Preferred Food Research Articles

COVID-19 PANDEMİSİNDE YETİŞKİNLERİN GIDA TERCİHLERİNDEKİ DAVRANIŞLARI, ALGILANAN STRES DURUMLARI VE ETKİLEYEN FAKTÖRLER

Amaç: COVID-19 pandemisinde yetişkinlerin gıda tercihlerindeki davranışları incelemek ve algıladıkları stres durumlarını etkileyen faktörleri saptamak amaçlandı.
 Yöntem: Tanımlayıcı tipteki bu araştırma ikinci kapanma sonrasında 40-64 yaş arası 372 yetişkin ile Türkiye’de e-survey olarak gerçekleştirildi. Çalışmada Algılanan Stres Ölçeği (ASÖ) ve tanımlayıcı form kullanıldı.
 Bulgular: COVID-19 pandemi sürecinde grubun %59.1’i hiç sipariş ile gıda alışverişi yapmamıştı. Bu süreçte en fazla tercih edilen gıdalar yumurta (%86.3), et ve et ürünleri (%85.8), süt ve süt ürünleri (%85.5), taze sebze (%84.4) ve taze meyveydi (%83.3). Katılımcıların %58.9’unun market, pazar gibi kalabalık yerlerde alışveriş yapmak istemediği, %79.6’sının gıda fiyatlarının artmasından endişe ettiği, %78.8’inin panikle gıda satın aldığı, %90.1’inin yiyecek stokladığı belirlendi. COVID-19 pandemi sürecinde en fazla stoklanan gıdalar kuru baklagiller (%58.9) ve tahıllardı (%52.2). Katılımcıların %38.7’si yeterli gıda bulunabilirliği endişesinin ve %27.7’si gıda güvenliği endişesinin arttığını belirtti. COVID-19 pandemi sürecinde panikle satın alma yapan (p=0.018) ve gıda güvenliği endişesi artan (p=0.000) katılımcıların ASÖ toplam puan ortalamalarının daha yüksek olduğu saptandı. Gıda israfı farkındalığı (p=0.003), evde yemek hazırlama davranışı (p=0.024), yeterli gıda bulunabilirliği endişesi (p=0.034) ve gıda güvenliği endişesi (p=0.000) artan katılımcıların yetersiz özyeterlilik alt boyut puan ortalamaları düşük saptandı. COVID-19 pandemi sürecinde hem kendisi hem de sipariş ile alışveriş yapan (p=0.015), panikle satın alma davranışı gösteren (p=0.000), internet aracılığı ile sipariş yapma davranışı artan (p=0.002), gıda israfı farkındalığı artan (p=0.000), evde yemek hazırlama davranışı artan (p=0.000), yeterli gıda bulunabilirliği endişesi yaşayan (p=0.000) ve gıda güvenliği endişesi yaşayan (p=0.000) katılımcıların stres/rahatsızlık alt boyut puan ortalamaları yüksekti.
 Sonuç: COVID-19 pandemisi gibi olağan dışı durumlarda gıda tüketicilerinin davranışlarının incelenmesi hem sağlık hem de sosyal boyutuyla önem taşımakta olup, gıda ve ekonomi politikalarının planlanmasını daha kolaylaştıracaktır.

Analyzing the Benefits of Cultural Food Items for Women's Healing after Childbirth

This article deals with the food preferences within the culture and the benefits of traditional food items for a woman after confinement. Within a culture, people have different food choices. Food selection is always defined by cultural, social, environmental, and personal choices. This study looks into the preferred foods within the culture, and how culture shapes the food patterns by emphasizing related traditions. This study tried to explore connections between food and healing by emphasizing traditional food given to new mothers during the period of confinement. The study looks into the benefits, especially those traditional foods that women eat postnatally. Traditional food is consumed by women to increase milk production, overcome anaemia and clean up the inside of the body after delivery.

On eating’s pleasure of women of low-income socioeconomic status in Petare, Caracas, Venezuela

Eating is a key biological, social, cultural, historical, geographical, agricultural, religious and hedonic act. Whether the pleasure on eating can be developed from scarcity might be controversial, as the development of taste involves the exposure to a variety of foods during critical periods of time and will be associated to what is available for the people in their daily lives. This study aimed to study the preferred foods and dishes, of women within low and very low-income settings in Caracas, Venezuela during the month of June 2022, the willingness to grow ingredients at home and/or community gardens and what would they cook if money restriction was not a problem. Interviews were implemented by focus group to 18 pregnant and lactating women and community workers (women) on soup kitchens established in two very low-income settings in Eastern Caracas, Venezuela, to fulfil the aims of this study, and to understand the characteristics of the preferences. In general, the results obtained show absence of traditional Venezuelan complex dishes that have been replaced by foods that are either basic in its components, have international references, and can be prepared with foods that people have access to, thus the culinary memoires of the future younger generations can be compromised as there is an absence of those in the imaginary and dreams of the family mothers and cooking volunteers whose dream is to enrich with animal protein a basic carbohydrate already available.

Evaluation of Drought Management Strategies for Enhanced Food Security in West Pokot County, Kenya

Drought risk reduction is the main strategy that is considered as part of initiatives that aim at mitigating the risk posed by drought. Reducing community vulnerability to the effects of recurrent droughts in ASAL Counties requires a comprehensive multi-sectorial approach. The drought risk reduction (DRR) in West Pokot County is a new approach to addressing the chronic impact of drought through adopting long-term strategies. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the drought management strategies employed in West Pokot County. The study used an evaluation research design. Respondents were selected through random and purposive sampling methods. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 398 respondents identified through random sampling from different strata of the community and the stakeholders in the drought management and food security sectors. Interview guides were used to collect data from the key informants and focus group discussions. Quantitative data obtained from relevant institutions were analysed using the SPSS version 20 method. The results obtained from the analysis were presented in tables, charts, graphs, and narratives. The study found that 32% of the respondents indicated that growing of drought tolerant crops is a key strategy in reducing drought impacts, while 20% indicated limiting the portion size at mealtime, 38% prefer access to early warning information and 44% indicated livestock migration is the main mitigation measure for drought risk reduction initiatives. In terms of factors contributing to community vulnerability to drought, it was indicated that poverty was the main factor, with 40%, 35% indicating climatic variability, and 17% indicating dependency syndrome on foreign aid. The study further indicated for the humanitarian programs in West Pokot, 36% of the respondents preferred food aid, and 28% indicated cash transfer. These results are useful in developing mitigation measures to reduce risks from drought and enhancing the communities’ resilience to chronic drought and food insecurity adverse impacts.

Go for Lipids! Food Preferences and Nutrient Composition in Zoo-Housed White-Faced Sakis, Pithecia pithecia

The role that single nutrients may play for food choices in nonhuman primates is not fully understood. White-faced sakis (Pithecia pithecia) are unusual among frugivorous primates as they do not serve as seed dispersers but rather exploit the seeds they consume, presumably for their high contents of lipids and proteins. Therefore, we assessed the occurrence of spontaneous food preferences in zoo-housed white-faced sakis and analyzed whether these preferences correlate with nutrient composition. Using a two-alternative choice test, we repeatedly presented three female and two male sakis with all possible binary combinations of 15 types of food that are part of their diet under human care, and found them to display the following rank order of preference: peanut > hazelnut > avocado > melon > egg > apple > mealworms > beetroot > carrot > cucumber > cabbage > tomato > sweet potato > broccoli > eggplant. This preference ranking significantly and positively correlated with the total energy content of the food items. However, we found the strongest positive correlation among the three macronutrients providing metabolic energy between the sakis’ food preferences and lipid content. This is remarkable as all other primate species tested so far using this method displayed the strongest correlation with carbohydrates instead. Together with our finding that the sakis significantly preferred foods high in mono-unsaturated fatty acids, the building blocks of lipids, these results support the notion that white-faced sakis exploit the lipids contained in seeds to meet their requirements of metabolic energy.

Temitomyces heimii– A Nutritious and Medicinally Important Wild Edible Mushroom of Similipal Forests, Odisha Boosting Tribal Health and Economy

Mushrooms are consumed worldwide because of their nutritional, medicinal values as well as pleasant taste and flavour. Wild edible mushrooms are source of livelihood for poor and landless people which they consume and sell the surplus mushrooms in the nearby market. Many people are not aware about the edibility of wild mushrooms which are generally confined to the tribal areas. However, tribals are aware of the edible mushrooms due to their age-old traditional uses and fond of hunting mushrooms during rainy season. The present paper deals with availability, collection, consumption pattern of wild edible mushrooms by tribals communities, along with preservation and economical contribution of Termitomyces heimii, a popular wild edible mushrooms profusely growing during rainy season of the Similipal, state of Odisha, India.
 Similipal has a greater diversity of mushrooms throughout the length and breadth due to its varying soil and climate conditions. T. heimii collected the tribal people from near forest area in 4-5 different times in huge quantities during July to October. It partly consumed and rest of the mushroom are sold in the market at a price of Rupees 300/- to 400/-. Termitomyces were more frequently available in Sal (Shorea robusta) forests. Many traders visit forest fringe villages and collect this mushroom from local collector’s and sell it in the marker with profit. Due to its taste, the mushroom has got very high demand in this locality that, it is sold within 5-6 hours after reaching to market. It is assessed that mushrooms worth 14 lakhs are sold in Baripada alone a nearly town of Similipal. The valuation T. heimii alone made by the authors during the field assessment showed that, the entire of Similipal is contributing economically nearly 1.2 crore value of mushrooms as contribution towards livelihood of tribal people. In interior areas tribal people preserve the mushrooms after drying it and consume later during after the season is end. During the study, a survey was conducted in villages adjoining to the forests and local markets to assess the quantities of mushrooms collected from forest and the value of selling valve on the market. Exercise was conducted to know the traditional preservation practice of this mushroom by tribals. From the present investigation, it is concluded that T. heimii is an important wild edible mushroom from Similipal which provides, nutrition and economic boost to the tribals in Similipal region. This promising species can be explored for its domestication in view of its preferred food value as well as a livelihood support of the rural poor people.

Ethnic crop consumption and marketing in the Eastern United States: Trends and prospects

The population demographics of the eastern U.S has changed in recent years with an increase in immigrants, particularly of Asian and Hispanic origins. This trend motivated the identification of foods preferred by these ethnic communities in 16 states in the region and Washington, D.C., focusing on greens and herbs. Over 100 ethnic greens and herbs were identified as being preferred food choices, from which 40 were selected for further study, representing 10 crops important to four ethnicities: Asian Indian, Chinese, Mexican, and Puerto Rico. Bulletin board focus group and telephone survey participants responded to questions regarding their consumption in 2010. The relevant information was collected to assess retail sales for each crop for each of the four ethnic groups. Results demonstrated that the ethnic crop demand in the eastern U.S is significant, and the prospects for future growth are promising as the population of ethnic consumers in the region is projected to continue to grow.

Study on the feeding preference and feeding habits of the oribatid mite Papillacarus elongatus Xavier (Acari: Oribatida: Lohmannidae) using microfungal and leaf litter diets

Oribatid mites are essential to the decomposition of plant tissues in temperate forests by assisting the conversion of primary productivity to soil organic matter and thereby nutrient release. The feeding habits and preference of one of the important soil oribatid mite, Papillacarus elongatus, were observed under the laboratory conditions (RH 80±2% and Temperature 27±2 °C) by providing different microfungi (Pseudo pestalotiopsis, Ectophoma multirostrata, Curvularia verruculosa, Corynespora cassiicola, Lasiodipladia theobromae, Trichodema harzianum) and semi degraded leaves (Hevea brasiliensis, Theobrama cacao, Myristica fragrans, Artocarpus hirsutus, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Mangifera indica) as food items. Among these food items, the mite fed less on microfungi Pseudo pestalotiopsis and Ectophoma multirostrata but actively fed on Curvularia verruculosa, Corynespora cassiicola, Lasiodipladia theobromae and Trichodema harzianum. They completely rejected semi-degraded leaves of Hevea brasiliensis, Theobrama cacao and Myristica fragrans but actively fed on Artocarpus hirsutus, Artocarpus heterophyllus, and Mangifera indica. The rate of feeding and their ability to select favoured food items could be analyzed statistically by conducting an ANOVA test, which revealed that the F value was significant at p<0.05 level. The results of this study indicate that the P. elongatus can exhibit both microphytophagous and panphytophagous feeding behaviour, as they could feed both lower plant elements like fungal hyphae and higher plant parts like leaves. Defecated faecal pellets of the reared oribatid mites were also observed on individual food items in culture vessels and counted after 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120h. The results confirmed the preferred food items in the present experiment. The enzyme assays showed that the possession of cellulose-splitting enzymes like cellulase, trihalase and chitinase suggests their ability to degrade polysaccharides. These alternative feeding guilds in this species and their possible interactions with the fungal community were related to organic matter decomposition which may help them indirectly affect the microbial activity and be directly involved in the biodegradation of leaf litter in the soil ecosystem.

Artificial light affects the foraging behavior in greater white‐toothed shrews (CROCIDURA RUSSULA)

AbstractLight pollution is one of the forms by which human‐induced alterations are changing natural environments. Artificial light at night (ALAN) has been increasing over the past decades and it is already known that ALAN can have a major influence on the ecology, behavior, and physiology of different taxa. Nocturnal small mammals are particularly vulnerable, as ALAN can increase their predation risk while foraging. The aim of this study was to investigate foraging strategies under different light conditions in a nocturnal small insectivore, the greater white‐toothed shrew (Crocidura russula). Compared with rodents, shrews have a higher metabolic rate and thus present a good model for a foraging study. In three laboratory experiments with wild‐caught shrews we tested (i) food preference under dark conditions as well as the effect of different light conditions on (ii) foraging strategies and (iii) food choice. The results showed that shrews had a clear food preference under dark conditions. They also preferred to forage under dark over light conditions when presented with the same food in both conditions. However, when presented with the choice of foraging their preferred food under illuminated conditions or a lower food quality in the dark, the food preference of shrews overruled their preference for feeding in the dark. It seems that food preference, rather than risk perception, is the main driver determining the foraging strategy of the greater white‐toothed shrews. This study suggests that ALAN does not necessarily prevent high‐metabolic nocturnal insectivores from achieving their energetic needs, which might help explain their persistence in urban environments.

Environmental flows stimulate estuarine plankton communities by altered salinity structure and enhanced nutrient recycling

Sustainable management of estuaries depends on understanding the synergistic effects of nutrients and hydrological factors on estuarine food webs. We examined how phytoplankton, zooplankton and selected fish larval counts (Acanthopagrus butcheri, black bream) vary in relation to groundwater inputs and environmental flow releases (EFRs) in a small, highly flow-regulated estuary (Werribee, Victoria, Australia). We found that groundwater-derived nutrients and an EFR were associated with the community structure of phytoplankton and zooplankton and abundance of fish larvae. Elevated phytoplankton concentration was associated with increased flagellate abundance (genus Euglena), followed by increased abundance of diatoms (Cyclotella sp). The latter increase was primarily associated with groundwater-derived nitrate entering the estuary. Cyclotella sp. abundance collapsed following an EFR and the subsequent increase in ammonium (NH4+) concentrations in the estuary. In addition, the strong halocline and increased bottom water NH4+ concentrations resulting from the EFR appeared to stimulate population growth of flagellate taxa and calanoid copepods. The abundance of calanoid copepodites and nauplii, which are the preferred food for larval A. butcheri, greatly increased due to the EFR, and was associated with an increase in larval A. butcheri abundance at this time. This effect of the EFR on the cascading trophic interactions in the estuarine food web has rarely been shown. Our study reinforces the ecological linkages between freshwater inputs, including groundwater and riverine discharge, and estuarine biotic community structure and function. Importantly, this study underscores the potential food web consequences of freshwater flow manipulation into estuaries and provides evidence for using environmental flows to enhance and/or manage the recruitment of estuarine fishes.

Aquatic Macrophytes Shape the Foraging Efficiency, Trophic Niche Breadth, and Overlap among Small Fish in a Neotropical River

Aquatic macrophytes are generally recognized to influence fish–prey interactions. We assessed how fish consume particular foods, and how their foraging efficiency, trophic niche breadth, and niche overlap respond to gradients of macrophyte density and diversity. We sampled fish and macrophytes in 30 stands distributed over a 13.7 km stretch of the littoral zone of a river in Brazil. By generating generalized linear models, we showed that increasing macrophyte density (from 366 to 7066 g DW m−3) favored herbivory and fish foraging efficiency. Beta regressions showed that fish reduced their trophic niche breadth along the gradient of macrophyte density, while niche overlap increased until a certain extent of plant density when species started to segregate the niche more strongly. However, niche breadth responses varied according to the trophic guild considered, with omnivorous and herbivorous fish generally showing opposite responses. Macrophyte diversity was important for the preferred food items of the fish, with stomach contents shifting from higher plants, algae, and detritus to insects with increasing macrophyte diversity. Therefore, in addition to the presumable effects of macrophyte density on resource availability and prey encounter rates, our findings highlight the importance of maintaining diverse macrophyte stands for the conservation of fish diversity.

Reasons and solutions for unhealthy food consumption and physical inactivity among school-going adolescents: A sequential mixed-methods study in Puducherry, South India.

Unhealthy food consumption and physical inactivity in adolescents play a key role in the development of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Objectives: The study was planned to capture the reasons and solutions for unhealthy food consumption and physical inactivity among school-going adolescents. A school-based sequential mixed-methods study was conducted in Puducherry for six months. In Phase I, a survey (QUAN) was carried out among 405 representative students from 9th to 12th standards to identify the reasons for unhealthy behaviors. Then, Phase II compromised two focus group discussions (FGDs) (QUAL) with 20 purposively selected school staff, parents, and healthcare professionals to explore the solutions for unhealthy behaviors. In Phase III, the key action points were ranked (QUAL) by 60 teachers. Quantitative data was analyzed in Epi_Info 7.1.5.0 software (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Atlanta, Georgia, US). Thematic content analysis was done for the qualitative data in Atlas.ti.9 software (Scientific Software Development GmbH, Berlin). Further, mean rank and Kendall's concordance coefficient (W) were calculated for the ranked data in SPSS 24 software (SPSS Inc; Chicago, Illinois, USA). About 70.1% of students had unhealthy food consumption and 61% of students lacked physical activity. Notably, 59.9% of males preferred unhealthy foods, and 65.2% of females were physically inactive. The leading reasons for unhealthy eating habits were taste (78.9%), increased online food delivery (75.7%), and attractive advertisements (74.3%). Whereas, the prime reasons for sedentary behaviors were increased study load (81.8%), high-density traffic (74.9%), and insufficient recreational facilities (71.7%). The prioritized feasible action points would help in the development of context-specific behavior change communication strategies for future health promotion interventions in resource-poor settings.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN AGE AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR FOOD ALLERGENS

<h3>Introduction</h3> Well-designed and implemented food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) can provide useful measures of food, nutrient, food allergen, and diet diversity intake. However, current validated diet screening assessment tools are limited in their ability to accurately measure food allergen intake in early childhood eating patterns. Therefore, our group aimed to develop and validate an age-appropriate, culturally relevant, and user-friendly FFQ to measure food allergen intake. <h3>Methods</h3> Over 18-months, a group of international dietitians, food allergy experts, epidemiologists, and pediatricians collaborated with Vioscreen to revise an existing FFQ to make the questionnaire more relevant to infants and toddlers, as well as assess intake of food allergens. This tool could be parent-administered online and facilitate user-friendly reporting of food allergen intake including type of food, frequency of consumption, and quantity consumed. <h3>Results</h3> The allergen-focused Vioscreen questionnaire assess >300 food options. Through branching and skip logic, families only review food options relevant to their diet—greatly reducing participant burden compared with other FFQs. Information on overall diet, breast and formula feeding, and allergenic foods are obtained in age-appropriate portion sizes. The FFQ was adapted to offer preferred cultural foods with a section on "early introduction foods." Data can be incorporated into REDCap, a secure data collection tool, alongside other participant data. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Our team developed an innovative self- or parent-administered FFQ that assesses real-time intake of foods including potential allergens during early childhood. This tool can be used by the food allergy research community to advance understanding about the impact of nutrition on food allergy management and outcomes.

Preferensi Mahasiswa di Kota Pontianak terhadap Makanan Tradisional Kalimantan Barat dan Perbandingan Komposisi Nutrisinya dengan Pangan Siap Saji

One aspect of cultural diversity is traditional food. Traditional food serves as a means of expressing thanks, performing cultural rituals, building kinship as well as being a source of nutrition. West Kalimantan is one of the multi-ethnic provinces in Indonesia, hence it offers a wide range of traditional foods. The existence of traditional food is threatened to be shifted or replaced by the presence of ready-to-eat food, which is intensively promoted in various media, with the main target being the young age group. This study aimed to determine student’s preferences in Pontianak towards traditional food in West Kalimantan and compare its nutritional composition with ready-to-eat food. This research was conducted using a survey to 150 respondents using online questionnaire. Data were analyzed by the Chi-Square program. The three types of traditional foods that respondents liked the most were tested for their nutritional composition and compared with the nutritional composition of ready-to-eat foods like chicken nugget, hamburger, and fried chicken. The results showed that students in Pontianak had a high preference (90.7%) for traditional West Kalimantan food. West Kalimantan's most preferred traditional foods were kerupuk basah (n=51), bubur pedas (n=49), and ikan asam pedas (n=25). The results showed a relationship between student preferences for food knowledge, nutritional information, taste, and appearance of traditional West Kalimantan foods. The nutritional composition test showed that, in general, traditional foods have higher water content and lower fat content than ready-to-eat food.

Healthy lifestyle behaviors among field public health workers in a selected district of Sri Lanka

Background: Healthy lifestyle behaviors: diet, physical activity and non-consumption of tobacco and alcohol of health workers are important as they engage in educating the community and people follow them as role models. Objective of this study was to describe the healthy lifestyle practices among field public health workers in one of the districts in Sri Lanka. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in the Galle district. 303 Public Health Midwives (PHMs) were taken to the sample and Lifestyle practices were assessed using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire. Results: Overweight and obesity prevalence were 24% and 3.7% respectively. None of them used tobacco or alcohol. Regular balance diet consumption was 57%. 18.2% have consumed 2 or &gt;2 servings of fruit per day. The majority (49.2%) consumed vegetables 3 times per day and 21.8% consumed four or &gt;4 servings per day. 43.6% consumed Sugar and sugar containing food daily. Only 12.2% preferred low-salt food. 21.8% of PHMs consumed oily foods few times a day. The majority (56.8%) of PHMs have engaged in recommended moderate physical activity but only 6.9% engaged in vigorous physical activity. The mean duration of walking time was 463 minutes per week. Conclusions and recommendations: Most lifestyle practices (Dietary and physical activity) are not very healthy among PHMs except for their alcohol and smoking behaviors. Public health workers should be motivated to spend healthy lifestyles by increasing awareness and incorporating healthy lifestyle promotion programs into their routine field work.

Application of Slow Stroke Back Massage Module to Reduce Dysmenorrhea in Adolescents

Application of Slow Stroke Back Massage Module to Reduce Dysmenorrhea in Adolescents

Contrafreeloading in kea (Nestor notabilis) in comparison to Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus)

Contrafreeloading—working to access food that could be freely obtained—is rarely exhibited and poorly understood. Based on data from Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus), researchers proposed a correlation between contrafreeloading and play: that contrafreeloading is more likely when subjects view the task as play. We tested that hypothesis by subjecting a relatively more playful parrot species, the kea (Nestor notabilis), to the same experimental tasks. Experiment 1 presented eight kea with container pairs holding more- or less-preferred free or enclosed food items, and examined three types of contrafreeloading: calculated (working to access preferred food over less-preferred, freely available food); classic (working to access food identical to freely available food); and super (working to access less-preferred food over preferred, freely available food). At the group level, the kea behaved similarly to the Greys: They significantly preferred calculated contrafreeloading, performed classic contrafreeloading at chance, and significantly failed to super contrafreeload. However, overall kea engaged in more contrafreeloading than Greys. Experiment 2 examined a potentially more ecologically relevant task, a choice between shelled and unshelled walnuts. No kea contrafreeloaded for nuts, whereas two of five Greys significantly preferred nut contrafreeloading and one chose at chance. We examine proximate and adaptive explanations for the performances of these differentially playful parrot species to further elucidate the role of play in contrafreeloading.

Eat, Drink, Live: Foraging behavior of a nectarivore when relative humidity varies but nectar resources do not

To meet energetic and osmotic demands, animals make dynamic foraging decisions about food quality and quantity. In the wild, foraging animals may be forced to consume a less preferred or sub-optimal food source for long periods of time. Few choice feeding assays in laboratory settings approximate such contingencies. In this study the foraging behaviors of the hawkmoth Manduca sexta were measured when adult moths were placed within different relative humidity (RH) environments (20%, 40%, 60% and 80% RH) and provided with only one of the following experimental nectars: 0% (water), 12% or 24 % w/V sucrose solutions. Overall, ambient humidity influenced survivorship and foraging behaviors. Moth survivorship increased at higher ambient humidity regardless of experimental nectar. Moths that had access to experimental nectar imbibed large volumes of fluid regardless of what nectar was offered when placed at the lowest humidity (20% RH). However, when placed at the highest humidity (80% RH), moths imbibed higher volumes of fluid when given access to experimental nectar with sucrose in comparison with water. RH also influenced daily foraging behaviors: peak nectar consumption occurred earlier at lower RH levels. Consistent with previous studies in which moths could choose among nectar solutions, total energy intake was not affected by ambient RH under no-choice conditions. However, the proportion of time spent foraging and total energy consumption were significantly reduced across all RH levels in no-choice assays, when compared with previous studies of choice assays under the same conditions. Our results show that even when M. sexta moths are presented with limited options, they can alter their foraging behavior in response to environmental changes, enabling them to meet osmotic and/or energetic demands.

The influence of popular media characters on children's object choices.

Children often prefer objects and food packaging bearing images of popular media characters. However, it is unclear what factors may influence this. This study investigated whether depictions of popular media characters on high-quality (brand new) and low-quality (dirty, broken) objects influenced 3- to 4-year-old children's (N=84) object preferences, as well as which objects children selected to help them complete a functional task (e.g., using a bucket to transport several small items). We also investigated whether children's preferences were related to inhibitory control. We found children's preferences were influenced by images of popular characters, but not their choice of objects for functional use. Instead, children relied on object quality when selecting an object to complete a task. Inhibitory control was not related to children's object choices. These results suggest children may weigh object features differently when making decisions for different purposes.

Nutritional Preferences of Preschool Children for Breakfast

Background: It is stated that children who are acquainted with healthy foods early on are more likely to make healthy food choices in their lives and that parents play important roles in the devel-opment of nutritional preferences. Aim: The main purpose of the present study was to identify children's breakfast habits and what they know about this topic, and see if they transfer all this into life. Method and Material: In this study, the case study design is used because the aim is to describe and interpret from a holistic perspective children's preferences for breakfast. The study was conducted with a total of 30 children from the morning group. For one week, the children were offered a breakfast buffet containing food from each food group and what the children ate was observed. The structured individual interviews planned with 30 children were carried out with only 28 children on the grounds that two children were of Syrian origin and could not speak Turkish at an adequate level. Results: It was observed that the majority of the children (93.3%) stated that they like to have breakfast. The proportion of children who stated that they did not like to have breakfast was 3.4% while the proportion of children who were undecided was 3.3%. According to the findings obtained from the observations, the children finished all the food they put on their plates. In other words, every child tends to take as much food as he/she can eat. Conclusions: As a study conclusion, those children that stated they choose their preferred food and beverages at breakfast according to what they like know the correct foods, which they called "healthy," but do not choose them. It is thought that the reason the children gave the desired answer stems as much from the role of the researcher as it does from the wish to give an adult the "correct" answer.