Associations of sugar-related food parenting practices and parental feeding styles with prospective dietary behavior of children and adolescents: a systematic review of the literature from 2017 to 2023.

Introduction: High consumption of sugar-rich foods and beverages has been associated with increased overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Dietary behavior is influenced by learned mechanisms that originate in childhood and is associated with food parenting practices (FPP) and parental feeding styles (PFS). This systematic review aimed to narratively synthesize FPP and PFS concerning sugar-rich foods and beverages and their associations with the prospective dietary behavior of children and adolescents to derive evidence-based recommendations for health professionals and parents to promote healthy behaviors. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed and Web of Science databases covering the publication years 2017-2023. The results were narratively synthesized, and exposure-outcome matrices were used for visual representation. The review included 15 peer-reviewed studies from different geographical regions that investigated FPP or PFS regarding the handling of sugar-rich foods and beverages in children's diets and reported the associations with the prospective dietary behavior of children and adolescents. Results: The findings indicate that highly controlling parental practices were associated with the development of unhealthy eating behaviors and preferences for sugar-rich foods and beverages over time. Conversely, parental practices that emphasized structure and balance in dietary choices yielded more positive long-term outcomes, associated with reduced preferences for sugar-rich foods and drinks. Discussion: The results underscore the significance of fostering a healthy home environment and active parental role modeling in promoting healthier dietary behaviors among children and adolescents.

Exploring food poverty experiences in the German Twitter-Sphere.

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the subjective perceptions of food poverty in Germany by analysing Twitter discourse using the German-language hashtag #IchBinArmutsbetroffen (#IamPovertyAffected) and examines the extent to which various dimensions of a multidimensional theoretical model of food poverty are represented in the discourse. METHODS: Employing a combination of computational social science and qualitative social research methods, the research identifies, and analyses tweets related to nutrition by applying a hierarchical dictionary search and qualitative content analysis. By examining the narratives and statements of individuals affected by food poverty, the study also investigates the interplay among different subdimensions of this phenomenon. RESULTS: The analysis of 1,112 tweets revealed that 57.96% focused on the material dimension and 42.04% on the social dimension of food poverty, suggesting a relatively balanced emphasis on material and social aspects of food poverty in the narratives of those affected. The findings reveal that tweets on material food poverty underscore economic challenges and resource scarcity for food. Social food poverty tweets demonstrate widespread deprivation in social participation, leading to isolation, exclusion, and social network loss. Overall, the results elucidate intricate interconnections among subdimensions and multidimensional manifestations of food poverty. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes methodologically by presenting an approach for extracting food-related textual social media data and empirically by providing novel insights into the perceptions and multifaceted manifestations of food poverty in Germany. The results can aid in a better understanding of the phenomenon of food poverty as it currently manifests in Germany, and in developing targeted social, health-promoting, and political measures that address more effectively the empirically evident multidimensionality of the phenomenon.

Drivers of consumer food choices of multinational corporations' products over local foods in Ghana: a maximum difference scaling study.

INTRODUCTION: The fundamental transformation of food systems and retail environments in low-income countries is influencing consumers' food choices and dietary habits in unfavourable directions through the consumption of highly processed, energy-dense foods, predominantly manufactured by multinational food corporations. This study aims to identify the principal factors driving consumers' preference for multinational foods over local foods in the urban Accra region of Ghana. METHOD: This cross-sectional survey involving a random sample of 200 consumers conducted in March/April 2023 using interviewer-administered questionnaires employed a maximum difference scaling approach to investigate the drivers of urban Ghanaian consumer food choices for multinational food corporations' products over local foods. The maximum difference scaling modelling analysis utilized in this study identifies the primary drivers of multinational food corporations' product preferences and the associated trade-offs. RESULT: The study discovered that food quality and safe packaging, perceived healthiness, taste and flavour, and nutritional value were the most significant factors driving consumer preference for multinational food corporations' products over local foods in Ghana. The criterion food quality and safe packaging had the significantly highest utility than all other attributes in terms of consumer preference for products/meals from multinational food corporations over local foods. CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide significant contributions to the existing body of research, as previous studies have not identified these factors as primary drivers of multinational food products. Public health authorities and nutritionists can use the study's findings to implement targeted quality assurance measures in local markets and to address the drivers in health education campaigns.

Exploring the Linkages of Digital Food Communication and Analog Food Behavior: A Scoping Review.

The linkages of digital food communication on social media platforms and analog food behavior of social media users are widely discussed in media and research, but less differentiated. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the research field, the scientific studies are characterized by great heterogeneity in approaching the role of communication and modelling of food behavior, and thus also the conclusions on how digital food communication might be linked to analog food behavior. There is still much uncertainty regarding the relationship and underlying assumptions between digital communication and analog action. The rationale of this scoping review is to systematically summarize the findings of this heterogeneous body of knowledge. The importance and originality of this review are that it focuses explicitly on studies that provide insights into the nexus of digital food communication and analog food behavior, be it in the theoretical foundation, the results, or their interpretation. It draws on a socio-ecological model of food behavior that depicts food behavior variables in different domains and uses a differentiated categorization of food behavior (food choice, dietary intake, and eating behavior) to synthesize the results. Using the Web of Science and PubMed databases, 267 abstracts were identified and screened, of which 20 articles met the inclusion criteria and were selected for full-text analysis. The review offers some important insights on how different variables of the socio-ecological model of food behavior are related to digital food communication and different areas of analog food behavior. This review provides a more discerning understanding of which aspects of analog food behavior may be linked to social media food communication and in which ways. Implications are derived to reflect the role of communication in previous models of food behavior by adding a more nuanced and cross-cutting understanding of food communication.

A scoping review of the social dimensions in food insecurity and poverty assessments.

Food poverty is a phenomenon that is currently receiving increasing social attention in both the Global South and the Global North. It is often equated with food insecurity, for which numerous assessment tools and reports exist. However, only limited specific data can be found on food poverty. Starting from a theoretical concept of food poverty, this article examines in a scoping review which dimensions of food poverty are captured by indices and indicators of food insecurity and general poverty assessments. The review focuses particularly on the social dimension of food poverty and points out that it is under-reported and that no adequate assessment tools exist so far. Existing indices and indicators of food insecurity and general poverty assessments are critically reviewed and suggestions for the assessment of social food poverty for policy and practice derived.