Nutritional adequacy of meals from an independent catering facility versus chain restaurants for young adults

BACKGROUND: Eating out of home has been associated with the increasing prevalence of obesity. While some chain restaurants provide nutritional information for their products, smaller independent catering facilities may not provide such information. The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional adequacy of meals provided to young adults at an independent catering facility and compare them with meals provided by chain restaurants. METHODS: Meals were analysed in 2014 in the UK in relation of nutrient provision to targets for macro- and micro-nutrients. One-way ANOVA was performed to compare menus between the restaurants included in the analyses. RESULTS: 2056 meal combinations were analysed, 210 from the student accommodation and 1,846 from five largest national chain restaurants. Mean (SD) nutritional content was: student accommodation: 1193(269)kcal, fat 52.0(22)g, saturated fat 24.5(14.5)g, protein 42.4(28.5)g, carbohydrate 117.0(30)g; chain restaurants: 922(160)kcal, fat 40.0(9.7)g, saturated fat 14.5(5.8)g, protein 31.2(6.5)g, carbohydrate 104.2(16.6)g. Meals from the student accommodation presented significantly more calories than the meals in all five chain restaurants ( p = 0.0015). CONCLUSIONS: Meal provision in the student accommodation was in excess of energy requirements and higher than the meals offered in chain restaurants. Regulating or setting nutritional standards for all places that provide food is essential as current food provision may favour unwanted weight gain and diet-related diseases

A Comparison of Levels of Select Minerals in Scalp Hair Samples with Estimated Dietary Intakes of These Minerals in Women of Reproductive Age

The objective of this study was to evaluate daily intake of minerals and concentrations of minerals in hair in women of reproductive age. The study included 77 menstruating women, aged 35.9 ± 9.7 years. Subjects were divided into three groups according to age. All women were healthy. Hair samples were taken from several points of the occipital scalp. The content of minerals in hair samples was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Dietary intake of the analysed minerals was assayed on the basis of dietary intake interviews from three preceding days and evaluated using the dietetic computer programme. It was shown that calcium and iron daily intake by the women was below the recommended value. Only few women had low concentrations (below reference values) of magnesium, copper and zinc in hair. Statistically significant differences were shown between age groups. Generally, the concentrations of minerals in hair in the younger (19–30 years) and the older women (41–50 years) were higher than in hair of middle-aged women (31–40 years). The content of calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc in daily diets of women correlated inversely with copper level in their hair. Food products with good bioavailability of iron and calcium should be recommended for women of childbearing age in all age groups

Transparency in climate finance after Paris: Towards a more effective climate governance framework

The Paris Agreement charts a new course for measuring, reporting, verification (MRV) of State obligations with the intensification of the emphasis on the criterion of transparency. This is, in part, responsive to modern debates in regards to environmental law generally and climate law in particular. Transparency is crucial to the success or failure of climate mitigation and adaption regimes because climate governance is intimately connected to the ideals of deliberative democracy, public participation, and the rule of law. The Paris Agreement thus presents a ground-breaking and important point in time for both developed and developing States. Aligned with this requirement is the desire to increase the amount and flow of ‘climate finance’ from developed to developing states. The associated need for transparency in funding flows has been raised in part through the accusations of misused or inadequate funds, ‘tied’ funding and double counting. Though there are new informational requirements placed on states in the Paris Agreement, they also present considerable practical challenges. The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the principle of transparency in climate finance and to chart the direction of the associated informational requirements in light of the measures agreed at Paris

Fortificação das farinhas com ferro e controle da anemia em gestantes de Teresina, Piauí, Brasil

OBJETIVO Comparar níveis de hemoglobina e ocorrência de anemia em gestantes antes e depois da fortificação das farinhas e caracterizar a prática alimentar de gestantes usuárias atuais dos serviços. MÉTODOS Estudo transversal que analisou dados de hemoglobina de gestantes atendidas em dois serviços públicos de maior demanda pré-natal do Município de Teresina, Piauí. Os dados foram obtidos de 854 prontuários de gestantes distribuídas em dois grupos: não fortificado (427 gestantes com parto anterior a junho/2004) e fortificado (427 gestantes com data da última menstruação posterior a junho/2005). Gestantes com nível de hemoglobina <11,0g/dL foram consideradas anêmicas. O consumo alimentar foi analisado por meio de questionário de frequência alimentar semiquantitativo. RESULTADOS Níveis médios de hemoglobina aumentaram significativamente de 11,7g/dL, DP=1,2 para 12,4g/dL, DP=1,3 (p<0,001) após a fortificação. A prevalência de anemia caiu de 27,2% no grupo não fortificado para 11,5% no grupo fortificado (p<0,001). CONCLUSÃO Houve melhora significativa no quadro de anemia após a fortificação das farinhas, o que sugere que a intervenção foi efetiva no controle da deficiência de ferro, porém o estudo não permite atribuir tal resultado apenas à implantação dessa medida, embora análise da prática alimentar tenha mostrado que as gestantes de Teresina (PI) apresentaram condição diferenciada de alimentação, com consumo frequente de fontes naturais de ferro e de facilitadores de sua absorção, além de alimentos fortificados