Investigating oral somatosensory perception and oral symptoms of head and neck cancer patients: insights on eating behaviour.

PURPOSE: Sensory alterations and oral manifestations are prevalent among head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. While taste and smell alterations have been thoroughly investigated, studies on their oral somatosensory perception remain limited. Building upon our previous publication that primarily focused on objective somatosensory measurements, the present work examined self-reported sensory perception, including somatosensation and oral symptoms, in HNC patients and evaluated their link with eating behaviour. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using self-reported questionnaires on sensory perception, oral symptoms, sensory-related food preference, and eating behaviour among HNC patients (n = 30). Hierarchical clustering analysis was performed to categorise patients based on their sensory perception. Correlations between oral symptoms score, sensory perception, sensory-related food preference, and eating behaviour were explored. RESULTS: Two distinct sensory profiles of patients were identified: no alteration (n = 14) and alteration (n = 16) group. The alteration group showed decreased preference towards several sensory modalities, especially the somatosensory. Concerning eating behaviour, more patients in the alteration group agreed to negatively connotated statements (e.g. having food aversion and eating smaller portions), demonstrating greater eating difficulties. In addition, several oral symptoms related to salivary dysfunction were reported. These oral symptoms were correlated with sensory perception, sensory-related food preference, and eating behaviour. CONCLUSION: This study presented evidence demonstrating that sensory alterations in HNC patients are not limited to taste and smell but cover somatosensory perception and are linked to various aspects of eating. Moreover, patients reported experiencing several oral symptoms. Those with sensory alterations and oral symptoms experienced more eating difficulties.

Oral somatosensory alterations and salivary dysfunction in head and neck cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) are at high risk of malnutrition due to eating difficulties partly mediated by sensory alterations and salivary dysfunction. Clinical studies have mostly focused on taste and smell alterations, while changes in oral somatosensory perception are largely understudied. The study aimed to investigate oral somatosensory (tactile, texture, chemesthetic, and thermal) responses and salivary functions of HNC patients in comparison to healthy controls. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using psychophysical tests in HNC patients (n = 30) and in age- and gender-matched control subjects (n = 30). The tests included measurements of point-pressure tactile sensitivity, whole-mouth chemesthetic stimulation, food texture discrimination, and temperature discrimination. Salivary functions, including hydration, saliva consistency, pH, volume, and buffering capacity, were also evaluated. RESULTS: HNC patients demonstrated significantly lower chemesthetic sensitivity (for medium and high concentrations, p < 0.05), thermal sensitivity (p = 0.038), and salivary functions (p = 0.001). There were indications of lower tactile sensitivity in the patient group (p = 0.101). Patients were also less sensitive to differences in food roughness (p = 0.003) and firmness (p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: This study provided evidence that sensory alterations in HNC patients extend beyond their taste and smell. The measurements demonstrated lower somatosensory responses, in part associated with their reduced salivary function. Oral somatosensory alterations and salivary dysfunction may consequently impart the eating experience of HNC patients. Thus, further investigations on food adjustments for this patient group seem warranted.

Oral Somatosensory Alterations in Head and Neck Cancer Patients-An Overview of the Evidence and Causes.

Food-related sensory alterations are prevalent among cancer patients and negatively impact their relationship with food, quality of life, and overall health outcome. In addition to taste and smell, food perception is also influenced by somatosensation comprising tactile, thermal, and chemesthetic sensations; yet studies on oral somatosensory perception of cancer patients are lacking to provide patients with tailored nutritional solutions. The present review aimed to summarise findings on the oral somatosensory perception of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients and the potential aetiologies of somatosensory alterations among this population. Subjective assessments demonstrated alterations in oral somatosensory perception such as sensitivity to certain textures, spices, and temperatures. Physiological changes in oral somatosensation have been observed through objective assessments of sensory function, showing reduced localised tactile function and thermal sensitivity. Changes in whole-mouth tactile sensation assessed using texture discrimination and stereognosis ability seem to be less evident. Available evidence indicated oral somatosensory alterations among HNC patients, which may affect their eating behaviour, but more studies with larger sample sizes and standardised assessment methods are needed. Unlike other types of cancers, sensory alterations in HNC patients are not only caused by the treatments, but also by the cancer itself, although the exact mechanism is not fully understood. Prevalent oral complications, such as xerostomia, dysphagia, mucositis, and chemosensory alterations, further modify their oral condition and food perception. Oral somatosensory perception of cancer patients is an under-investigated topic, which constitutes an important avenue for future research due to its potential significance on eating behaviour and quality of life.

Nutrition as a Key Modifiable Factor for Periodontitis and Main Chronic Diseases.

Nutrition is recognized as an essential component in the prevention of a number of chronic diseases, including periodontal disease. Based on these considerations, a better understanding is required regarding how the diet, and more particularly the intake of macronutrients and micronutrients, could impact the potential relationship between nutrition and periodontal diseases, periodontal diseases and chronic diseases, nutrition and chronic diseases. To overcome this complexity, an up-to-date literature review on the nutriments related to periodontal and chronic diseases was performed. High-sugar, high-saturated fat, low-polyols, low-fiber and low-polyunsaturated-fat intake causes an increased risk of periodontal diseases. This pattern of nutrients is classically found in the Western diet, which is considered as an 'unhealthy' diet that causes cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancers. Conversely, low-sugar, high-fiber and high-omega-6-to-omega-3 fatty acid ratio intake reduces the risk of periodontal diseases. The Mediterranean, DASH, vegetarian and Okinawa diets that correspond to these nutritional intakes are considered as 'healthy' diets, reducing this risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancers. The role of micronutrients, such as vitamin D, E, K and magnesium, remains unclear, while others, such as vitamin A, B, C, calcium, zinc and polyphenols have been shown to prevent PDs. Some evidence suggests that probiotics and prebiotics could promote periodontal health. Periodontal and chronic diseases share, with a time delay, nutrition as a risk factor. Thus, any change in periodontal health should be considered as a warning signal to control the dietary quality of patients and thus reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases later on.

The Promotion of Eating Behaviour Change through Digital Interventions.

Diet-related chronic disease is a global health epidemic giving rise to a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. With the rise of the digital revolution, there has been increased interest in using digital technology for eating behavioural change as a mean of diet-related chronic disease prevention. However, evidence on digital dietary behaviour change is relatively scarce. To address this problem, this review considers the digital interventions currently being used in dietary behaviour change studies. A literature search was conducted in databases like PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Medline, and PsycInfo. Among 119 articles screened, 15 were selected for the study as they met all the inclusion criteria according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) search strategy. Four primary digital intervention methods were noted: use of personal digital assistants, use of the internet as an educational tool, use of video games and use of mobile phone applications. The efficiency of all the interventions increased when coupled with tailored feedback and counselling. It was established that the scalable and sustainable properties of digital interventions have the potential to bring about adequate changes in the eating behaviour of individuals. Further research should concentrate on the appropriate personalisation of the interventions, according to the requirements of the individuals, and proper integration of behaviour change techniques to motivate long-term adherence.

Impact of a nudging intervention and factors associated with vegetable dish choice among European adolescents.

PURPOSE: To test the impact of a nudge strategy (dish of the day strategy) and the factors associated with vegetable dish choice, upon food selection by European adolescents in a real foodservice setting. METHODS: A cross-sectional quasi-experimental study was implemented in restaurants in four European countries: Denmark, France, Italy and United Kingdom. In total, 360 individuals aged 12-19 years were allocated into control or intervention groups, and asked to select from meat-based, fish-based, or vegetable-based meals. All three dishes were identically presented in appearance (balls with similar size and weight) and with the same sauce (tomato sauce) and side dishes (pasta and salad). In the intervention condition, the vegetable-based option was presented as the "dish of the day" and numbers of dishes chosen by each group were compared using the Pearson chi-square test. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was run to assess associations between choice of vegetable-based dish and its potential associated factors (adherence to Mediterranean diet, food neophobia, attitudes towards nudging for vegetables, food choice questionnaire, human values scale, social norms and self-estimated health, country, gender and belonging to control or intervention groups). All analyses were run in SPSS 22.0. RESULTS: The nudging strategy (dish of the day) did not show a difference on the choice of the vegetable-based option among adolescents tested (p = 0.80 for Denmark and France and p = 0.69 and p = 0.53 for Italy and UK, respectively). However, natural dimension of food choice questionnaire, social norms and attitudes towards vegetable nudging were all positively associated with the choice of the vegetable-based dish. Being male was negatively associated with choosing the vegetable-based dish. CONCLUSIONS: The "dish of the day" strategy did not work under the study conditions. Choice of the vegetable-based dish was predicted by natural dimension, social norms, gender and attitudes towards vegetable nudging. An understanding of factors related to choosing vegetable based dishes is necessary for the development and implementation of public policy interventions aiming to increase the consumption of vegetables among adolescents.

The Impact of Herbs and Spices on Increasing the Appreciation and Intake of Low-Salt Legume-Based Meals.

Flavoring using blends of herbs and spices (H&S) instead of salt may be a promising approach to increase legume consumption and reduce salt content in foods. This study examines the effects of H&S on the appreciation and intake of low-salt legume-based dishes in a real ecological eating environment. Four mezzes with standard (0.8% w/w) (S) or lower (0.4% w/w) (LS) salt level and with or without H&S (LSHS, SHS) were developed. In a randomized cross-over trial, 94 participants attended four sessions, one week apart and received the four variants as a starter during lunch. Overall liking, food intake, and appetite ratings (visual analogue scale, VAS) were assessed during lunch. A follow-up study (n = 130) was performed where the four variants were evaluated, and overall liking was measured at the same session. Overall liking and taste scores of SHS were significantly higher compared with LS (p = 0.04 and p = 0.03, respectively), but there were no significant differences between LSHS and S. However, there were no differences in energy intake or in appetite ratings among the products. Overall appreciation was similar between the low-salt with H&S and the standard-salt mezze, suggesting that the addition of H&S is a feasible strategy for achieving a 50% reduction in salt content without compromising hedonic appreciation.

A Mobile Phone App for the Provision of Personalized Food-Based Information in an Eating-Out Situation: Development and Initial Evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Increasing pressure from governments, public health bodies, and consumers is driving a need for increased food-based information provision in eating-out situations. Meals eaten outside the home are known to be less healthy than meals eaten at home, and consumers can complain of poor information on the health impact and allergen content of meals eaten out. OBJECTIVE: This paper aimed to describe the development and early assessment of a mobile phone app that allows the provision of accurate personalized food-based information while considering individual characteristics (allergies, diet type, and preferences) to enable informed consumer choice when eating out. METHODS: An app was designed and developed to address these requirements using an agile approach. The developed app was then evaluated at 8 public engagement events using the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire and qualitative feedback. RESULTS: Consideration of the literature and consultation with consumers revealed a need for information provision for consumers in the eating-out situation, including the ability to limit the information provided to that which was personally relevant or interesting. The app was designed to provide information to consumers on the dishes available in a workplace canteen and to allow consumers the freedom to personalize the app and choose the information that they received. Evaluation using the SUS questionnaire revealed positive responses to the app from a range of potential users, and qualitative comments demonstrated broad interest in its use. CONCLUSIONS: This paper details the successful development and early assessment of a novel mobile phone app designed to provide food-based information in an eating-out situation in a personalized manner.

Measuring Food Waste and Consumption by Children Using Photography.

A photography method was used to measure waste on food trays in school lunch in France, using the 5-point quarter-waste scale. While food waste has been studied extensively in US school lunches, the structure of the French lunch meal is quite different, with multiple courses, and vegetables (raw and cooked) in more than one course. Vegetables were the most wasted food category as usually seen in school lunch research, especially cooked vegetables, which were wasted at rates of 66%-83%. Raw vegetables were still wasted more than main dishes, starchy products, dairy, fruit, and desserts. Vegetables were also the most disliked food category, with the classes of vegetables falling in the same order as for waste. Waste and liking were highly correlated. Sensory characteristics of the food were cited as a main reason for liking/disliking. There is a strong connection between food liking and food consumption, and this connection should be the basis for future attempts to modify school lunch to improve consumption. The photographic method of measuring food waste at an individual level performed well.

Relationship between food behavior and taste and smell alterations in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: A structured review.

INTRODUCTION: Taste and smell alteration is a frequent side effect of chemotherapy. However, little is known about their influence on patients' food behavior and the mechanisms underpinning their occurrence. This lack of clarity is likely due to a series of factors among which heterogeneity in chemotherapy-induced taste and smell modifications may play a prominent role. The present review provides a critical overview of the evidence on the association between taste and smell alterations and food behavior modifications in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. DESIGN: The literature search was performed using PubMed and Google Scholar databases and restricted to literature for English-language articles published between 1990 and June 2018. Sensory-related terms were combined with food behavior-related terms to identify the studies that examined the association between these two terms. The retrieved studies were grouped based on the taste and smell assessment outcomes. RESULTS: Thirteen eligible articles were included in the review. The studies varied in design, length, methodology of assessment, and studied population. The categorization of studies depending on taste and smell assessment outcomes allowed the definition of three patient profiles: unaltered, hypo- and hyperchemosensation (taste and/or smell). Alterations were significantly correlated with patients' energy intake and macronutrient preferences suggesting that sensitivity of each patient to olfactory and gustatory stimuli is likely to play a role in food behavior modulation during cancer and chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: The review summarizes and provides relevant associations between taste/smell alterations and food behavior while receiving chemotherapy considering existing individual variations. Given the sensory influence on food behavior modulation, a better characterization of smell and taste alterations before the launch of chemotherapy seems important for a better understanding and management of patients' food behavior trajectory over the treatment.

A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study to Assess Effects of a Daily Pistachio (Pistacia Vera) Afternoon Snack on Next-Meal Energy Intake, Satiety, and Anthropometry in French Women.

Including nuts in the diet improves appetite control and does not lead to weight gain. However, for pistachios, evidence from randomized intervention studies is limited and there are no data on the effect of pistachios on satiety. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of daily consumption of pistachios as an afternoon snack on satiety, self-reported energy, self-reported nutrient intake, body weight, and body composition. This randomized controlled pilot study included two parallel groups of 30 healthy French women, in a free-living setting. For four weeks, groups were instructed to consume either 56 g (1318 kJ) of pistachios or 56 g of isoenergetic/equiprotein savory biscuits as an afternoon snack. Evening energy intake, changes in anthropometric measures, and daily intake of energy and selected nutrients were assessed. Visual analogue scales (VAS) were used to rate hunger, fullness, desire to eat, and prospective consumption. Satiety effects were not different between groups, as assessed by evening energy intake or VAS scores. Consuming pistachios or biscuits had no impact on body weight. Thiamin, vitamin B6, copper, and potassium intakes were significantly higher in the pistachio group. Consuming pistachios or biscuits as an afternoon snack resulted in similar post-snack food intake and subjective feelings of satiety. A daily pistachio snack for a month did not affect body weight or composition but it did improve micronutrient intake.

A Systematic Review of Behavioural Interventions Promoting Healthy Eating among Older People.

Because eating habits are inseparably linked with people's physical health, effective behaviour interventions are highly demanded to promote healthy eating among older people. The aim of this systematic review was to identify effective diet interventions for older people and provide useful evidence and direction for further research. Three electronic bibliographic databases-PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection were used to conduct a systematic literature search based on fixed inclusion and exclusion criteria. English language peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2011 and 2016 were selected for data extraction and quality assessment. Finally, a total of 16 studies were identified. The studies' duration ranged from three weeks to seven years. The majority of studies were carried out in European countries. Seven studies had a moderate quality while the remaining studies were at a less than moderate level. Three dietary educational interventions and all meal service related interventions reported improvements in older people's dietary variety, nutrition status, or other health-related eating behaviours. Multicomponent dietary interventions mainly contributed to the reduction of risk of chronic disease. The results supported that older people could achieve a better dietary quality if they make diet-related changes by receiving either dietary education or healthier meal service. Further high-quality studies are required to promote healthy eating among older people by taking regional diet patterns, advanced information technology, and nudging strategies into account.

Comparison of three nudge interventions (priming, default option, and perceived variety) to promote vegetable consumption in a self-service buffet setting.

BACKGROUND: Dietary choices in out-of-home eating are key for individual as well as for public health. These dietary choices are caused by a wide array of determinants, one of which is automatic decision-making. Nudging is attracting considerable interest due to its understanding and application of heuristic biases among consumers. The aim of this study is to test and compare three nudges in promoting vegetable consumption among test persons in a food lab-based experiment. METHODS: The initial sample consisted of 88 participants recruited in Copenhagen, Denmark. Each study participant was randomly assigned to one of the three experiments: priming, default and perceived variety. The priming arm of the experiment consisted of creating a leafy environment with green plants and an odour of herbs. In the default arm of the experiment, the salad was pre-portioned into a bowl containing 200g of vegetables. The third experiment divided the pre-mixed salad into each of its components, to increase the visual variety of vegetables, yet not providing an actual increase in items. Each individual was partaking twice thus serving as her/his own control, randomly assigned to start with control or experimental setting. RESULTS: The default experiment successfully increased the energy intake from vegetables among the study participants (124 kcal vs. 90 kcal in control, p<0.01). Both the priming condition and perceived variety reduced the total energy intake among the study participants (169 kcal, p<0.01 and 124 kcal, p<0.01, respectively), mainly through a decrease in the meat-based meal component. CONCLUSIONS: Considerable progress has been made with regard to understanding the use of nudging in promoting a healthier meal composition, including increasing vegetable intake. This study suggests that the nature of a nudge-based intervention can have different effects, whether it is increasing intake of healthy components, or limiting intake of unhealthy meal components. This work has demonstrated that consumer behaviour can be influenced without restricting or providing incentives for behaviour change. The present findings have promising application to the foodservice sector.

Sensory determinants of stated liking for vegetable names and actual liking for canned vegetables: A cross-country study among European adolescents.

Sensory properties are reported as one of the main factors hindering an appropriate vegetable intake by the young. In the present work the sensory determinants of likings for vegetables were explored in adolescents of four European countries (Denmark, n = 88; France, n = 206; Italy, n = 110 and United Kingdom, n = 93). A questionnaire was designed to study cross country differences in stated liking for and familiarity with a list of vegetables popular among European markets (between-vegetable approach). A within-vegetable comparison approach with actual tasting was used to analyze differences and similarities in liking for canned pea and sweet corn samples across the countries. A close positive relationship between stated liking and familiarity was found. Irrespective of the country, one group of highly liked vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, green salad) was identified, characterized by innately liked tastes (sweet, umami), delicate flavour and bright appealing colour. A second group of highly disliked vegetables consists of cauliflowers and broccoli, characterized by disliked sensations such as bitter taste and objectionable flavour. Internal Preference Maps from actual liking scores indicate that the generally disliked tastes (bitter, sour), are clearly correlated with a negative hedonic response for both peas and sweet corn. The hedonic valence of a generally well accepted taste such as salty and texture descriptors depends on the type of vegetable. Internal preference maps from actual liking data indicate that flavour and appearance descriptors of the distinct sensory properties of each type of vegetable positively affect liking, while the intensity of unusual flavours is related to sample disliking.

Improved meal presentation increases food intake and decreases readmission rate in hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND: Reduced food intake is a frequent problem at a hospital setting, being a cause and/or consequence of malnutrition. Food presentation can affect food intake and induce nutritional benefit. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of improved meal presentation supported by gastronomy expertise on the food intake in adults hospitalized in internal medicine departments. DESIGN: Controlled before and after study. METHODS: Two hundred and six newly hospitalized patients in internal medicine departments were included and divided in two groups, a) control: receiving the standard lunch from the hospital and b) experimental: receiving a lunch improved in terms of presentation by the advices received by the Institut Paul Bocuse, Ecully, Lyon, France together with the hospital kitchen of the Beilinson Hospital, without change in the composition of the meal. The amount of food left at the participants' plates was estimated using the Digital Imaging Method, which consisted in photographing the plates immediately to previous tray collection by the researcher. In addition, the nutritionDay questionnaire was used to measure other variables concerned to their food intake during hospitalization. Charlson Comorbidity Index was calculated. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the groups regarding demography or Charlson Comorbidity Index. Patients who received the meal with the improved presentation showed significantly higher food intake than those who received the standard meal, despite reported loss in appetite. Participants from the experimental group left on their plate less starch (0.19 ± 0.30 vs. 0.52 + 0.41) (p < 0.05) and less from the main course than the control group (0.18 + 0.31 vs. 0.46 + 0.41) (p < 0.05). However, both of the groups left the same amount of vegetables (0.37 + 0.36 vs. 0.29 + 0.35) (p > 0.05). Both of the groups were asked how hungry they were before the meal and no significance was shown. More participants from the experimental group reported their meal to be tasty in comparison to those in the control group (49.5% vs. 33.7% p < 0.005). Length of stay was not different but readmission rate decreased significantly in the study group (p < 0.02) from 31.2% to 13.5%. CONCLUSION: Improvement of meal presentation at a hospital setting can increase food intake, reduce waste food substantially and reduce readmission rate to hospital.

Food rejections in children: Cognitive and social/environmental factors involved in food neophobia and picky/fussy eating behavior.

Food neophobia and picky/fussy eating behavior are presented as the two main forms of children's food rejections which are responsible for a reduction of their dietary repertoire. We review the key factors, presented in the literature, that are involved in food rejections during childhood. We first consider a range of "cognitive factors", such as food perception, mental representations, categorization of food items, and emotions and feelings toward food. Next we focus on "social and environmental factors", as these might also significantly influence and modulate children's food rejections. We then summarize the findings to provide a comprehensive view of the factors involved in children's food rejections. Finally, we discuss the need for future studies on food rejections, regarding (i) the distinction between food neophobia and picky/fussy eating, and (ii) the potential link between food categorization abilities and children's food neophobia and pickiness.

Odor Perception in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and its Relationship to Food Neophobia.

Atypical sensory functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been well documented in the last decade for the visual, tactile and auditory systems, but olfaction in ASD is still understudied. The aim of the present study was to examine whether children with ASD and neuro-typically (NT) developed children differed in odor perception, at the cognitive (familiarity and identification ability), sensorimotor (olfactory exploration) and affective levels (hedonic evaluation). Because an important function of the sense of smell is its involvement in eating, from food selection to appreciation and recognition, a potential link between odor perception and food neophobia was also investigated. To these ends, 10 children between 6 and 13 years old diagnosed with ASD and 10 NT control children were tested. To compare performance, 16 stimuli were used and food neophobia was assessed by the parents on a short food neophobia scale. Results revealed that (i) significant hedonic discrimination between attractive and aversive odors was observed in NT (p = 0.005; d = 2.378) and ASD children (p = 0.042; d = 0.941), and (ii) hedonic discrimination level was negatively correlated with food neophobia scores in ASD (p = 0.007) but not NT children. In conclusion, this study offers new insights into odor perception in ASD children, highlighting a relationship between odor hedonic reactivity and eating behavior. This opens up new perspectives on both (i) the role of olfaction in the construction of eating behavior in ASD children, and (ii) the measurement and meaning of food neophobia in this population.

A photographic method to measure food item intake. Validation in geriatric institutions.

From both a clinical and research perspective, measuring food intake is an important issue in geriatric institutions. However, weighing food in this context can be complex, particularly when the items remaining on a plate (side dish, meat or fish and sauce) need to be weighed separately following consumption. A method based on photography that involves taking photographs after a meal to determine food intake consequently seems to be a good alternative. This method enables the storage of raw data so that unhurried analyses can be performed to distinguish the food items present in the images. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to validate a photographic method to measure food intake in terms of differentiating food item intake in the context of a geriatric institution. Sixty-six elderly residents took part in this study, which was performed in four French nursing homes. Four dishes of standardized portions were offered to the residents during 16 different lunchtimes. Three non-trained assessors then independently estimated both the total and specific food item intakes of the participants using images of their plates taken after the meal (photographic method) and a reference image of one plate taken before the meal. Total food intakes were also recorded by weighing the food. To test the reliability of the photographic method, agreements between different assessors and agreements among various estimates made by the same assessor were evaluated. To test the accuracy and specificity of this method, food intake estimates for the four dishes were compared with the food intakes determined using the weighed food method. To illustrate the added value of the photographic method, food consumption differences between the dishes were explained by investigating the intakes of specific food items. Although they were not specifically trained for this purpose, the results demonstrated that the assessor estimates agreed between assessors and among various estimates made by the same assessor. The results also revealed that the accuracy of this method was not dependent on the type of food studied, thus, the photographic method was not specific to a particular food type. Finally, the photographic method was able to provide more detailed data because it allowed differentiation between food item intakes. These findings clearly suggest that the photographic method is a valid and useful method to measure food intake in geriatric institutions.

[Socio-anthropological perspective of the under nutrition care of cancer patients]. / Perspective socio-anthropologique de la prise en charge de la dénutrition du malade cancéreux.

The diet of the cancer patient is a major focus of prevention and treatment strategy of the recent plans that fight against cancer. It is sometimes reduced to a rapid series of more or less general advice, often interfered by other sources of information, more or less conventional. In this pathological situation where the nutritional status of the patient is paramount, it seems crucial to understand the different modalities of how the food behavior is implemented. This article describes the construction modalities of the cancer eater decisions. The goal of the socio-anthropological analysis proposed in this article is to initiate a reflection on the under nutrition problem by focusing on the approach of the eater diagnosed with cancer. The aim is to help identify ways of action to fight against under nutrition and improve the quality of life of the patient.

Effect of labeling on new vegetable dish acceptance in preadolescent children.

The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a food-labeling strategy to introduce new versions of foods to children's diets, in natural lunch settings (school canteens). The proposed food involved two different types of vegetables: carrots (very familiar) and broccoli (less familiar), both being prepared and presented for choice in a 'familiar' (known) versus a 'new' (unknown) version. We assessed whether adding a label (either basic or model-related) to new versions of vegetable dishes would increase the likelihood that 8- to 11-year-old children would select the new dishes rather than the familiar versions. In the first condition (no label/control condition), both the familiar and the new versions of the vegetable dishes were presented with absence of any information. In the second condition (basic label condition), the new dish was presented accompanied by a basic label: "new carrot/broccoli recipe". In the third condition (model-related label condition), the new version of the dish was presented with a model-related label: "new carrot/broccoli recipe, Special Mix for Super Heroes". Results showed that children chose significantly more often the familiar version of the dish when no information was given (control condition). The addition of a descriptive label (whether basic or model-related) led to an increased frequency of choice for the new vegetable dish for carrots only, and not for broccoli. This study suggests that adding a label with the vegetable's name can be used to increase children's willingness to select a new version of a vegetable dish instead of a familiar one, at least when the vegetable is familiar to the children (i.e. carrots).