Background: In China, 61 million children in rural areas have been left behind by their parents due to massive urbanization and migration of parents from the countryside seeking economic ...opportunities. The aim is to describe and examine the differences in home food availability, dietary intake, home food adequacy, and weight status between left-behind children (LBC) and non-left-behind children (NLBC). Methods: We surveyed 1,572 first and second-year middle school students in Xinyang city, Henan province of China. Mann-Whitney test was used to compare home food availability and dietary intake between LBC and NLBC; Chi-square test was used to compare children's weight status. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to explore the relationship between multiple outcomes (e.g. food intakes, fast food intake, home food availability, home food adequacy and etc.) with BMI, and LBC status, adjusting for age, gender, and income. Results: Compared with NLBC, LBC reported lower intake of vegetables (=.01), fruits (p = .01), snacks (p < .0001), dairy foods (p = .002), sugary drinks (p = .03), lower frequency eating fast food (p = .02), and lower availability of unhealthy home foods (p = .02). Overall, having more healthy foods available at home was correlated with higher intake of carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, and water and with a lower intake of snacks and sugary drinks. Children who consumed fast food more often reported having higher intake of all food groups except water. Children who reported higher home food adequacy reported higher consumption of fruits and dairy foods. Conclusions: While LBC have lower intake of both healthy and unhealthy foods and lower availability of unhealthy foods, NLBC have higher intake of most foods. Future studies should explore in more depth the familial and environmental factors associated with food intake and availability of children in both groups.
Background: Weight-related behaviors such as sedentary activity, physical activity, and diet have been the focus of efforts to prevent and reduce the occurrence of obesity and overweight in children, ...but few longitudinal studies have examined the effects of weightrelated behaviors on changes in weight status over time in young children. We examined the effects of weight-related behaviors on subsequent changes in weight through age 5 y in the United States 2000/1 birth cohort. Methods: We used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-B), a nationally representative cohort with directly-measured anthropometry up to kindergarten entry (n~5,000). Data, including anthropometric measures, were collected four times between 2000 and 2005. We employed an autoregressive cross-lagged model in a structural equation model framework to assess the effects of intake of fruits, vegetables, juice, soda, fast food, sweet and salty snacks, and television viewing - on weight stability over time. Results: We used a latent factor for diet quality composed of fruits, vegetables, juice, sweet and salty snacks. Soda and fast food items were dropped due to low variance across the sample. BMI z-scores were highly stable throughout early life: the standardized parameter estimates of BMI z-scores on subsequent BMI z-scores ranged from 0.33 to 0.80. BMI z-scores were least stable between ages 1 and 2 but became highly stable between ages 4 and 5. After accounting for prior weight, behavioral SA1 factors had little effect on subsequent weight. Conclusions: Intake under five years old is not correlated with weight. It is important to prevent excessive weight gain early in childhood, as weight patterns are long-lasting.
The frequent consumption of energy-dense fast food is associated with increased body mass index. This systematic review aims to examine the methodology and current evidence on fast food access and ...its associations with outcomes. Six databases were searched using terms relating to fast food. Only peer-reviewed studies published in English during a 10-year period, with data collection and analysis regarding fast food access were included. Forty articles met the aforementioned criteria. Nearly half of the studies (n = 16) used their own set of features to define fast food. Studies predominantly examined the relationship between fast food access and socioeconomic factors (n = 21) and 76% indicated fast food restaurants were more prevalent in low-income areas compared with middle- to higher-income areas. Ten of 12 studies found fast food restaurants were more prevalent in areas with higher concentrations of ethnic minority groups in comparison with Caucasians. Six adult studies found higher body mass index was associated with living in areas with increased exposure to fast food; four studies, however, did not find associations. Further work is needed to understand if and how fast food access impacts dietary intake and health outcomes; and if fast food access has disparate socioeconomic, race/ethnicity and age associations.
The association between the residential fast food environment and diet has gained growing attention. However, why the food environment affects food consumption is under-examined. This study aimed to ...investigate neighbourhood social norms with respect to fast food consumption as a potential mediating pathway between residential fast food outlet exposure and residents' fast food consumption.
A correlational study was conducted in which a nationwide sample of 1038 respondents living across The Netherlands completed a survey. Respondents reported their fast food consumption (amount/week) as well as perceived descriptive and injunctive norms regarding fast food consumption in their neighbourhood. Fast food outlet exposure was measured by the average count of fast food outlets within a 400 m walking distance buffer around the zip-codes of the respondents, using a retail outlet database. Regression models were used to assess associations between residential fast food outlet exposure, fast food consumption, and social norm perceptions, and a bootstrapping procedure was used to test the indirect -mediation- effect. Separate analyses were performed for descriptive norms and injunctive norms.
There was no overall or direct association between residential fast food outlet exposure and residents' fast food consumption. However, fast food outlet exposure was positively associated with neighbourhood social norms (descriptive and injunctive) regarding fast food consumption, which in turn were positively associated with the odds of consuming fast food. Moreover, results of the bootstrapped analysis provided evidence of indirect effects of fast food outlet exposure on fast food consumption, via descriptive norms and injunctive norms.
In neighbourhoods with more fast food outlets, residents were more likely to perceive fast food consumption in the neighbourhood as more common and appropriate. In turn, stronger neighbourhood social norms were associated with higher fast food consumption. Acknowledging the correlational design, this study is the first that implies that neighbourhood social norms may be a mediating pathway in the relation between the residential fast food environment and fast food consumption. Future research may examine the role of neighbourhood social norms in other contexts and explore how the changing food environment may shift our consumption norms.
Objective To assess the impact of fast food restaurants adding calorie labelling to menu items on the energy content of individual purchases.Design Cross sectional surveys in spring 2007 and spring ...2009 (one year before and nine months after full implementation of regulation requiring chain restaurants’ menus to contain details of the energy content of all menu items). Setting 168 randomly selected locations of the top 11 fast food chains in New York City during lunchtime hours.Participants 7309 adult customers interviewed in 2007 and 8489 in 2009.Main outcome measures Energy content of individual purchases, based on customers’ register receipts and on calorie information provided for all items in menus.Results For the full sample, mean calories purchased did not change from before to after regulation (828 v 846 kcal, P=0.22), though a modest decrease was shown in a regression model adjusted for restaurant chain, poverty level for the store location, sex of customers, type of purchase, and inflation adjusted cost (847 v 827 kcal, P=0.01). Three major chains, which accounted for 42% of customers surveyed, showed significant reductions in mean energy per purchase (McDonald’s 829 v 785 kcal, P=0.02; Au Bon Pain 555 v 475 kcal, P<0.001; KFC 927 v 868 kcal, P<0.01), while mean energy content increased for one chain (Subway 749 v 882 kcal, P<0.001). In the 2009 survey, 15% (1288/8489) of customers reported using the calorie information, and these customers purchased 106 fewer kilocalories than customers who did not see or use the calorie information (757 v 863 kcal, P<0.001).Conclusion Although no overall decline in calories purchased was observed for the full sample, several major chains saw significant reductions. After regulation, one in six lunchtime customers used the calorie information provided, and these customers made lower calorie choices.
Despite increased attention on retail food environments and fast food consumption, results from previous studies have been inconsistent. Variation in measurement of exposure to retail food ...environments and the context of the built environment are possible reasons for inconsistencies. The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between exposure to fast food environment and fast food consumption among young adults, and to explore possible associations between built environment and fast food consumption.
We employed an observational, cross-sectional study design. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 2016 and 2017. In a sample of 591 young adults aged 16-30 years in five Canadian cities, we constructed and computed individual-level time-weighted number and ratio of fast food outlets in activity spaces derived from GPS trajectory data. Negative binomial regression models estimated the associations between exposure measures and frequency of fast food consumption (number of times consuming fast food meals in a seven-day period), controlling for built environment characterization and individual-level characteristics.
Significant positive associations were found between time-weighted number of fast food outlets and count of fast food meals consumed per week in models using a radius of 500 m (IRR = 1.078, 95% CI: 0.999, 1.163), 1 km (IRR = 1.135, 95% CI: 1.024, 1.259), or 1.5 km (IRR = 1.138, 95% CI: 1.004, 1.289) around GPS tracks, when generating activity spaces. However, time-weighted ratio of fast food outlets was only significantly associated with count of fast food meals consumed when a radius of 500 m is used (IRR = 1.478, 95% CI: 1.032, 2.123). The time-weighted Active Living Environment Index with Transit measure was significantly negatively related to count of fast food meals consumed across all models.
Our study demonstrated associations of time-weighted activity space-based exposure to fast food outlets and fast food consumption frequency in a sample of young adults in urban Canada, and provides evidence of the association between context of built environment and fast food consumption, furthering discussion on the utility of individual-level, activity space-based data and methods in food environment research. These results imply that both food retail composition and activity spaces in urban areas are important factors to consider when studying diets.
Food insecurity has been shown to be associated with fast-food consumption. However, to date, studies on this specific topic are scarce. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the ...association between food insecurity and fast-food consumption in adolescents aged 12–15 years from sixty-eight countries (seven low-income, twenty-seven lower middle-income, twenty upper middle-income, fourteen high-income countries). Cross-sectional, school-based data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey were analysed. Data on past 30-d food insecurity (hunger) and fast-food consumption in the past 7 d were collected. Multivariable logistic regression and meta-analysis were conducted to assess associations. Models were adjusted for age, sex and BMI. There were 180 164 adolescents aged 12–15 years (mean age 13·8 (sd 1·0) years; 50·8 % boys) included in the analysis. Overall, severe food insecurity (i.e. hungry because there was not enough food in home most of the time or always) was associated with 1·17 (95 % CI 1·08, 1·26) times higher odds for fast-food consumption. The estimates pooled by country-income levels were significant in low-income countries (adjusted OR (aOR) = 1·30; 95 % CI 1·05, 1·60), lower middle-income countries (aOR = 1·15; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·29) and upper middle-income countries (aOR = 1·26; 95 % CI 1·07, 1·49), but not in high-income countries (aOR = 1·04; 95 % CI 0·88, 1·23). The mere co-occurrence of food insecurity and fast-food consumption is of public health importance. To tackle this issue, a strong governmental and societal approach is required to utilise effective methods as demonstrated in some high-income countries such as the implementation of food banks and the adoption of free school meals.
Oziroma, bolje, ravno od tu, od individualnega samoopolnomočenja, h kateremu stremimo v naši zahtevi po pravici do zadovoljitve lastnega okusa, se lahko začne boj vseh proti vsem za najbolj okusno ...oziroma bolje oglaševano uživanje jedi. 4.Fast food in slow food To smer so ubrale različne raziskave, tako filozofske kot druge, ki jim je predmet uživanje hrane. Najsi gre za preprosto »prvi požirek piva«, ki ga lahko zvrnemo vase,6 ali za to, kar predlaga renomirani kuharski mojster kot rezultat bolj ali manj genialne posebne priprave, cilj je vedno isti: doseči, da je naša sposobnost okušanja, in z njo sposobnost ostalih čutov, eksaltirana. Proti globalno že uveljavljeni rutini fast fooda, slow food temelji na vrednotenju lokalnega, tipičnega in posebnega. Fast food je hrana tistega, ki se mu mudi, tistega, ki išče rahle
This paper investigates the effect of food environments, characterized as food swamps, on adult obesity rates. Food swamps have been described as areas with a high-density of establishments selling ...high-calorie fast food and junk food, relative to healthier food options. This study examines multiple ways of categorizing food environments as food swamps and food deserts, including alternate versions of the Retail Food Environment Index. We merged food outlet, sociodemographic and obesity data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Environment Atlas, the American Community Survey, and a commercial street reference dataset. We employed an instrumental variables (IV) strategy to correct for the endogeneity of food environments (i.e., that individuals self-select into neighborhoods and may consider food availability in their decision). Our results suggest that the presence of a food swamp is a stronger predictor of obesity rates than the absence of full-service grocery stores. We found, even after controlling for food desert effects, food swamps have a positive, statistically significant effect on adult obesity rates. All three food swamp measures indicated the same positive association, but reflected different magnitudes of the food swamp effect on rates of adult obesity (
values ranged from 0.00 to 0.16). Our adjustment for reverse causality, using an IV approach, revealed a stronger effect of food swamps than would have been obtained by naïve ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates. The food swamp effect was stronger in counties with greater income inequality (
< 0.05) and where residents are less mobile (
< 0.01). Based on these findings, local government policies such as zoning laws simultaneously restricting access to unhealthy food outlets and incentivizing healthy food retailers to locate in underserved neighborhoods warrant consideration as strategies to increase health equity.