Who We Seek and What We Eat? Sources of Food Choice Inspirations and Their Associations with Adult Dietary Patterns before and during the COVID-19 Lockdown in New Zealand.

Research shows the shaping of food choices often occurs at home, with the family widely recognised as significant in food decisions. However, in this digital age, our eating habits and decision-making processes are also determined by smartphone apps, celebrity chefs, and social media. The 'COVID Kai Survey' online questionnaire assessed cooking and shopping behaviours among New Zealanders during the 2020 COVID-19 'lockdown' using a cross-sectional study design. This paper examines how sources of food choice inspirations (cooking-related advice and the reasons for recipe selection) are related to dietary patterns before and during the lockdown. Of the 2977 participants, those influenced by nutrition and health experts (50.9% before; 53.9% during the lockdown) scored higher for the healthy dietary pattern. Participants influenced by family and friends (35% before; 29% during the lockdown) had significantly higher scores for the healthy and the meat dietary patterns, whereas participants influenced by celebrity cooks (3.8% before; 5.2% during the lockdown) had significantly higher scores in the meat dietary pattern. There was no evidence that associations differed before and during the lockdown. The lockdown was related to modified food choice inspiration sources, notably an increase in 'comforting' recipes as a reason for recipe selection (75.8%), associated with higher scoring in the unhealthy dietary pattern during the lockdown. The lockdown in New Zealand saw an average decrease in nutritional quality of diets in the 'COVID Kai Survey', which could be partly explained by changes in food choice inspiration sources.

Agreement between Future Parents on Infant Feeding Intentions and Its Association with Breastfeeding Duration: Results from the Growing Up in New Zealand Cohort Study.

Maternal intentions are believed to have the strongest influence on infant feeding. However, what has rarely been studied, are the associations of maternal and partner intentions, and the influence these factors have on infant feeding. Our objective was to describe breastfeeding intentions of pregnant women and their partners, agreement about these intentions, and whether this agreement is associated with breastfeeding initiation and duration. This study was completed within the Growing Up in New Zealand study. Agreement between mothers and partners on intended initial infant feeding method was fair (κ = 0.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17⁻0.25) as was intended breastfeeding duration (κ = 0.25, 95% CI 0.22⁻0.28). Infants whose parents agreed antenatally on breastfeeding only were more likely to have been breastfed for >6 months, after adjustment for maternal (odds ratio (OR) = 6.3, 95% CI 3.9⁻10.2) and partner demographics (OR = 5.7, 95% CI 3.6⁻9.2). Likewise, infants whose parents agreed antenatally to breastfeed for >6 months were more likely to have been breastfed for >6 months, after adjustment for maternal (OR = 4.9, 95% CI 3.9⁻6.2) and partner demographics (OR = 5.0, 95% CI 4.0⁻6.3). Interventions that promote breastfeeding to both mothers and partners which enable parents to reach agreement about intended feeding methods have the potential to increase both breastfeeding initiation and duration.

Malnutrition among children under 60 months of age in two cities of the state of Acre, Brazil: prevalence and associated factors.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors in children under the age of 60 months in two cities in the state of Acre, Brazil. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out with 667 children living in urban areas of the cities of Acrelândia and Assis Brasil. The prevalence of malnutrition was calculated by height for age (stunting) and weight for height (W/H) indexes, which were calculated with a cutoff point of -2 for Z scores as determined by the 2006 World Health Organization child growth standards. A structured questionnaire was used to gather information on socioeconomic conditions, access to services and child care, birth weight and morbidity. Poisson regression was used to identify the factors associated with child malnutrition. RESULTS: The prevalence of height-for-age and weight-for-height deficit was 9.9% and 4.1%, respectively. The factors associated with height-for-age deficit were low household wealth index (prevalence ratio [PR]: 1.74; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.95-3.18); having an illiterate father or stepfather (PR: 1.82; 95% CI: 1.01-3.27); having 2 or more younger siblings (PR: 2.88; 95% CI: 1.45-5.72); biological mother not living in the home (PR: 2.63; 95% CI: 1.32-5.24); and exposure to open wastewater near the home environment (PR: 2.46; 95% CI: 1.51-4.00). "Low weight at birth" was the only factor associated with weight-for-height deficit (PR: 2.91; CI95%: 1.16-7.24). CONCLUSIONS: In the cities studied, malnutrition in children under 60 months is an important public health problem, and is associated with indicators of social inequality, access to health services and biological mother not living in the home.

[Anemia and iron deficiency among schoolchildren in the Western Brazilian Amazon: prevalence and associated factors]. / Anemia e deficiência de ferro em pré-escolares da Amazônia Ocidental brasileira: prevalência e fatores associados.

This cross-sectional population-based study investigated prevalence rates and associated factors for anemia, iron deficiency anemia, and iron deficiency among children 6 to 60 months of age in two towns in Acre State, Brazil (N = 624). Hemoglobin, plasma ferritin, and soluble transferrin receptor were measured in venous blood samples. Socioeconomic, demographic, and disease data were obtained using a questionnaire. Prevalence ratios were calculated by Poisson regression in a hierarchical model. Prevalence rates for anemia, iron deficiency anemia, and iron deficiency were 30.6%, 20.9%, and 43.5%, respectively. Children younger than 24 months showed higher risk of anemia, iron deficiency anemia, and iron deficiency. The highest family income tertile was a protective factor against iron deficiency anemia (PR: 0.62; 95%CI: 0.40-0.98). The highest height-for-age quartile was protective against anemia (0.62; 0.44-0.86) and iron deficiency anemia (0.51; 0.33-0.79), and recent history of diarrhea was associated with increased risk of anemia (1.47; 1.12-1.92) and iron deficiency anemia (1.44; 1.03-2.01). Geohelminth infection was associated with increased risk of anemia, iron deficiency anemia, and iron deficiency.

Prevalence and distribution of risk factors for non-communicable chronic diseases among adults from Lages city, south of Brazil, 2007.

OBJECTIVE: To describe prevalence and the distribution of risk factors to non-communicable chronic diseases among adults from Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil. METHODS: Probabilistic sample of adult urban population, of both genders and aged from 20 to 59 years old was interviewed (n=2022). The sample process was made through conglomerates. It was applied a structured questionnaire with questions related to demographical, socio-economical, and behavior and self-referred diseases. In this study the following informations, related to the risk/protection factors for non-communicable chronic diseases, were used: gender, age, school background, body mass index, waist circumference, smoking, physical activity, pressure levels, self-referred mellitus diabetes and feeding characteristics. Prevalence for risk/protection factors for non-communicable chronic diseases, in the total population and according to gender and school background, was calculated. RESULTS: The studied population is prone to non-communicable chronic diseases, presenting substantial proportions of hypertension (33.78%), overweight individuals (33.46%), obesity (23.46%) and abdominal obesity (43.81%). In relation to feeding characteristics, women presented higher prevalence of behaviors considered as protection factors, relative to men. It was found less than 30.0% of physically inactive individuals and 45.9% of smokers or ex-smokers. CONCLUSION: Descriptive studies such as this could be the basis for the development of public policies specific to the adult population of Lages, in order to guide the organization, planning and quality improvement of health assistance services, aiming the reduction in the occurrence and in the impact of non-communicable chronic diseases.

Bottle feeding and exposure to Toxocara as risk factors for wheezing illness among under-five Amazonian children: a population-based cross-sectional study.

We investigated the prevalence and risk factors for wheezing and asthma in young Amazonian children. A population-based cross-sectional survey of 606 children aged 6-59 months was performed in two small towns in Acre State, Northwestern Brazil. Information on outcome variables (recent wheezing and medical diagnosis of asthma) and demographic, socioeconomic, environmental, maternal and nutritional variables was obtained by interviewing children's mothers or guardians. Infections with intestinal parasites and antibodies to the zoonotic nematode Toxocara were diagnosed using standard laboratory techniques. Multiple unconditional logistic regression models were used to describe associations between independent variables and outcomes. The prevalence of recent wheezing (one or more reported episodes in the past 12 months) was 42.6%, but only 19.8% of wheezing children were also reported to have a medical diagnosis of asthma (prevalence, 8.5%); 21.5% of the children examined had antibodies to Toxocara. Increased risk of asthma was independently associated with early introduction of bottle feeding, defined as <4 months of exclusive breastfeeding [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.21, 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.07-4.59, P = 0.033], and seropositivity to Toxocara (aOR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.17-4.77, P = 0.016), suggesting two potential targets for public health interventions.

[Changes in dietary intake among Japanese-Brazilians in Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil, 1993-2000]. / Mudanças no consumo alimentar de nipo-brasileiros residentes em Bauru, São Paulo, Brasil, 1993-2000.

Cross-sectional surveys were performed in 1993 and 2000 on Japanese-Brazilians (n = 328) of both sexes, aged 40 to 79 years in 1993, living in Bauru, São Paulo State. Both surveys examined food intake using food frequency questionnaires. Dietary intake in both surveys was compared to Wilcoxon tests according to gender (p < 0.05). Calories from dietary fat increased by 16% in both genders (mean values in 2000: 31.5% for women and 30.8% for men). When the surveys were compared, the main dietary changes were: (a) a 40% increase in oleic and linoleic acids and calories from fat and (b) a 20% reduction in dietary cholesterol in both sexes. Among women, an increase in total calorie intake with reduced consumption of vegetables and calories from sweets were observed. Despite increased intake of total dietary fat, there was a decrease in cholesterol intake and an increase in oleic and linoleic acids, fruit, and calcium. However, calcium and vegetable consumption is still short of international recommendations.

Association of dietary fiber with temporal changes in serum cholesterol in Japanese-Brazilians.

To examine dietary intakes in relation to long-term serum lipoprotein changes in a prospective cohort study with 7 y of follow-up, serum lipids were analyzed by enzymatic methods, while food intake was calculated from validated food frequency questionnaires. First- and second-generation Japanese-Brazilians (n = 316) living in Bauru, São Paulo/Brazil, of both genders, aged 40 to 79 y were assessed at baseline in 1993. Multiple linear regression models were used with changes in serum lipoproteins as the dependent variable and changes in dietary intakes as the independent variables, adjusted for confounding factors. In energy-adjusted analyses, changes in serum total cholesterol were inversely associated with changes in total dietary fiber, fruits/fruit juices and vegetables after adjustment for age and gender. Each increase of 10 g in the consumption of total dietary fiber was associated with a reduction of 12.5 mg/dL in the serum total cholesterol (p<0.05). Our results highlight the importance of increased intakes of total fiber, fruits and vegetables to prevent and control dyslipidemia in Japanese migrants.