Health and Seafood Consumption Patterns among Women 45-69 years: A Norwegian Seafood Consumption Study 1996

Main research question: The aim of the study was to investigate how health perception, eating habits and socioeconomic pattern influence choice of seafood. Materials and methods: A randomly drawn sample of Norwegian women aged 45 to 69 years answered a self-administrated mail questionnaire about eating habits, socioeconomic status, and questions related to health. There were 9407 women answered the questionnaire (response rate 52.5%). Findings: The mean level of seafood consumption was 2.7 times a week. Seafood consumption increased with (i) increasing belief in the idea that food is important for health (ii) using medicine for cardiovascular disease (iii) other healthy eating habits (iv) increasing age, (v) increasing household size, (vi) decreasing family income, and (vii) having residence in coastal areas. The growing consumption of fat fish is greater in central eastern Norway, while lean fish consumption is related to traditional food consumption. Processed fish consumption is related to consumption of other fast food. Conclusions. Seafood consumption is strongly related to consumption of three food groups: healthy food, fast food, and traditional food. The marginal benefit is high for health information and the marketing of seafood as healthy food, which fit into the current food lifestyle of consumption in all three food segments. Marketing implications are outlined.Submitted for publication in “Appetite” 26.04.0

A case study of a sporadic sodium layer observed by the ALOMAR Weber Na lidar

Several possible mechanisms for the production of sporadic sodium layers have been discussed in the literature, but none of them seem to explain all the accumulated observations. The hypotheses range from direct meteoric input, to energetic electron bombardment on meteoric smoke particles, to ion neutralization, to temperature dependent chemistry. The varied instrumentation located on Andøya and near Tromsø in Norway gives us an opportunity to test the different theories applied to high latitude sporadic sodium layers. We use the ALOMARWeber sodium lidar to monitor the appearance and characteristics of a sporadic sodium layer that was observed on 5 November 2005. We also monitor the temperature to test the hypotheses regarding a temperature dependent mechanism. The EISCAT Tromsø Dynasonde, the ALOMAR/UiO All-sky camera and the SKiYMET meteor radar on Andøya are used to test the suggested relationships of sporadic sodium layers and sporadic E-layers, electron precipitation, and meteor deposition during this event. We find that more than one candidate is eligible to explain our observation of the sporadic sodium layer

Educational and economic determinants of food intake in Portuguese adults: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Understanding the influences of educational and economic variables on food consumption may be useful to explain food behaviour and nutrition policymaking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of educational and economic factors in determining food pattern in Portuguese adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional study in a representative sample of Portuguese adults (20977 women and 18663 men). Participants were distributed in four categories according to years of education (≤4, 5–9, 10–12, and >12) and income (≤314 euros, 315–547 euros, 548–815 euros, and >815 euros). Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the magnitude of the association between food groups and education/income, adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: In both genders, the odds favouring milk, vegetable soup, vegetables, fruit, and fish consumption, increased significantly with education, for those having >12 years of education compared to those with ≤4 years; the odds favouring wine, and spirits consumption decreased significantly with education, for those having >12 years of education compared to those with ≤4 years. In males, the odds favouring starchy foods and meat consumption decreased significantly with income, while for milk, the odds increased with higher income (those having >815 euros compared to those with ≤314 euros). CONCLUSIONS: The low and high income groups are or tend to be similar in regard to several food groups consumption, and access to education/information appears to be the key element to a better food pattern as indicated by higher frequency of milk, vegetable soup, vegetables, fruit, and fish consumption

An exploratory study into the role and interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic cues in Australian consumers’ evaluations of fish.

This study explores the role and interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic cues when evaluating fish quality and in shaping consumers' attitudes toward fish consumption. A sensory analysis of nine different fish including five variants of barramundi was conducted to determine how consumers evaluated the fish on intrinsic cues. Focus groups were then conducted to explore the impact of extrinsic cues on attitudes and purchase intentions. While the sensory analysis revealed distinct differences between barramundi variants on intrinsic cues (notably taste), the focus groups revealed that, as a brand, barramundi is perceived much more favourably and consistently. Consumers used extrinsic cues, particularly country of origin, as surrogate indicators of quality. Aquaculture producers need to ensure intrinsic product quality and consistency, as while consumers use the extrinsic cue of "Australian grown" as a surrogate indicator of quality, as their familiarity and confidence with seafood grows, this overreliance on extrinsic cues may diminish

Study of the auroral emissions and electron precipitation depending on the solar activity

Simultaneous observations of the OI 5577Å and 6300Å emissions, the electron precipitation, the terrestrial magnetic field and the plasma parameters, and the corresponding solar wind, Interplanetary Magnetic Field and geomagnetic activity indices data have been used in order to study the Sun-Earth interactions under various conditions. Images of 5577Å and 6300Å emissions have been obtained from the All-Sky Imager (ASI), positioned at ARR, Andenes (69.3°N, 16.03°E). The Imaging Riometer for Ionospheric Studies (IRIS), at Kilpisjärvi, Finland (69.05°N, 20.79°E) gave information about the precipitating electrons with energies in the range 10x100keV and deposition heights centered at about 90 km. The magnetic field components have been measured by the Andenes magnetometer (69.3°N, 16.03°E). The essential ionosphere parameters have been acquired from the measurements of the Digisonde, situated at Tromsø (69.6N, 19.2E). A good correlation between the spatial and temporal evolutions of the optical emissions, the precipitating electron fluxes and the terrestrial magnetic field has been observed. The response of the ionosphere to the solar and geomagnetic activity changes has been studied. The study is performed under a project, part from the ALOMAR eARI Project, EU's 6th Framework Programme, Andenes, Norway