Consumption of Foods Away from Home Is Associated with Lower Diet Quality Among Adults Living in Puerto Rico.

BACKGROUND: Consuming foods away from home (FAFH) is ubiquitous, yet, it is unclear how it influences diet in diverse populations. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to evaluate the association between frequency and type of consumption of FAFH and diet quality. DESIGN: The study had a cross-sectional design. Participants self-reported the frequency of consuming FAFH as "rarely" (≤1 time per week) vs "frequently" (≥2 times per week) at various commercial establishments or noncommercial FAFH (ie, friends' or relatives' homes). PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: Participants were adults (aged 30 through 75 years) from the PRADLAD (Puerto Rico Assessment of Diet, Lifestyle, and Diseases) study conducted in San Juan, Puerto Rico metro area (n = 239) in 2015. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A validated food frequency questionnaire captured dietary intake. The Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 defined diet quality. Secondary outcomes included whether participants met 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations for sodium, added sugars, saturated fat, dietary fiber, total energy, and alcohol. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Linear or logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, employment, income, education, and food insufficiency tested differences in mean Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 scores or odds of meeting (vs not meeting) intake recommendations by FAFH type and frequency. RESULTS: Overall, 54.4% and 37.2% of participants reported consuming commercial FAFH and noncommercial FAFH "frequently," respectively. Consuming FAFH "frequently" (vs "rarely") was associated with lower mean Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 scores for both commercial FAFH (57.92 vs 63.58; P = .001) and noncommercial FAFH (56.22 vs 62.32; P < .001). Consuming commercial FAFH "frequently" (vs "rarely") at any type of food establishment was associated with lower odds of meeting the dietary fiber Dietary Reference Intakes (odds ratio 0.43; 95% CI 0.23 to 0.81). Consuming noncommercial FAFH "frequently" was associated with lower odds of meeting recommendations for sodium (odds ratio 0.30; 95% CI 0.11 to 0.79) and added sugars (odds ratio 0.41; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.93). CONCLUSIONS: Frequent consumption of FAFH is associated with lower diet quality and lower adherence to dietary recommendations in Puerto Rico. Future studies should explore whether diet quality can be improved by prioritizing healthy at-home meals and reformulating the quality of commercial FAFH.

The Role of Food and Beverage Companies in Transforming Food Systems: Building Resilience at Multiple Scales.

Food and beverage companies are increasingly aware of the risks posed by climate change and many are interested in addressing them by building resilience along their supply chains. Financial incentives for environmental, social, and governance criteria further motivate mitigation action by firms. To achieve sustainable outcomes, human and ecological systems must be managed for resilience. The scientific community and food and beverage firms must collaborate in the development of measurable and verifiable indicators that support adaptation and mitigation action along food supply chains. This article identifies 3 areas in which a synergistic progress would set a resilient trajectory toward sustainability: 1) incentives for sustainable intensification, 2) expanded reporting standards, and 3) pre-competitive collaborations. Incremental, clear, and measurable steps can be taken to adapt food supply chains to the pressing challenges imposed by climate change, mitigate further emissions, and bring producers and consumers along in the journey towards planetary health.

Effect of poly(ethylene oxide)-silane graft molecular weight on the colloidal properties of iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications.

The size, charge, and stability of colloidal suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles with narrow size distribution and grafted with poly(ethylene glycol)-silane of different molecular weights were studied in water, biological buffers, and cell culture media. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy provided information on the chemical nature of the nanoparticle surface, indicating the particle surfaces consisted of a mixture of amine groups and grafted polymer. The results indicate that the exposure of the amine groups on the surface decreased as the molecular weight of the polymer increased. The hydrodynamic diameters correlated with PEG graft molecular weight and were in agreement with a distributed density model for the thickness of a polymer shell end-grafted to a particle core. This indicates that the particles obtained consist of single iron oxide cores coated with a polymer brush. Particle surface charge and hydrodynamic diameter were measured as a function of pH, ionic strength, and in biological buffers and cell culture media. DLVO theory was used to analyze the particle stability considering electrostatic, magnetic, steric, and van der Waals interactions. Experimental results and colloidal stability theory indicated that stability changes from electrostatically mediated for a graft molecular weight of 750 g/mol to sterically mediated at molecular weights of 1000 g/mol and above. These results indicate that a graft molecular weight above 1000 g/mol is needed to produce particles that are stable in a wide range of pH and ionic strength, and in cell culture media.