We examined whether associations between the food environment, frequency of home cooking, diet quality and BMI were modified by the level of cooking skills.
Cross-sectional study using linear and ...modified Poisson regression models adjusted for age, sex, energy intake, education, income, household size and urbanisation. The frequency of home cooking was categorised into <6 and 6-7 d. Diet quality was based on a validated Dutch healthy diet index (0-150 points). Count of restaurants and food stores were determined by their count in a 1000m buffer around home and work. Cooking skills (score 1-5) were assessed using a validated questionnaire and added as interaction term.
The Netherlands.
1461 adults aged 18-65 years.
Count of restaurants and food stores were not associated with the frequency of home cooking. A 10-unit higher count of food stores was associated with a higher diet quality (
: 0·58 (95 % CI (0·04, 1·12)), and a 10-unit higher count of restaurants was associated with a lower BMI kg/m
(
: -0·02 (95 % CI (-0·04, -0·004)). Better cooking skills were associated with a higher likelihood of cooking 6-7 d compared with <6 d (risk ratio: 1·24 (95 % CI (1·16, 1·31)) and a higher diet quality (
: 4·45 (95 % CI (3·27, 5·63)) but not with BMI. We observed no interaction between the food environment and cooking skills (
-for-interaction > 0·1).
Exposure to food stores was associated with a higher diet quality and exposure to restaurants with a lower BMI. Better cooking skills were associated with a higher frequency of home cooking and better diet quality but did not modify associations with the food environment. Future studies should explore different approaches to understand how individuals interact with their food environment.
We investigated frequency of consumption and location of obtaining snack foods and sociodemographic differences therein. Data: cross-sectional survey data (N = 1784 Dutch adults 18–65 years) on the ...frequency of consumption of 10 snack foods and where they obtained them. Adjusted logistic regression analyses revealed notable differences in the frequency of snack food consumption between younger and older adults and between those with low vs. high socioeconomic position (SEP). The location of obtaining snack foods also differed between sociodemographic groups with supermarkets forming an important point-of-purchase for snack foods, especially for those with low SEP and with children in their household.
•Novel insights into the location of obtaining snack foods.•Notable differences in snack food consumption by age and socioeconomic position.•Sociodemographic subgroups use different food outlets for obtaining snack foods.•Supermarket forms an important point-of-purchase for snack foods.
This area-level cross-sectional study examined online food outlet availability through the most popular online food delivery service platforms (OFDS) across seven European countries, and explored how ...this online food outlet availability was socioeconomically distributed. Data collection of online food outlet availability was automated in England, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. We used a geographic information system to join online food outlet availability to socio-demographic information. Median number of food outlets delivering through OFDS was highest in England and lowest in Italy, Portugal and Spain. We also found that high-income areas have the greatest online food outlet availability in most countries. In England, areas with a middle income had the least online food outlets available and no income data was available for Switzerland. Further work is needed to understand drivers of disparities in online food outlet availability, as well as possible implications for public health.
•Online food outlet data was collected from 7 European countries.•The UK had the highest availability of online food outlets.•Spain, Italy and Portugal had the lowest availability of online food outlets.•In most countries areas with a high socioeconomic position had greater availability.
There is a need for conceptual and methodological innovation in food environment-health research. We compared different operationalizations of survey-derived activity space exposures to fast food ...outlets (FFOs) in associations with use of FFO, diet quality and body mass index (BMI). FFO exposure was determined for home, work and a maximum of sixteen other locations reported by 1728 Dutch adults. Considerable differences in count of FFO between locations were found. Adjusted linear regression analyses resulted in small, unexpected associations with use of FFO, diet quality and BMI, whereby the strength of associations differed between exposure measures. Using home and work areas may be a cost-efficient compromise to capture large parts of the exposure to FFOs.
•Survey questions were used to define activity space-based exposure to fast food outlets.•Count of fast food outlets in combined home-work location was modestly to strongly correlated with count in all locations.•Associations with fast food outlet use, diet quality and BMI were counterintuitive and small in effect.•Not the direction, but the strength of associations differed slightly between exposure measures.•Using home and work areas may be a cost-efficient compromise to capture large parts of exposure to fast food outlets.
Evidence shows that diet-related outcomes are influenced by the food environment. However, individuals with better cooking skills may be less dependent on what is available in their food environment. ...We examined whether the relation between the food environment around home and work and frequency of home cooking, diet quality and body mass index were modified by the level of cooking skills among Dutch adults.
Our study included 1782 Dutch adults aged 18–65 years, who participated in a cross-sectional survey. We measured the number of food retailers in a 1000m buffer around home and work and distinguished between counts of restaurants and food stores. These counts were summed and divided into quartiles. Participants reported their frequency of home cooking per week (≤ 5 days and 6–7 days) and completed a validated food frequency questionnaire, assessing adherence to the Dutch Healthy Diet score (0–150 points). Body mass index, based on reported length and weight, was categorized into < 25 kg/m2 and ≥25 kg/m2. Cooking skills score (1–5) was assessed using a validated questionnaire and added as interaction term to the linear and logistic regression models. We adjusted for age, sex, energy intake, education, income, household size, and urbanization.
No significant effect modification was found between the food environment and cooking skills in relation to any of the outcomes (P-interaction >0.1). After adjustment for confounders, neither the count of restaurants or food stores was consistently associated with the frequency of home cooking. In adjusted models, participants having the most food stores around their home and work (>27 stores per 1000 square meter, quartile 4) had a 3.29 higher diet score (95%CI:0.20–6.39), compared to those in quartile 1. Furthermore, participants having the most food stores (>27/1000 square meter, quartile 4) and restaurants (>125/1000 square meter, quartile 4) had lower odds of being overweight, compared with those in quartile one: OR = 0.53 (95%CI:0.36–0.80) and OR = 0.63 (95%CI:0.42–0.94).
Being exposed to many supermarkets and restaurants was associated with a better diet score and lower odds of being overweight, but not modified by the level of cooking skills.
The Eet & Leef study was funded by an NWO VENI grant on “Making the healthy choice easier–role of the local food environment”.
We have previously demonstrated that 3-month-old rats submitted to 50% intrauterine food restriction showed a decreased number of nephrons with increased glomerular diameter, a fact that suggests ...compensatory hypertrophy. In the present study, we extended the investigation and performed serial blood pressure measurements and renal function evaluation in 8- and 12-week-old rats submitted to 50% intrauterine food restriction (groups R8 and R12) and in age-matched control rats (groups C8 and C12). After weaning, six to eight animals from each group received oral supplements of 2% L-arginine ( L-arg) solution for 4 or 8 weeks (groups CA8, CA12, RA8, RA12). Our findings showed that mean blood pressure (MBP), which was significantly increased from 8 weeks on in R rats, markedly decreased after L-arg supplementation. In control animals, no alterations in MBP were observed with L-arg. Proteinuria was within normal limits in all groups studied but L-arg caused a significant decrease in this parameter in both the RA8 and RA12 groups. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR, ml/min per kg) was significantly decreased in the C8 control group (3.75+/-0.12) and in both restricted groups R8 and R12, (2.47+/-0.13 and 3.76+/-0.16, respectively) compared with the C12 group (6.09+/-0.31; P<0.05 for all comparisons). L-Arg caused an increase in GFR only in the younger groups, C8 and R8. In a separate set of experiments, acetylcholine (ACh)-induced relaxation was examined in mesenteric arteries. The R12 group showed a significant impairment of the response to ACh, which returned to normal values after L-arg supplementation. Urinary excretion of NO(x) (NO3- + NO2-) was significantly decreased in 8- and 12-week-old food-restricted rats relative to control rats. Our data indicate that, besides the known decrease in absolute nephron number, disturbances in the production/sensitivity to the L-arg-nitric oxide system may contribute to the early appearance of hypertension in the offspring of mothers submitted to significant food restriction.
