S1) was performed in April 2021; the second survey (S2) in June 2022. The questionnaire focused on changes in physical activity, dietary habits, body weight, and mental stress levels. The data were weighted to optimally represent the general population of Germany. Using Chi-square tests, results were compared between the two surveys, and - per survey - between subgroups based on sociodemographic factors and mental stress levels. Furthermore, binomial logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with weight gain. A total of 1,001 (S1) and 1,005 (S2) adults completed the survey, of which 50.4% were men and 49.6% were women in both surveys. Mean body mass index (BMI) at the time of the survey was 27.4 ± 6.0kg/m2 (S1) and 27.1 ± 5.5kg/m2 (S2). Reduced physical activity was reported by 52% of the participants in S1 and by 40% in S2 (p < .001). Moderate to severe stress was reported by 71% of the participants in S1 and by 62% in S2 (p < .001). Less healthy eating compared to before the pandemic was reported by 16% of the participants in S1 and by 12% in S2 (p = 0.033). Weight gain was reported by 40% of the participants in S1 and by 35% in S2 (p = 0.059). Weight gain was associated with higher BMI, reduced physical activity levels, less healthy nutrition and increased consumption of energy-dense food. Our results indicate that two years and three months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects on health-related lifestyle factors and body weight still existed, albeit to a lesser degree than directly after the first year of the pandemic. Targeted strategies are needed to better support the population subgroups most likely to change their lifestyle in unfavorable ways when faced with disruptions of their everyday lives.

Current perspectives on brain circuits involved in food addiction-like behaviors.

There is an emerging view that the increased availability of energy-dense foods in our society is contributing to excessive food consumption which could lead to food addiction-like behavior. Particularly, compulsive eating patterns are predominant in people suffering from eating disorders (binge-eating disorder, bulimia and anorexia nervosa) and obesity. Phenotypically, the behavioral pattern exhibits a close resemblance to individuals suffering from other forms of addiction (drug, sex, gambling). Growing body of evidence in neuroscience research is showing that excessive consumption of energy-dense foods alters the brain circuits implicated in reward, decision-making, control, habit formation, and emotions that are central to drug addiction. Here, we review the current understanding of the circuits of food addiction-like behaviors and highlight the future possibility of exploring those circuits to combat obesity and eating disorders.

Evaluating the Effects of Artificial Sweeteners on the Role of Food Priming in Food Consumption

Abstract: As a result of globalization and economic advancements, dietary habits have shifted towards increased energy intake and heightened consumption of energy-dense foods, which have contributed to the obesity epidemic and cardiovascular disease. [1] This increase in food intake has been furthered by numerous external stimuli in the form of advertising, which is focused on immediate pleasure and can be difficult to resist. [2] Such advertising plays the role of a food prime, or a cue that serves to induce food intake under tempting circumstances. [3] The effect of artificial sweeteners on the role of food priming in food consumption was evaluated by comparing Coca-Cola with Diet Coca-Cola consumption on M&amp;M consumption in differently primed settings, as well as to observe the independent effects of these factors on food intake. Fifty-eight college students were recruited to participate in a two-week study in which they were assigned different combinations of beverages and commercials to analyze both the independent and dependent effects of both factors on food consumption. A significant positive association was observed between commercial type and food intake (p=0.03), while no significant association was recorded between the beverage type and food intake. Further research is needed to examine the relationship between the two factors on a significant level and determine the mechanism behind these findings.

Expanding the Theory of Planned Behavior to Explain Energy Dense Food Intentions among Early Adolescents in Indonesia

The aim of this study is to examine an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and increase insight into the intentions to consume energy-dense food among adolescents in Indonesia. This study included 411 adolescents from private schools who reported their intentions to consume energy-dense food the next day and the next week, as well as attitudes, subjective norms, descriptive norms, and perceived behavioral control regarding energy-dense food consumption. Linear regression analyses (in R) were conducted to examine associations of TPB determinants (model 1), TPB determinants plus descriptive norms (model 2), and interactions between determinants (model 3) with the intention to consume energy-dense food the (1) next day or (2) next week. Attitudes and subjective norms were positively associated with both the ‘next day’ and ‘next week’ energy-dense food intentions (model 1), although associations for the ‘next day model’ appeared to be stronger. Descriptive norms, compared to subjective norms, were more strongly associated with ‘next week intentions’, whereas both norms (descriptive and subjective) did not differ in how strongly they were associated with ‘next day’ intentions (model 2). Significant interactions between TPB constructs were found for the model predicting ‘next day’ intentions (i.e. subjective norms × attitude and attitude × PBC) (model 3). Our study provides important information about proximal food intentions among collectivistic cultures specifically, which may have crucial implications for future preventive interventions.

Parental child-feeding practices at 4 years of age are associated with dietary patterns of 7-year-olds.

Parental child-feeding practices have been associated with child body mass index (BMI) and specific food group consumption; however, their role in the development of dietary patterns is less understood. We aim to study the association between parental child-feeding practices at 4 years old and dietary patterns at 7 years that explain BMI z-scores at age 10. Participants were children from the Generation XXI birth cohort (n = 3272). Three patterns of feeding practices at 4 years were previously identified: 'Perceived monitoring', 'Restriction' and 'Pressure to eat'. At 7 years, two dietary patterns were derived: 'Energy-dense foods', higher consumption of energy-dense foods and drinks and processed meats and lower consumption of vegetable soup (significantly associated with BMI z-scores at 10 years) and 'Fish-based', higher in fishery intake and lower in energy-dense food intake. Associations were estimated by linear regression models, adjusted for potential confounders (mother's age, education and pre-pregnancy BMI). Girls whose parents used more Restriction, Perceived monitoring and Pressure to eat at 4 years were less likely to follow the 'Energy-dense foods' dietary pattern at 7 years (β̂ = -0.082; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: -0.134; -0.029; β̂ = -0.093; 95% CI: -0.146; -0.039; β̂ = -0.079; 95% CI: -0.135; -0.04, respectively). In both sexes, children whose parents used more Restriction and Perceived monitoring at 4 years were more likely to follow the 'Fish-based' dietary pattern at 7 years (girls: β̂ = 0.143; 95% CI: 0.077; 0.210; β̂ = 0.079; 95% CI: 0.011; 0.148; boys: β̂ = 0.157; 95% CI: 0.090; 0.224; β̂ = 0.104; 95% CI: 0.041; 0.168). Children whose parents used more Restriction and Perceived monitoring at preschool age were more likely to follow healthier dietary patterns at age 7.

Dietary Patterns, Cardiometabolic and Lifestyle Variables in Greeks with Obesity and Metabolic Disorders

There is considerable evidence that some dietary patterns contribute to obesity and metabolic disorders but there is less data on diet's association with different health parameters. We investigated the interaction between different dietary patterns and anthropometric, biochemical, lifestyle, and psychological health parameters in a Greek population with obesity and metabolic disorders. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in Greece with a thorough and holistic approach in analyzing such relationships. For assessing food patterns, revealing underlying structures, and reducing the number of variables we applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Principal Component Analysis was chosen as the extraction method using Varimax rotation, and three regression sets were computed. The study involved 146 Greek metabolically unhealthy obese adults, both men and women. Our cohort was categorized into four dietary patterns: "Western type diet", "Mediterranean-like diet", "Healthy diet", and "Animal meat and sauces diet". Dietary patterns characterized by a high consumption of energy-dense and animal-derived foods were positively associated with anthropometric and biochemical parameters related to metabolic disorders. Plant-based, healthier dietary patterns, on the other hand, were associated with better biochemical and mental health profiles among metabolically unhealthy obese individuals.

FOOD RECOGNITION AND CALORIE ESTIMATION USING CNN

Obesity and overweight have traditionally been linked to intake of high calorie food. Obesity may be a medical condition during which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it‘s going to have an adverse effect on health. Changes to diet and exercising are the major treatments. Diet quality are often improved by reducing the consumption of energy dense foods like those high in fat or sugars and by increasing the intake of dietary fiber. There are also many other reasons that lead to monitoring of food calorie estimation. Proposed system will be trained with many images in each category, which then classifies the food image and then estimates nutrition / calorie. Proposed system uses CNN as a classifier for food recognition and based on the food weight in grams the calorie of the food items are determined. This deep convolutional neural network will configure to detect and recognize local food images. Data about most consumed local food items were collected from internet. The main aim of this project is to improve the accuracy of the pre-training model using CNN.

How did the dietary habits of patients with chronic medical conditions change during COVID-19?

Previous studies have examined the changes in the dietary habits of general populations during the COVID-19 pandemic but have not focused on specific populations such as those with chronic medical conditions (CMCs). Prior to major vaccination efforts, 96.1% of deaths were attributed to patients with preexisting CMCs, thus it is important to examine how this population has endured changes. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in dietary habits, lifestyle habits, and food attitudes between those with CMCs compared to the populations without chronic medical conditions (non-CMCs) since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2021 to July 2021. Participants (n=299) responded to a 58-item questionnaire regarding demographics (n=9), health information (n=8), lifestyle habits (n=7), dietary habits (n=28), and food attitudes (n=6). Frequency counts and percentages were tabulated, and t-test sampling and ANOVA testing were conducted to examine the associations utilizing SPSS V28 at a statistical significance level of p<0.05. When compared to non-CMC participants, with CMCs had a less frequent change in their diet and had better food attitudes when it came to consumption habits. Non-CMC and CMC participants had no statistically significant differences in overall dietary habits; however, an examination of specific food items reviews significant findings. Compared to non-CMC participants, those with CMCs reported significantly decreased consumption of energy-dense food such as French fries, white pasta, sweets, and salty snacks, with notable exceptions in increased consumption of energy-dense foods, starchy veggies, and vegetable/tomato juice. These findings indicate that participants with CMCs indicated that fewer changes occurred in participants with a CMC; however, when these participants made changes, they were beneficial to their consumption habits. Future studies should aim to develop interventions for the demographics with poor dietary habits so that those that are most vulnerable may have their needs met.

Diet triggers specific responses of hypothalamic astrocytes in time and region dependent manner.

Hypothalamic astrocytes are particularly affected by energy-dense food consumption. How the anatomical location of these glial cells and their spatial molecular distribution in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC) determine the cellular response to a high caloric diet remains unclear. In this study, we investigated their distinctive molecular responses following exposure to a high-fat high-sugar (HFHS) diet, specifically in the ARC. Using RNA sequencing and proteomics, we showed that astrocytes have a distinct transcriptomic and proteomic profile dependent on their anatomical location, with a major proteomic reprogramming in hypothalamic astrocytes. By ARC single-cell sequencing, we observed that a HFHS diet dictates time- and cell- specific transcriptomic responses, revealing that astrocytes have the most distinct regulatory pattern compared to other cell types. Lastly, we topographically and molecularly characterized astrocytes expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein and/or aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member L1 in the ARC, of which the abundance was significantly increased, as well as the alteration in their spatial and molecular profiles, with a HFHS diet. Together, our results provide a detailed multi-omics view on the spatial and temporal changes of astrocytes particularly in the ARC during different time points of adaptation to a high calorie diet.

Rising Trends of Overweight and Obesity among Women in India

Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions globally, with a world- wide prevalence of around 39%. It is the fifth leading cause of death, resulting in about 2.8 million deaths of adults globally every year. Diabetes (44%), Ischaemic heart disease (23%) and certain cancer(7-14%) burdens are attributable to overweight or obesity. The problem is not only restricted to developed countries but poses a new challenge for developing countries, calling for immediate attention. In developed countries, food patterns like energy-dense food consumption and sedentary lifestyles may contribute to this increasing burden of obesity. While in developing countries like India, there is a transition from traditional food patterns to more westernised food which includes highly-saturated fats, sugar, and refined food. Apart from this, reduced levels of physical activity, better transport facilities, better healthcare, and increased stress, particularly in the rapidly-growing urban populations, are all critical factors leading to an increased burden of obesity in India. According to the National Nutritional Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) report (2012), the prevalence of overweight/obesity was significantly higher in those with high consumption levels of milk and milk products, fats and oils, sugar, and salt. India has more than 30 million obese people, which is increasing alarmingly. The problem is more acute among women than men. In India, the proportion of overweight or obese women is 24%, one percent higher than that of men (23%).

Increasing Access to Healthy Foods through Improving Food Environment: A Review of Mixed Methods Intervention Studies with Residents of Low-Income Communities.

Food insecurity is a broad and serious public health issue in the United States, where many people are reporting lack of access to healthy foods. The reduced availability of healthy, affordable foods has led to increased consumption of energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods, resulting in increasing the risk for many chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Thus, identifying promising approaches to increase access to healthy foods through improving the food environment is of importance. The purpose of this review article is to highlight how the food environment affects directly a person’s food choices, and how to increase access to healthy foods through improving environmental approaches. The literature search was focused on finding different approaches to improve food security, primarily those with an impact on food environment. Overall, potential solutions were gathered through multilevel environmental approaches, including nutrition education and peer education, community-based participatory research, and policy changes in supplemental nutrition programs. A recommendation to reduce food insecurity is learning to create meals with a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables purchased from affordable farmers’ markets.

The emerging importance of tackling sleep-diet interactions in lifestyle interventions for weight management.

Sleep habits are directly related to risk of obesity, and this relationship may be partly mediated through food choices and eating behaviour. Short sleep duration, impaired sleep quality and suboptimal sleep timing are all implicated in weight gain and adverse cardiometabolic health, at least partly mediated through their associations with diet quality. Short-term sleep restriction leads to increased energy intake, and habitually short sleepers report dietary intakes that indicate a less healthy diet compared with adequate sleepers. Evidence is emerging that sleep extension interventions in short sleepers may reduce intake of sugars and overall energy intake. Poor sleep quality, night shift work patterns and social jetlag are also associated with lower diet quality and consumption of energy-dense foods. Incorporating sleep advice into weight management interventions may be more effective than energy-restricted diets and exercise advice alone. However, there are a lack of intervention studies that aim to lengthen sleep, improve sleep quality or adjust irregular sleep timing to investigate the impact on dietary intakes and eating behaviour in participants aiming to lose weight or maintain weight loss. Finally, future research should take account of individual characteristics such as age, sex, life stage and changing working practices when designing combined lifestyle interventions including sleep behaviour change for health and well-being.

Relationship between Emotional Eating, Consumption of Hyperpalatable Energy-Dense Foods, and Indicators of Nutritional Status: A Systematic Review.

People's health is closely linked to their diet. Diet can be defined as the set of foods that are consumed in a day, and it is susceptible to being altered by various factors, such as physiological, environmental, psychological, and social. These, in turn, can be affected by an inadequate diet and/or a dysregulation of emotions. Emotions are an immediate response by the organism informing it of the degree of favorability of a certain stimulus or situation. Moods are similar to emotions but more intense and prolonged. Some studies indicate that the consumption of hyperpalatable energy-dense foods may be related to emotional eating. Emotional eating is characterized by the excessive consumption of hyperpalatable energy-dense foods, rich in sugars and fats, in response to negative emotions. But several reports also indicate that emotional eating may be associated with the presence of positive emotions, so further analysis of the available information is necessary. Consuming higher amounts of hyperpalatable energy-dense foods can lead to the accumulation of energy in the body that results in an increase in body weight, as well as other associated diseases. Obesity is the world's leading diet-related health problem. The objective of this work was to carry out a systematic review of the available literature using the Cochrane methodology, in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, to evaluate the relationship between emotional eating, the consumption of hyperpalatable energy-dense foods, and indicators of nutritional status. An exhaustive search in different databases yielded 9431 scientific articles, 45 of which met the inclusion criteria. This review underscores the fact that knowing and understanding the reasons why people consume hyperpalatable energy-dense foods and the possible connection with their emotional eating can provide key data for improving and personalizing patients' nutritional treatment. This in turn can encourage compliance with treatment plans to improve people's health and quality of life using an interdisciplinary approach.

Сучасні погляди на харчування дітей з муковісцидозом

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive, life-shortening disease in which generalized exocrine gland involvement occurs with predominantly pancreatic insufficiency, airway obstruction, and progressive lung involvement. Due to pancreatic insufficiency, malabsorption and malnutrition are observed in patients. The close attributive association of CF with nutritional status and adverse clinical outcomes determines a thorough assessment of the nutritional status, individual management and monitoring of all children with CF. Attainment of optimal physical development and adequate nutrition in patients with CF is currently possible through early diagnosis and aggressive nutritional medical therapy. Medical dietary interventions are aimed at ensuring normal growth and preventing of malnutrition, thus will upgrade the prognosis and quality of life of pediatric patients with CF. The reasons for the development of malnutrition in CF, specific screening tools for monitoring the growth of ill children, criteria for stratifying children into nutritional risk groups are reviewed in the lection. The procedure for calculating energy needs, taking into account activity, the severity of the disease and pancreatic insufficiency is presented. Attention is drawn to the ratio of macronutrients and the need to consume energy-dense and nutrient-rich foods. The prescription of medical nutritional therapy with the inclusion of special foods for medical purposes (clinical nutrition) to meet increased energy requirements and avoid the consumption of energy-dense but nutrient-poor foods also is discussed. It is meaningful to involve into a multidisciplinary team of a psychologist who can on a regular basis correct eating behavior and promote compliance with nutritional recommendations in order to achieve optimal physical development of patients. The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies. No conflict of interests was declared by the authors. Key words: cystic fibrosis, children, malnutrition, medical nutrition therapy.

PARTICIPATION IN LEISURE-TIME ACTIVITIES AND THE BODY MASS INDEX OF STUDENTS IN A TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

&lt;p&gt;The rate at which obesity is increasing among tertiary institution students in Nigeria is alarming. Physical inactivity, consumption of energy-dense foods, and sitting down for long hours are some of the risk factors for obesity that have been commonly reported among them. To reduce the risk of obesity, participation in leisure-time activities (LTA) is essential. This study was therefore carried out to determine the extent to which tertiary institution students engage in LTA and the relationship this has with their body mass index (BMI). A correlational research was carried out among 220 students selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure from Ekiti State University (EKSU) Nigeria. A self-developed, validated questionnaire was used to collect the data on respondents’ demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements and frequency of participation in LTA. Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between participation in LTA and BMI. All inferences were made at 0.05 level of significance. The majority (80%) of the respondents had a moderate level of participation in LTA. Also, leisure-time reading (Mean=3.30, SD=1.3) and watching TV/ listening to the news (Mean=2.90, SD=1.4), were the most commonly performed LTA among respondents. Lower BMI was associated with the participation in LTA that is rigorous in nature, while higher BMI was associated with the LTA that is sedentary in nature. This study revealed that participating in LTA that is rigorous in nature helps to maintain a normal body mass index better than LTA that is sedentary in nature. The findings of this study will go a long way in providing useful information to the physical and health education teams on the differences in the influence of sedentary and rigorous LTAs on the health of tertiary institution students. This is likely to guide the planning of programmes to encourage tertiary institution students to engage more in LTAs that are more rigorous.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Article visualizations:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0320/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Taking a closer look at mindful eating: incremental validity and importance of subfacets

PurposeMindful eating (ME) seems a promising approach to clarify the underlying mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions for eating and weight-related issues. The current study aimed to investigate the incremental validity of this eating-specific approach beyond a generic conception of mindfulness and explore preliminary indication which subfacets of the multidimensional construct ME might be of particular importance in order to study them more precisely and tailor mindfulness-based interventions for eating and weight-related issues more properly.MethodsSelf-report data (N = 292) were collected online. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to explore the incremental validity of ME beyond generic mindfulness, predicting maladaptive eating (emotional and uncontrolled eating) and consumption of energy-dense food. Multiple regressions were used to examine the impact of the seven different ME subfacets on the very same outcomes.ResultsFindings demonstrated the incremental validity of ME on all outcomes. Generic mindfulness no longer predicted emotional eating, uncontrolled eating, or the consumption of energy-dense food when entering ME. The subfacet ‘non-reactive stance’ predicted all three outcomes significantly. For emotional and uncontrolled eating, the subfacets ‘accepting and non-attached attitude toward one’s own eating experience’, ‘eating in response to awareness of fullness’, and the ‘awareness of eating triggers and motives’ additionally showed a significant influence.ConclusionME seems a valuable approach in clarifying how mindfulness might impact eating and weight-related issues. Beyond that, it might be beneficial for upcoming interventions to strengthen specific ME subfacets, depending on the focused outcomes.Level of evidenceLevel V, descriptive cross-sectional study.

Public support for policies to improve population and planetary health: A population-based online experiment assessing impact of communicating evidence of multiple versus single benefits

BackgroundEffective interventions for reducing the consumption of products that harm population and planetary health often lack public support, impeding implementation. Communicating evidence of policies’ effectiveness can increase public support but there is uncertainty about the most effective ways of communicating this evidence. Some policies have multiple benefits such as both improving health and the environment. This study assesses whether communicating evidence of multiple versus single benefits of a policy increases its support. MethodParticipants (n = 4616) nationally representative of the British population were randomised to one of 24 groups in an online experiment with a 4 × 3 × 2 between-subjects factorial design. The messages that participants viewed differed according to the evidence they communicated (no message, effectiveness for changing behaviour, effectiveness for changing behaviour + one policy benefit, effectiveness for changing behaviour + three policy benefits), type of policy (taxation, availability) and the target behaviour (consumption of energy-dense food, alcohol, or meat). The primary outcome was policy support. ResultsIn a full factorial ANOVA, there was a significant main effect of communicating evidence of effectiveness on policy support, which was similar across policies and behaviours. Communicating three benefits increased support relative to communicating one benefit (d = 0.15; p = 0.01). Communicating one benefit increased support compared to providing evidence for changing behaviour alone (d = 0.13; p = 0.004) or no message (d = 0.11 p = 0.022). ConclusionCommunicating evidence of a policy's benefits increases support for policy action across different behaviours and policies. Presenting multiple benefits of policies enhances public support.