Gender and living alone as determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among the elderly living at home in urban Nottingham.

Consumption of fruits and vegetables by a sample of 369 elderly people living in Nottingham, England, was analysed in relation to whether or not they were eating five portions a day. Living status was only of significance to men who, if single, consumed 2.66 portions of fruits and vegetables per day compared with an overall mean of 4.1. The salient question is therefore not "Are you living alone?" but " s there a woman in the household?". Those respondents who were older and less educated ate less vegetables and those respondents who had a lower income or social grade ate less fruit. Men were less likely to be able to cook a range of meals, to have had a job that involved cooking or to watch cookery programmes on television. Single men were more likely than single women to say that eating food that was easy to cook and prepare was an important influence on their food choice. Single women on the other hand were more influenced by body image. Finding foods that were the right portion size and easy to open, prepare and cook was more important to single men than married men, as was the amount of money left after paying the bills.

Fruit: comparisons of attitudes knowledge and preferences of primary school children in England and Germany.

Primary school children's fruit consumption and attitudes, knowledge and preferences towards fruit were investigated using interview techniques in schools in England (Nottinghamshire) and Germany (North East) and analysed on the basis of culture, sex and social class. Children from both countries had strong positive attitudes to increase fruit consumption and differed little in their ability to correctly identify five fruits (including tropical fruits). Fruit preferences also showed many similarities with more than 95% of children from both Germany and England choosing apples as fruits they liked, followed closely by strawberries, oranges, pears, grapes, and bananas. Fruit consumption by German children was, however, higher than English children both at breakfast and during the school break. Strategies for increasing fruit consumption in English children are discussed in relation to the findings obtained.

Fruit and vegetable consumption in later life.

OBJECTIVE: to assess levels of fruit and vegetable consumption in elderly people, and to examine the socio-economic, physical and psychological factors which influence this consumption. METHODS: a three-phase survey: face to face interviews; self-completed dietary diaries with a food frequency questionnaire; and follow-up face-to-face interviews. PARTICIPANTS: 445 elderly people (aged 65+) randomly selected from general practitioner lists in urban Nottingham and rural Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire. RESULTS: the recommended target of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day was achieved by less than half the respondents: 37% of those living in the urban area and 51% of those living in the rural area. Low fruit and vegetable consumption was particularly associated with being male, smoking and having low levels of social engagement. CONCLUSIONS: most elderly people consume less than the recommended levels of fruit and vegetables. Health programmes promoting fruit and vegetable consumption may not be successfully reaching elderly people and need to target those particularly at risk of low consumption.

Food safety knowledge and practice among elderly people living at home.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the food storage knowledge and practice of elderly people living at home. METHODS: Three phase survey data collection: face to face interviews; dietary diaries with a food frequency questionnaire; and follow up interviews. SETTING: Urban Nottingham. PARTICIPANTS: 809 elderly people (aged 65+) randomly selected from general practitioner lists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Respondent's refrigerator temperature; knowledge of freezer star rating; understanding of "use by" and "sell by" dates; reported ability to read food product safety labels. RESULTS: From a weighted total of 645 refrigerators measured, 451 (70%) were too warm for the safe storage of food (> or = 6 degrees Celsius). Only 41% of respondents (n = 279) knew the star rating of their freezer. Within a smaller sub-sample knowledge of the "use by" and "sell by" dates was good, but 45% of these respondents reported difficulty reading food labels. The storage of foods at inappropriate temperatures was not independent of socioeconomic or demographic status, and tended to be more likely among the poorer and those not living alone. CONCLUSIONS: Food storage practices among the majority of elderly people interviewed in this study do not meet recommended safety standards to minimise the risk of food poisoning.

The interaction of physical, psychological, socioeconomic and sociodemographic variables on the Body Mass Index (MINDEX) of the community-dwelling elderly.

Two cohorts of older people 65-74, and 75 or more years of age living at home in Nottingham or in a nearby rural area in the UK were interviewed and anthropometric measurements were taken (n=1037). Bivariate analyses showed significant relationships between mindex and variables previously associated with food choice. Those with a mindex above the 95th percentile were more likely to live in a rural area, and were less likely to smoke than those between the 5th and 95th percentiles. Those with a low mindex, below the 5th percentile, were more likely to smoke than those between the 5th and 95th percentiles (45% compared to 17%), and were also more likely to live in an urban area, to have difficulty carrying shopping bags, not to use a car for shopping, to have a poorer appetite, and to live alone. Those overweight and underweight had lower levels of social engagement and were more likely to be of a lower social class. In multivariate analysis, socioeconomic variables and psychosocial variables were not significantly associated with mindex, when controlling for physical and sociodemographic variables. Advancing age, female gender, smoking and decreased appetite were significantly associated with decreased mindex (Adjusted R2 = .168).

Effects of dietary iron deficiency and tungsten supplementation on 59Fe absorption and gastric retention from 59Fe compounds in rats.

1. In vivo 59Fe absorption from intrinsically labelled Fe-containing fractions of liver and blood were measured in rats by intragastric dosing. All rats were fed on a low-Fe diet for 3 d before dosing in order to standardize the Fe status of the intestinal mucosal cells. 2. An increase in digestion time from 2 to 12 h increased 59Fe absorption (P less than 0.01) from all fractions except ferritin. 3. Fe-deficient rats when compared with essentially Fe-replete rats showed decreased gastric retention for all fractions, but increased 59Fe absorption over 2 h only from ferritin. Ferritin showed several unusual absorption characteristics. 4. Dietary tungsten supplementation of Fe-deficient rats reduced the ferroxidase activity of intestinal mucosal xanthine oxidase. In addition, gastric retention and 59Fe absorption (P less than 0.05) from all fractions were increased.

Dietary fibre and health: the role of hydrogen production.

The biological basis for the epidemiological association between high dietary fibre intakes and reduced disease incidence in Man is not fully understood. It is proposed that molecular hydrogen, produced in quite large amounts as a by-product of colonic fermentation of dietary fibre and unabsorbed carbohydrate may play an important role. Hydrogen in the tissues may act as a powerful reducing agent (antioxidant) of potentially damaging free radical species (e.g. singlet oxygen) and in so doing, along with other antioxidants would help in the control of these potentially damaging species and their known involvement in disease causation.

The excretion of large vitamin C loads in young and elderly subjects: an ascorbic acid tolerance test.

An ascorbic acid tolerance test is described for assessing vitamin C status. The test is simple to administer and suitable for elderly patients. It involves giving an oral load of 1 g ascorbic acid in water and then measuring urinary excretion of vitamin C over the next 6 h. The excretion pattern at dosing has been studied in ten young subjects. The result of the ascorbic acid tolerance test in these young subjects was significantly different after supplementation with 1 g ascorbic acid daily for 1 month. Two series of elderly patients were also studied with the ascorbic acid tolerance test. They had low initial plasma ascorbic acid levels and much less vitamin C was excreted in the urine after dosing. Seven of these elderly patients were then supplemented with 1 g ascorbic acid for 1 month. After supplementation the initial plasma levels and their response to the ascorbic acid tolerance test became similar to that seen in younger subjects.

Pigeon (Columba L.) meat iron solubility and availability for absorption in rats.

1. The distribution of iron in 59Fe-labelled pigeon (Columba L.) leg and breast muscle and liver were determined by gel filtration. While the insoluble Fe was between 14 and 25% of the total Fe from the tissues, the haem-Fe represented 79.1% (breast) to 45% (liver) of the total Fe and ferritin was between 5.5% (breast) and 26.5% (liver) of the total Fe. 2. The tissue haem-Fe concentration was found to be lower than that determined by gel filtration using the method of Schricker et al. (1982) for non-haem-Fe and obtaining haem-Fe by difference. 3. A simulated in vitro digestion procedure showed significantly (P less than 0.01) reduced 59Fe solubility from 59Fe-labelled pigeon meat after cooking at 90 degrees for 30 min. 4. 59Fe absorption from whole pigeon meat and soluble extract was significantly reduced by cooking when given to Fe-replete rats. Cooking liver, however, slightly improved 59Fe absorption in Fe-replete rats. 5. 59Fe absorption from the separated pigeon-meat fractions (haemoproteins, ferritin and haemosiderin) was variable but considerably lower than that from whole meat. 6. The relative distribution of Fe compounds in meat, the processing conditions they are subjected to and the protein content and composition may all influence the absorption of meat-Fe to some degree.

Effect of soya-bean protein on meat iron solubility and absorption in rats.

1. Soya-bean proteins were used to replace 30 and 50% of the protein from 59Fe-labelled pigeon (Columba L.) and chicken meat, and the solubility of the meat 59Fe in vitro and its absorption in vivo in rats in the presence and absence of soya-bean proteins were measured. 2. Replacement of part of the chicken meat by soya-bean proteins reduced 59Fe solubility from chicken meat at all stages during simulated in vitro digestion. 3. 59Fe absorption from 59Fe-labelled chicken meat when given to both Fe-replete and Fe-deficient rats was reduced in the presence of soya-bean proteins but was unaffected by the presence of casein or bovine serum albumin. 59Fe-absorption from pigeon meat in the presence of soya-bean proteins was not reduced to the same extent as that from chicken meat. 4. There was no significant effect of soya-bean proteins on 59Fe-labelled haemoglobin Fe absorption in vivo in Fe-replete rats. 5. Absorption of 59Fe from the isolated haemoproteins from chicken meat was unaffected by soya-bean proteins but 59Fe absorption from the main non-haem-Fe fractions was strongly inhibited, particularly from haemosiderin.

Nutritional evaluation of sausages containing chick pea flour (Cicer arietinum).

Nutritional evaluation of protein quality was carried out on English-type fresh skinless pork sausages in which 30% of the protein had been replaced by chick pea flour. Net protein utilisation, biological value and protein efficiency ratio were unaffected by 30 % meat protein replacement. Comparison of the amino acid composition with the biological values suggested some reduction in amino acid availability due to cooking.

Coprophagy in iron-deficient rats: II. 2 novel methods of prevention.

2 novel methods of coprophagy prevention were used in iron-deficient rats to measure their effect on haemoglobin regeneration during the feeding of ferrous sulphate or several soya proteins. Neck collars produced considerable weight loss and depression in food intake compared to aluminium anal cups which were tolerated well. Both methods of coprophagy prevention reduced iron availability from a range of soya proteins and ferrous sulphate and it is suggested that the practice of coprophagy in iron-deficient and possibly iron-replete rats may overestimate iron (and possibly other mineral) absorption (retention) studies.

Availability of iron from chicken meat and liver given to rats.

The concentration and distribution of iron in 59Fe-labelled chicken leg and breast meat and liver were determined by gel filtration. In all samples approximately 50% of the Fe was insoluble (haemosiderin) and the haemoproteins (haemoglobin and myoglobin) constituted from 15% (liver) to 25% (leg meat) of the total Fe. Ferritin accounted for from 12% (leg meat) to 27% (liver) of the total Fe. A technique was developed which enabled the time-course of the passage of 59Fe-labelled whole and fractionated meat and liver through the gastrointestinal tract of Fe-replete and Fe-deficient rats to be followed and it was found that the rate of stomach emptying appeared to be a function of the viscosity of the meal. In Fe-replete rats approximately 71% of a meal of raw chicken meat had left the stomach within 1 h of administration and by 2 h the stomach was almost empty and much of the unabsorbed 59Fe was in the ileum. By 4 h the ileum and colon contained almost equal amounts of 59Fe. Between different test meals there were only slight differences in gastrointestinal distribution and these reflected the different rates of stomach emptying. Stomach emptying was slower in Fe-deficient compared with Fe-replete rats. In Fe-replete, but not Fe-deficient, rats it was found that the amount of 59Fe lost (absorbed) from the gastrointestinal tract 2 h after administration of a test meal was not significantly different from the value found using a 7 d faecal collection technique. Comparison of the 2 h absorption values for several test meals indicated that 59Fe absorption from raw whole meat was significantly higher than from the soluble extract and the residue after extraction (haemosiderin). Heat treatment caused a significant decrease in the absorption of Fe in whole meat and the soluble meat extract but a significant increase in the liver absorption values. It is suggested that denatured haemoproteins are less available for absorption than their native forms but that heating increases the availability of the Fe of haemosiderin or ferritin or both. Isolated muscle ferritin was poorly absorbed but on the addition of excess bovine serum albumin the absorption of the Fe was markedly increased. It is concluded that, to estimate the Fe availability of a food such as chicken meat or liver one must not only take account of the concentration and type of each Fe-containing compound present but also such factors as their possible synergistic effects, the presence of chelating agents, the extent of cooking and the concentration and type of proteinaceous digestion products.

Rate of endogenous methionine oxidation in rats at different levels of methionine intake.

The fractional rates of loss of 14C and body-weight were measured in growing female rats after a single dose of [l-14C]methionine. After the dose, the rats were maintained for 30 d on diets containing graded amounts of methionine and killed at 30 d. By 20 d after the dose the level of labelling of body proteins was fairly uniform. From 20 to 30 d, 14CO2 was collected at intervals. The rats were killed at 30 d and the total radioactivity remaining in the body was measured. The fractional loss of 14CO2 between days 20 and 30 was constant regardless of methionine intake except at the highest intake level. After correcting the fractional loss of 14CO2 for urinary 14C loss, a value of 35 mg/kg body-weight (20 mg/kg body-weight 0.75) was obtained for the rate of endogenous methionine oxidation.

Calcium and phosphorus utilisation in chickens fed on diets high in N-alkane-grown yeast.

Interactions between calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) were studied in young chickens fed on diets high in n-alkane-grown yeast and in chicks fed on control soya-fishmeal diets for 14 d. Additions of inorganic Ca to diets containing 300 g yeast/kg caused increases in body-weight gain, gain:food ratio and bone mineralisation up to a total dietary concentration of 13.9 g Ca/kg. At all additions of Ca, bone mineralisation was inferior in yeast-fed chicks compared with control chicks. Supplementation of high Ca diets (16.8 g Ca/kg) with inorganic P led to further improvements in body-weight gain, food intake and food utilisation of chicks fed on high-yeast diets. Bone mineralisation also improved but was always inferior in the yeast-fed chicks compared with control chicks. It was concluded that Ca and P supplementation was necessary in high-yeast diets due to low dietary Ca concentrations and low availability.