Determinants of Portion Size in Children and Adolescents: Insights from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme (2008–2016)

Large portion sizes have been identified as contributing to overweight and obesity, particularly in children and adolescents. This study examined predictors of portion sizes of high energy snack foods eaten by children aged 1.5–18 years. Specifically, we examined whether portion sizes were adjusted for age, and what external features of the environment might be linked to large portion sizes. Portion sizes were derived from four-day food diaries that form the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Diaries from 5942 children were examined and multilevel models were used to discover whether age, gender, location, time of day, household income, and watching TV while eating predicted portion sizes of savoury snacks, chocolate, confectionery and biscuits. Portion sizes of all the target foods were predicted by age. Boys had larger portions, and portion sizes were larger when target foods were consumed later in the day. Portion sizes were larger outside the home, for example in leisure venues, but the target foods were eaten more frequently in the home. As dietary patterns change to include more snack intake outside the home, these locations could be an important space to target for interventions for portion control

“A More Personal Way to Learn During Such an Isolating Time”: The Value of Live Lectures in Online Teaching

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a shift to online teaching, which has dramatically affected all facets of the student experience. In this practice report, we reflect on the synchronous delivery of a popular final-year module “Face Perception” in a United Kingdom (UK) psychology undergraduate degree. In the module, students learned via live lectures hosted on the virtual learning environment and content was consolidated interactively using online polls and small group discussions. We collected students’ qualitative feedback on the live lecture delivery (n=28), from which we observed three core themes: technology-enhanced engagement, logistical barriers, and togetherness in live lectures. Taken together, this feedback suggests that whilst there are additional technological and logistical challenges that must be navigated in the delivery of “live” online lectures, they can be useful in instilling a sense of togetherness online. This is particularly important, given the threats to student success and engagement that COVID-19 poses

Increasing Intake of an Unfamiliar Vegetable in Preschool Children Through Learning Using Storybooks and Sensory Play: A Cluster Randomized Trial

Background: Most children eat fewer vegetables than recommended. Storybooks and sensory play may increase vegetable intake. Objective: This study tested the effects on intake of learning about an unfamiliar vegetable (celeriac) through storybooks and sensory play. It was predicted that an illustrated, congruent storybook would increase intake of celeriac compared to an incongruent storybook (carrot); and that adding congruent sensory play with celeriac to the storybook would produce a synergistic effect on intake of celeriac. Design: Children from 12 UK preschools were randomly assigned by clusters to four intervention conditions using a 2×2 factorial design. The factors were vegetable congruency (sensory play and/or storybook were congruent, or incongruent [carrot] with celeriac) and intervention type (storybook only or storybook combined with sensory play). Participants/setting: Three hundred and thirty-seven children aged 2 to 5 years were recruited to take part in November 2017. Intervention: Over a 2-week period, children in all four conditions were read a vegetable storybook featuring celeriac or carrot. In addition, two conditions received sensory play with either carrot or celeriac added to the storybook method. Main outcome measures: Intake of the unfamiliar vegetable (celeriac) was measured at baseline and after the 2-week intervention. Statistical analysis performed: Complex samples logistic regression and general linear modeling were performed to examine group differences at post-intervention. Results: Children receiving the congruent (celeriac) storybook had higher odds of eating celeriac compared to children who received the incongruent (carrot) storybook. Receiving congruent sensory play increased the odds of eating celeriac, whereas receiving incongruent sensory play did not. From the 267 children who completed both baseline and post-intervention assessments, 85 ate no celeriac at baseline and were classed as non-eaters. Sensory play (congruent or incongruent) increased the odds of eating some celeriac in non-eaters compared to storybook only conditions. Conclusions: Congruency between storybook and vegetable increased intake; sensory play with celeriac increased the likelihood of eating celeriac. Storybooks and sensory play are simple interventions to increase willingness to try an unfamiliar vegetable

Development and evaluation of two interventions to improve students’ reflection on feedback

National student surveys reveal that feedback is an aspect of the education experience with which students are less satisfied. One method to increase student engagement with their written feedback and to improve feedback literacy is promotion of critical self-reflection on the feedback content. We describe two interventions aimed at improving students’ reflective practices with their feedback. In a School of Psychology at a UK research-intensive university, we designed, implemented and evaluated two interventions to improve students’ reflection on, and engagement with, their feedback. The first intervention was a feedback seminar, which comprised a modified version of the Developing Engagement with Feedback Toolkit, adapted for our context and online delivery. The second intervention was an interactive assessment coversheet that was designed to promote self-reflection and dialogical feedback practices between student and marker. We provide a summary of the development of these interventions and share evaluations of both components. Overall, our evaluation demonstrated that these interventions can be a useful opportunity for students to engage with their feedback practices and develop feedback literacy. However, variability in student experiences and inconsistencies across markers, despite these interventions, were barriers to success. We contextualise this with our own reflections and end with recommendations for educators

Supporting students during the transition to university in COVID-19: Five key considerations and recommendations for educators

As coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) continues to disrupt pretertiary education provision and examinations in the United Kingdom, urgent consideration must be given to how best to support the 2021–2022 cohort of incoming undergraduate students to higher education. In this paper, we draw upon the “Five Sense of Student Success” model to highlight five key evidence-based, psychology-informed considerations that higher education educators should be attentive to when preparing for the next academic year. These include the challenge in helping students to reacclimatize to academic work following a period of prolonged educational disruption, supporting students to access the “hidden curriculum” of higher education, negotiating mental health consequences of COVID-19, and remaining sensitive to inequalities of educational provision that students have experienced as a result of COVID-19. We provide evidence-based, psychology-informed recommendations to each of these considerations

Parental intentions to implement vegetable feeding strategies at home: A cross sectional study

In order to increase vegetable intake by children, parents are encouraged to implement strategies that promote trying and eating vegetables at mealtimes. Qualitative studies have previously highlighted barriers parents face in implementing healthy eating practices, such as time, monetary costs and child factors (e.g. fussy eaters). This study aimed to specify the relationships between child and parent factors and their effects on parental intentions to implement vegetable feeding strategies at mealtimes. Parental intentions to implement meal service (serving larger portions, offering variety, serving vegetables first) and experiential learning (repeated exposure, games, sensory play) strategies were examined. Parents (N = 302, 73 male, Mage = 33.5) also explained reasons why certain strategies may or may not work for their child (4-7y). For both types of strategy, higher food fussiness of the child predicted higher parental intentions to implement strategies at home. However, this was competitively mediated by low beliefs that the strategy would work for their child, resulting in weaker overall positive effects on intentions. In the meal service model, parental beliefs that healthy eating is important for their child had a positive, indirect effect on higher intentions, through involved parental feeding practices. However, this was not significant in the experiential learning strategies model. Written parental responses suggest that this may be due to meal service approaches being viewed as easier to implement, with little additional effort required. Increasing parental confidence to implement strategies successfully and managing expectations around successful outcomes of strategies (e.g. tasting, eating) may be important focuses of future interventions to support parents implementing vegetable feeding strategies at mealtimes

‘We all sort of struggled through it together’: students’ lived experiences of university life during the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant changes to the student experience. Thus, there is a need to centre students’ lived experiences in pedagogical research which explores the effects of the pandemic on student life. The current study aimed to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted undergraduate students, with a focus on students’ educational experiences, social interactions, and mental wellbeing. Open-ended questionnaires were disseminated to undergraduate students across the UK (N = 53). A student-centred reflexive thematic analysis identified four dominant themes that each relate to students’ lived experiences of Higher Education during COVID-19. These were: variations in motivation during the pandemic, the importance of personal connection, a disconnect between university and the student, and students’ development through adversity. These themes broadly demonstrate the variability in student experiences during the pandemic and, crucially, highlight the need for future education provision to centre personal connections, including between students and their institutions. Lack of interaction with staff and peers, as well as barriers to support, led to feelings of detachment from university. Implications for policy and practice are discussed

Does “Psychological Literacy” Feature in Non-Psychology Degrees? A Cross-Discipline Study of Student Perceptions

Background: Psychological literacy is a set of attributes, which refer broadly to how students apply their subject-specific psychology knowledge to solving problems. However, the extent to which psychological literacy skills are unique to psychology as a discipline is unknown. Objective: We assessed whether students perceive psychological literacy attributes to be prominent in disciplines outside of psychology. Method: We recruited undergraduate students from Psychology, non-Psychology STEM subjects, and Humanities subjects ( N = 296) and asked them to identify the extent to which they perceive psychological literacy attributes to be prominent in their degrees. Results: Psychology students reported significantly higher perceived prominence of psychological literacy attributes in their degree, compared with Humanities and non-Psychology STEM students, in all but two of the psychological literacy attributes. Conclusion: These findings suggest that psychological literacy mostly represents attributes unique to psychology students, but some of these attributes are also developed within other disciplines. The facets of psychological literacy unique to psychology relate to knowledge of behavior, research skills, ethics, and socio-cultural issues. Teaching implications: This suggests that psychology students graduate with some subject specific attributes, which may make them uniquely advantaged in a competitive work context and affirms that psychology degrees do hold unique value

Can Reduced Intake Associated with Downsizing a High Energy Dense Meal Item be Offset by Increased Vegetable Variety in 3–5-year-old Children?

Large portions of energy dense foods promote overconsumption but offering small portions might lead to compensatory intake of other foods. Offering a variety of vegetables could help promote vegetable intake and offset the effect of reducing the portion size (PS) of a high energy dense (HED) food. Therefore, we tested the effect on intake of reducing the PS of a HED unit lunch item while varying the variety of the accompanying low energy dense (LED) vegetables. In a within-subjects design, 43 3–5-year-old pre-schoolers were served a lunch meal in their nursery on 8 occasions. Children were served a standard (100%) or downsized (60%) portion of a HED sandwich with a side of LED vegetables offered as a single (carrot, cherry tomato, cucumber) or variety (all 3 types) item. Reducing the PS of a HED sandwich reduced sandwich (g) (p < 0.001) and total meal intake (kcal) consumption (p = 0.001) without an increased intake of other foods in the meal (LED vegetables (p = 0.169); dessert (p = 0.835)). Offering a variety of vegetables, compared with a single vegetable, increased vegetable intake (g) (p = 0.003) across PS conditions. Downsizing and variety were effective strategies individually for altering pre-schoolers’ intakes of HED and LED meal items, however, using variety to offset HED downsizing was not supported in the present study