Effect of maternal eating behaviors and attitudes towards the feeding process on feeding problems of pre-school age children.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Feeding problems in pre-school children are common and negative maternal feeding practices may even worsen the child's problematic eating behavior. Therefore, investigating the effects of maternal eating behaviors and attitudes towards the feeding process on pre-school children's feeding problems may be helpful for preventing feeding problems. This study sought to investigate the effects of maternal eating behaviors and attitudes towards the feeding process on feeding problems of pre-school children. METHODS: Mothers of 373 children aged 3-6 were included in this cross-sectional study and data was collected by an online questionnaire including the scales of three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ), mother's attitudes towards the feeding process (MATFPS) and behavioral pediatric feeding assessment (BPFAS), as well as demographics and anthropometric measures (height and weight). Spearman's rho test was used to calculate correlation coefficients between the TFEQ, MATFP and BPFA scales. In order to identify independent predictors of child feeding behaviors, a multiple linear regression model was used. RESULTS: Results showed that uncontrolled eating subscale was positively (r = 0.160, p < 0.001) and cognitive restriction subscale negatively (r = -0.126, p < 0.05) correlated with MATFP. MATFP was also positively correlated with BPFA (r = 0.368, p < 0.001). Regression analysis indicated that BPFA was significantly predicted by MATFP which was the most important contributor of child feeding problems (ß = 0.24, t = 4.88, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that maternal eating behaviors were related to maternal attitudes towards the feeding process and, mothers' attitudes were associated with feeding problems of their pre-school children.

Is inflammatory potential of the diet related to oral and periodontal health?

Inflammation is among the risks of periodontal diseases. The relationship between the inflammatory load of the diet and inflammation has been shown in previous studies, but the relationship between periodontal diseases and the inflammatory load of the diet is not clear. In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and periodontal health. Board approved the protocol. Information about the study was given to the patients who met the criteria of the study and agreed to participate in the study. Oral health status was evaluated by measuring the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT). Periodontal health status was determined using the plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI). Twenty-four-hour dietary record was taken for 1 day to calculate the inflammatory load gained from daily diet, and the DII score was used. The study group consisted of 138 participants. DMFT scores were found with median 4.0, and no statistically significant difference was observed between DII quartiles. 65.8% of the participants had absence or small amount of plaque accumulation, while 39.2% had moderate or dense amount of plaque accumulation according to the PI classification. While DII did not differ by PI classification, DII quartile between second and third found a difference according to the GI classification. The new definition of periodontal health has been proposed as the absence of clinically detectable inflammation. It seems that pro-inflammatory properties of the diet and periodontal health are related. But future randomized controlled trials are needed.

Does mindful eating affect the diet quality of adults?

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the relationship between mindful eating and diet quality among adults in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 207 adults, 138 women (66.7% of 207) and 69 men (33.3%), participated. This cross-sectional survey was carried out among adults aged 20-50 y. The following data were collected from face-to-face interviews: sociodemographic variables, health information, nutritional habits, anthropometric measurements, 24-h dietary records, and scores from the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ), Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS), and Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015). RESULTS: The mean MEDAS scores of females were higher than those of males (P = 0.012). The mean HEI-2015 scores did not significantly differ between females and males (P > 0.05). The mean scores of the MEQ (P = 0.024) and its disinhibition (P = 0.005) and emotional eating (P = 0.000) subfactors were higher in males than in females. The MEQ mean score was negatively associated with daily energy (P = 0.038), carbohydrate (P = 0.046), and fat intake (P = 0.036). As the MEQ mean score increased, the greens and beans score (P = 0.009) and dairy intake score (P = 0.031) increased. A positive correlation was present between the eating discipline subfactor of the MEQ score and both the HEI-2015 (P = 0.002) and MEDAS mean scores (P = 0.001). However, no significant correlation was found between the mean MEQ and HEI-2015 scores and the MEDAS mean scores (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Developing mindful eating might be helpful for individual health promotion and quality of life by providing improvements in diet quality of adults.

Are depression, resilience and fear of COVID-19 related to eating behavior and nutrition status of university students?

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to examine eating behaviors and their association with fear and depression states concerning COVID-19 among students in Turkey. METHODS: A total number of 499 students, 336 (67.3%) female and 163 (32.7%) male, participated in an online-based cross-sectional study. The survey collected data on the Dutch eating behavior questionnaire (DEBQ), along with measuring psychological effect by using the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Brief Resilience Scale. In addition, 24-h dietary records were used to calculate the daily energy and macronutrient intakes in the study. RESULTS: A negative correlation between brief resilience and fear of COVID-19 was found. Total and subdomain DEBQ scores were positively correlated with fear of COVID-19; conversely, there was a negative correlation with brief resilience (P < 0.05). More than half (58.9%) of students had depression, and students who had moderate and severe depression had higher total DEBQ and emotional eating scores. Students with severe depression had the highest levels of fear of COVID-19. Students having higher daily energy intake had greater fear concerning COVID-19, and the daily energy intake was negatively correlated with restrained and external eating. CONCLUSIONS: During the pandemic, negative psychological effects resulted in unfavorable dietary behavioral consequences, depending on the increasing levels of stress.

Dietary inflammatory index is associated with serum C-reactive protein and protein energy wasting in hemodialysis patients: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Malnutrition and inflammation are reported as the most powerful predictors of mortality and morbidity in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Diet has a key role in modulating inflammation and dietary inflammatory index (DII) is a new tool for assessment of inflammatory potential of diet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the application of DII on dietary intake of HD patients and examine the associations between DII and malnutrition-inflammation markers. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 105 subjects were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Anthropometric measurements, 3-day dietary recall, and pre-dialysis biochemical parameters were recorded for each subject. Subjective global assessment (SGA), which was previously validated for HD patients, and malnutrition inflammation score (MIS) were used for the diagnosis of protein energy wasting. DII was calculated according to average of 3-day dietary recall data. RESULTS: DII showed significant correlation with reliable malnutrition and inflammation indicators including SGA (r = 0.28, P < 0.01), MIS (r = 0.28, P < 0.01), and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = 0.35, P < 0.001) in HD patients. When the study population was divided into three subgroups according to their DII score, significant increasing trends across the tertiles of DII were observed for SGA score (P = 0.035), serum CRP (P = 0.001), dietary energy (P < 0.001), total fat (P < 0.001), saturated fatty acids (P < 0.001), polyunsaturated fatty acids (P = 0.006), and omega-6 fatty acids (P = 0.01) intakes. CONCLUSION: This study shows that DII is a good tool for assessing the overall inflammatory potential of diet in HD patients.