Selected Food Items Research Articles

Associations between dietary factors and periodontal status among 12-year-old children in Arkhangelsk region

Nutrition is an important determinant of human health particularly in childhood since dietary habits and metabolic patterns are formed during this period of life. Certain nutritional factors may increase the risk for periodontal diseases (PD). Considering the associations between periodontal health and cardiovascular diseases, studies on the associations between nutritional factors and periodontal diseases are of particular importance. The aim of the research was to study the patterns of consumption of certain foods associated with oral health according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and to assess the associations between these factors and PD among 12-year-old children in Arkhangelsk region of Russian Federation. Material and methods. In total, 1162 12-year-old children from 7 urban and 5 rural settings of Arkhangelsk region participated in a cross-sectional study. Dental status was assessed as recommended by the WHO (2013). To assess the periodontal status of a child, a communal periodontal index was used, which included 2 indicators: the presence of bleeding during probing and calculus. A WHOdeveloped questionnaire was used to study nutritional patterns related to oral health. Associations between socio-demographic factors and patterns of consumption of selected food items were assessed using Person's chi-squared tests. Associations between periodontal disease, bleeding, calculus, and nutritional factors were studied by multivariable logistic regression. Relationships between the number of affected sextans and frequency of consumption of selected foods was assessed using multivariable Poisson regression models. Results. More frequent consumption of sweet carbonated drinks was associated with male sex, rural living, and low educational levels of both parents. Higher levels of education for both mother and father were associated with more frequent consumption of fresh fruit (p=0.011 and p=0.002). The prevalence of dental calculus and the number of affected sextants with calculus were inversely related to the frequency of fresh fruit consumption (p=0.012 and p<0.001, respectively). The number of sextants with calculus and PD in general were inversely associated with the frequency of consumption of homemade jam and honey (p=0.036 and p=0.043, respectively). Conclusion. The frequency of consumption of the foods affecting oral health was significantly associated with socio-demographic factors in Arkhangelsk region. Daily consumption of fresh fruits was associated with lower prevalence of calculus. The lowest number of affected sextants with bleeding, calculus, and PD was revealed when homemade jams or honey was consumed at least once a week, but less than every day.

Dietary Pattern of School-Going Children during COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: School age is the foundation of human life. A healthy and balanced diet plays a major role in the proper growth development of the body as well as the mind. Only a balanced diet can provide all the macro and micronutrients. Covid 19 has impacted each and every human being in some or another manner. School-going children had to cope with new encounters involving online teaching-learning methodology and social distancing. As a result, these children have undergone mental and psychological trauma. This led them to follow faulty dietary habits, which would have long time impact on their health.&#x0D; Aim and Objectives: In the present survey, an attempt has been made to compile a report on the dietary intake of school-going children in the Roopnagar district of Punjab, India.&#x0D; Methodology: For the purpose sample of 100 students (7 to 12 years) was selected from four development blocks of district Roopnagar, and the cluster sampling method was adopted for data collection. A detailed pretested questionnaire on the dietary habits of children was used.&#x0D; Results: 59% of children were vegetarian, 32% were non-vegetarian, and 9% were eggetarian. Study findings showed that children preferred some of the items such as wheat, rice, sugar, rajma, black gram, green gram, potato, tomato, onion, apple, banana, and grapes over other food items in the same food group.&#x0D; Conclusion: Results showed that children do not consume a variety of food items, and some selected food items only resulting low dietary diversity and food variety.

Dietary preference of Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis McClelland, 1840 (Mammalia: Primates: Cercopithecidae) in Dampa Tiger Reserve, India

Dietary composition and selection of food items are important approaches for the flexibility and adaptability of macaques in different natural habitats. With a wide distribution range, Assamese Macaques feed on various food types. This study reports the consumption of 57 plant species from 30 families. A total of 2,233 scans resulted in 16,381 feeding behavioral records during the study period from 2018 to 2020. Macaques appear to be primarily folivorous in Dampa as leaves (young &amp; mature) constitute 44.74% of their daily dietary intake while the fruit consumption was found to be 25.31% of the total dietary intake. Plant species like Artocarpus lakoocha (15.65%), Albizia procera (12.03%), Glochidion hyneanum (10.53%), Diospyros glandulosa (9.49%), and Albizia lebbeck (7.28%) contributed significantly to macaque’s diet compare to other plants. No significant variation was observed on time spent for feeding on leaves, fruits, flowers, and seeds in both different months and seasons of the year. The highest percentage of the diurnal time invested on feeding activity was (59.04%) in the month of January (winter season), which may be due to the cold climate and scarcity of proper feeding items and the least was (35.19%) in June where food resources are more readily available. The richness of fruiting plants in Dampa Tiger Reserve appears to fulfill the dietary requirement of Assamese Macaque and therefore intactness of forest resources is necessary for their development and conservation.

The ‘sugar tax’ in Bermuda: a mixed methods study of general population and key stakeholder perceptions

BackgroundTaxes on discretionary foods and sugar-sweetened beverages have emerged as a strategy for health promotion. Between 2018–2019, the Bermuda government introduced a phased tax on imported sugar-sweetened beverages, confectionery, products containing cocoa and pure sugar, and eliminated import duties on select healthy food items. The aim of this study was to conduct an mixed methods evaluation of perceptions of the tax among the general population and key stakeholders.MethodsWe conducted a survey of the general population (N = 400), and semi-structured interviews with key informants (N = 14) from the government, food and beverage, and health sectors to understand awareness, acceptability, and perceived impact of the tax after implementation. Survey data was analysed using thematic analysis, summary statistics, and Chi-squared tests. Key informant interviews were analysed using the framework method.ResultsGeneral population respondents had high awareness of the sugar tax (94%) but low awareness of the healthy food subsidy (32%). Most respondents (67%) felt the tax was not an appropriate way to motivate healthier consumption due to beliefs the tax would not be effective (44%), and because of the high price of healthy food (20%). However, nearly half (48%) reported consuming fewer taxed products, primarily for health reasons but also motivated by price increases. Key informants indicated there was high awareness but limited understanding of the tax policy. Informants expressed support for taxation as a health promotion strategy, conditional on policy implementation. The lack of clear price differentiation between taxed and un-taxed products and the absence of accompanying health education were key factors believed to affect the impact of the tax. No informants were aware of use of tax revenues for health purposes and tax revenue was reportedly re-directed to other priorities after implementation.ConclusionsThere was high awareness, but limited acceptability of the Bermuda sugar tax as implemented. Clarity in the tax policy, appropriateness of the tax mechanism, and use of revenue in alignment with the tax aim are critical components for acceptance. The absence of complementary education and health promotion affected acceptance and may limit potential health impacts. The lessons learned in Bermuda can inform similar policies in other settings.

Proof-of-Concept: A Hands-Free Interface for Robot-Assisted Self-Feeding.

Eating and drinking is an essential part of every-day life. And yet, there are many people in the world today who rely on others to feed them. In this work, we present a prototype robot-assisted self-feeding system for individuals with movement disorders. The system is capable of perceiving, localizing, grasping, and delivering non-compliant food items to an individual. We trained an object recognition network to detect specific food items, and we compute the grasp pose for each item. Human input is obtained through an interface consisting of an eye-tracker and a display screen. The human selects options on the monitor with their eye and head movements and triggers responses with mouth movements. We performed a pilot study with four able-bodied participants and one participant with a spinal cord injury (SCI) to evaluate the performance of our prototype system. Participants selected food items with their eye movements, which were then delivered by the robot. We observed an average overall feeding success rate of 89.1% and an average overall task time of $31.4 \pm 2.4$ seconds per food item. The SCI participant gave scores of 90.0 and 8.3 on the System Usability Scale and NASA Task Load Index, respectively. We also conducted a custom, post-study interview to gather participant feedback to drive future design decisions. The quantitative results and qualitative user feedback demonstrate the feasibility of robot-assisted self-feeding and justify continued research into mealtime-related assistive devices.

An Empirical Analysis of the Prices of Selected Food Items Across Three Political Administrations in Pakistan

This study compares the prices of selected food items across three political admin- istrations in Pakistan. We have taken monthly data from July 2008 to October 2021 of the prices of selected food items from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Finance (Pakistan)’s Pakistan Economic Survey, and Index Mundi. Thirteen food items were se- lected: Wheat, Basmati Rice, Basmati Super Rice, Basmati Broken Rice, Sindh/Punjab Rice, Tinned Vegetable Ghee, Loose Vegetable Ghee, Whole Masoor Pulse, Washed Masoor Pulse, Washed Mong Pulse, Washed Mash Pulse, Gram Pulse and Refined Sugar. We the- orize that an increase in prices will be independent of changes in political administration, as prices are determined purely based on economic factors in the market. We provide graph- ical and regression analysis, with our study pointing to a consecutive rise in the absolute price of selected food items across all three administrations. Increasing real prices of selected food items are specific to each administration.

Lead (Pb) Contamination in Agricultural Products and Human Health Risk Assessment in Bangladesh

Lead (Pb) is a widely occurring heavy metal employed in industrial products and hence released into the environment, causing several environmental health risk concerns. This study comprehensively surveyed the literature on Pb contamination in different agricultural foods and food products commonly consumed by Bangladeshi inhabitants and assessed associated cancer and non-cancer health risks. Cereals (i.e., rice, wheat and maize) contained very high concentrations of Pb among the selected food items, the highest was found in wheat (4.04 µg g−1), while rice and maize were 2.22 and 1.43 µg g−1, respectively, that exceeded the maximum allowable concentration (MAC, 0.20 µg g−1) for cereals. Vegetables contained higher Pb than the MAC of 0.01 µg g−1, except for mushroom, green banana, cauliflower and arum. In addition, pulses also contained a moderate amount of Pb; however, fruits contained a low level of Pb, except for mangoes. When examining spatial differences in Pb contamination, most districts exhibited high Pb content in cereals; however, vegetables of the Tangail district exhibited the highest Pb concentrations (2.17 µg g−1), originating from industrial operations and vehicular emissions. In terms of human health risk assessment, it was observed that consumption of rice, zucchini, tesla gourd, sponge gourd, okra, drumstick lib, chili and cabbage might pose non-cancer health risks (THQs > 1); however, fruits and pulses do not pose any non-cancer health risks to Bangladeshi residents. Most of the cereals and vegetables showed a higher value than 10−6, indicating a potential cancer risk; however, fruits and pulses showed lower risk only marginally exceeding the lower allowable limit (i.e., 10−6).Graphical abstract

Relationship of Sleep Duration, Concentration, BMI and Dietary Behavior of European Adolescents – Results From the HELENA-Study

ObjectivesLow sleep quality and duration are associated with the development of overweight and obesity. This link is discussed to result from an unfavorable selection of food items after sleep deprivation on the one hand; on the other hand, fatigue also reduces the willingness to engage in physical activity. Furthermore, sleep duration and quality seem to be associated with cognitive development in children. The aim of this analysis was to assess these associations in European adolescents.MethodsAs part of the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence “HELENA” study (October 2006 - June 2007), concentration ability was assessed in 500 adolescents (12.5–17.4 years) using d2 test which was evaluated in age-corrected percentiles (concentration index). Sleep duration during the week and during the weekend was surveyed and divided into age-appropriate groups (too short, optimal, too long) with an optimal sleep duration of 9–12 h for 12-year-olds and 8–10 h for 13–18-year-olds. Dietary behavior was assessed using two 24 h recalls, which were subsequently summarized in the Diet Quality Index for adolescents (DQI). Body height and weight were collected and the calculated BMI was subsequently transformed to percentiles. Whether sleep duration was associated with BMI, dietary behavior, or attention was examined using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Furthermore, Spearman correlations were performed.ResultsOn average, 59.4% (n: ♀ = 167; ♂ = 130) of adolescents slept for the optimal duration, 36.4% (n: ♀ = 96; ♂ = 86) slept too short, and 4.2% slept longer than recommended. No significant difference was observed between groups of sleep duration within BMI percentiles (p = 0.193), attention (p = 0.520), and DQI (p = 0.742). In addition, no significant correlation was observed between average sleep duration, BMI percentile, attention, and DQI. There was a significant negative correlation between age and sleep duration (r = −0.317; p < 0.001).ConclusionsEven though slightly more than one third of the adolescents within the HELENA study got less than optimal sleep, no differences were found in terms of their BMI, dietary behavior or ability to concentrate, but age might play a role.Funding SourcesEuropean Community sixth RTD Framework Programme.

Nutritional labeling modifies meal composition strategies in a computer-based food selection task

Nutritional information via simplified labelling on products’ front of pack has become common in retail stores and is now concerning nowcollective catering. While numerous studies have investigated the effects of such information policies on consumers' decisions in shops, few studies have focused on choices made in collective catering. In such settings, consumers must compose a meal by combining dishes to be eaten during the same occasion. Each choice is then dependent of the selection of other foods, yielding a different decision problem as in a store where items are selected independently of one another. The aim of this study was to understand whether a nutritional labelling, (Nutri-Score®), modified the choices of consumers and more precisely modified the meal composition strategies - the associations between dishes made by consumers. A computerized menu composition task was designed, 371 participants were randomly redirected either to an interface displaying the Nutri-Score® of dishes, or to an interface showing the dishes without Nutri-Score®. Bayesian logistic regressions were used to explore dependency relationships between foods in presence or absence of Nutri-Score®. When considering dishes individually, no significant effects of the Nutri-Score® were observed, but significant effects of the Nutri-Score® on composition strategies could be observed. Two types of strategies seemed to emerge: homogeneous behaviors, where selected dishes had similar scores and, compensatory behaviors where selected dishes had contrasted scores. In conclusion, the effect of a nutritional labelling can have complex consequences on food decisions that extend beyond the selection of food items taken individually.

Mobile health apps: An assessment of needs, perceptions, usability, and efficacy in changing dietary choices

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore the use of mobile health applications as dietary self-monitoring tools, and their possible role in improving food choices. MethodsThis descriptive, cross-sectional study used self-administered surveys conducted among students (aged 18–25 y) and consisted of two phases. Phase 1 (N = 991; 65.9% women; mean age: 20.78 ± 1.51 y) assessed the need for and perceptions of mobile health applications to serve as dietary assessment tools. Phase 2 (N = 61; 75.4% women) comprised a 3-wk period of using MyFitnessPal; its corresponding survey assessed the application's usability and perceived efficacy in changing dietary choices. Dietary Instrument for Nutrition Education scores (part of both surveys), assessing dietary intake, were compared using a paired t test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. ResultsMost participants wanted to improve their diet to be healthier (89.7%) and to improve their weight (74.2%), and actively searched for information on how to accomplish this (55.7%). MyFitnessPal was reported to be easy to use (93.4%); however, difficulties were experienced in the selection of food items (39.3%) and portion sizes (63.9%). Users reported that MyFitnessPal helped them change their dietary intake (91.8%) and advance toward their personal weight and health goals (65.6%). A significant reduction in high-sugar food intake after the use of MyFitnessPal (P = 0.03) was found. ConclusionMost participants searched for information on how to improve their diet. MyFitnessPal, a mobile health app with a diet-tracking feature, was reported to be helpful in changing dietary intake; furthermore, use of the application over a 3-wk period led to a significant reduction in sugary food intake.

Influence of Certain Nutritional Products On Periodontal Status

Material and Method: 60 patients within the age range of 35-65 years were included. The selection of the respondents was made by a simple random method. As a criterion in the research sample, the depth of the periodontal pockets was taken into account, which was from 3 to 5 mm, according to which a selection was made. Chronic periodontal disease with a clinically manifest stage was diagnosed in all patients. Each of the respondents had the opportunity to estimate the frequency of personal consumption of 6 selected food items (vegetables, fast food, fish, meat, fruits, and desserts) by choosing one of three possible answers (never, infrequently and often consumed). For the clinical part of the study, 4 parameters were measured, namely: GI-gingival inflammation, PI-plaque index, PPD-depth of periodontal pockets, and CAL-clinical loss of attachment. The findings were statistically processed.&#x0D; Results: For the male and female respondents, the average age was 39.8 ± 5.3 with min/pop of 30/53 years and 41.2 ± 6.3 with min / pop of 32/55 years, respectively.&#x0D; The analysis showed that, for p&gt; 0.05, the frequency of consumption of vegetables significantly decreased, and the consumption of fast food insignificantly increased the values of the four clinical parameters (GI, PI, PPD, CAL).&#x0D; Conclusion: Consumption of fish, meat, and vegetables reduces the values of clinical parameters (PI, GI, PPD, CAL). This is in contrast to fast food and dessert which indicated an increase in the values of PPD and CAL.

Is Resource Utilization by Desert Fox (Vulpes vulpespusilla) in Thar Landscape an Indicative of its Opportunistic Feeding Behavior? – A Preliminary Insight

Opportunistic feeding behavior may absolve species survival entirely upon the resources available within its habitat. Present study assesses this assumption with respect to Desert fox found in Thar landscape in India. Density of selected food items that encompass dietary spectrum of this species was estimated in a given area and the biomass available for its consumption was calculated seasonally. Relative percentage of biomass available and biomass consumed was correlated, wherein preference was calculated using Ivlev’s Index. It is concluded that opportunistic feeding behavior is being exhibited by Desert fox especially in winter season, when resources are limited in terms of their availability. Also, it prefers scavenging on dead carcasses and fallen fruits rather than hunting.

Frequency of family meals and food consumption in families at high risk of type 2 diabetes: the Feel4Diabetes-study

A family meal is defined as a meal consumed together by the members of a family or by having ≥ 1 parent present during a meal. The frequency of family meals has been associated with healthier food intake patterns in both children and parents. This study aimed to investigate in families at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes across Europe the association (i) between family meals’ frequency and food consumption and diet quality among parents and (ii) between family meals’ frequency and children’s food consumption. Moreover, the study aimed to elucidate the mediating effect of parental diet quality on the association between family meals’ frequency and children’s food consumption. Food consumption frequency and anthropometric were collected cross-sectionally from a representative sample of 1964 families from the European Feel4Diabetes-study. Regression and mediation analyses were applied by gender of children. Positive and significant associations were found between the frequency of family meals and parental food consumption (β = 0.84; 95% CI 0.57, 1.45) and diet quality (β = 0.30; 95% CI 0.19, 0.42). For children, more frequent family meals were significantly associated with healthier food consumption (boys, β = 0.172, p < 0.05; girls, β = 0.114, p < 0.01). A partial mediation effect of the parental diet quality was shown on the association between the frequency of family meals and the consumption of some selected food items (i.e., milk products and salty snacks) among boys and girls. The strongest mediation effect of parental diet quality was found on the association between the frequency of family breakfast and the consumption of salty snacks and milk and milk products (62.5% and 37.5%, respectively) among girls.Conclusions: The frequency of family meals is positively associated with improved food consumption patterns (i.e., higher intake of fruits and vegetables and reduced consumption of sweets) in both parents and children. However, the association in children is partially mediated by parents’ diet quality. The promotion of consuming meals together in the family could be a potentially effective strategy for interventions aiming to establish and maintain healthy food consumption patterns among children.Trial registration: The Feel4Diabetes-study is registered with the clinical trials registry (NCT02393872), http://clinicaltrials.gov, March 20, 2015.What is Known:• Parents’ eating habits and diet quality play an important role in shaping dietary patterns in children• Family meals frequency is associated with improved diet quality of children in healthy populationWhat is New:• Frequency of family meals was significantly associated with healthier food consumption among parents and children in families at high risk of type 2 diabetes in six European countries.• Parental diet quality mediates the association between family meals frequency and the consumption of some selected food items among children.

Biochar development from thermal TGA studies of individual food waste vegetables and their blended systems

Abstract The amount of food waste that is generated all over the world is enormous. As food wastes are rich in nutrients and organics, they serve as a potential source for the generation of many value-added commodities and energy. In most countries, food wastes are predominately dumped in open lands or incinerated, along with other combustible materials such as municipal solid wastes, for the possible extraction of energy. However, these two modes of food wastes disposal are encountering more and more environmental, technical, and economical challenges. More recently, it has been realized that food wastes can be transformed into energy and value-added products, such as horticultural biochars, using thermochemical technologies such as pyrolysis and gasification. In the current research work, three selected food items, carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes, have been studied using thermogravimetric analysis. The biochar analysis involves one single food item (carrot), one binary mixture (carrot + cucumber), and one ternary blend of carrot, cucumber, and tomato. Two heating rates were used in order to perform kinetic modeling studies using the Arrhenius and Coats-Redfern models. Since the production of the pyrolysis gases—for energy and chemicals production—is of major economic significance regarding the overall process viability, the TGA syngas for a single component, binary component and tertiary component systems were analyzed by TGA coupled mass spectrometry. The results of the gas analysis indicate an increase in hydrogen generation due to blending the food wastes.

Short-Term Impacts of COVID-19 Public Health Regulation on Consumer Food Purchases: A Case Study From a Grocery Store in Montana

The mitigation measures (e.g., lockdown policies) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted food systems in unprecedented ways, in both scope and immediacy. Food retail, for example, changed fundamentally in the United States, as access to nutritious food became limited, supply chain shortages were common, and mandatory public health measures led to behavior changes among customers and employees. In the present case study, we hypothesized that these changes led to food purchasing shifts of grocery store consumers. Such shifts are seen as an outcome of both endogenous factors at the individual level and exogenous factors at the government/policy level. Our case study sought to better understand how the pandemic and associated regulations shaped consumer food choices during the “hard” lockdown period in Montana during 2020. We selected 112 food products based on the highest sales in a Gallatin County, Montana, grocery store. They were analyzed by predefined food groups aligned to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020. All purchases were processed for each selected food item during March and April 2019 (before the pandemic) and March and April 2020 (during the lockdown in Montana). To further describe the pandemic experiences qualitatively, we conducted semi-structured interviews with managers and employees from two stores in Gallatin County. Overall, we found that consumers increased purchases in most food groups during the pandemic, including nutrient-dense and energy-dense products, most outstandingly for starchy vegetables, legumes, and convenience food. Products with long shelf-life and that required preparation at home were preferred. Endogenous causes, specifically panic and rushing, were likely stronger drivers of consumer behavior and food choices than regulations. Nonetheless, lockdown policies impacted consumer food purchases. We present a series of policy and practice recommendations based on our findings and the emerging literature on this topic.

Possible relationships of selected food items to osteoporosis among a group of Iraqi women

Background: Osteoporosis is a global health problem which is estimated to affect more than 200 million people worldwide, especially postmenopausal women. It is characterized by decreased bone mineral density leading to fragility and increased risk of fractures. Objective: This study was conducted to explore the consumption of inappropriate foods related to osteoporosis among a group of Iraqi women. JFac Med Baghdad 2021; Vol.63, No. 4 Received: Sep., 2021 Accepted: Nov., 2021 Published: Jan., 2021 Patients and methods: A cross sectional study of 140 females aged ≥ 40 years attending polyclinics in Al-Dora sector in Baghdad city from 18th January to 24th April 2021. The bone mineral density was measured by portable quantitative calcaneal ultrasound machine (osteosystem) and the bone was assessed for osteoporosis by T-score. Food frequency questionnaire was used for collecting data related to food consumption. Results: Out of the total sample, 74 (52.9%) were found to be osteoporotic. There was a significant association with high salt and coffee consumption with the occurrence of osteoporosis (77.3% and 83.3%, respectively, p = 0.001), compared to those who did not consume caffeinated drinks. Participants with daily consumption of caffeinated drinks had a highly significant association with osteoporosis (21.8% vs 100%, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Excessive consumption of salty foods and caffeinated beverages appears to exert a negative effect on bone mineral density and the occurrence of osteoporosis among the studied group of Iraqi women.

Nutrition Label Literacy and Food Choices among Mobile Food Pantry Participants

Objective: We assessed nutrition label literacy and whether the implementation of traffic light labeling (TLL) would facilitate participants’ perceptions about the usefulness of TLL in making healthier food choices at a university’s mobile food pantry. Methods: TLL was implemented during 3 mobile food pantry distribution sessions on a university campus in the southwestern United States during spring of 2020. College students, staff, and community members utilizing the mobile food pantry selected food items based on the TLL perceptions after receiving nutrition education. We used items from validated surveys, demographic items, and TLL perception questions to collect our data from participants (N = 112). Results: We found statistically significant associations between nutrition label literacy and choosing healthier food items based on TLL perceptions; participants who had lower nutrition label literacy scores perceived the TLL to be the most helpful in selecting healthier food items (p = .02). Statistically significant association also was noted between race/ethnicity and nutrition label literacy (p = .004) and overweight participants perceiving the TLL method to be restrictive when choosing food items(p = .02). Conclusions: Assessing nutrition label literacy and whether the implementation of the TLL would facilitate participants perceptions about the usefulness of the TLL in making healthier food choices identifies opportunities to improve nutrition label literacy among individuals who utilize mobile food pantries; in addition, it highlights the importance of nutrition label literacy in making informed and/or healthy food choices.

To Study the Practices and Life Style Skills Management and Its Impact among Diabetic Patients to Prevent Its Complications in the Field Practice Area of Government Medical College, Amritsar

Aims: 1) To assess the regularity to check the RBS and treatment among diabetic patients (&gt;10 years). 2) To assess the life style skills management among Diabetics (&gt;10 years). 3) To study the impact of practices and life style skills management among Diabetics (&gt;10 years). Settings and Design: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in rural and urban field practice areas of Government Medical College, Amritsar. Methods and Materials: A total of 200 diabetic patients who had diabetes equal to or more than 10 years of duration were interviewed using pretested and predesigned questionnaire. Results: Out of 200 respondents, 50% (100/200) were from urban area and 50% (100/200) were from the rural area. Out of total, 65(65%), 86(86%) diabetic respondents from rural and urban areas were on regular treatment (p&lt;0.05) and 28(28%), 68(68%) diabetic respondents from rural and urban areas had glucometer, from which 39(39%), 57(57%) diabetic respondents from rural and urban areas checked their RBS regularly (P&lt;0.05). Out of total, 2(1%) respondents were doing physical activity before and 53 (26%) after the disease. 1(1%) had quit smoking before and 2 (1%) after the disease and 2(1%) had avoided selected food items before and 134(67%) after the disease. Out of total 47 diabetic respondents who were without complications -20(95%), 24(92%) from rural and urban areas were doing life style modifications, R-19(90%), U-25(96%) were on regular treatment.R-18(86%), U-24(92%) were doing regular check up and R-18(86%), U-26(100%) were monitoring blood glucose level on regular basis. Conclusions: The practice to check the RBS on regular basis and regular treatment and life style skill management was poor among diabetic patients which leads to development of complications at early stage among diabetics (&gt;10 years).

Ecological variation among island foxes relative to reproductive events

Ecological attributes of a species can vary as resource requirements and social interactions change in response to the annual reproductive cycle. We examined variation in home range size, home range overlap, activity (2005–2006), and food item selection (2006–2007) of island foxes (Urocyon littoralis) on San Nicolas Island relative to reproduction-related events. Home ranges, particularly for males, were larger during the mating period compared with the post-mating, pup-rearing, and non-reproduction periods. Home range overlap with non-mate neighbors also increased during the mating period. The greater home range size and overlap during the mating season is consistent with foxes, particularly males, traveling into the ranges of neighboring pairs in an attempt to secure extra-pair copulations. Daily activity patterns did not vary among the reproductive periods. Use of vertebrate prey items increased during the period when adults would have been provisioning weaning young. These items (e.g., mice, birds, lizards) are protein-rich and easier to transport compared with smaller items (e.g., fruits, snails, insects) that also are commonly consumed by island foxes. Variation in ecological attributes among island foxes across the different seasons defined by reproductive events likely represents efforts to maximize mating opportunities, particularly among adult males, and to secure optimal resources for provisioning growing young. These patterns are consistent with those observed among other small canid species.

Predicting food choices based on eye-tracking data: Comparisons between real-life and virtual tasks

As eye-trackers become increasingly important in studies on consumer food choice, it is crucial to test the ecological validity of virtual eye-tracking tests. The present study aims to cross-examine eye-tracking data obtained from real-life versus virtual food choice tasks. Sixty-two healthy females participated in this study by attending two sessions, with virtual and real-life settings, respectively. Both sessions were constructed identically – with participants required to view eight common snack food items with different arrangements, while wearing mobile eye-trackers. To complete each task, the participants were asked to select three types of food for consumption. Analyses of summed dwell time (i.e., total visit duration – the summed latency of gaze visit on an ‘area of interest’ from entry to exit) were performed to assess food attention biases across test conditions, and between the selected and unselected food items. While the results revealed only minor differences in visual preferences between real-life and virtual settings, data from these two settings showed differential relationships to food choices. Eye-tracking data obtained in the virtual setting supported the notion that the selected food items were looked at longer (p < 0.05). However, the dwell time is shown inadequate to fully capture the more complex cognitive processes underpinning real-life food choices, with non-significant differences being reflected in dwell time for selected versus unselect foods. Overall, our study demonstrates inconsistent outcomes of eye-tracking food research in virtual versus real-life settings, highlighting the importance of accounting for environmental variation when interpreting eye-tracking data for food cues.