The effect of nutritional education based on the health action process approach (HAPA) on the pregnancy outcomes among malnourished pregnant mothers.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness of nutritional education based on the health action process approach (HAPA) on pregnancy outcomes among malnourished pregnant mothers utilizing nutritional support. METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, 234 malnourished pregnant women under nutritional support from the fourth month of pregnancy participated. Participants were randomly allocated in study groups by the balance block randomization method. Data were collected using a socio-demographic and pregnancy outcomes checklist as well as self-devised questionnaire assessing the constructs of the HAPA model before and three months after the educational intervention. The framework of the educational intervention was based on the constructs of the HAPA and included three one-hour training sessions through lectures, group discussions, 'question and answer' sessions, and the use of educational tools. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and SPSS software. RESULTS: Pregnancy outcomes including optimal weight gain during pregnancy (p = 0.47), neonate's birth weight (p = 0.58), gestational age at delivery (p = 0.83), type of delivery (p = 0.48) gestational anemia (p = 0.22), diabetes (p = 0.59) and hypertension (p = 0.29) were not significantly different in the intervention and control groups. The results showed that the educational intervention produced a significant increase in the total score (24 points) in the intervention group. Improvement of scores in the intervention group compared to the control was observed in all of the model constructs except outcome expectation (0.68 decrease). The educational intervention in the present study had a large measure of effect in total (SMD: 2.69, partial eta2: 0.664). CONCLUSION: A nutritional education intervention based on the HAPA model for malnourished pregnant women increased behavioral intention and planning for action to have better nutritional behavior. However, the intervention did not change the pregnancy outcomes significantly. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Nutritional education based on the HAPA model can be used to improve nutritional behaviors of malnourished pregnant women.

Nutrition Assessment and Education of Patients with Heart Failure by Cardiologists.

Although nutritional assessment and education are important for hospitalized patients with heart failure, the extent of their implementation in real-world clinical practice is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the evaluation and management of nutrition during hospitalization for heart failure using a questionnaire survey for cardiologists.In this cross-sectional multicenter survey, 147 cardiologists from 32 institutions completed a web-based questionnaire (response rate, 95%).The survey showed that 78.2% of the respondents performed a nutritional assessment for hospitalized patients, whereas 38.3% used objective tools. In contrast, only 9.5% of the respondents evaluated the presence or absence of cardiac cachexia. Most respondents (89.8%) reported providing nutritional education to their patients before hospital discharge. However, compared with the number of respondents who provided information on sodium (97.0%) and water (63.6%) restrictions, a limited number of respondents provided guidance on optimal protein (20.5%) and micronutrient (9.1%) intake as part of the nutritional education. Less than 50% of the respondents provided guidance on optimal calorie intake (43.2%) and ideal body weight (34.8%) as a part of the nutritional education for patients identified as malnourished.Although nutritional assessment is widely performed for hospitalized patients with heart failure, most assessments are subjective rather than objective. Nutritional education, frequently provided before hospital discharge, is limited to information on water or salt intake restrictions. Therefore, more comprehensive and individualized nutritional assessments and counselling with a scientific basis are required.

Sustainable-psycho-nutritional intervention programme for a sustainable diet (the 'NutriSOS' study) and its effects on eating behaviour, diet quality, nutritional status, physical activity, metabolic biomarkers, gut microbiota and water and carbon footprints in Mexican population: study protocol of an mHealth randomised controlled trial.

Mexico is going through an environmental and nutritional crisis related to unsustainable dietary behaviours. Sustainable diets could solve both problems together. This study protocol aims to develop a three-stage, 15-week mHealth randomised controlled trial of a sustainable-psycho-nutritional intervention programme to promote Mexican population adherence to a sustainable diet and to evaluate its effects on health and environmental outcomes. In stage 1, the programme will be designed using the sustainable diets, behaviour change wheel and capability, opportunity, motivation, and behaviour (COM-B) models. A sustainable food guide, recipes, meal plans and a mobile application will be developed. In stage 2, the intervention will be implemented for 7 weeks, and a 7-week follow-up period in a young Mexican adults (18-35 years) sample, randomly divided (1:1 ratio) into a control group (n 50) and an experimental group (n 50), will be divided into two arms at week 8. Outcomes will include health, nutrition, environment, behaviour and nutritional-sustainable knowledge. Additionally, socio-economics and culture will be considered. Thirteen behavioural objectives will be included using successive approaches in online workshops twice a week. The population will be monitored using the mobile application consisting of behavioural change techniques. In stage 3, the effects of the intervention will be assessed using mixed-effects models on dietary intake and quality, nutritional status, physical activity, metabolic biomarkers (serum glucose and lipid profile), gut microbiota composition and dietary water and carbon footprints of the evaluated population. Improvements in health outcomes and a decrease in dietary water and carbon footprints are expected.

Effect of community based nutritional education on knowledge, attitude and compliance to IFA supplementation among pregnant women in rural areas of southwest Ethiopia: a quasi experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Compliance with the iron folic acid supplementation is low and not at the required level to prevent anaemia during pregnancy in many countries, including Ethiopia, even though an iron-folic acid supplementation program is being implemented. The aims of this study were to determine the effect of community-based nutritional education on knowledge, attitude, and compliance to IFA supplementation in Ilu Aba Bor zone of southwest Ethiopia. METHOD: A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study design consisting of intervention and control group was conducted among pregnant women. The total sample size of 472, therefore, 236 pregnant women for each interventional and control group from 16 kebeles were randomly selected in two districts. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Then, individual study units were selected using a simple random sampling technique and followed until the end of the study period. Effect of community-based nutritional education on knowledge, attitude, and compliance to IFA supplementation among pregnant women in rural areas were measured. RESULTS: A total of 472 pregnant women participated in the study during the baseline and 437 (92.6%) were in the study until the end. The majority (49.2%) of respondents were 21-25 years of age, with a mean age of 23.4 (SD = 3.7) years. Community-based nutrition has resulted in a statistically significant increase in levels of maternal knowledge of IFAS by 15.2% in the intervention group compared to 5.1% in the control group. Similarly, the intervention group had odds of developing a positive attitude toward IFA 5.6 (4.01, 7.85) times higher than the control group. Moreover, in this study, the odds of compliance towards IFA supplementation were 3.9 (2.67, 5.57) times higher among those who received nutrition education than those women who did not. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that community-based nutritional education can result in a significant change in knowledge, attitude, and compliance towards IFA supplementation and supports the literature suggesting the importance of the intervention to overcome the problem of poor compliance and its associated consequences.

A scoping review of food and nutrition literacy programs.

The impact of food literacy (FL) and nutrition literacy (NL) programs on lifestyles and health is recognized in the literature, yet few studies systematize it. This study aims to deepen the understanding of FL/NL from the characterization of programs in terms of (i) theoretical foundations, conceptualization and measuring instruments; (ii) characterization of the FL/NL programs and results and (iii) limitations and future directions declared. A scoping review of original articles addressing FL/NL programs from the Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed databases published between 2015 and 2023. There was a somewhat restricted view of the construct and the absence of a clear boundary between FL and NL. Half of the studies reported theoretical foundations. The most used model was Social Cognitive Learning Theory. More significant development of programs was observed in Australia, using quasi-experimental designs. Most of the studies informed positive results. Limitations of the studies related to the sampling process, absence of a control group and lack of follow-up. It is suggested that long-term interventions consider economic, social and cultural factors. Despite that theoretical and empirical aspects should be revised, FL/NL programs are a suitable strategy to mitigate the social and health effects of inadequate nutrition.

Application of a Platform for Gluten-Free Diet Evaluation and Dietary Advice: From Theory to Practice.

The present work aimed to analyze, through the GlutenFreeDiet digital platform, the evolution over one year of the nutritional status, dietary profile and symptoms present among celiac people on a gluten-free diet (GFD) while receiving individualized dietary advice. Twenty-seven adults and thirty-one celiac children/adolescents participated in the study. This was then followed up by three visits, at diagnosis, and after 3 and 12 months (vt0, vt3 and vt12). Participants filled out dietary and gastrointestinal symptoms questionnaires. All patients received written personalized dietary advice from dietitians who interpreted data from the platform. Results obtained indicated that participants consumed proteins and lipids in excess and carbohydrates in defect. Low intakes of cereals, fruit and vegetables and high meat intakes were observed. However, gluten-free product (GFP) consumption and that of ultra-processed foods was reduced after 1 year in adults. Symptoms decreased after vt3 but recurred in vt12. Changes in ultra-processed foods and GFP intake, but lack of changes in the rest of the parameters suggested that the platform support was not effective enough. Even though the platform represents a useful tool for monitoring celiac patients and giving dietary advice, modules that require more continuous attention and nutritional education of patients should be provided for interventions to be more effective.

Educational intervention for food consciousness: A randomized study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Contemporary living conditions present opportunities that promote obesity. In addition, traditional nutritional intervention have been considered inefficient, and there is a demand for the development and evaluation of strategies not based on the traditional paradigm of diets. AIM: The aim of this study is to describe the Food and Nutrition Education Program with Sensory and Cognitive Exercises (PESC), which seeks to promote consciousness of eating experience and body signals appreciation to adult women and thus to make them less vulnerable to food consumption stimuli. METHOD: This protocol outlines a randomized study that will include 60 adult women. PESC is based on the sensory influence for eating behavior and on the Triple-Aspect Monism theory of consciousness. It is composed of exercises that explore sensory, cognitive and emotional aspects of food experience in order to promote it into a conscious process. The program consists of four weekly workshops that explore themes related to the current obesogenic environment problematic. The intervention group (n=30) will be evaluated at the beginning of the first workshop and after the last one. The control group (n=30) will not participate on the workshops and will be evaluated twice, with a one-month interval. CONCLUSIONS: This study will contribute substantially to the development of nutritional interventions based on sensory aspects and consciousness of food experience. Therefore, PESC is considered an innovative approach with regard to improving individuals' eating behavior. TRIAL REGISTRY: This clinical trial was registered with the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC), http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-4qgpg5/,numberRBR-4qgpg5.

Effect of community-based nutritional education on dietary diversity and consumption of animal-source foods among rural preschool-aged children in the Ilu Abba Bor zone of southwest Ethiopia: Quasi-experimental study.

Dietary diversity (DD) is a concern for poor people in developing countries, particularly in Africa. Most people's diets consist primarily of monotonous carbohydrate staples, with little or no animal products and few fresh fruits and vegetables. The aim of this intervention was to see how nutrition education delivered by trained health professionals improved preschool-aged children's consumption of DD and animal-sourced foods. The study used a quasi-experimental design with 588 preschool-aged children. Researchers used a multistage sample technique followed by a systematic random sampling technique. A χ2 test was used to determine the baseline differences in demographic and socioeconomic factors between the two groups, as well as the relationship between predictors and child DD and animal-source foods (ASFs). The researchers used generalized estimating equations to assess the change in the difference in outcomes between the intervention and control groups, as well as the association between predictors and child DD and ASFs. The adjusted odds ratio with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals was reported to show the strength of the association. The findings of this study revealed that there was a highly significant difference in both DD scores (DDS) and ASFs between the control and intervention groups DDS (p < 0.003) and ASF (p < 0.001). According to the findings of this study, nutrition education can significantly improve DDS and ASF consumption among preschool-aged children.

The importance of nutritional management and education in the treatment of autism.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are an early-onset neurodevelopmental disorders. The key symptoms of ASD include social deficits, verbal and non-verbal communication deficits, and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities. Dietary patterns have been evidenced to be related to maternal nutritional status that might lead to different metabolic conditions, and maternal metabolic dysfunction has been observed to be associated with ASD. Furthermore growing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota has a role in the pathophysiology of ASD. Differences in composition of the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota in children with ASD compared to unaffected siblings and/or healthy unrelated controls have been reported in various studies. The above-mentioned ASD factors and symptoms can be regulated by proper nutrition. The importance of nutrition and its possible impact on ASD patients is key to integral therapy. According to numerous research studies, various nutritional approaches succeeded in reducing the severity of patients' core ASD symptoms. The numerous options for diet that is used in the ASD therapy, as described in the scientific literature, are related to the problem of choosing an appropriate nutritional treatment. Each nutrition programme needs to be personalised and tailored to an individual patient. The aim of the paper is to review the available literature on dietary interventions in children with ASD and provide up-to-date evidence.

Alternative and online weight loss interventions during Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

The problem of obesity is affecting an increasing number of people worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic and the required social distancing, which make it impossible to see a dietitian, present new challenges and require the development of new ways of working with overweight individuals. Based on research and practice, dietetic services are beginning to shift from in-office consultations to a form of online consultation using mobile apps and websites. This literature review aims to critically analyze the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of interventions targeting weight loss in overweight or obese individuals focusing on behavioral and online interventions. The data from the presented studies suggest that the effectiveness of online interventions to control body weight is high enough to be used in nutritional education and in weight reduction or maintenance. The main advantage is a wide access to them for the public.

Long-term effect of one-time nutritional education in school on nutritional knowledge of early school-aged children.

BACKGROUND: In the group of school-aged children nutritional education (NE) enables an early development of healthy eating habits, which can be transferred to the adult life. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the long-term effect of a one-time nutritional education, including also culinary workshops, on the level of nutritional knowledge (NK) of early school-aged children as well as to analyse the nutritional content of the children's books. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted among second- and third-grade pupils from a primary school in Warsaw (n=76). The level of NK was determined using the same, self-administrated questionnaire at each of the three stages of the study. RESULTS: The level of NK was assumed as very good in 47% of respondents before the education, in 91% immediately after the education, and in 74% six months after it. Out of all 23.0 points (max.) on average 18.1 points were obtained at the first stage, 21.1 points at the second stage and 19.7 points at the third stage (p<0.001). Immediately after the NE and six months after it the level of NK increased significantly (comparing to the first stage) especially on these topics: the daily water requirements and the recommendations on physical activity (p<0.001 for both questions). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study confirmed the effectiveness of a one-time nutritional education on the level of nutritional knowledge. Moreover, results show that in the research group nutritional knowledge about importance of physical activity, adequate nutrition, eating varicoloured vegetables and fruits, screen time limits and distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy products was satisfactory, even at the baseline, but in the main source of fats in a diet, the role of milk products, the effect of having too little water in a diet and the sugar content in food children's knowledge was not enough.

Assessment of an adolescent-girl-focused nutritional educational intervention within a girls' empowerment programme: a cluster randomised evaluation in Zambia.

OBJECTIVE: Adolescent girls are at risk for both macro- and micronutrient deficiencies affecting growth, maternal and child health. This study assessed the impact of an adolescent-girl-tailored nutritional education curriculum on nutritional outcomes, including knowledge, dietary behaviour, anthropometry and anaemia. DESIGN: A cluster-randomised evaluation was conducted with two study arms: girls in mentor-led weekly girls' groups receiving sexual and reproductive health and life-skills training assigned to an age-appropriate nutritional curriculum and control girls in the weekly girls' groups without the nutritional education. The primary analysis was intent-to-treat (ITT) generalised least squares regression. Secondary analysis using two-stage, instrumental-variables estimation was also conducted. SETTING: The intervention and evaluation were conducted in urban and rural areas across four of ten provinces in Zambia. PARTICIPANTS: In total, 2660 girl adolescents aged 10-19 years were interviewed in 2013 (baseline) and annually through 2017. RESULTS: ITT results indicate that exposure to the nutritional educational programme did not meaningfully change outcomes for adolescents or their children. Intervention adolescents were no more likely to correctly identify healthy foods (P = 0·51) or proper infant-feeding practices (P = 0·92); were no less likely to be stunted (P = 0·30) or underweight (P = 0·87) and no less likely to be anaemic (P = 0·38). Outcomes for children of intervention participants were not improved, including being breastfed (P = 0·42), stunted (P = 0·21), wasted (P = 0·77) or anaemic (P = 0·51). CONCLUSIONS: Even a high-quality nutritional educational intervention tailored to adolescents within an empowerment programme does not assure improved nutritional outcomes; adolescent preferences, resource control and household dynamics require consideration in the context of nutritional educational programmes.

Multilevel analysis of factors that influence overweight in children: research in schools enrolled in northern Brazil School Health Program.

BACKGROUND: The study evaluates children in schools that participate in the School Health Program in the Northern region of Brazil with the objective of assessing whether their schools interfered in the development of overweight/obesity and how individual and school environment variables behave according to contextual analysis. METHODS: The analyses were carried out with 1036 children from 25 municipal public schools in Northern Brazil that participated in the School Health Program. We evaluated both individual characteristics and scholar environment through univariate and multivariate logistic regressions to identify which of these factors were related to overweight/obesity as well as the effect of varying such associations. RESULTS: The considered individuals had an median age of 8 years, being 54.9% female and 27.8% presenting overweight/obesity. In multivariate logistic regression, the overweight/obesity variance in schools was 0.386 (individual variables) and 0.102 (individual and school variables), explaining 23.7% of the variation, reduction of ICC and MOR. The Akaike Information Criterion between the models was reduced and the likelihood ratio indicated better adequacy of the latter model. The investigated children had a greater chance of developing overweight/obesity when they performed 2+ sedentary activities/day, depending on school location as well as whether or not candies were sold in the school surroundings. On the other hand, a lower chance of developing overweight/obesity was identified in children that ate 5+ meals/day and practiced dance at school. CONCLUSION: We observed that the variables inherent to both individuals and schools favored the development of overweight/obesity in children. It is relevant that scholar curriculums incorporate healthy eating interventions and encourage body practices associated with policies that restrain the sale of ultra-processed food in schools as well as the development of intersectoral actions between education and health to control childhood obesity.

[Study of collective nutrition education sessions for diabetic type II patients]. / Étude sur les séances collectives d'éducation nutritionnelle pour des patients diabétiques type II.

AIM: As with many chronic diseases, most French diabetes services for patients with type II diabetes now have a structured reception approach including collective educational sessions in the form of targeted workshops, thematic days, or even programs with several sessions. The aim of our study is to understand the interlocutory dynamics favorable to the adoption of new cognitions and attitudes during these sessions. METHODS: We studied the verbal exchanges of nine collective nutrition education sessions (five focusing on knowledge input, and four implementing behavioral simulation). A total of 76 patients with type II diabetes (per group of six to 13 participants) and 12 group leaders (nurses, dieticians or nutritionists) contributed to this study, based on audio recording, and analysis of these sessions lasting two hours on average (with between 4345 and 8592 words per session). The nine corpora were the subject of two types of content analysis: lexical and dialogic, with the N'vivo 8 software. RESULTS: The results of this study suggest very precisely several ways to improve the content of the informational contributions of these educational sessions. The study of their process also makes it possible to distinguish between self-disclosure and social support in communication between participants. Finally, this study checks the effectiveness of the different types of framing of health messages in the discourse of the group leaders to facilitate the adhesion of the participants. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, it appears that the reaction spontaneously verbalized by the participants during the course of the educational situation, in these sessions, can be considered as an interesting indicator of their impact. The results may have implications for the development of nutritional education programs and group leader training.

The effect of nutritional intervention on the lipid profile and dietary intake of adolescents with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus: a randomized, controlled trial.

Objective This study sought to evaluate the effects of a nutritional intervention on the lipid metabolism biomarkers associated with cardiovascular risk, and their variation over time, in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) patients. This study also investigated the relationships between these biomarkers and dietary intake, nutritional status, disease variables, and medication used. Methods A total of 31 10- to 19-year-old female adolescents with JSLE for at least six months were analyzed. The participants were randomly allocated to two groups: nutritional intervention or control. The intervention group received verbal and printed nutritional instructions once per month over nine months. Before and after the intervention, the participants underwent assessments of anthropometry; dietary intake; physical activity; socioeconomic status; total cholesterol and fractions; triglycerides; apolipoprotein A (Apo A-I); apolipoprotein B (Apo B); paraoxonase (PON) activity (a) and amount (q); myeloperoxidase (MPO); and small, dense LDL-c (sdLDL) particles. Results After nine months, we found significant reductions in the calorie, carbohydrate, total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat intakes in the intervention compared with the control group over time. The PONa/HDL-c ratio increased by 3.18 U/ml/mg/dl in the intervention group and by 0.63 U/ml/mg/dl in the control group ( p = 0.037). Unlike the intervention group, the sdLDL levels of the control group worsened over time ( p = 0.018). Conclusion The present study detected a reduction in calorie and fat intake, which indicates an improvement of HDL-c function and possible protection against cardiovascular risk for the intervention group.

A nutritional intervention programme at a worksite canteen to promote a healthful lifestyle inspired by the traditional Mediterranean diet.

This study investigates the effectiveness and long-term impact on the composition of the habitual diet of a nutritional intervention programme - undertaken through panels, totems, and table mats or handout leaflets - based on the promotion at a worksite canteen of healthy food-choices resembling the traditional Mediterranean diet. A significantly higher choice of dishes based on wholegrain cereals, legumes, white meat and fish, and a lower choice of dishes based on refined cereals, red and processed meat, eggs and cheese was observed at the end of the intervention and after six months and three years of follow-ups. A significantly better adherence to the nutritional recommendations for saturated-fat, cholesterol, sugars and fibre was observed. This study reveals that a nutritional intervention programme promoting the traditional Mediterranean diet and utilising a minimally intensive approach is feasible and effective to modify in a beneficial way the dietary habits of a working population and keep these changes in the long-term.

[Dietary habits among type 2 diabetic patients attending the Abidjan Diabetes Centre]. / Pratiques alimentaires des diabétiques de type 2 suivis au Centre Antidiabétique d'Abidjan.

Objectives: The prevalence of diabetes is rapidly increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. Healthy lifestyle and dietary conditions play a key role in the control of blood sugar imbalance and cardiovascular complications of diabetes. This study was designed to describe the profile and dietary habits of type 2 diabetic patients attending the Abidjan Diabetes Centre (CADA), and to identify related factors. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive and analytic study was conducted in 2014 at the CADA. A total of 384 patients were included. Results: Patients had a mean age of 56.2 (SD: 11.7) years and had been living with diabetes for a mean duration of 8.6 years. Main comorbidities associated with diabetes were overweight (56.8%) and high blood pressure (45.3%). More than one-half of patients (60.7%) did not have a good knowledge of the recommended diet for diabetics: 88.5% did not have regular meal times, 11.7% reported snacking and 61.5% had their meals outside of the home. In addition, 60.4% stated that, during the week preceding the survey, they had eaten at least one "not recommended" food, most commonly fatty meals and fried food (31.5%). Patients who did not know that eating fatty meals and fried food was not recommended for diabetics were 3 times more likely to each this type of food (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Strengthening nutritional support by therapeutic education sessions is a key strategy that should be implemented to improve dietary habits among type 2 diabetic patients in Ivory Coast.

The effectiveness of nutritional education among women aged 60-85 on the basis of anthropometric parameters and lipid profiles

Background: After several years of experience with guiding of an original program on health-promoting nutritional education for women during menopause, which by inducing changes in nutritional behaviour resulted in many favorable health promoting effects, on request of the students of the Association of Third Age University, an original educational program "Comprehensive stimulation of senior citizens to activity" was developed out and implemented. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of four-month nutritional education and adjustments in diets of women aged 60-85, on the basis of the measurements of the selected lipid parameters in their blood tests Material and methods: This research project was joined by 37 female subjects aged 60-85, who are the members of the University of the Third Age in Szczecin, and whose average BMI was 31.7 kg/m2. Before the nutritional education commenced and after it was completed, the female subjects' nutritional status was assessed (BMI, WC, WHR, WHtR) and the energy and nutritional value of their diets was examined based on the subjects' regular journalkeeping. Keys' atherogenic score in their diets were also computed. Results: The applied nutritional education led to changes in the energy and nutritional value of the female subjects' diets, which specifically improved their anthropometric parameters and the resulting BMI, WC and WHtR parameters. This fact was also reflected in a substantial decrease of the glucose level and a substantial increase of HDL-C level in the blood of the examined female subjects, as well as in the improvements in the assessed parameters TC/HDL-C, LDL-C/ HDL-C, TG/HDL-C. Conclusions: The analysis of the results allows to confirm, that the four-month nutritional education of elderly women resulted in changes of their erroneous dietary habits and an improvement in their nutrition.

The use of new technologies for nutritional education in primary schools: a pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was evaluating if the presence of a humanoid robot could improve the efficacy of a game-based, nutritional education intervention. STUDY DESIGN: This was a controlled, school-based pilot intervention carried out on fourth-grade school children (8-10 years old). A total of 112 children underwent a game-based nutritional educational lesson on the importance of carbohydrates. For one group (n = 58), the lesson was carried out by a nutritional educator, the Master of Taste (MT), whereas for another group, (n = 54) the Master of Taste was supported by a humanoid robot (MT + NAO). A third group of children (n = 33) served as control not receiving any lesson. METHODS: The intervention efficacy was evaluated by questionnaires administered at the beginning and at the end of each intervention. The nutritional knowledge level was evaluated by the cultural-nutritional awareness factor (AF) score. RESULTS: A total of 290 questionnaires were analyzed. Both MT and MT + NAO interventions significantly increased nutritional knowledge. At the end of the study, children in the MT and MT + NAO group showed similar AF scores, and the AF scores of both intervention groups were significantly higher than the AF score of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a significant increase in the nutritional knowledge of children involved in a game-based, single-lesson, educational intervention performed by a figure that has a background in food science. However, the presence of a humanoid robot to support this figure's teaching activity did not result in any significant learning improvement.

[Nutritional counseling in community pharmacies within the framework of the French National Nutrition and Health Program]. / Conseils nutritionnels à l'officine dans le cadre du Programme National Nutrition Santé

INTRODUCTION: The French National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS), nutrition policy whose objective is to improve the health status of the population, establishes dietary guidelines to answer priority nutritional objectives. The pharmacist, as the drug specialist, dispenses not only products but also services adapted to their patients' needs such as nutritional counseling in order to improve their quality of life. The purpose of this work was to develop nutritional tip sheets answering to the PNNS recommendations that could be exploited by pharmacists to advise their patients. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Two types of tools were developed: self-test on nutrition, aiming at arousing the dialogue between patient and pharmacist on nutrition, and nutritional tip sheets raising the main advices to be dispensed according to the patients' profiles, with their scientific argumentation. RESULTS: The implementation of this tool was tested in a pilot pharmacy, where the utility of nutritional tip sheets was assessed in 24 patients. Among the patients who answered (46 %, that is 11 respondents), 82 % (9 patients) considered that these tip sheets were useful to improve their lifestyle. Nutritional tip sheets answering the priority objectives of the PNNS and relatives to the main diseases were most frequently used. DISCUSSION: It would be sensible to widen this nutritional tool to other pharmacies, especially for the most popular sheets. The implementation of a file listing these nutritional tip sheets could constitute an in-service training tool. CONCLUSION: This nutritional device could contribute to therapeutic education provided by community pharmacists.