3,401 research outputs found
āI Control What I Eat and I'm Sensible with What I Eat, Apart from Schoolā ā A Qualitative Study of Adolescentsā Food Choices and the School Environment
Objectives
Adolescent obesity is a significant issue in the UK, with 36% of 11 to 15 year olds classified as overweight or obese. Schools are seen as a sound setting to address this phenomenon. Mandatory School Food Standards have endeavoured to improve the nutritional profile of school food provision. However students often choose micronutrient poor, energy dense options. This study aimed to explore how and why secondary school students make their food choices within the school environment.
Methods
Seven focus group interviews were conducted with students (n = 28) aged 13ā14 years in a school in Northern England. Development of the focus group schedule was informed by the socio-ecological model and food choice process model. Question topics included school food provision, studentsā food choices and the role of friends and family in studentsā food choices. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using an inductive thematic approach: an iterative process of reading and re-reading transcripts, coding of nodes and grouping of nodes into unique themes. NVivo12 software was used to facilitate data management.
Results
Six initial themes emerged; (1) home environment, (2) food knowledge, (3) food choice factors, (4) food autonomy struggle, (5) social influences and (6) home versus school. Findings suggest that adolescents juxtapose the school and home food environments, in terms of food provision, food choices, as well as food-related rules and customs. Students identified food choices at home as being a structured and clearly defined process, with parents and caregivers acting as nutritional gatekeepers. In contrast, students depicted school food choices as being less straight-forward, determined by factors including social influences and school food choice parameters (e.g., time, queues, cost). Students reported choosing less āhealthyā items at school than at home, and justified this by reportedly adopting perceived healthier choices/behaviours at home.
Conclusions
Both the school and home environment (in)directly influence adolescentsā school food choices. Further research is needed to understand these contrasting environmental influences, and how adolescents manage and integrate their food choice behaviours in different environments
Frontal fibrosing alopecia severity index (FFASI) : a validated scoring system for assessing frontal fibrosing alopecia
The incidence of frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) appears to be increasing(1-6) and response to treatment has been largely disappointing(1-3) . However, assessment of treatment interventions is confounded by slow disease progression and lack of robust means of assessing disease severity and activity. To address the latter, we have developed a validated clinical scoring system - the FFA severity index (FFASI), which provides a standardised framework for FFA assessment and patient
Atlantic Ocean Heat Transport Enabled by Indo-Pacific Heat Uptake and Mixing
The ocean transports vast amounts of heat around the planet, helping to regulate regional climate. One important component of this heat transport is the movement of warm water from equatorial regions toward the poles, with colder water flowing in return. Here, we introduce a framework relating meridional heat transport to the diabatic processes of surface forcing and turbulent mixing that move heat across temperature classes. Applied to a (1/4)Ā° global ocean model the framework highlights the role of the tropical IndoāPacific in the global ocean heat transport. A large fraction of the northward heat transport in the Atlantic is ultimately sourced from heat uptake in the eastern tropical Pacific. Turbulent mixing moves heat from the warm, shallow IndoāPacific circulation to the cold deeperāreaching Atlantic circulation. Our results underscore a renewed focus on the tropical oceans and their role in global circulation pathways
Adolescentsā dietary behaviour: The interplay between home and school food environments.
In the UK, school food standards have looked to improve the nutritional profile of school food provision and the choices made; however, adolescents' choices tend to bias towards micronutrient poor and energy dense options. This study aimed to explore how adolescents make their school food choices, along with how they engage with their environments whilst selecting food. Seven focus group interviews took place with adolescents (n = 28; 13ā14 years) in a secondary school in Northern England. Discussions with participants were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and then analysed using an inductive thematic approach. Six themes emerged from the data: (1) parents' and adolescents' roles in the home food environment, (2) burgeoning food autonomy, (3) school food choice factors, (4) social aspects of school food, (5) home versus school, (6) food knowledge & beliefs. Adolescents identified two distinct environments during the focus group discussions: the home and school environments. Adolescents juxtaposed the two, in terms of food provision, food choices, rules and customs surrounding food choice. This juxtaposition emerged as an indirect but important influence on adolescents' school food choices. The school and home environments both (in)directly influence adolescents' school food choices, which involve an integration of multiple, often conflicting influences. Adolescents may adopt a number of unhelpful dietary rationalisations as they try to manage and reconcile these influences. Consultation, together with consideration of relevant food choice models, is required to identify opportunities to influence adolescentsā food choices at school
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