Food Front-of-Pack Labelling and the Nutri-Score Nutrition Label—Poland-Wide Cross-Sectional Expert Opinion Study

Front-of-pack labelling (FOPL) systems, such as the Nutri-Score, play a crucial role in promoting healthy diets and raising consumer awareness. Our study aimed to gather the opinions of Polish experts on the Nutri-Score and its relation to an ideal information system. We conducted a Poland-wide expert opinion study using a cross-sectional design survey with 75 participants, who had an average of 18 ± 13 years of experience and were mainly employed at medical and agricultural universities. The data were collected with the CAWI method. The results showed that the most important features of an FOPL system were clarity, simplicity, consistency with healthy eating recommendations, and the ability to objectively compare products within the same group. While more than half of the respondents believed that the Nutri-Score provides an overall assessment of a product’s nutritional value and facilitates quick purchasing decisions, it falls short in helping consumers compose a balanced diet and cannot be applied to all product groups. The experts also expressed concerns about the system’s ability to account for a product’s degree of processing, full nutritional value and carbon footprint. In conclusion, Poland’s current labelling system needs expansion, but the Nutri-Score requires significant and detailed changes and validation against national guidelines and expert expectations before implementation

Sensitivity to Sweet and Salty Tastes in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

Taste function impairment is observed in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). It is most often related to sweet taste. It is associated with such factors as diabetic neuropathy, smoking, age, duration of the disease and a rigorous diet that eliminates easily digestible carbohydrates. The aim of the study was to compare sensitivity to sweet and salty tastes between healthy children and adolescents and children and adolescents with T1D. The study group consisted of children with T1D (n = 35), with at least 5 years of disease history, while the group of healthy children included 46 individuals selected in terms of age, gender and BMI. A study concerning the perception of sweet and salty taste was carried out with the use of the specific gustometry method (examining the recognition and assessment of the intensity of taste sensations, performing a hedonic assessment). Children and adolescents from both groups had trouble recognising tastes. Children and adolescents with T1D were more likely to recognise sweet taste correctly even at its lower concentrations compared to healthy individuals (p = 0.04). Salty taste was significantly more often correctly identified by healthy children compared to T1D patients (p = 0.01). Children and adolescents with T1D reported a stronger intensity of perceived tastes than healthy ones. No significant differences in perceived pleasure were noted at lower sucrose concentrations in any group. The intensity score was higher in individuals with T1D at higher sucrose concentrations. No significant differences occurred in the assessment of salty taste intensity. The hedonic scoring of solutions with higher concentrations of sweet taste was higher in people with T1D than in healthy ones, while salty taste was assessed neutrally. Children and adolescents with T1D were demonstrated to have some taste recognition disorders. Therefore, monitoring taste function in pediatric diabetic clinical practice seems relevant, as it may be associated with important implications for the intake of a particular type of food and for the development of eating habits and preferences

A National Study of Nutrition and Nutritional Status of the Adult Polish Population in the Years 2017–2020 before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Design and Methods

The paper presents the designs and methods of a cross-sectional study of two groups of randomly selected Polish inhabitants aged 19–64, and 65 and over, carried out as part of the National Health Program. The aim of the study was to illustrate the current health situation of the respondents in terms of nutrition and physical activity level. The quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The Computer Assisted Personal Interview technique was used. The dietary research was carried out through repeated interviews about the frequency of food consumption, and about what food had been consumed in the previous 24 h. In addition to the questionnaire studies, anthropometric data, blood pressure and the level of physical activity were measured. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some methods were modified according to hygiene rules. The Computer Assisted Telephone Interview technique was used to collect the data, and the anthropometric data were obtained via measurements made by the respondents themselves based on detailed instructions. The results will be used to present representative data for the Polish population, describing a wide range of eating behaviours and other lifestyle elements, food and nutrition knowledge, dietary supplement use, the occurrence of diet-related diseases, nutritional status and, in the seniors group, the risk of sarcopenia

The Influence of Obesity on Nutrition and Physical Activity during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case-Control Study

Obesity is one of the important risk factors for a severe course of COVID-19. Maintaining a healthy body weight through diet and physical activity is a reasonable approach to preventing a SARS-CoV-2 infection or in alleviating its course. The goal of the study was to determine the influence of obesity on nutrition and physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 964 respondents, including 227 individuals with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2 were evaluated in this study. In the case of 482 respondents, including 105 individuals (21.8%) with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, the data were collected during the pandemic period from 1 June to 31 August 2020. The remaining 482 individuals were the “pre-pandemic” group, selected via propensity score matching (PSM) out of the 723 National Health Program study participants whose data was collected in 2017–2019. The evaluated dietary health factors were quantitatively similar in patients with BMI of either 2 or ≥30 kg/m2 and showed no significant changes during the pandemic. The diets of those who suffered from obesity prior to the pandemic showed the evaluated unhealthy nutritional factors to be less pronounced in comparison with those of individuals with BMI 2. During the pandemic, the BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 group showed a significant increase in the overall calorie intake (by 319 kcal; p = 0.001) and an increased consumption of total carbohydrates 299.3 ± 83.8 vs. 252.0 ± 101.5; p = 0.000), sucrose (51.7 ± 30.0 vs. 71.6 ± 49.9; p = 0.000), plant protein (26.3 ± 12.1 vs. 29.3 ± 8.3; p = 0.040), total fat (73.1 ± 42.6 vs. 84.9 ± 29.6; p = 0.011) and saturated fatty acids (29.5 ± 16.4 vs. 34.3 ± 13.9; p = 0.014) in comparison with the pre-pandemic period. The energy and nutritional value of the diets of BMI 2 individuals did not change between the pre-pandemic and pandemic period. Before the pandemic, the level of leisure physical activity of the BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 group was significantly lower than of those with BMI 2. Such differences were not observed in the levels of physical activity at work or school. The pandemic did not alter the amount of physical activity either during leisure time or at work/school in individuals with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. However, respondents without obesity exercised significantly less during the pandemic than before. In conclusion, the pandemic altered the diets and levels of physical activity in the Polish population, with dietary changes observed in individuals with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and changes in physical activity observed in those with BMI 2