Drink Items Research Articles

Eating out of home and obesity: a Brazilian nationwide survey

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between out-of-home (OH) eating and overweight and obesity among adults in Brazil. Data were based on the 2002-2003 Household Budget Survey (48,470 households) conducted by The Brazilian Census Bureau. Foods and drinks purchased for OH eating during a one-week period were recorded by each participant. We considered OH eating as the purchase of at least one food or drink item for OH consumption during this period. We classified items as: soft drinks, deep-fried snacks, fast foods, sweets and sit-down meals. Urban areas in Brazil. 56,178 participants (26,225 men and 29,953 women), aged 25-65 years. The weighted prevalence of OH eating was 40.3 %. Overall, OH eating was positively associated with overweight (OR = 1.21; 95 % CI 1.10, 1.33) and obesity (OR = 1.35; 95 % CI 1.16, 1.57) among men, but not among women. Sit-down meals and soft drinks were the most frequently reported food groups. Both were positively associated with overweight (OR = 1.34 for meals; OR = 1.17 for soft drinks, P < 0.05) and obesity (OR = 1.51 for meals; OR = 1.39 for soft drinks, P < 0.05) among men, but negatively associated with overweight and obesity among women. OH eating was associated with overweight and obesity only among men, whereas, among women, eating sit-down meals out of home was protective for obesity, suggesting that women make healthier food choices when they eat out of home.

Nutritional composition of the commonly consumed composite dishes for the Barbados National Cancer Study

Primary objective To provide, for the first time, the calculated nutritional composition of 32 composite dishes commonly consumed in Barbados to enable dietary intake to be calculated from a Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire developed specifically for this population to determine associations between diet and risk of prostate and breast cancer.Methods and procedures Weighed recipes were collected in up to six different households for each of the 32 composite dishes. The average nutritional composition for these composite dishes was calculated using the US Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database.Main outcomes and results One hundred and fifty-two weighed recipes were collected for 32 composite dishes: five were fish based, two were ground beef dishes, two were chicken based, two were offal based, two were lamb dishes, one was pork based, three were rice based, three were commonly consumed home-made drinks, and the remaining were miscellaneous items.Conclusions A total of 152 weighed recipes were collected and we provide, for the first time, nutritional composition data for 32 commonly consumed food and drink items in Barbados. Such data are essential for assessing nutrient intake and determining associations between diet and prostate and breast cancer in the Barbados National Cancer Study.

A case of infant botulism with a possible link to infant formula milk powder: evidence for the presence of more than one strain of Clostridium botulinum in clinical specimens and food

Infant botulism was confirmed in a 5-month-old female by both isolation of Clostridium botulinum type B and by detection of type B botulinum neurotoxin in rectal washout and faeces. DNA fingerprinting of nine isolates from faeces yielded two different amplified-fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) patterns. C. botulinum was isolated from two of 14 food and drink items from the patient's home: C. botulinum type A was recovered from an opened container of dried rice pudding and C. botulinum type B from opened infant formula milk powder. Ten C. botulinum type B isolates from the opened infant formula yielded four AFLP patterns, two of which were indistinguishable from the clinical isolates. Fifteen unopened foods were tested and C. botulinum type B of a unique AFLP pattern was recovered from one unopened infant formula of the same batch as the opened container. It is suggested that multiple C. botulinum were present in both food and the intestine during infant botulism.

Evaluation of an iron specific checklist for the assessment of dietary iron intake in pregnant and postpartum women

Objective This study developed and validated an iron checklist for assessing dietary iron intake of pregnant and postpartum women. Methods The checklist included 65 food and drink items. Iron intake measured by the checklist was compared with a diet history interview by paired t test and by the Bland-Altman method in 54 pregnant women. We then used the checklist to prospectively assess iron intake in a separate group of women in late pregnancy ( n = 179) and at 6 mo postpartum ( n = 177). The ability of the checklist to predict iron status was evaluated. Results There was no difference in reported mean iron intakes between the checklist and the diet history and there were good correlations between iron intake estimated from both methods ( r = 0.69, P < 0.001 for food alone, r = 0.99, P < 0.001 for food plus supplements). However, the agreement between the two methods at an individual level was low. Pregnant women with low iron intake (lower than the recommended dietary intake) had lower serum ferritin levels (9.7 versus 14.5 μg/L, P < 0.001) and higher risk of iron deficiency (67.5% versus 34.9%, P < 0.0001) compared with women with adequate iron intake (at least the minimum recommended dietary intake), but these differences disappeared when women taking iron supplements were excluded. There was no association between iron intake and serum ferritin at 6 mo postpartum or between iron intake and hemoglobin levels at the end of pregnancy or at 6 mo postpartum. Conclusion This simple iron checklist is a useful tool in describing iron intake of population samples of pregnant women but has limited ability to predict iron status.

Vending Machine Policies and Practices in Delaware

Overweight has reached alarming proportions among America's youth. Although the cause of the rise in overweight rates in children and adolescents is certainly the result of the interaction of a variety of factors, the presence of vending machines in schools is one issue that has recently come to the forefront. Many states have passed or proposed legislation that limits student access to vending machines in schools or require that vending machines in schools offer healthier choices. The purposes of this study were (a) to assess the food and beverage vending machine offerings in the public school districts in the state of Delaware and (b) to determine whether there are any district vending policies in place other than the current U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations. The results of this study indicate the most commonly sold food and drink items in school vending machines are of minimal nutritional value. School administrators are most frequently in charge of the vending contract, as well as setting and enforcing vending machine policies. Suggestions are offered to assist school nurses, often the only health professional in the school, in becoming advocates for changes in school vending practices and policies that promote the health and well-being of children and adolescents.

Consumption of foods by young children with diagnosed campylobacter infection - a pilot case-control study.

To determine whether parentally reported habitual intake of specific foods differed between children with diagnosed Campylobacter jejuni infection and children of a comparison group without diagnosed infection. Information was collected from the parents or primary caregivers of South Australian children aged 1-5 years with diagnosed C. jejuni (cases, n=172) and an age- and gender-matched group of uninfected children (controls, n=173). Frequency of consumption of 106 food and drink items was determined for the preceding two months by food-frequency questionnaire. Four children in the control group had recorded diarrhoeal episodes during the assessment period and were excluded, so 169 responses were evaluated for this group. Information was gathered on possible confounders including socio-economic status. Response frequencies were classified into three levels of consumption (rarely, weekly or daily) and statistical comparison was made by frequency of consumption of foods versus the 'rarely' classification for cases and controls, respectively. Frequency of consumption of most foods, including starchy foods and fruits and vegetables, did not differ between cases and controls. However, reported consumption of eight food items (block and processed cheese (slices and spread), salami/fritz (a form of processed sausage), chicken nuggets, pasteurised milk, fish (canned or fresh) and hot French fries) was significantly higher by controls. The hypothesis that reported consumption of starchy foods was lower by cases than by controls was not supported by the data. However, consumption of some processed and unprocessed foods was higher by controls. Some of these foods have established bactericidal actions in vitro that may indicate a possible mechanism for this apparent protection.

Cholera prevention with traditional and novel water treatment methods: an outbreak investigation in Fort-Dauphin, Madagascar.

Cholera prevention with traditional and novel water treatment methods: an outbreak investigation in Fort-Dauphin, Madagascar.

Nutritional and occupational factors influencing the risk of Parkinson's disease: a case-control study in southeastern Sweden.

To investigate the possible impact of nutritional and environmental risk factors for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IP), a case-control study was performed in the county of Ostergötland in southeastern Sweden. The study involved 113 cases of IP and 263 control subjects. Dietary, drinking, and smoking habits, as well as previous occupation, were requested in a structured questionnaire. No increased risk was found for any of the nutritional items in which information was requested. A reduced risk was found for coffee, wine, and liquor at various consumption levels but also for fried or broiled meat, smoked ham or meat, eggs, French loaf or white bread, and tomatoes. All these food and drink items contain niacin. As in many studies, the frequency of preceding and present smoking was reduced in IP patients. Various occupational groups and exposures were analyzed and increased risks of IP in men were found for agricultural work along with pesticide exposure; this was also the case for male carpenters and female cleaners. The findings indicate that nutritional factors and occupational exposures, especially to pesticides, could be of etiologic importance in IP.

Nutritional and occupational factors influencing the risk of Parkinson's disease: A case‐control study in southeastern Sweden

PURPOSE AND METHODS To investigate the possible impact of nutritional and environmental risk factors for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IP), a case-control study was performed in the county of Östergötland in southeastern Sweden. The study involved 113 cases of IP and 263 control subjects. Dietary, drinking, and smoking habits, as well as previous occupation, were requested in a structured questionnaire. RESULTS No increased risk was found for any of the nutritional items in which information was requested. A reduced risk was found for coffee, wine, and liquor at various consumption levels but also for fried or broiled meat, smoked ham or meat, eggs, French loaf or white bread, and tomatoes. All these food and drink items contain niacin. As in many studies, the frequency of preceding and present smoking was reduced in IP patients. Various occupational groups and exposures were analyzed and increased risks of IP in men were found for agricultural work along with pesticide exposure; this was also the case for male carpenters and female cleaners. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that nutritional factors and occupational exposures, especially to pesticides, could be of etiologic importance in IP.

Teaching requests for food and drink to children with multiple disabilities in a graphic communication mode

Graphic communication modes are often considered for children with multiple disabilities as an alternative to speech or gestures. However, there have been few empirical studies demonstrating effective procedures for teaching graphic mode requests to young children with multiple disabilities. In the present study, two children with multiple disabilities were taught to request preferred food and drink items by pointing to corresponding line drawings. Time-delay, prompting, reinforcement, and error correction procedures were implemented in a multiple-probe design to establish discriminated and generalized requests for preferred foods and beverages during morning snack time. The procedures were effective in teaching generalized and discriminated use of the food and drink symbols. Although effective in teaching children to request offered items, the procedures used in the present study need further development to ensure requests are controlled by the more natural conditions of hunger and thirst.

Assessing choice making among children with multiple disabilities.

Some learners with multiple disabilities display idiosyncratic gestures that are interpreted as a means of making choices. In the present study, we assessed the validity of idiosyncratic choice-making behaviors of 3 children with multiple disabilities. Opportunities for each child to choose between food and drink were provided under two conditions. In one condition, the children were given the food or drink item corresponding to their prior choice. In the other condition, the teacher delivered the item opposite to that chosen. It was reasoned that valid choice-making behaviors would be reflected in a greater tendency to accept the chosen item and refuse the unchosen item. Direct observations revealed all children consistently indicated choices during both conditions. Choices of both the food and drink items were made by all 3 children. A reversal design demonstrated that acts of refusal were more frequent when choices were followed by delivery of the item opposite to that chosen. Similar assessment procedures may be effective in determining the function of idiosyncratic gestures exhibited by persons with multiple disabilities. For children lacking such skills, intervention to teach valid choice-making behaviors may be needed to complement assessment procedures.

Making choice a routine part of mealtimes for persons with profound mental retardation

AbstractDespite increased recognition of the importance of providing routine choice opportunities for persons with severe handicaps, this population continues to experience a typical lack of such opportunities. We evaluated a program for increasing the amount of choices made during routine mealtimes by persons with profound mental retardation and minimal communication skills. The choice provision program, involving systematic presentation of alternative food and drink items in a step‐wise fashion during the course of the meal, was implemented with three persons in a residential facility. Results indicated that after implementation of the choice program, all three participants made consistently more choices concerning the foods and beverages they consumed relative to baseline. The choice provision program was conducted without extending the amount of time typically allotted to mealtime within the residential setting. Results are discussed in regard to additional research needed to continue developing means of assisting persons with profound mental retardation to exert control over meaningful events in their lives.

Water Consumption Patterns among Individuals in Cape Town

Liquid consumption patterns among individuals in Cape Town, South Africa, were ascertained. Two dietary surveys, one in summer and the other in winter, (n=1445 and 1393 persons) were carried out using a 24-hour recall of all food and drink items consumed. Total water consumption was calculated by using food composition tables. Water consumption was categorised by source: domestic tap water, water added in commercial processing, and water naturally bound in food. Mean total consumption was 1770 ml/head.day. Only 52% of the water consumed came from the tap at home. Water consumption was also classified by source from solid and liquid foods. 20.5% of total liquid is derived from solid foods.

A Comparison of General Case in Vivo and General Case Simulation plus in Vivo Training

This study examined the relative effectiveness and efficiency of general case in vivo and general case simulation plus in vivo training in teaching six students with moderate and severe disabilities to purchase drink and food items in fast-food restaurants. General case in vivo training consisted of instruction in three fast-food restaurants located near the students' school. General case simulation plus in vivo training alternated classroom training with training in a single restaurant. Generalization was assessed in three novel restaurants. Results indicated that both strategies led to reliable performance in nontrained settings. However, students who received general case in vivo instruction required fewer training trials to criterion, made fewer errors to criterion, and required less training time to criterion than students who received general case simulation plus in vivo training. In addition, the overall costs of general case in vivo instruction were lower than the costs of the general case simulation plus in vivo training. The results are discussed in terms of the implications for teachers in designing instructional programs to teach generalized performance of community skills.