Associations between eating occasion characteristics and age, gender, presence of children and BMI among U.S. adults.

OBJECTIVE: To describe how frequency and characteristics of traditional meal and non-meal occasions vary by age, gender, presence of children, and body mass index (BMI). DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey was administered to a national demographically balanced sample of adults via an online market research panel. SETTING: Online survey. SUBJECTS: Survey respondents were in the 18- to 80-year-old age range and had consumed any food or beverage at home or away from home the previous day. The sample included 2702 adults reporting on 6689 eating/drinking occasions. Most (80.3%) had no children at home; 43.5% were male and about two thirds were overweight/obese. MEASURES OF OUTCOME: Eating occasion characteristics and goals by age, gender, presence of children, and BMI. RESULTS: Older respondents were more likely to report planning traditional meal occasions and report on a breakfast occasion than younger respondents. Two prominent reasons that triggered consumption occasions were habit and hunger/thirst with one dominant benefit of satisfying hunger or thirst. Habit and nutrition played a larger role as a goal for eating occasions for older compared to younger respondents. When children were present in the household, respondents had a goal of connecting with "family, friends, or colleagues" at dinner compared to those without children. Few gender differences were noted; however, women more often reported goals of satisfying hunger/thirst and taste at lunch than men. BMI levels were related to a range of triggers, goals, and behaviors but not as prominently as the relationships observed with age. Those with BMI ≥ 30 were less health conscious regarding dinner and breakfast consumption compared to those with a lower BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Among demographic variables, age differences were noted in relation to eating occasion characteristics more often than other demographic characteristics or BMI. Understanding these differences can be beneficial in tailoring promotion of healthful intake at specific eating occasions for particular subgroups.

Fortification: new findings and implications.

This article reviews the current landscape regarding food fortification in the United States; the content is based on a workshop sponsored by the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute. Fortification of the food supply with vitamins and minerals is a public health strategy to enhance nutrient intakes of the population without increasing caloric intake. Many individuals in the United States would not achieve recommended micronutrient intakes without fortification of the food supply. The achievement and maintenance of a desirable level of nutritional quality in the nation's food supply is, thus, an important public health objective. While the addition of nutrients to foods can help maintain and improve the overall nutritional quality of diets, indiscriminate fortification of foods could result in overfortification or underfortification in the food supply and nutrient imbalances in the diets of individuals. Any changes in food fortification policy for micronutrients must be considered within the context of the impact they will have on all segments of the population and of food technology and safety applications and their limitations. This article discusses and evaluates the value of fortification, the success of current fortification efforts, and the future role of fortification in preventing or reversing nutrient inadequacies.

Energy balance at a crossroads: translating the science into action.

UNLABELLED: One of the major challenges facing the United States is the high number of overweight and obese adults and the growing number of overweight and unfit children and youth. To improve the nation's health, young people must move into adulthood without the burden of obesity and its associated chronic diseases. PURPOSE: To address these issues, the American College of Sports Medicine, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the US Department of Agriculture/Agriculture Research Service convened an expert panel meeting in October 2012 titled "Energy Balance at a Crossroads: Translating the Science into Action." Experts in the fields of nutrition and exercise science came together to identify the biological, lifestyle, and environmental changes that will most successfully help children and families attain and manage energy balance and tip the scale toward healthier weights. METHODS: Two goals were addressed: 1) professional training and 2) consumer/community education. The training goal focused on developing a comprehensive strategy to facilitate the integration of nutrition and physical activity (PA) using a dynamic energy balance approach for regulating weight into the training of undergraduate and graduate students in dietetics/nutrition science, exercise science/PA, and pre-K-12 teacher preparation programs and in training existing cooperative extension faculty. The education goal focused on developing strategies for integrating dynamic energy balance into nutrition and PA educational programs for the public, especially programs funded by federal/state agencies. RESULTS: The meeting expert presenters and participants addressed three key areas: 1) biological and lifestyle factors that affect energy balance, 2) undergraduate/graduate educational and training issues, and 3) best practices associated with educating the public about dynamic energy balance. CONCLUSIONS: Specific consensus recommendations were developed for each goal.