Grandparental dietary provision, feeding practices and feeding styles when caring for preschool-aged grandchildren: A systematic mixed methods review.

Grandparents are frequently relied upon to care for their preschool-aged grandchildren. These early years are a crucial age in the development of dietary habits and preferences. This review aims to determine grandparental dietary provision, feeding practices and feeding styles when caring for their preschool-aged grandchildren. Medline, PsycInfo and Web of Science were searched in January 2020. A systematic mixed methods approach was used to synthesize the qualitative (n = 13) and quantitative (n = 7) articles describing grandparents' feeding styles (n = 9), feeding practices (n = 14) and dietary provision (n = 18). Grandparents are serving large portion sizes and encouraging their grandchildren to eat frequently. Results are mixed for the types of foods provided; grandparents provide discretionary foods high in sugar and fat, and some also choose more expensive core foods as treats (e.g., berries). Grandparents engage in feeding practices that promote healthy eating (e.g., creating a healthy feeding environment) and promote autonomy and independence (e.g., considering their grandchild's preferences). However, they also use some coercive feeding practices (e.g., using food as a reward) and may be using indulgent feeding styles, which can be conducive to obesogenic dietary intakes. Interventions targeting grandparents could be an effective way to improve dietary-related health outcomes in young children

The feasibility and acceptability of two methods ofsnack portion control in United Kingdom (UK) preschool children: reduction and replacement.

Large portions of high energy dense (HED) snacks are offered to children from a young age and are pervasive in our food environment. This study aimed to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of two strategies of snack portion control: reduction and replacement. Forty-six mother-child dyads aged 22⁻56 months (36.6 ± 9.5 m, 48% female) completed a three-week intervention. In week 1 (baseline) no changes were made to the child's diet; week 2 (acclimation) children received a standardised selection of HED snacks, and in week 3 (intervention) participants were randomly assigned to snack replacement (n = 24) or snack reduction (n = 22). Snack replacement involved swapping HED snacks for fruits and vegetables, whilst snack reduction involved reducing the size of HED snacks by 50%. Food and energy intake were measured using a weighed food diary for four consecutive days. Snack replacement resulted in more positive changes to children's diets; vegetable intake increased (p < 0.01), and total daily energy intake decreased when compared to snack reduction (p < 0.05). Mothers expressed a more favourable attitude to snack replacement, although snack reduction was also well received by mothers. Despite increased preliminary efficacy of snack replacement on dietary intake, both strategies were feasible and acceptable. The current pilot study provides the necessary information to inform the design of future interventions

Understanding the science of portion control and the art of downsizing

Offering large portions of high-energy-dense (HED) foods increases overall intake in children and adults. This is known as the portion size effect (PSE). It is robust, reliable and enduring. Over time, the PSE may facilitate overeating and ultimately positive energy balance. Therefore, it is important to understand what drives the PSE and what might be done to counter the effects of an environment promoting large portions, especially in children. Explanations for the PSE are many and diverse, ranging from consumer error in estimating portion size to simple heuristics such as cleaning the plate or eating in accordance with consumption norms. However, individual characteristics and hedonic processes influence the PSE, suggesting a more complex explanation than error or heuristics. Here PSE studies are reviewed to identify interventions that can be used to downsize portions of HED foods, with a focus on children who are still learning about social norms for portion size. Although the scientific evidence for the PSE is robust, there is still a need for creative downsizing solutions to facilitate portion control as children and adolescents establish their eating habits

Learning to Eat Vegetables in Early Life: The Role of Timing, Age and Individual Eating Traits

Vegetable intake is generally low among children, who appear to be especially fussy during the pre-school years. Repeated exposure is known to enhance intake of a novel vegetable in early life but individual differences in response to familiarisation have emerged from recent studies. In order to understand the factors which predict different responses to repeated exposure, data from the same experiment conducted in three groups of children from three countries (n = 332) aged 4–38 m (18.9±9.9 m) were combined and modelled. During the intervention period each child was given between 5 and 10 exposures to a novel vegetable (artichoke puree) in one of three versions (basic, sweet or added energy). Intake of basic artichoke puree was measured both before and after the exposure period. Overall, younger children consumed more artichoke than older children. Four distinct patterns of eating behaviour during the exposure period were defined. Most children were “learners” (40%) who increased intake over time. 21% consumed more than 75% of what was offered each time and were labelled “plate-clearers”. 16% were considered “non-eaters” eating less than 10 g by the 5th exposure and the remainder were classified as “others” (23%) since their pattern was highly variable. Age was a significant predictor of eating pattern, with older pre-school children more likely to be non-eaters. Plate-clearers had higher enjoyment of food and lower satiety responsiveness than non-eaters who scored highest on food fussiness. Children in the added energy condition showed the smallest change in intake over time, compared to those in the basic or sweetened artichoke condition. Clearly whilst repeated exposure familiarises children with a novel food, alternative strategies that focus on encouraging initial tastes of the target food might be needed for the fussier and older pre-school children

A protocol for an intercomparison of biodiversity and ecosystem services models using harmonized land-use and climate scenarios

To support the assessments of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the IPBES Expert Group on Scenarios and Models is carrying out an intercomparison of biodiversity and ecosystem services models using harmonized scenarios (BES-SIM). The goals of BES-SIM are (1) to project the global impacts of land-use and climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services (i.e., nature's contributions to people) over the coming decades, compared to the 20th century, using a set of common metrics at multiple scales, and (2) to identify model uncertainties and research gaps through the comparisons of projected biodiversity and ecosystem services across models. BES-SIM uses three scenarios combining specific Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)-SSP1xRCP2.6, SSP3xRCP6.0, SSP5xRCP8.6-to explore a wide range of land-use change and climate change futures. This paper describes the rationale for scenario selection, the process of harmonizing input data for land use, based on the second phase of the Land Use Harmonization Project (LUH2), and climate, the biodiversity and ecosystem services models used, the core simulations carried out, the harmonization of the model output metrics, and the treatment of uncertainty. The results of this collaborative modeling project will support the ongoing global assessment of IPBES, strengthen ties between IPBES and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios and modeling processes, advise the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on its development of a post-2020 strategic plans and conservation goals, and inform the development of a new generation of nature-centred scenarios

Colour as a cue to eat : effects of plate colour on snack intake in pre-school children

Environmental cues, such as the colour of food and dishware, have been shown to influence food and drink consumption in adult populations. This proof of concept study investigated whether plate colour could be utilised as a strategy to reduce intake of high energy density (HED) snacks and increase intake of low energy density (LED) snacks in pre-school children. In a between and within-subjects design, children were randomly assigned to either a control group (no colour message) or intervention group (received a colour message: red = stop, green = go) and were provided a snack at nursery on three occasions on differently coloured plates (red, green and white), for each snack type (HED, LED). Snack intake, colour preference, colour association, and anthropometrics were recorded for each child. The results showed that there was no effect of group (control vs intervention) on HED (p=0.540) and LED intake (p=0.575). No effect of plate colour on HED (p=0.147) or LED snack intake (p=0.505) was evident. Combining red and green plates for a chromatic versus achromatic comparison showed that there was no significant effect of chromatic plate on HED (p=0.0503) and LED (p=0.347) intakes. Despite receiving a brief learning intervention, the use of plate colour was found in the present study to be an ineffective strategy to control snack food intake in pre-school aged children. Rather, we suggest that food intake in young children may best be predicted by portion size, energy density and eating behaviour traits

Creative destruction in science

Drawing on the concept of a gale of creative destruction in a capitalistic economy, we argue that initiatives to assess the robustness of findings in the organizational literature should aim to simultaneously test competing ideas operating in the same theoretical space. In other words, replication efforts should seek not just to support or question the original findings, but also to replace them with revised, stronger theories with greater explanatory power. Achieving this will typically require adding new measures, conditions, and subject populations to research designs, in order to carry out conceptual tests of multiple theories in addition to directly replicating the original findings. To illustrate the value of the creative destruction approach for theory pruning in organizational scholarship, we describe recent replication initiatives re-examining culture and work morality, working parents\u2019 reasoning about day care options, and gender discrimination in hiring decisions. Significance statement It is becoming increasingly clear that many, if not most, published research findings across scientific fields are not readily replicable when the same method is repeated. Although extremely valuable, failed replications risk leaving a theoretical void\u2014 reducing confidence the original theoretical prediction is true, but not replacing it with positive evidence in favor of an alternative theory. We introduce the creative destruction approach to replication, which combines theory pruning methods from the field of management with emerging best practices from the open science movement, with the aim of making replications as generative as possible. In effect, we advocate for a Replication 2.0 movement in which the goal shifts from checking on the reliability of past findings to actively engaging in competitive theory testing and theory building. Scientific transparency statement The materials, code, and data for this article are posted publicly on the Open Science Framework, with links provided in the article

Megadroughts in the Common Era and the Anthropocene

Exceptional drought events, known as megadroughts, have occurred on every continent outside Antarctica over the past ~2,000 years, causing major ecological and societal disturbances. In this Review, we discuss shared causes and features of Common Era (Year 1–present) and future megadroughts. Decadal variations in sea surface temperatures are the primary driver of megadroughts, with secondary contributions from radiative forcing and land–atmosphere interactions. Anthropogenic climate change has intensified ongoing megadroughts in south-western North America and across Chile and Argentina. Future megadroughts will be substantially warmer than past events, with this warming driving projected increases in megadrought risk and severity across many regions, including western North America, Central America, Europe and the Mediterranean, extratropical South America, and Australia. However, several knowledge gaps currently undermine confidence in understanding past and future megadroughts. These gaps include a paucity of high-resolution palaeoclimate information over Africa, tropical South America and other regions; incomplete representations of internal variability and land surface processes in climate models; and the undetermined capacity of water-resource management systems to mitigate megadrought impacts. Addressing these deficiencies will be crucial for increasing confidence in projections of future megadrought risk and for resiliency planning