Percepções de adultos jovens brasileiros sobre o ato de cozinhar / Perceptions of Brazilian young adults about cooking

Introdução: Cozinhar em casa pode promover uma alimentação mais saudável. Porém, uma possível redução na transmissão de conhecimentos e habilidades culinárias parece prejudicar a confiança e a autonomia dos jovens para preparar as refeições. Para informar o desenvolvimento de iniciativas que apoiem os jovens adultos a superar as barreiras para cozinhar e melhorar a qualidade da dieta, é importante investigar o processo de socialização culinária no contexto de seu próprio curso de vida. Objetivo: Este estudo qualitativo teve como objetivo explorar como jovens adultos que têm o hábito de cozinhar percebem seu envolvimento com essa prática e identificar quais agentes socializadores culinários fizeram parte de seu processo de aprendizagem. Método: Entrevistas abertas baseadas na abordagem da perspectiva do curso de vida foram realizadas com adultos jovens brasileiros de 19 a 24 anos de ambos os sexos e analisadas tematicamente. Resultados: As percepções sobre cozinhar e sobre aprender a cozinhar levaram à criação de seis temas: (1) "Cuidar de mim"; (2) "Sentimentos (des)agradáveis"; (3) "Promover o convívio"; (4) "Preocupação com os resultados"; (5) "Habilidades necessárias"; e (6) "Agentes de socialização". Conclusões: As iniciativas para permitir que os adultos jovens superem as barreiras para cozinhar e potencialmente melhorar a qualidade da dieta precisam se concentrar não apenas no desenvolvimento prático de habilidades culinárias, mas também em habilidades, como planejamento. Também é importante fomentar mensagens positivas envolvendo autocuidado, prazer e convívio. Formas de usar a internet e as mídias sociais para engajar essa população a cozinhar mais merecem ser mais bem exploradas.

Introduction: Cooking at home is conducive to better diet quality and can help improve health. Nevertheless, the reduced transmission of culinary knowledge and skills worldwide hinders young adults' confidence and autonomy to prepare meals. To inform the development of initiatives that support young adults to overcome barriers to cook and improve their diet quality, it is important to investigate the process of culinary socialization in the context of their own life course. Objective: This qualitative study aimed to explore how young adults who cook perceive their involvement with this practice and to identify which culinary socializing agents were part of their learning process. Method: Open interviews based on the life-course perspective approach were conducted with male and female Brazilian young adults aged 19-24 years-old and thematically analysed. Results: Perceptions about cooking and about learning how to cook led to the creation of six themes: (1) "Caring about myself"; (2) "(Un)pleasant feelings"; (3) "Promoting conviviality"; (4) "Worrying about outcomes"; (5) "Skills needed"; and (6) "Socializing agents". Conclusions: Initiatives to enable young adults overcoming barriers to cook and potentially improve their diet quality need to focus not only on practical cooking skills development, but also on planning. Also important is to foster positive messages involving self-care, pleasure, and conviviality. Ways of using the internet and social media to engage this population to cook more deserves to be further explored.

Analysis of Recipes Shared as 'Healthy' in a Popular Brazilian Website: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Cooking is crucial to the achievement of healthy eating habits, and the internet, as host of culinary recipes websites, is a medium for the dissemination of cooking-related content. Research has revealed that most recipes available on internet sites do not have healthy characteristics when compared to recommendations for healthy eating, even the ones promoted as 'healthy'. This study investigated culinary recipes available on the 'healthy eating' section of a popular Brazilian recipe-sharing website. Recipes (n = 814) were analyzed with a validated framework based on national dietary guidelines. Ingredients (n = 5887) were classified according to the extension and purpose of their industrial processing. The recipes' titles were content analyzed to identify the health-related words and phrases used. Recipes contained ultra-processed foods and not enough unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such as legumes (4.7%, n = 380), nuts and seeds (18.4%, n = 150), and fruits (n = 32.7%, n = 263). The recipes' titles mentioned 564 health-related terms, appealing to physical characteristics, including weight loss, and fads, such as gluten-free, dukan, low-carb, detox, fitness, ripped body, and belly burner. Therefore, the 'healthy' recipes available on the Brazilian recipe-sharing website presented many aspects not in accordance with national dietary guidelines.

Ultra-Processed Foods as Ingredients of Culinary Recipes Shared on Popular Brazilian YouTube Cooking Channels.

Social media platforms are readily accessible sources of information about cooking, an activity deemed crucial for the improvement of a population's diet. Previous research focused on the healthiness of the content shared on websites and blogs, but not on social media such as YouTube®. This paper analysed the healthiness of 823 culinary recipes retrieved from 755 videos shared during a six-month period on ten popular Brazilian YouTube® cooking channels. Recipes were categorized by type of preparation. To assess recipes' healthiness, ingredients were classified according to the extension and purpose of industrial processing, in order to identify the use of ultra-processed foods. Additionally, a validated framework developed from criteria established in both editions of the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population was employed. Recipes for cakes and baked goods, puddings, snacks and homemade fast foods, which were among the most frequently posted, contained the lowest proportion of unprocessed/minimally processed ingredients and the highest proportion of ultra-processed ingredients. Recipes containing whole cereals, fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds were scarce. Results indicate that users should be critical about the quality of recipes shared on YouTube® videos, also indicating a need for strategies aimed at informing individuals on how to choose healthier recipes or adapt them to become healthier.

Decision flowchart for food classification by the extension and purpose of industrial processing: update and practical application / Fluxograma de decisão para classificação de alimentos conforme a extensão e propósito do processamento industrial: atualização e aplicação prática

ABSTRACT Objective To describe the development and update of an instrument for food categorisation according to the extension and purpose of industrial processing, and to test its practical application. Methods After updating the instrument based on a recent publication on the NOVA classification, it was applied by five researchers to a database of 108 food items. These items are part of a database of foods announced in the health-related sections of supermarket promotional circulars. The Cohen's weighted kappa coefficient was calculated to determine intra-rater agreement; Fleiss' kappa and Kendall's coefficient were applied to determine inter-rater agreement. Results In the updated version, two classes of additives and eight substances considered by the most recent publication as specific to ultra-processed foods were added. The intra-rater agreement was 100% (p<0.001), indicating an "almost perfect" agreement; Fleiss' agreement among all raters ranged from 74% to 97% (p<0.001), which represents an agreement that ranged from "strong" to "almost perfect"; Kendall's W was higher than 0.93 (p<0.001) among all raters. Conclusion The updated instrument showed high agreement and proved to be a methodologically sound and applicable tool for the purpose of classifying foods by the extension and purpose of industrial processing.

RESUMO Objetivo Descrever o desenvolvimento e atualização de um instrumento para categorização dos alimentos de acordo com a extensão e propósito de seu processamento industrial e avaliar sua aplicação prática. Métodos Após a atualização do instrumento com base em publicação recente sobre o tema, ele foi aplicado por cinco pesquisadores em um banco de dados de 108 alimentos. Esses alimentos são parte de um banco de dados de alimentos anunciados em seções relacionadas à saúde de panfletos promocionais de supermercado. Para avaliar a concordância intra-avaliador foi calculado o kappa ponderado de Cohen e para a concordância interavaliadores foram calculados o kappa de Fleiss e o coeficiente de concordância de Kendall. Resultados Na versão atualizada foram adicionadas duas classes de aditivos e oito substâncias, consideradas pela publicação mais recente como específicas de alimentos ultraprocessados. A concordância intra-avaliador foi de 100% (p<0,001), o que indica uma concordância "quase perfeita"; a concordância de Fleiss entre todos os avaliadores variou de 74% a 97% (p<0,001), o que representa uma concordância que variou de "forte" a "quase perfeita"; a concordância de Kendall foi W >0,93 (p<0,001) entre todos os avaliadores. Conclusão O instrumento atualizado apresentou uma elevada concordância e mostrou-se uma ferramenta metodologicamente útil e aplicável quando se tem por objetivo classificar alimentos pela extensão e propósito do processamento industrial.

"Hunger and rage (and the virus) are human things": reflections on solidarity in times of Covid-19 / "A fome e a raiva (e o vírus) é coisas dos home": reflexões sobre participação social em tempos de Covid-19

ABSTRACT Objective To identify and reflect about civil society's initiatives to curb hunger in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. Methods In order to identify society's initiatives to fight hunger, two independent systematic searches were conducted in the Google® search engine using the following keywords: "covid civil society initiatives" and "hunger pandemic solidarity campaign". Results Fourteen nationwide civil society-promoted initiatives were identified, that among their objectives aimed at fostering collective funding to purchase and distribute foods. Conclusion Brazilian society has been historically sensitive to the hunger problem and shows solidarity as a social value. Nevertheless, the State is legally bound to provide food, as a social right.

RESUMO Objetivo Mapear e refletir sobre as iniciativas da sociedade civil para o combate à fome no contexto da pandemia de Covid-19 no Brasil. Métodos Para identificar as iniciativas da sociedade para o combate à fome foram conduzidas duas buscas sistemáticas independentes na plataforma Google®, utilizando as palavras-chave: "iniciativas sociedade civil covid" e "fome pandemia campanha solidariedade". Resultados Foram localizadas quatorze iniciativas da sociedade civil de abrangência nacional que têm entre seus objetivos promover campanhas de financiamento coletivo para aquisição e distribuição de alimentos. Conclusão Historicamente, a sociedade brasileira é sensível ao tema do combate à fome e presta solidariedade como um valor social. Contudo, cabe ao Estado a obrigação legal do cumprimento da alimentação enquanto um direito de cidadania.

Content of Brazilian supermarket circulars do not reflect national dietary guidelines.

Previous research on foods advertised in supermarket circulars revealed that advertisement for foods at promotional prices influence food choices and shopping behaviour, but no paper reporting the Latin American context was identified. Furthermore, most studies only assessed the products advertised on the front pages and not in the entire circulars. This paper quantifies and categorizes, according to level of processing, the foods advertised in circulars from four Brazilian supermarket chains in order to assess their compatibility with the national dietary guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health. Printed and online circulars were collected between June and July 2016. Foods items advertised were identified and classified into one of four categories using the NOVA classification as unprocessed or minimally processed, processed culinary ingredient, processed or ultra-processed. Sixteen documents were analysed, and 1786 food items identified, where 23% were categorized as unprocessed or minimally processed, and 63% as ultra-processed foods. While the mean proportion of ultra-processed and unprocessed or minimally processed foods advertised on circular covers was similar (p = 0.49), the mean proportion of ultra-processed foods advertised in the entire circular was significantly higher than unprocessed or minimally processed foods (p < 0.001). Brazilian supermarket circulars are stimulating the acquisition of ultra-processed foods, which does not encourage food choices to be in line with what is recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population.

Adjuvant effects of classical music on simvastatin induced reduction of anxiety but not object recognition memory in rats

Simvastatin is one of many hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme-A reductase inhibitors that are prescribed to lower cholesterol. Some emerging evidence indicates that classical music can serve as an effective adjuvant in rats treated with simvastatin. Moreover, simvastatin and classical music have been shown to influence some cognitive functions. To further understand the mechanisms of action, we exposed rats to classical music for 1 month, and then treated them orally with simvastatin. The behavioral experiments suggested that exposure to subchronic simvastatin (1 or 10 mg/kg/day) reduced anxiety levels in the elevated plus-maze and open-field test in rats exposed to Mozart music. The recognition object test results indicated that simvastatin altered non-spatial working memory only at the 1 mg/kg/day dose and improved both short- and long-term object recognition. No significant differences were found between Mozart music and silence in the object recognition test, suggesting that music did not significant affect learning and memory in adult rats. We hypothesize that the anxiolytic, but not object-recognition memory, effects of simvastatin and classical music occur through similar mechanisms, providing an important foundation for future preclinical and clinical research...

Adjuvant effects of classical music on simvastatin induced reduction of anxiety but not object recognition memory in rats

Simvastatin is one of many hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme-A reductase inhibitors that are prescribed to lower cholesterol. Some emerging evidence indicates that classical music can serve as an effective adjuvant in rats treated with simvastatin. Moreover, simvastatin and classical music have been shown to influence some cognitive functions. To further understand the mechanisms of action, we exposed rats to classical music for 1 month, and then treated them orally with simvastatin. The behavioral experiments suggested that exposure to subchronic simvastatin (1 or 10 mg/kg/day) reduced anxiety levels in the elevated plus-maze and open-field test in rats exposed to Mozart music. The recognition object test results indicated that simvastatin altered non-spatial working memory only at the 1 mg/kg/day dose and improved both short- and long-term object recognition. No significant differences were found between Mozart music and silence in the object recognition test, suggesting that music did not significant affect learning and memory in adult rats. We hypothesize that the anxiolytic, but not object-recognition memory, effects of simvastatin and classical music occur through similar mechanisms, providing an important foundation for future preclinical and clinical research.(AU)