•During lockdown, perceived healthy food intake and involvement in cooking increased.•Perceived junk food consumption decreased during lockdown.•After lockdown, healthy food consumption and ...involvement decreased.•Junk food intake kept declining even after lockdown.•Restrained eaters’ consumption patterns took the greatest advantage of the lockdown.
With the COVID-19 outbreak, structural constraints and social psychological factors changed the dietary habits of many people. This two-wave longitudinal study performed in Italy aimed to explore people’s perceptions of changes in healthy and unhealthy food consumption before and during the first lockdown and the possible persistence of such changes after its official end, as a function of the number of people cohabiting, negative emotion activation, and individual eating styles. A total of 728 Italian adults completed self-reported food consumption measures and related psychological variables at both time points. In the lockdown period, participants reported an increase in healthy food consumption and involvement in cooking and a decrease in the consumption of junk food. This general pattern was stronger for both young and restrained eaters. The intensity of negative emotions and the number of cohabitants were not associated with the examined behaviour. In the post-lockdown period, the new consumption pattern acquired during the confinement was partially discontinued: participants cut down their healthy food consumption as well as their involvement in food preparation, but they continued to reduce their junk food intake. These results suggest that people’s food consumption patterns can easily improve when the situation is favourable (e.g., more time and opportunities for cooking healthy meals) and offer an interesting theoretical contribution to understanding the factors useful in promoting healthy eating, in the event of a future outbreak.
Introduction: Junk food is a pejorative term for cheap food containing high levels of calories from sugar or fat with little fibre, protein, vitamins or minerals. This study was conducted to assess ...the junk food consumption and patterns of consumed junk food among secondary level students.Material and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional research. Hundred forty-two respondents were drawn by using cluster sampling method. Self-administered semi-structured questionnaire in Nepali Version was used and the collected data was entered and analysed in Epi-data and SPSS Version 20 by using simple statistical methods.Results: The findings revealed that more girls (53.5%) consumed junk food than boys (79.6%) and those respondents were aware of the meaning of junk food. Majority of respondents (90.1%) preferred junk food for taste, is faster to prepare (44.4%), preferred as influenced by TV advertisements (15.5%), because of peer influences (31.7%) and some (29.6%) respondents preferred junk food because nothing else was available. Concerning patterns of consumed junk food all respondents (100%) consumed ‘chat-pat’ and noodles, panipuri (97.2%), doughnuts (93%), chocolates (92.3%), biscuits (95.8%), ice cream (65.5%) and cold drinks (65.5%). Only 54.2% of respondents were aware of risks associated with poor eating habits.Conclusion: Adolescents consumed a greater amount of junk food which led to a majority of ill effects later on. It is recommended that the school and community conduct and implement awareness programme on junk food consumption and its ill effects.
In response to public concerns and campaigns, some United Kingdom supermarkets have implemented policies to reduce less-healthy food at checkouts. We explored the effects of these policies on ...purchases of less-healthy foods commonly displayed at checkouts.
We used a natural experimental design and two data sources providing complementary and unique information. We analysed data on purchases of small packages of common, less-healthy, checkout foods (sugary confectionary, chocolate, and potato crisps) from 2013 to 2017 from nine UK supermarkets (Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Waitrose). Six supermarkets implemented a checkout food policy between 2013 and 2017 and were considered intervention stores; the remainder were comparators. Firstly, we studied the longitudinal association between implementation of checkout policies and purchases taken home. We used data from a large (n ≈ 30,000) household purchase panel of food brought home to conduct controlled interrupted time series analyses of purchases of less-healthy common checkout foods from 12 months before to 12 months after implementation. We conducted separate analyses for each intervention supermarket, using others as comparators. We synthesised results across supermarkets using random effects meta-analyses. Implementation of a checkout food policy was associated with an immediate reduction in four-weekly purchases of common checkout foods of 157,000 (72,700-242,800) packages per percentage market share-equivalent to a 17.3% reduction. This decrease was sustained at 1 year with 185,100 (121,700-248,500) fewer packages purchased per 4 weeks per percentage market share-equivalent to a 15.5% reduction. The immediate, but not sustained, effect was robust to sensitivity analysis. Secondly, we studied the cross-sectional association between checkout food policies and purchases eaten without being taken home. We used data from a smaller (n ≈ 7,500) individual purchase panel of food bought and eaten 'on the go'. We conducted cross-sectional analyses comparing purchases of common checkout foods in 2016-2017 from supermarkets with and without checkout food policies. There were 76.4% (95% confidence interval 48.6%-89.1%) fewer annual purchases of less-healthy common checkout foods from supermarkets with versus without checkout food policies. The main limitations of the study are that we do not know where in the store purchases were selected and cannot determine the effect of changes in purchases on consumption. Other interventions may also have been responsible for the results seen.
There is a potential impact of checkout food polices on purchases. Voluntary supermarket-led activities may have public health benefits.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In pediatric pediatric vocal fold nodule (VFN) patients, different causes have been suggested in the development of the vocal cord nodule, including laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). It is known that ...the content of consumed foods, obesity, and other dietary behaviors are among the risk factors for the development of reflux. The aim of this study was to evaluate dietary and food consumption habits in pediatric VFN patients.
This prospective-controlled study included 50 children with VFNs (age range 5–14 years) and 50 age-matched children without any voice disorders as a control group. BMI values of each participant were evaluated according to age-percentile range. The voice usage habits and personality structure of all the children were questioned. All patients underwent laryngeal examination and voice analysis. The Turkish Pediatric Voice Handicap Index (t-PVHI) and Child Voice Handicap Index-10 (t-CVHI) were completed by patients or their parents. The examination findings of all patients were evaluated with the reflux finding score (RFS), and their complaints were questioned with the reflux symptom index (RSI). In addition, eating and drinking at night, fast eating and excessive food consumption habits and the frequency of consumption of packaged foods defined as junk food, carbonated beverage were questioned. The data obtained were compared statistically between the two groups.
There was no significant difference between the study and control groups in terms of age, gender distribution, median BMI value, voice usage habits, and personality structure. In the study group, t-PVHI, t-CVHI, jitter, schimmer values, the mean RFS, and RSI scores were significantly higher than those of the control group. The number of children with high consumption of junk food and carbonated drinks was higher in the study group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of dietary habits.
Food consumption habits may play a role in childhood voice problems in this population.
Abstract
Reducing children’s exposure to food marketing is an important obesity prevention strategy. This narrative review describes current statutory regulations that restrict food marketing; ...reviews available evidence on the effects of these regulations; and compares policy design elements in Chile and the United Kingdom. Currently, 16 countries have statutory regulations on unhealthy food marketing to children. Restrictions on television advertising, primarily during children’s programming, are most common. Schools are also a common setting for restrictions. Regulations on media such as cinema, mobile phone applications, print, packaging, and the internet are uncommon. Eleven evaluations of policies in 4 jurisdictions found small or no policy-related reductions in unhealthy food advertising, in part because marketing shifted to other programs or venues; however, not all policies have been evaluated. Compared with the United Kingdom, Chile restricts marketing on more products, across a wider range of media, using more marketing techniques. Future research should examine which elements of food marketing policy design are most effective at reducing children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing.
Background: Students at colleges and universities are at a higher risk of developing an eating disorder. Insufficient data exist regarding the prevalence of eating disorders among male undergraduate ...university students.
Objective: To determine the frequency of eating disorder and its association with eating habits, junk food and Pica consumption among male undergraduates at the University of Sindh in Jamshoro.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out between April 2018 and October 2018 at Sindh University in Jamshoro. Data was collected using Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) after getting informed consent. A total of 403 undergraduate male students filled out EAT-26 questionnaire. Items of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors were compared between the positive (having eating disorder) and negative EAT respondents using chi-square test.
Results: With a cutoff value of 20 of the EAT-26, 40.9% of students were found to be at risk for an eating disorder (EAT positive). The majority of study participants (79%) reported eating junk food. Seven percent of the participants reported eating Pica (non-food particles) like sand and plastic. Eating disorder was significantly associated with all the subscales of EAT-26. However Eating disorder was not significantly associated with junk food or with pica consumption.
Conclusion: A high number of male undergraduates are at risk of having eating disorder. Regular screening of male students and awareness about eating disorders is the need of time.
Obesity has been declared an epidemic that does not discriminate based on age, gender, or ethnicity and thus needs urgent containment and management. Since the third wave of COVID-19 is expected to ...affect children the most, these children and adolescents should be more cautious while having junk foods, during covid situations due to the compromise of Immunity in the individuals and further exacerbating the organ damage.
A PAN India survey organized by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) among 13,274 children between the ages 9–14 years reported that 93% of the children ate packed food and 68% consumed packaged sweetened beverages more than once a week, and 53% ate these products at least once in a day. Almost 25% of the School going children take ultra-processed food with high levels of sugar, salt, fat, such as pizza and burgers, from fast food outlets more than once a week. Children and adolescents who consume more junk food or addicted to such consumption might be even more vulnerable during the third wave, which will significantly affect the younger category.
There is an urgent need to spread awareness among children and young adults about these adverse effects of junk food. There is no better time than now to build a supportive environment nurturing children and young adults in society and promising good health.
•Obesity may affect the normal body metabolism which may lead to many complications like Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disorders etc.•Consuming junk food, lack of physical activity, and psychological stress stand out as major causes for overweight in children which also supresses their immunity which is a menace during the spread of corona virus.•Spreading awareness on the adverse effects of consuming junk food, promoting physical activity and, having a healthy balanced diet to build immunity may have a positive impact on children to grow in a healthy environment.
Minimising environmental impacts and prioritising the production of nutritious foods are essential qualities of a sustainable food system. Ultra-processed foods (UFPs) are potentially ...counterproductive to these objectives. This review aims to summarise the magnitude and types of environmental impacts resulting from each stage of the UPF supply chain and to develop a conceptual framework to display these impacts. It also aims to identify the terms used to describe UPFs in the sustainability literature, and the methods used to measure the associated environmental impacts. A narrative review approach with a systematic search strategy was used. Fifty-two studies were included that either described or quantified the environmental impacts of UPFs. This review found that UPFs are responsible for significant diet-related environmental impacts. Included studies reported that UPFs accounted for between 17 and 39% of total diet-related energy use, 36–45% of total diet-related biodiversity loss, up to one-third of total diet-related greenhouse gas emissions, land use and food waste and up to one-quarter of total diet-related water-use among adults in a range of high-income countries. These results varied depending on the scope of the term used to describe UPFs, stages of the lifecycle included in the analyses and country. Studies also identified that UPF production and consumption has impacts on land degradation, herbicide use, eutrophication and packaging use, although these impacts were not quantified in relation to dietary contribution. The findings highlight that environmental degradation associated with UPFs is of significant concern due to the substantial resources used in the production and processing of such products, and also because UPFs are superfluous to basic human needs. The conceptual framework and findings presented can be used to inform food policy and dietary guideline development, as well as provide recommendations for future research.
•Ultra-processed food production uses significant finite environmental resources.•Ultra-processed foods are responsible for significant environmental degradation.•Environmental impacts are driven by intense production methods & overconsumption.•Environmental impacts are avoidable; ultra-processed foods are not nutritionally essential.•The framework developed can inform food policies and future research.
Background and Objective: The importance of healthy eating for mental health has been proven in previous studies. In many studies, unhealthy dietary patterns and less nutritious snacks have been ...associated with depression. This study designed to determine the association of junk foods consumption (JFC) with levels of depression in adolescents living in high and low socio-economic districts of Tehran Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 200 female adolescents aged 13–18 years were selected through a random sampling from a school in district 2 (as a high socioeconomic status SES region) and 18 (as a low SES region) of Tehran. JFC was assessed by a 24-items self-adminstered semi-quantitative F.F.Q that was designed and its face and content validity was approved by Nutrition expert pannel. Depression staus was assessed by a validated “Beck” long form questionnaire through interview. Data were analysed in SPSS-21 software and chi-square test was applied. Results: The mean (SD) age of the adolescents was 16.1 (1.1) years and their total depression score 13.4 (9.5). The mean chocolates, sweets, beverages, puffs, cakes, biscuits, and fast foods consumptions was 4.5 (4), 1.5 (1.5), 4.5 (5.5), 3 (3), 3.4 (3), 2.1 (2.3) and 1.5 (1.3) serving/week, respectively. Also, the mean total JFC was higher in low SES school children (26.7 (15.7) vs. 23.4 (13.1) serving/week). Comparison of schools with low SES with high SES showed higher percentage of adolescents with had moderate and severe depression (26% vs. 12%) and a lower percentage of them had mild depression (25% vs. 41%). But in both districts, higher percentage of those with normal or mild degrees of depression (29.5% vs. 22.5%) were at the lowest tertile and higher percentage of individuals with moderate-to-severe depression (10.5% vs. 4.5%) were at highest tertile of JFC (P<0.05). Conclusion: High consumption of junk food significantly associated with high levels of depression in the studied adolescent girls in both high and low SES group.
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