Factors Affecting the Body Mass Index in Adolescents in Portuguese Schools

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children is increasing; hence, it was aimed to assess the Body Mass Index (BMI) in school children aged from 10 to 18 years for girls and to 17 for boys, as well as to identify the factors influencing BMI. This study included 742 students who answered a questionnaire previously approved for application in schools. The results showed some sociodemographic factors associated with BMI classes: age, school year, practicing high competition sport, being federate in a sport or having a vegetarian diet. The educational factors associated with BMI classes included only seminars given at school by a nutritionist. Behavioural factors significantly associated with BMI included: learning in classes, playing in the open air, reading books or use of internet. As conclusion, the results demonstrated that several factors affect BMI, and hence some actions could be taken in order to change them so as to reduce the prevalence of overweight, namely reinforcing the role of school and a more active participation of nutritionists in the education of the adolescents

Romanian Population Perception about Food Risk Behavior Starting from their Social and Cultural Profile

Our goal was to assess the Romanian’s food behavior according to their socio-cultural profile, in order to identify food behavior at risk and implement educational prevention methods. We performed a study based on the assessment of lifestyle and social aspects, based on an international project validated questionnaire of 26 questions, applied online in 2018 to a group of 821 adults, in Romania. The results underlined that socio-economic status was a contributing factor in food choices, people with low socio-economic status opted for low-price food, especially the elderly (40%). Regarding the preference for eating alone related to gender, both the female respondents (37.8%) and the males (50.6%) mostly disagreed, with statistical significance for males (p<0.022), also males were more influenced about what other people are eating (p<0.045). It is needed to implement new educational strategies, both in schools and adults communities, in order to reduce the risks for future chronic diseases

Food behavior, social aspects and nutritional status in Romania

George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology, Targu Mures, Romania, CI&DETS/CERNAS Research Centres, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Campus Politécnico, Viseu, PortugalIntroduction. Health status is directly linked with nutritional status, life style and food behaviour. There are 4 Health Indicators: Health Conscience, Health Information Orientation, Health-Oriented Beliefs, and Healthy Activities. People who are health conscious have a positive attitude towards preventive measures such as healthy eating. Health information refers to the extent to which an individual is willing to seek health information. At the cognitive level, health orientation is manifested in the field of health beliefs, which refers to the specific cognitions held by individuals about health behaviors. Also, health-oriented individuals are more likely to engage in healthy activities than other people in the population. The four aspects of the health orientation mentioned suggest the differences between individuals in the context of their sources of information in the health field. Our aim was to evaluate connections between social characteristics, nutritional status data and food behaviour, in a Romanian population sample. Material and methods. We followed a qualitative cross-sectional study based on screening of 751 Romanian adults from different regions of our country, which was carried out in 2018. We used a validated questionnaire from an international project, based on 26 specific questions, filled in online, regarding their nutritional and social data completed by their attitudes and information towards food behaviour. In our group, 68.7% were women, one quarter had over 50 years old, 82.3% were from urban areas and almost 2/3rds were higly educated. Results. We obtained a positive correlation between demographic parameters and the BMI, also healthy food behaviors were more frequent at women versus man. On the opposite, the confidence of men upon the information about healthy eating from the internet was higher than that of women. The number of hours/day spent watching TV or in front of the computer was positively correlated with age and also with their BMI. A high education level was significantly positively associated with healthier choices regarding nutrition practices. Health status in relation with nutritional status showed us that the most concerned group for their diet was those who suffered from different pathologies especially cardiovascular disorders. We obtained no significant associations among BMI, environment, current professional activity, responsibility for eating, and physical activity. Conclusions. Nutritionists, specialists in medicine, and food stakeholders should promote healthy diets through adequate sources of information aimed at target groups. Multidisciplinary teams should develop a more efficient strategy to motivate people to make healthy eating choices and improve population food behavior

Influence of sociodemographic factors on eating motivations - modelling through artificial neural networks (ANN)

This study aimed at investigating the influence of some sociodemographic factors on the eating motivations. A longitudinal study was carried conducted with 11960 participants from 16 countries. Data analysis included t-test for independent samples or ANOVA, and neural network models were also created, to relate the input and output variables. Results showed that factors like age, marital status, country, living environment, level of education or professional area significantly influenced all of the studied types of eating motivations. Neural networks modelling indicated variability in the food choices, but identifying some trends, for example the strongest positive factor determining health motivations was age, while for emotional motivations was living environment, and for economic and availability motivations was gender. On the other hand, country revealed a high positive influence for the social and cultural as well as for environmental and political and also for marketing and commercial motivations.This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Guine, R. P. F.; Ferrao, A. C.; Ferreira, M.; Correia, P.; Mendes, M.; Bartkiene, E.; Szucs, V.; Tarcea, M.; Matek-Sarić, M.; Cernelić-Bizjak, M.; Isoldi, K.; EL-Kenawy, A.; Ferreira, V.; Klava, D.; Korzeniowska, M.; Vittadini, E.; Leal, M.; Frez-Munoz, L.; Papageorgiou, M.; Djekić, I. Influence of Sociodemographic Factors on Eating Motivations - Modelling through Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 2020, 71 (5), 614–627. [https://doi.org/10.1080/09637486.2019.1695758]

Can we understand food oral processing using Kano model? Case study with confectionery products

This study had two objectives, to determine oral processing parameters and its correlation with mechanical properties of selected confectionery products and to categorize oral processing and sensory attributes based on a Kano model. Thirteen panelists analyzed five confectionery products in the oral processing part of the study. In parallel, 327 interviews participated in a field survey to enable analyzing responses to food quality and oral processing attributes. It has been confirmed that oral processing parameters are interrelated with most of the mechanical properties of confectionery products. Average number of bites is correlated with consumption time per bite, chewing rate, and bite size. Consumption time and chewing rate were negatively correlated for Brownie cake. Satiation was associated with eating rate and calorie intake rate for Jelly Candy and Waffle. All food quality requirements were categorized as "attractive" and "one-dimensional." Oral processing parameters-food breakdown and eating rate are aligned to "attractive" category, bite size was identified as a "must-be" category, and number of chews is outlined as a "reverse" category. The Kano model results show that oral processing parameters have a strong influence on consumer satisfaction in parallel with well-known sensorial characteristics associated with food quality

Sources of information about dietary fibre: a cross-sectional survey of 1034 respondents from across Croatia

Nutritional knowledge and attitudes are important for the consumption of healthy food. Well-informed consumers could have a higher chance to select food rich in nutrients like dietary fibre (DF), which is recognized as one of the major determinants for the improvement of health. Due to that reason, health institutions (health centres and hospitals); media (radio, television and internet); education institutions (schools) and education materials (books and magazines) as main sources of information through which people become aware or acquire knowledge of DF, were considered. Cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2014 to March 2015 on a non-probabilistic sample of 1034 participants from Croatia. The instrument was a questionnaire of self-response, aimed at collecting information on knowledge, attitudes and sources about DF. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS 22.0 software considering a level of significance of 5%. The internet, the preferred source of information, got the highest scores for urban areas, university level of education and for female gender. The radio, the least scored source of information, was preferred by men and with lower education (primary school). People get most information through the internet due to easy access, but it could be detected as a possible risk given the impossibility to control information made public on the internet. It is very important to increase the impact of health centres and schools as adequately controlled public health informing sources

Consumers’ Trust in Greek Traditional Foods in the Post COVID-19 Era

We are entering a new, unprecedented global economic and social era following the COVID-19 pandemic, in which there will be opportunities and threats for the goods and services provided. Traditional foods (TFs) could have their chances in the new food chain which will be developed, as long as they become the food of choice for the consumers of the future. This paper investigates consumers’ trust in Greek TFs, and northwest Greek TFs, in order to assess their potential consumption in the new economy. Trust was tested using the variables of safety, healthiness, sustainability, authenticity and taste, assessing consumers’ confidence and satisfaction with the TFs, their raw materials, and the technologies used for their production. A self-response questionnaire survey was carried out in May and June 2021 on a sample of 548 participants through the Google platform. In order to analyze the data, basic descriptive statistical tools were used, combined with crosstabs and chi-square tests. The results show that the participants trust the Greek TFs because they “strongly agree” by an average of 20%, and “agree” by an average of 50% that they are safe, healthy, sustainable, authentic and tasty. A similar pattern was recorded for the regional northwest Greek TFs as well. These results indicate that TFs could be the food of choice because they bear consumers’ trust in the coming “new normality”, where trust will be a major factor of choice for the purchase of goods and services

Practicile românilor privind sursele de informații despre dietele sănătoase

University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology from Targu-Mures, Romania, Victus Dietitian cabinet, Targu-Mures, Romania, CI&DETS/CERNAS Research Centre’s, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, PortugalAims: To monitored the Romanian’s preferred sources of information as regards to a healthy diet, in order to establish Romanian profile and implement in future community intervention educational projects. Materials and Methods. Our study was based on the assessment of lifestyle, food preferences and risky behaviors, to a sample of 821 healthy adults from Romania, starting with a consented questionnaire of 26 questions, applied online, in 2018. Results. We explored the main sources for nutritional information and the level of trust in these sources, in a group of Romanian population, evaluated by age, gender, background, education and current professional activity. The most used sources of information by Romanians in the increasing order of frequency were: radio (14,6%), medical field (16,9%), school discussions (21,8%), family and friends (29,5%), TV (30,8%), magazines, books, newspapers (34,6%), Internet (47,5%); the most interested were educated young women from urban areas, with interest in healthy diets. Conclusion. Nutritionists and physicians should promote healthy diet through adequate sources of information, using more eLearning methods and aimed to target risk behavior populational groups

Romanian knowledge and attitudes regarding dietary fibers

Introduction: Presently, the scientists recognize the health benefits of food fibers in the menu and also plant food sources are at high interest both for general population and food companies. The food companies are responsible for a clear nutrition labelling that will assist consumers to make informed and healthy choices and health providers has to inform the population about the benefits of fibers. The aim of our study was to evaluate the Romanian knowledge and attitudes regarding dietary fibers from food products. Materials and methods: We made a qualitative survey based on a questionnaire applied in 2015, over a period of 6 months, over 670 Romanian consumers. It was focused on testing the attitudes and knowledge towards ingestion of foods rich in fibers. For all data analysis we used the software SPSS, from IBM Inc. Results and Discussions: Our results showed that the knowledge about dietary fibers and also the ingestion of food products rich in fibers were low, and most of the subjects didn’t have any interest to read the nutritional information from food labels related to fibers. The female participants ate more whole grains and fruits than males and pay more attention to food labelling, the Romanian people prefer to stay and eat home than at restaurants especially in rural areas, and the knowledge about fibers benefits was significantly related to education and urban location. Conclusion: We underline the needs for more efficient community interventions and proper information about the importance of dietary fibers for our health and also to improve and disseminate our nutritional standards and diet recommendation among population

Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Sensory Properties, and Emotions Induced for the Consumers of Nutraceutical Beverages Developed from Technological Functionalised Food Industry By-Products

This study aims to develop nutraceutical beverages containing food processing by-products in their formulation, and determine the opinion of consumers. This is done by testing whether they know that the main ingredients of the product are by-products, performing an overall acceptability test of the developed beverages, and evaluating the emotions induced by the newly developed beverages for consumers. The main ingredients used for the preparation of added-value beverages were fermented milk permeate (containing galactooligosaccharides), extruded and fermented wheat bran (WB) (containing ≥6.0 log10 CFU g−1 viable antimicrobial properties showing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains), and different fruit/berry by-products (FBB) (as a source of compounds showing antioxidant properties). The definition of the quantities of bioactive ingredients was based on the overall acceptability of the prepared beverages, as well as on emotions induced in consumers by the tested beverages. Functional properties of the developed beverages were proofed by the evaluation of their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, as well as viable LAB count during storage. Desirable changes in extruded and fermented WB were obtained: Fermentation reduced sugar concentration and pH in samples with predominant lactic acid isomer L(+). In addition, the viable LAB count in the substrate was higher than 6.0 log10 CFU g−1, and no enterobacteria remained. By comparing the overall acceptability of the beverages enriched with WB, the highest overall acceptability was shown for the samples prepared with 10 g of the extruded and fermented WB (7.9 points). FBB showed desirable antimicrobial activity: Shepherd inhibited—2, sea buckthorn—3, blueberries—5, and raspberries—7 pathogens from the 10 tested. Comparing different beverage groups prepared with different types of FBB, in most cases (except sea buckthorn), by increasing FBB content the beverages overall acceptability [...]