Intake of fat-soluble vitamins in the Belgian population : adequacy and contribution of foods, fortified foods and supplements

A key challenge of public health nutrition is to provide the majority of the population with a sufficient level of micronutrients while preventing high-consumers from exceeding the tolerable upper intake level. Data of the 2014 Belgian food consumption survey (n = 3200) were used to assess fat-soluble vitamin (vitamins A, D, E and K) intake from the consumption of foods, fortified foods and supplements. This study revealed inadequate intakes for vitamin A, from all sources, in the entire Belgian population and possible inadequacies for vitamin D. The prevalence of inadequate intake of vitamin A was lowest in children aged 3-6 (6-7%) and highest in adolescents (girls, 26%; boys, 34-37%). Except for women aged 60-64 years, more than 95% of the subjects had vitamin D intake from all sources below the adequate intake (AI) of 15 mu g/day. The risk for inadequate intake of vitamins K and E was low (median > AI). Belgian fortification and supplementation practices are currently inadequate to eradicate suboptimal intakes of vitamins A and D, but increase median vitamin E intake close to the adequate intake. For vitamin A, a small proportion (1-4%) of young children were at risk of exceeding the upper intake level (UL), while for vitamin D, inclusion of supplements slightly increased the risk for excessive intakes (% > UL) in adult women and young children. The results may guide health authorities when developing population health interventions and regulations to ensure adequate intake of fat-soluble vitamins in Belgium

How vulnerable are consumers to blatant persuasion attempts?.

We show that subtle environmental elements -such as background music- can reduce skepticism and decrease consumers' use of persuasion knowledge. In four studies we show that the presence of background music can result in increased distraction and increased inclination to follow salespeople's advice. Remarkably, this effect persists even when the ulterior motive of the salesperson is made extremely salient. Our results suggest that consumers may be more vulnerable to persuasion attempts then is usually assumed in the persuasion knowledge literature.Knowledge; Research; Studies;

Impact of foods with health logo on ssaturated fat, sodium and sugar intake of young Dutch adults

Objective Health logos are introduced to distinguish foods with ‘healthier’ nutrient composition from regular foods. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of changed food compositions according to health logo criteria on the intake of saturated fat, sugar and sodium in a Dutch population of young adults. Design Foods in the Dutch food composition table were evaluated against nutrient criteria for logo eligibility. Three replacement scenarios were compared with the nutrient intake ‘as measured’ in the Dutch consumption survey. The foods not complying with health logo criteria were replaced either by ‘virtual’ foods exactly complying with the health logo criteria, with real 2007 market shares (scenario I) and 100 % market shares (scenario II), or by existing similar foods with a composition that already complied with the health logo criteria (scenario III). Results The percentage reduction in nutrient intake with the current 2007 market shares of ‘health logo foods’ was -2·5 % for SFA, 0 % for sodium and -1 % for sugar. With a 100 % market share these reductions would be -10 % for SFA, -4 % for sodium and -6 % for sugar. This may lead to a reduction of -40 % for SFA, -23 % for sodium and -36 % for sugar in the most optimal replacement scenario. Conclusions With ‘health logo foods’, available in 2007 and current consumption patterns, small reductions can be achieved for SFA and sugar. For additional reductions, lowering the fat/sodium content of meat (products) towards health logo criteria and drinks without sugar towards limits far below health logo criteria would be the most effective reformulation strategy

The application of strongly oxidizing agents in flow injection analysis : Part 4. Manganese(VI) and Copper(III)

The application of manganese(VI) and copper(III) in strongly alkaline solutions as strong oxidizing reagents in flow injection analysis is described. Both reagents were prepared under batch conditions and fed to the flow from a stock solution. The reactions of most analytes tested with manganese(VI) required the use of a heated (65° C) reaction coil. The main application appears to be for the determination of monosaccharides in the 10−4–10−5 mol l−1 range

Understanding Eating Behaviors of New Dehli\u27s Youth

This qualitative study documents perceived benefits of and barriers to engaging in healthy eating behaviors among adolescents in New Delhi, India. Researchers explored factors that influenced the consumption of breakfast, fruits and vegetables, and soft drinks in this population and adolescents’ ideas about how to intervene to encourage or discourage, respectively, these behaviors. Students (n=151 6th and 8th graders) from five private schools participated in focus group discussions. Findings showed that the majority of youth eat breakfast that may consist of traditional and Western choices. Despite sound knowledge of the benefits of fruits and vegetables consumption, adolescents do not eat the recommended daily servings due to flavor preferences. Soft drink consumption was, reportedly, universal. Several factors influenced these decisions and details are herein provided. The paucity of studies on this subject provides researchers with the opportunity to explore how eating patterns of Indian youth might be shaping the health and disease landscape of India in the upcoming decades. The study adds to the slim body of literature on the subject and could be used to inform future nutrition interventions in India

Food intake of European adolescents in the light of different food-based dietary guidelines : results of the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study

Objective: Since inadequate food consumption patterns during adolescence are not only linked with the occurrence of obesity in youth but also with the subsequent risk of developing diseases in adulthood, the establishment and maintenance of a healthy diet early in life is of great public health importance. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to describe and evaluate the food consumption of a well-characterized sample of European adolescents against food-based dietary guidelines for the first time. Design: The HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) Study is a cross-sectional study, whose main objective was to obtain comparable data on a variety of nutritional and health-related parameters in adolescents aged 12.5-17.5 years. Setting: Ten cities in Europe. Subjects: The initial sample consisted of more than 3000 European adolescents. Among these, 1593 adolescents (54% female) had sufficient and plausible dietary data on energy and food intakes from two 24 h recalls using the HELENA-DIAT software. Results: Food intake of adolescents in Europe is not optimal compared with the two food-based dietary guidelines, Optimized Mixed Diet and Food Guide Pyramid, examined in this study. Adolescents eat half of the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables and less than two-thirds of the recommended amount of milk (and milk products), but consume much more meat (and meat products), fats and sweets than recommended. However, median total energy intake may be estimated to be nearly in line with the recommendations. Conclusion: The results urge the need to improve the dietary habits of adolescents in order to maintain health in later life

Spartan Daily March 11, 2010

Volume 134, Issue 23https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/1239/thumbnail.jp

The effects of expectations on perception: Experimental design issues and further evidence

Numerous studies have found that top-down processes can affect perceptions. This study examines some of the issues involved in designing field experiments aimed at discovering whether top-down mental processes affect perceptions, and, if so, how the influence takes place. Lee, Frederick, and Ariely (2006) (LFA) attempt to go further by testing whether expectations affect perception directly, by altering how sensory receptors and/or the brain's processing centers interpret a outside stimulusor indirectly, for example, by changing the amount of attention paid to the outside stimulus. In order to test the robustness of the findings in LFA, this paper reports the results of a field experiment similar to the one analyzed in LFA. The field experiment, designed to address some potential confounding factors in this type of research, confirms that expectations can alter perceptions. However, it also shows that heterogeneity across individuals can play a role in determining the nature of this effect, a finding that complicates the interpretation of results such as those in LFA. To frame the analysis, this paper discusses the difficulties in designing this type of experiment, makes some improvements to existing designs, and suggests some ways of eliminating the confounding influences that remain