The Effect of Nutrition Knowledge on Dietary Intake among Croatian University Students

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between nutrition knowledge and dietary intakes among university students. The students (264 males and 741 females) were asked to answer a validated General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire and to fulfil a Food Frequency Questionnaire. Gender, university status (freshmen, juniors, seniors) and eating arrangements (home, restaurants, self-cooking) were used as predictors of the relationship between nutrition knowledge and dietary intake. The findings indicated that women (p=0.008), senior students (p<0.001) and those who prepare food for themselves (p=0.038) have higher nutrition knowledge scores. The assessment of nutrition knowledge had parallels in dietary intake, and adherence to the dietary recommendations was significantly associated with nutrition knowledge scores (p<0.001). Regression analysis showed differences in daily intakes of grains (p<0.001), meat and beans group (p<0.001), vegetables (p<0.001), fruits (p=0.002) and oils (p<0.001) in relation to all predictors. However, nutrition knowledge acted as a modifier of the influence of eating arrangements. Logistic regression has shown that students with the highest nutrition knowledge are twelve times more likely to have a diet in accordance to recommendations compared to students with the lowest level of knowledge ([OR]=12.03, 95% [CI]=6.64–21.79, p<0.001). The results support the value of including nutrition knowledge in health education campaigns targeting the student population with the aim of improving their dietary intake

Debljinom uzrokovana kronična upala niskog intenziteta: uvođenje DII-a (dietary inflammatory index) u kliničku praksu je prekretnica?

Diet is a main modifiable determinant involved in the development of obesity-related visceral adipose tissue low-grade chronic inflammation (LGCI). Pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory properties of majority of whole foods and dietary constituents have been determined and presented as dietary inflammatory index (DII). The DII is a scoring algorithm based on extensive review of literature linking 45 food parameters with six biomarkers of inflammation. Overall DII score can take on values ranging from 7.98 (maximal pro-inflammatory dietary pattern) to -8.87 (maximal anti-inflammatory dietary pattern). Integrative anti-inflammatory approach to nutrition seems to be the milestone for tackling overweight/obesity, LGCI, and inflammation-related chronic diseases.Prehrana je najvažniji promjenjivi čimbenik uključen u razvojni proces kronične upale niskog intenziteta na razini visceralnog masnog tkiva. Proupalni/protuupalni potencijali glavnine namirnica i nutritivnih komponenti određeni su, vrednovani te prikazani kao DII (eng. dietary inflammatory index). DII je nutricionistički alat dizajniran na temelju opsežnog pregleda literature o učincima konzumacije pojedinih prehrambenih parametara na biomarkere upalnog procesa. Obrascu prehrane pridružen ukupni DII može se nalaziti u rasponu od 7.98 (maksimalni proupalni) do -8.87 (maksimalni protuupalni). Integrativni protuupalni pristup potencijalna je prekretnica u suočavanju s preuhranjenosti/debljinom, kroničnom upalom niskog intenziteta i njoj pridruženim kroničnim bolestima

The association between the Mediterranean diet and high physical activity among the working population in Croatia

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity constitute an emerging public health problem. The working population is of special interest for public health monitoring and evaluation because workers' unhealthy lifestyles may lead to reduced work ability. The aim of this study was to determine diet quality and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD), according to the level of physical activity, and to detect variables associated with the working population's being highly physically active. MATERIAL AND METHODS: At the Institute for Occupational Medicine 400 full-time workers were examined for obesity factors, filled in the short version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-short) and a validated food frequency questionnaire for adherence to the Mediterranean diet using Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). The workers were divided into low, moderate and high physical activity groups according to the IPAQ-short scoring protocol. Hierarchical linear regression was performed to determine the variables associated with being highly active. RESULTS: One-third of the participants were highly physically active and their diet adhered to the MD (MeMDS = 7). Significant variables associated with a high level of physical activity were gender (p < 0.001), age (p = 0.02), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (p < 0.001), sitting level (p = 0.044) and occupational type (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: It was found that the participants displaying a high level of physical activity had a better quality diet that adhered to the Mediterranean diet but not to a significant degree. The variables associated with a high level of physical activity were male gender, younger age, normal WHR, non-sedentary occupation and reduced sitting time. The study findings could serve the purpose of improving future public health promotion of physical activity and the Mediterranean diet. Med Pr. 2019;70(2)

Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases Nutrition Knowledge and Dietary Intake of Medical Students

The aims of this study were to determine medical students’ knowledge regarding the association between dietary factors and the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases and to investigate if this knowledge has an impact on their dietary intakes. Three hundred and ninety medical students (males and females) were included in a study and grouped according to their daily fibre and fat intakes. For diet – disease knowledge, questions from the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire for Adults were used and dietary assessment was done with Food Frequency Questionnaire. The obtained results showed that the students’ diet-disease knowledge was generally inadequate. Higher level of diet-disease knowledge was among those with high dietary fibre intake, with slightly better scores for dietary factors and risk for cardiovascular diseases than the risk for cancer. Better diet-disease knowledge positively correlated with higher intake of fish (p=0.027, p=0.001) and vegetables (p=0.019, p=0.001) in high fibre groups of both gender, and in females additionally with fruit intake (p=0.038, p=0.007). A higher dietary fibre intake among studied students seems to be a factor that ensures lower obesity rates, lower intake of energy and lower consumption of coffee, sweets and alcoholic drinks. On the basis of the results of this study, it is clear that medical schools should provide in their nutrition programs the opportunity for students to learn about their own dietary and lifestyle behaviours, in order to more knowledgably and convincingly counsel their future patients

Kvaliteta prehrane u dječjim vrtićima Primorsko-goranske županije

Cilj rada bio je prikazati način izrade jelovnika i kvalitetu prehrane u dječjim vrtićima na području Primorsko-goranske županije. Jelovnik se izrađuje na temelju energetskih i prehrambenih potreba djece predškolske dobi u skladu s hrvatskim preporukama. Jelovnik je sastavljen od raznovrsnih, sezonskih namirnica i napravljen za dva perioda: jesen-zima i proljeće-ljeto, u četiri različita tipa koji se smjenjuju svakog tjedna u mjesecu. Kontinuirano se, metodom duplih obroka tijekom posljednjih dvadeset godina, provodi zdravstvena kontrola kakvoće prehrane u dvadeset dječjih vrtića na području PGŽ, koja obuhvaća energetsku i prehrambenu analizu cjelodnevnih obroka hrane s obzirom na preporuke.

Poster 30. - Utjecaj znanja o prehrani na prehrambene navike djece školske dobi iz Primorsko-goranske županije

Novija istraživanja pokazala su pozitivan utjecaj znanja o prehrani na prehrambene navike djece i adolescenata, stoga je cilj ovog rada bio utvrditi utjecaj znanja o prehrani na prehrambene navike djece školske dobi iz Primorsko-goranske županije. Istraživanje je provedeno u 23 osnovne škole u Primorsko-goranskoj županiji među 857 učenika osmih razreda (51.2% dječaka, 48.8% djevojčica) prosječne dobi od 15 godina. Upitnik se sastojao od antropometrijskih podataka, 10 pitanja o prehrani i pitanja o učestalosti konzumiranja 35 namirnica u posljednjih 7 dana. Rezultati upitnika znanja o prehrani pokazali su ukupno slabije znanje o prehrani, samo 11.9% je imalo dobro znanje o prehrani, djevojčice statistički značajno bolje. Provedeno istraživanje potvrdilo je pozitivan utjecaj znanja o prehrani na prehrambene navike djece školske dobi. Preporuča se provođenje edukacija o pravilnoj prehrani među školskom djecom kako bi se učvrstio pozitivan utjecaj na znanje o prehrani i prehrambene navike što je od javnozdravstvenog značaja s ciljem prevencije bolesti povezanih sa nepravilnom prehranom.

Poster 30. - Utjecaj znanja o prehrani na prehrambene navike djece školske dobi iz Primorsko-goranske županije

Novija istraživanja pokazala su pozitivan utjecaj znanja o prehrani na prehrambene navike djece i adolescenata, stoga je cilj ovog rada bio utvrditi utjecaj znanja o prehrani na prehrambene navike djece školske dobi iz Primorsko-goranske županije. Istraživanje je provedeno u 23 osnovne škole u Primorsko-goranskoj županiji među 857 učenika osmih razreda (51.2% dječaka, 48.8% djevojčica) prosječne dobi od 15 godina. Upitnik se sastojao od antropometrijskih podataka, 10 pitanja o prehrani i pitanja o učestalosti konzumiranja 35 namirnica u posljednjih 7 dana. Rezultati upitnika znanja o prehrani pokazali su ukupno slabije znanje o prehrani, samo 11.9% je imalo dobro znanje o prehrani, djevojčice statistički značajno bolje. Provedeno istraživanje potvrdilo je pozitivan utjecaj znanja o prehrani na prehrambene navike djece školske dobi. Preporuča se provođenje edukacija o pravilnoj prehrani među školskom djecom kako bi se učvrstio pozitivan utjecaj na znanje o prehrani i prehrambene navike što je od javnozdravstvenog značaja s ciljem prevencije bolesti povezanih sa nepravilnom prehranom.

Kvaliteta prehrane u dječjim vrtićima Primorsko-goranske županije

Cilj rada bio je prikazati način izrade jelovnika i kvalitetu prehrane u dječjim vrtićima na području Primorsko-goranske županije. Jelovnik se izrađuje na temelju energetskih i prehrambenih potreba djece predškolske dobi u skladu s hrvatskim preporukama. Jelovnik je sastavljen od raznovrsnih, sezonskih namirnica i napravljen za dva perioda: jesen-zima i proljeće-ljeto, u četiri različita tipa koji se smjenjuju svakog tjedna u mjesecu. Kontinuirano se, metodom duplih obroka tijekom posljednjih dvadeset godina, provodi zdravstvena kontrola kakvoće prehrane u dvadeset dječjih vrtića na području PGŽ, koja obuhvaća energetsku i prehrambenu analizu cjelodnevnih obroka hrane s obzirom na preporuke.

Diet Quality of Middle Age and Older Women from Primorsko-Goranska County Evaluated by Healthy Eating Index and Association with Body Mass Index

Accorded dietary habits provide adequate nutrient intakes, especially important for quality aging. Adequate nutrition for older persons has vital influence on maintaining good health and social functioning. Therefore, using simple tool for evaluation of diet of older population in relation to overweight and obesity is of public health importance. Among many factor that influence quality of aging has obesity, where in Croatia the prevalence of obesity is greater in older women than men. Our aim was to evaluate diet quality of middle age and older women from Primorsko-Goranska County by Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and to see the association of HEI to overweight and obesity. Diet quality of 124 women with average age 59.91±5.31 years was graded with 10 component HEI score, ranging from 0 to 100, where HEI score less than 51 implies »poor« diet. Overweight and obesity was classified according to WHO classification. The majority of women had diet that »needs improvement« (66.1%), and only 3.2% had »good« diet. Older women had better HEI score than middle-aged women, while overweight was statistically significant positively related to better HEI score (b=0.26, p=0.048). Older women better scored for meat, dairy, cholesterol and dietary variety. »Poor« diet mostly had women with normal weight and middle-aged. Age did not influenced overall HEI score, neither its components. Obese women had lower achievements for almost all recommended HEI components. Women having »poor« diet quality could raise a chance for overweight and obesity for almost two times ([OR]=1.67, 95%[CI]=1.072–2.59, p=0.023; [OR]=1.51, 95%[CI]= 1.08–2.10, p=0.015, respectively). The provided results showed that with age, women tended to have better diet. These could be because of that with aging are higher disease incidences that essentially need diet improvements; so older women tended to improve their diet to reduce disease discomforts. Being obese influenced the diet quality of our sample of women, therefore, for quality aging, the importance of public health nutrition programs are strongly needed. HEI score is a good assessment for diet quality, but further investigation of influence on other sociodemographic and health characteristics is required

Adherence to Mediterranean diet in University of Rijeka students

Cilj: Tradicionalna mediteranska prehrana povezuje se sa smanjenim rizikom od nastanka mnogih kroničnih nezaraznih bolesti. Ciljovog rada bio je utvrditi kakvoću prehrane studenata u Rijeci, odnosno odrediti pripadnost mediteranskom načinu prehrane uzpomoć dvaju indeksa za ocjenu mediteranskog načina prehrane: Mediteranskog indeksa kvalitete prehrane i Ocjene mediteranskeprehrane.Metode: Istraživanje je provedeno od siječnja do svibnja 2018. godine i obuhvatilo je 455-ero studenata s riječkog Sveučilišta, 336žena i 119 muškaraca. Podatci o dobi, tjelesnoj aktivnosti, antropometriji, pušenju i prehrambenim navikama dobiveni su iz anketnihupitnika. Za određivanje pripadnosti mediteranskom načinu prehrane primijenjena su dva indeksa: Mediteranski indeks kvaliteteprehrane i Ocjena mediteranske prehrane.Rezultati: Prosječna ocjena kakvoće prehrane studenata ocijenjena prema Mediteranskom indeksu kvalitete prehrane iznosila je9,61, što označava srednju do nedostatnu kakvoću prehrane. Prema Ocjeni mediteranske prehrane kakvoća prehrane ocijenjena jekao nedostatna i iznosila je 3,70. Žene su imale značajno bolji Mediteranski indeks kvalitete prehrane (9,36) od muškaraca (p<0,001)i studenti koji ne puše također su imali značajno bolji Mediteranski indeks kvalitete prehrane (9,11) od pušača (p<0,001).Zaključci: Prema dobivenom Mediteranskom indeksu kvalitete prehrane i Ocjeni mediteranske prehrane možemo zaključiti da jeprehrana studenata ocijenjena srednjom do nedostatnom te je vidljivo kako postoji potreba za povećanjem pridržavanja mediteranskognačina prehrane te promjenom prehrambenih navika studenata. Prema dobivenim rezultatima postoji jasna potreba zastvaranjem programa promicanja zdravlja, s posebnim naglaskom na edukaciju o prehrani i na prehrambene navike.The traditional Mediterranean diet is associated with reducing the risk of many chronic non-communicable diseases. The aim of this study was to determine diet quality in students from Rijeka. In addition, adherence to Mediterranean diet was assessed using two indices, the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index and the Mediterranean Diet Score. The research was conducted from January to May 2018 and included 455 students from Rijeka University, 336 women and 119 men. Data on age, physical activity, anthropometry, smoking habits and eating habits were obtained from the above mentioned questionnaires. The mean diet quality score of the students obtained by the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index was 9.61, implying medium to poor diet quality. According to the Mediterranean Diet Score, diet quality was estimated as being poor (mean score 3.70). Women had a significantly better Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (9.36) than men (p<0.001) and non-smoking students had a significantly better Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (9.11) than those that smoked (p<0.001). In conclusion, according to the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index and the Mediterranean Diet Score, the study showed the diet of students to be medium to poor. From these results, it is evident that there is the need to increase adherence to the Mediterranean diet and to change dietary habits of students. According to the results obtained, there is clear need to create a health promotion program, with special emphasis on diet and diet education