Household food insecurity: a systematic review of the measuring instruments used in epidemiological studies.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review aimed at identifying and characterizing the experience-based household food security scales and to synthesize their psychometric properties. DESIGN: Search in the MEDLINE, LILACS and SciELO databases, using the descriptors ('food insecurity' OR 'food security') AND ('questionnaires' OR 'scales' OR 'validity' OR 'reliability'). There was no limitation on the period of publication. All articles had their titles and abstracts analysed by two reviewers. The studies of interest were read in their entirety and the relevant information extracted using a standard form. RESULTS: The initial bibliographic search identified 299 articles. Of these, the 159 that seemed to meet the criteria for inclusion were read fully. After consultation of the bibliographic references of these articles, twenty articles and five documents were added, as they satisfied the previously determined criteria for inclusion. Twenty-four different instruments were identified; all were brief and of easy application. The majority were devised in the USA. Forty-seven references reported results of psychometric studies. The instruments that presented the highest number of psychometric studies were the Core Food Security Measurement/Household Food Security Survey Module (CFSM/HFSSM) and the Self-Perceived Household Food Security Scale. CONCLUSIONS: There are a number of structured scales available in the literature for characterization of household food insecurity. However, despite some psychometric studies already existing about the majority of the instruments, it is observed that, except for the studies of the CFSM/HFSSM, these are still restricted to appraisal of a few aspects of reliability and validity.

A High-Fat Diet Induces Lower Systemic Inflammation than a High-Carbohydrate Diet in Mice.

Background: We previously established that male Swiss mice (Mus musculus) receiving a high-fat diet (HFD) during 8 weeks exhibit similar caloric ingestion and body weight (grams) compared with mice fed a high-carbohydrate diet (HCD). HFD mice exhibit a lower inflammatory state than an HCD in the liver, skeletal muscle, and brain. In addition, we demonstrated that HFD and HCD modulated fatty acids (FA) composition in these tissues. In this study, our objective was to compare HFD mice and HCD mice in terms of systemic inflammation. Methods: Saturated FA (SFA), monounsaturated FA, omega-6 polyunsaturated FA (n-6 PUFA), and n-3 PUFA were evaluated at the time points 0, 1, 7, 14, 28, and 56 days after starting the administration of the diets. We investigated n-6 PUFA:n-3 PUFA, SFA:n-3 PUFA, palmitic acid:α-linolenic acid (ALA), and myristic acid:docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ratios as potential serum biomarkers of systemic inflammation. We also measured the serum levels of basic fibroblast growth factor, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), inducible protein 10 (IP-10), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17, macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1-α), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), monokine induced by IFN-γ (MIG), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Results: The HFD group had lower (P < 0.05) n-6 PUFA:n-3 PUFA, palmitic acid:ALA, myristic acid:DHA ratios, and lower plasma levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, MIG, GM-CSF, and IL-6). Conclusion: The HFD mice showed lower systemic inflammation compared with a caloric ingestion-body weight-matched control HCD mice.

Comparação de dois programas computacionais utilizados na estimativa do consumo alimentar de crianças / Comparison of two nutrition software applications used to estimate food intake of children

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a concordância entre dois programas computacionais de análise do consumo alimentar de crianças de 6 a 30 meses. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Foram selecionadas 100 crianças de 6 a 30 meses de idade entre 407 crianças cujas mães responderam o recordatório de 24 horas em visitas domiciliares. Foram comparados: 1) as gramaturas das medidas caseiras dos 10 alimentos mais consumidos entre os dois programas e em relação a uma tabela de pesos e medidas nacional; 2) os valores médios do consumo de consumo de energia e nutrientes. A análise estatística foi feita através do coeficiente de correlação de Spearman e metodologia descrita por Bland & Altman. RESULTADOS: Foram observadas diferenças entre as gramaturas em relação à medida caseira correspondente para quase todos os alimentos selecionados. Comparando as médias de consumo entre os dois programas, observamos maior correlação entre o consumo de carboidratos (r=0,81) e menor correlação para o consumo de zinco (r=0,52). As médias de consumo de energia e de macronutrientes pelo programa Virtual Nutri foram superiores aos valores obtidos pelo NutWin, enquanto que para o consumo de micronutrientes observamos valores superiores na análise pelo program NutWin. O consumo de vitamina C e retinol revelou diferença reduzida entre os programas. CONCLUSÃO: Os programas selecionados para análise do consumo dietético infantil apresentam diferenças quanto às gramaturas utilizadas, que se refletem através das diferenças na estimava de energia e nutrientes consumidos.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the agreement between two nutrition software applications frequently used to estimate food intake in children from 6 to 30 months of age. METHODS: One hundred children, from 6 to 30 months, were sampled from 407 children, whose mothers answered a 24-hour recall. Interviews took place in the households. Sizes of portions for the 10 most frequently consumed foods were compared based on both software applications. Portion sizes in each software application were compared to the national table of portion sizes. Estimated energy intake and nutrients were also analyzed. The statistical analysis was conducted using the Spearman correlation coefficient and the Bland & Altman method. RESULTS: There were great differences between portion sizes in each software application in relation to the corresponding portion size in the national table for almost all foods selected. Comparing the mean intake between the two software applications, the greatest correlation was between carbohydrates (r=0.81) and the smallest correlation was observed for zinc (r=0.52). The mean energy intake and macronutrient intake by the Virtual Nutri program were higher than values based on the NutWin application. On the other hand, values of micronutrient intake were higher on the NutWin software. The two software applications differed slightly on the intakes of vitamin C and retinol. CONCLUSION: The choice of software application may play an important role when estimating the food intake of children, both in relation to portion sizes and also because of food composition tables.