An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews on Food Choice and Nutrition Published between 2017 and-2019

The objective of this umbrella review was to provide an update on the latest knowledge in the field of food choice and nutrition. Databases Scopus and ISI-Web of Science were searched for “food choice” AND nutrition. Papers were included if they were systematic reviews published between January 2017 and August 2019 on any subpopulation group. In total, 26 systematic reviews were kept. Data were extracted with a predetermined grid including first author, publication year, country, population group, explanatory constructs (intervention focus) and reported outcomes. Common indicators for outcome measures on food choice and nutrition studies are nutrition knowledge, healthy food choices, food purchases and food and nutrient intake. The most common strategy implemented to alter food choice with a nutritional aim is nutrition education, followed by provision of information through labels. Among children, parent modelling is key to achieving healthy food choices. In general, combining strategies seems to be the most effective way to achieve healthier food consumption and to maintain good nutrition in all age groups

The Multifaceted Dimensions of Food Choice and Nutrition

The Special Issue “Food Choice and Nutrition” deals with the relationship between the food choices of different population groups or consumer segments and its impact on the nutritional status, improvement of dietary quality, food and nutrition-related behaviour, food preferences, taste education, sensory characteristics of foods and their role in consumer choice, etc [...

The Promotion of Eating Behaviour Change through Digital Interventions.

Diet-related chronic disease is a global health epidemic giving rise to a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. With the rise of the digital revolution, there has been increased interest in using digital technology for eating behavioural change as a mean of diet-related chronic disease prevention. However, evidence on digital dietary behaviour change is relatively scarce. To address this problem, this review considers the digital interventions currently being used in dietary behaviour change studies. A literature search was conducted in databases like PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Medline, and PsycInfo. Among 119 articles screened, 15 were selected for the study as they met all the inclusion criteria according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) search strategy. Four primary digital intervention methods were noted: use of personal digital assistants, use of the internet as an educational tool, use of video games and use of mobile phone applications. The efficiency of all the interventions increased when coupled with tailored feedback and counselling. It was established that the scalable and sustainable properties of digital interventions have the potential to bring about adequate changes in the eating behaviour of individuals. Further research should concentrate on the appropriate personalisation of the interventions, according to the requirements of the individuals, and proper integration of behaviour change techniques to motivate long-term adherence

Assessing the influence of visual-taste congruency on perceived sweetness and product liking in immersive VR

This study was designed to assess whether the combined effect of taste-congruent and incongruent extrinsic visual cues presented in virtual reality (VR) influences the perception of sweetness and product liking. Three VR environments (sweet-congruent, sweet-incongruent, and neutral) were created based on the evidence in existing literature. Participants tasted the same beverage in three VR environments and evaluated the environment and beverage liking, as well as perceived taste intensity (sweetness, sourness, and bitterness), congruency, comfort, and environment vividness. Frontal EEG alpha asymmetry (FAA) was also recorded as a complementary physiological measurement of overall liking. The results showed that the perceived sweetness of the beverage was significantly elevated in a sweet-congruent environment versus the other environments. Visual-taste congruency did not seem to have an effect on beverage liking and overall liking, whereas an increase in environment liking was found in the incongruent environment versus the other environments. These findings confirmed the significant influence of taste-specific visual cues on flavour perception, while the successful use of VR in the study provided insight into future applications of taste-specific VR environment in the modulation of flavour perception and sugar reduction

Familiarity and liking of vegetables: Is it important for vegetable consumption?

The results presented in this paper are part of the early findings from a large European study, VeggiEAT involving the UK, Denmark, France and Italy with the aim of improving vegetable consumption in young people and older people. The results presented here are from UK young people (aged 12–14) focusing on familiarity and liking of vegetables and looking at their vegetable consumption and awareness of what constitutes a healthy diet. The study adds to the literature on vegetable familiarity, liking and consumption in this age group. Early exposure of young children to a variety of vegetables is very important and parents/carers and school nurses need to understand the importance of this in terms of the foods offered and available early within a child`s life and the potential influence of this on vegetable consumption over their lifetime

Toasting time and cooking formulation affect browning reaction products development in corn flakes

During toasting, the last stage of corn flake production, Maillard reaction takes place, favored by the high temperature and low water content. The cooking formulation ingredients influence color and flavor of the final product and, therefore, consumer acceptance. However, some undesirable components are also formed. The impact of cooking formulation and toasting time on color development and on the formation of chemical markers was investigated. Samples (flakes) were equilibrated at water activity (aw) 0.8 and toasted at 230 ° C. After extraction of fluorescent pigments with pronase, fluorescence, absorbance at 420 nm, and furfurals analysis was performed. Sucrose showed a synergistic interaction with malt and salt. Formulation highly affected the amount of HMF and furfural formed. L* and a* were sensitive variables to measure overall browning reaction. These results allow for further understanding of the influence of formulation used during cooking and would help to mitigate the formation of undesirable compounds.EEA PergaminoFil: Cueto, Mario. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Industrias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); ArgentinaFil: Perez Burillo, Sergio. Universidad de Granada. Facultad de Farmacia. Departamento de Nutrición y Ciencias de los Alimentos; EspañaFil: Rufián Henares, José. Universidad de Granada. Facultad de Farmacia. Departamento de Nutrición y Ciencias de los Alimentos; EspañaFil: Farroni, Abel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino. Laboratorio de Calidad de Alimento, Suelos y Agua; ArgentinaFil: Buera, M. del Pilar. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Industrias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentin

Nudging using the ‘dish of the day’ strategy does not work for plant-based meals in a Danish sample of adolescent and older people

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Adequate nutrition is an important factor for health and well-being in adolescents and later years. Fruits and vegetables are part of a healthy diet as important source of nutrients, but their intakes are lower than the recommendations in European countries. This study aimed to compare the choices made by adolescents and older people between three similar dishes, one based on meat, one on fish and one on vegetables, in two different conditions: a neutral (control) situation and an intervention situation in which the vegetable-based meal was designated ‘dish of the day’. The comparisons of choices will be made within the same age group (adolescents in the control group vs. adolescents in the intervention group; older people in the control group vs. older people in the intervention group). A quasi-randomised field trial design was used with a sample of 94 adolescents (aged 10–19 years) and 97 older people (aged ≥65 years), who were randomly allocated to intervention or control groups. In the control situation participants were asked to choose between three similar meals, one meat, one fish and one the VeggiEat dish. In the intervention, the VeggiEat dish was labelled the ‘Dish of the day’. All dishes were provided free of charge, displayed side by side in the same order and served in same portions. The dish choices showed no differences between the control and intervention groups in both age groups, and no differences were found among the other variables analysed. This nudging strategy, ‘dish of the day’, seems not to work for the Danish sample of adolescents and older people. Future nudging studies with these populations are needed in order to find the best strategy to move adolescents' and older people's food habits toward a healthier pattern

A Systematic Review of Behavioural Interventions Promoting Healthy Eating among Older People.

Because eating habits are inseparably linked with people's physical health, effective behaviour interventions are highly demanded to promote healthy eating among older people. The aim of this systematic review was to identify effective diet interventions for older people and provide useful evidence and direction for further research. Three electronic bibliographic databases-PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection were used to conduct a systematic literature search based on fixed inclusion and exclusion criteria. English language peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2011 and 2016 were selected for data extraction and quality assessment. Finally, a total of 16 studies were identified. The studies' duration ranged from three weeks to seven years. The majority of studies were carried out in European countries. Seven studies had a moderate quality while the remaining studies were at a less than moderate level. Three dietary educational interventions and all meal service related interventions reported improvements in older people's dietary variety, nutrition status, or other health-related eating behaviours. Multicomponent dietary interventions mainly contributed to the reduction of risk of chronic disease. The results supported that older people could achieve a better dietary quality if they make diet-related changes by receiving either dietary education or healthier meal service. Further high-quality studies are required to promote healthy eating among older people by taking regional diet patterns, advanced information technology, and nudging strategies into account