Food and beverage selection in children's sports arenas in Norway: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the selection of foods and beverages in children's sports arenas in Norway. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study design with a digital questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics were used to present the results. Moreover, Pearson's χ2 tests examined the factors that could aid in distinguishing clubs with healthy or unhealthy consumables. SETTING: Children's sports clubs in Norway. PARTICIPANTS: Representatives from 301 children's sports clubs in Norway answered the questionnaire between September and November 2021. RESULTS: In total, 89·4% of the participating sports clubs (n 301) offered soda drinks with sugar. Most of the sports clubs (88 %) reported to offer batter-based cakes such as pancakes and waffles and 63·8 % offered cakes. Furthermore, 47·5% sold hot dishes with processed meat, such as hamburgers and hot dogs. More than 80% of the sports clubs offered sweets and snacks, while 44·5% did not offer fruits, vegetables and/or berries. Notably, the important factors that distinguished sports clubs with healthier food selections from those with unhealthier selections were the presence of guidelines for the food offered and purchase agreements with food suppliers. CONCLUSIONS: Educational, governmental guidelines for the promotion of healthy eating and establishing agreements with suppliers of healthier foods could help to overcome barriers to unhealthy food selection.

Adolescents' experiences with the food selection at the sports arena in the area of Oslo, Norway: a focus group study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate adolescents' experiences with the food selection at the sport arena. DESIGN: Four focus group interviews were conducted with 4-6 participants each. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were coded in NVivo and the analysis was guided by thematic analysis. SETTING: Adolescents from handball and football clubs in Oslo and Viken, Norway, participated in the study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of nine boys (11-14 years old) and ten girls (11-14 years old) participated in the study. RESULTS: We identified four main themes: interest for healthy food; experiences with the food selection at the sports arena; factors influencing participants' food choices at the sports arena and expectations related to a healthy food selection at the sports arena. Adolescents across the focus groups experienced the food selection at the sports arena as unhealthy. Price, marketing and availability of unhealthy food were important factors that influenced their food choices at the sports arena. The trainer appeared to motivate the participants to eat healthy. CONCLUSIONS: Participants wished for a healthier food selection at the sports arena. Cost of food emerged as a factor that influenced their food choices. Our study also indicates that marketing of unhealthy food and beverages should be restricted, to influence adolescence food choice towards healthier alternatives.

Bilberry extracts induce gene expression through the electrophile response element.

A number of genes important for detoxification and antioxidant defense induced by mild stress generated by, for example, physical activity/exercise, caloric restriction, or alcohol may provide health benefits by causing the organism to mount such a defense response. More recently, induction of these defenses has also been attributed to phytochemicals or secondary metabolites from dietary plants. Many polyphenols, which constitute a large fraction of these phytochemicals, increase cellular levels of antioxidants, such as glutathione and other components of the detoxification systems, via the transactivation of genes containing electrophile response elements (EpREs) within their promoters. One such gene, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, has previously been shown to be positively regulated by quercetin, a flavonoid found in high concentrations in onions, apples, and bilberries through EpRE transactivation. As a further step, we have investigated whether bilberries and quercetin have the ability to induce transcription of Fos-related antigen 1 (Fra-1), which contains two EpREs in its promoter. Fra-1 is a member of the activator protein 1 (AP-1) family of transcription factors and, due to the lack of transactivation domain Fra-1, can suppress activation of AP-1. We present results demonstrating that extracts from bilberries, and the flavonoid quercetin, abundant in bilberries, induce the fra-1 promoter and the cellular content of Fra-1 mRNA. We further provide evidence that this induction is mediated through EpREs.