Dietary Behaviour and Sociocultural Determinants of Dietary Diversity among Rural Women of Reproductive Age: A Case of Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

Women of reproductive age have specific nutritional requirements due to pregnancy and lactation. Little is known about the sociocultural determinants of dietary diversity among women of reproductive age. This study assesses trends of dietary behaviour and associated determinants of dietary diversity of women of reproductive age. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Amhara region of Ethiopia in 2019. Using multistage systematic random sampling, the dietary diversity of n = 421 women of reproductive age was assessed by a qualitative 24 h dietary recall. Descriptive analysis revealed characteristics of dietary behaviour and a chi-square test enabled the identification of associated determinants of women's dietary diversity. Only about a quarter (26.8%) of the women consumed five or more food groups per day and met the minimum dietary diversity score (MDD-W). Drawing on the socioecological framework, at an intrapersonal/individual level, women's education, age, perception of nutritious diet, and frequency of consumption of animal-sourced foods, vegetables, and fruit were significantly associated with MDD-W. At an interpersonal/household level, the husbands' education, women's decision-making regarding food purchase/consumption, the family's actual eating occasion, and women's engagement in domestic and farming tasks were significantly associated with MDD-W. At a community level, access to clean water and especially cultural beliefs were significant determinants of MDD-W. Amharic proverbs and sayings prioritise men and pose severe restrictions on women regarding food allocation. The majority (76.7%) of women of reproductive age practise frequent religious fasting, relating to the institutional/national level. This undermines efforts to support healthy dietary behaviour of women of reproductive age. Indepth studies on religious and cultural practices are needed, to assess not only their negative effects on the dietary diversity of women of reproductive age but also on women's lives.

Diverse types of knowledge on a plate: a multi-perspective and multi-method approach for the transformation of urban food systems towards sustainable diets.

Urbanization processes are accompanied by growing global challenges for food systems. Urban actors are increasingly striving to address these challenges through a focus on sustainable diets. However, transforming food systems towards more sustainable diets is challenging and it is unclear what the local scope of action might be. Co-production of knowledge between science and non-science is particularly useful for analysing context-specific solutions and promise to result in more robust socio-economic, political and technical solutions. Thus, this paper aims to integrate different types and sources of knowledge to understand urban food systems transformation towards a more sustainable diet in Vienna; and, second, to analyse and reflect on the difficulties and ways forward to integrate diverse actors' perspectives, multiple methods and epistemologies. We created different future scenarios that illustrate the synergies and trade-offs of various bundles of measures and the interactions among single dimensions of sustainable diets. These scenarios show that there is plenty of scope for local action, but co-ordination across diverse groups, interests, and types of knowledge is necessary to overcome lock-ins.

Changes in food behavior during the first lockdown of COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-country study about changes in eating habits, motivations, and food-related behaviors.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe, unprecedented changes affecting the world population. Restrictions in mobility, social distancing measures, and the persistent social alarm, during the first period of pandemic, resulted in dramatic lifestyle changes and affected physical and psychological wellbeing on a global scale. An international research team was constituted to develop a study involving different countries about eating motivations, dietary habits and behaviors related with food intake, acquisition, and preparation. This study presents results of an online survey, carried out during the first lockdown, in 2020, assessing food-related behavior and how people perceived them to change, comparatively to the period preceding the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 3332 responses, collected from 16 countries, were considered for analysis [72.8% in Europe, 12.8% in Africa, 2.2% in North America (USA) and 12.2% in South America]. Results suggest that the main motivations perceived to drive food intake were familiarity and liking. Two clusters were identified, based on food intake frequency, which were classified as "healthier" and "unhealthier". The former was constituted by individuals with higher scholarity level, to whom intake was more motivated by health, natural concerns, and weight control, and less by liking, pleasure or affect regulation. The second cluster was constituted by individuals with a higher proportion of male and intake more influenced by affect-related motivations. During this period, a generalized lower concern with the convenience attributes of foods was noted (namely, choice of processed products and fast-food meals), alongside an increase in time and efforts dedicated to home cooking. Understanding the main changes and their underlying motivations in a time of unprecedented crisis is of major importance, as it provides the scientific support that allows one to anticipate the implications for the future of the global food and nutrition system and, consequently, to take the appropriate action.

Data on the current state of modular systems in a highly dynamic environment: Empirical analyses in the manufacturing industry and automotive industry of Germany.

Today, many companies develop modular systems to realise considerable product differentiation and variation while simultaneously reducing costs through economies of scale [1]. Designing these modular systems to be lasting and robust in a highly dynamic environment [2], avoiding subsequent modification cost [3,4] and staying innovative over the product lifecycle is crucial for sustainable success in an increasingly competitive market [5]. Two closely related surveys were carried out on the initial situation described above. The first survey deals with the major conflict between planning reliability and flexibility with regard to future boundary conditions that the described challenges lead to. The data presented in this article on the first survey was collected from German companies, mainly from the automotive industry, developing and manufacturing complex products using modular systems. Other represented companies operate in the machine and plant construction industry. The survey comprises the answers of 39 participants, gathered via online questionnaire. The 17 questions of the survey are divided into two topics: characteristics of the participants, and the problem description of modular systems in highly dynamic environments and the management thereof. The second survey deals with the anticipation of innovations in the design of modular systems and the selection of the right choice from a variety of possible innovations to be considered. The data presented in this article on the second survey was collected from German automotive manufacturers, which develop and manufacture complex products using modular systems. The survey comprises the answers of 501 participants, gathered via online questionnaire. The 14 questions of the survey are divided into two topics: characteristics of the participants, and the problem description of modular systems and the management thereof. The data obtained allows the identification of existing deficits and dedicated research on solutions.