The primary aims of this study were to evaluate the changes in dietary behavior among the Croatian adult population during the COVID-19 outbreak and to explore the impact of confinement on cooking ...habits.
The study was based on results from COVIDiet_Int cross-sectional study-a part of COVIDiet project (NCT04449731). A self-administered online questionnaire was used to assess the frequency of food consumption, eating habits, and sociodemographic information. A total number of 4,281 participants (80.5% females and 19.4% males) completed the questionnaire.
The Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) score before the confinement was 5.02 ± 1.97, while during the confinement, the MEDAS score increased to 5.85 ± 2.04. Participants who had higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) during the confinement were mostly females (88.8%), aged between 20 and 50 years, with the highest level of education (66.3%) and normal BMI (70.6%). The majority of participants maintained their dietary behavior as it was before COVID-19 confinement, while 36.9% decreased their physical activity. Participants with higher MEDAS score were more eager to increase their physical activity. Additionally, higher median values of MEDAS score were noted for participants with body mass index values below 24.9 kg/m
(6.0 vs. 5.0 for participants with BMI above 25 kg/m
). Participants in all residence places increased their cooking frequency during the confinement (53.8%), which was associated with an increase in vegetables, legumes, as well as fish and seafood consumption.
According to our findings, Croatian adults exhibited medium adherence to the MedDiet during the COVID-19 confinement. The results suggest that cooking frequency could be positively associated with overall dietary quality, which is of utmost importance in these demanding times.
Nutritional status of hemodialysis patients Panjkota Krbavčić, Ines; Vrdoljak, Ivica; Bituh, Martina ...
Hrvatski časopis za prehrambenu tehnologiju, biotehnologiju i nutricionizam,
12/2018, Letnik:
13, Številka:
3-4
Journal Article, Paper
Odprti dostop
Hemodialysis patients are vulnerable population group and they, among other, should take special care on food and fluid intake with emphasis on energy, potassium, phosphorus, sodium and protein ...intake. The nutritional status of patients (n=14) was assessed through measurement of body weight, body height, upper arm circumference, lower leg circumference and handgrip dynamometry; as well as selected biochemical parameters: urate concentration, calcium and phosphate levels, total protein, creatinine, albumin and globulin ratio and C-reactive protein; and dietary assessment method: 3-day food record (3DD). Using range between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m2 as cut-off, 35.7 and 57% of patients were classified as adequately nourished and overweight, respectively. According to results of 3DD, most of the subjects are supposed to align their micro- and macro- nutrients intake with the recommendations, with emphasis on the increasing intake of protein and energy as well as on decreasing intake of potassium, phosphorus, sodium and energy.
•Adults from 16 countries adopted healthier dietary patterns during the confinement.•The adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) increased in all countries.•52,1% of participants cooked more ...during the COVID-19 confinement.•57,8% of participants decreased the intake of fast food during the confinement.•Stricter contingency restrictions led to a higher increase in the MedDiet adherence.
We aimed to evaluate the changes in eating behaviours of the adult population across 16 European countries due to the COVID-19 confinement and to evaluate whether these changes were somehow related to the severity of the containment measures applied in each country. An anonymous online self-reported questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, validated 14-items Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) Adherence Screener (MEDAS) as a reference of a healthy diet, eating and lifestyle behaviours prior to and during the COVID-19 confinement was used to collect data. The study included an adult population residing in 16 European countries at the time of the survey. Aggregated Stringency Index (SI) score, based on data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, was calculated for each country at the time the questionnaire was distributed (range: 0–100). A total of 36,185 participants completed the questionnaire (77.6% female, 75.2% with high educational level and 42.7% aged between 21 and 35 years). In comparison to pre-confinement, a significantly higher adherence to the MedDiet during the confinement was observed across all countries (overall MEDAS score prior to- and during confinement: 5.23 ± 2.06 vs. 6.15 ± 2.06; p < 0.001), with the largest increase seen in Greece and North Macedonia. The highest adherence to MedDiet during confinement was found in Spain and Portugal (7.18 ± 1.84 and 7.34 ± 1.95, respectively). Stricter contingency restrictions seemed to lead to a significantly higher increase in the adherence to the MedDiet. The findings from this cross-sectional study could be used to inform current diet-related public health guidelines to ensure optimal nutrition is followed among the population, which in turn would help to alleviate the current public health crisis.
Polyphenolic profile of fresh chokeberry and chokeberry products Tamara Tolić, Mandica; Marković, Ksenija; Vahčić, Nada ...
Hrvatski časopis za prehrambenu tehnologiju, biotehnologiju i nutricionizam,
12/2018, Letnik:
13, Številka:
3-4
Journal Article, Paper
Odprti dostop
Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) fruits and its products are one of the richest sources of pholyphenols which may play important role in human health as for example in regulation of blood pressure ...levels, reducing concentrations of triglycerides, low density and total cholesterol. The objective of this study was to identify and quantify the content of pholyphenols, specifficaly phenolic acids (gallic, caffeic, p-coumaric, ellagic, chlorogenic) and flavonols (quercetin and kaempferol) using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in two varieties of fresh chokeberry fruit (type Nero and Viking) and in different types of chokeberry products available from Croatian market: eleven samples of juices, three samples of powders, two samples of both capsules and dried berries and four samples of teas. The results showed that there is a difference in amount of examined polyphenols between different product categories, and significant difference was also observed within the same product group (p≤0.05). In all analysed samples
the highest phenolic acid quantified was p-coumaric acid, and gallic acid was the lowest one. Berry juices from fresh chokeberry fruits had higher amount of p-coumaric acid (284.55±6.34 mgL-1) compared to commercially available juices (195.48±3.05 mgL-1). The same phenolic composition was observed within the rest of the products where capsules have the higher amount of phenolic acids, followed by powders, dried berries and teas (eg. p-coumaric 81.36; 79.76; 36.28; 28.81 mg/100 g dry
matter, respectively). According to flavonol amount, all observed products had higher values of quercetin compared to kaempferol. Obtained
results represents a valuable set of data for novel and under-examined plant source of health promoting bioactivecompounds.
Prevalencija poremećaja hranjenja u mladih ljudi u stalnom je porastu, što dovodi u fokus ortoreksiju nervozu, osobito u razdobljima pandemije i stresa. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio utvrditi ...prevalenciju ortoreksije nervoze u mladih ljudi i povezati je s antropometrijskim parametrima, prehrambenim navikama i percepcijom tjelesnog izgleda. Ovo istraživanje uključivalo je 191 ispitanika u dobi od 18-24 godine, od čega je 85,9 % ženskog spola. Prikupljeni su podaci o tjelesnoj masi i visini ispitanika iz kojih je izračunat indeks tjelesne mase. Prevalencija ortoreksije nervoze procijenjena je pomoću upitnika ORTO-15, dok je upitnik PACS-R (eng. Physical Appearance Comparison Scale – Revised) korišten za procjenu tendencije usporedbe tjelesnog izgleda ispitanika s drugim osobama. Utvrđeno je da 38,2 % ispitanika ima ortoreksiju nervozu. Nije bilo statistički značajnih razlika u indeksu tjelesne mase između ispitanika s obzirom na ortoreksiju nervozu (p=0,276). Ipak, u skupini ispitanika bez utvrđene ortoreksije prevladavali su oni s adekvatnom tjelesnom masom (89,9 %), dok je među ispitanicima s utvrđenom ortoreksijom bio veći udio pothranjenih ispitanika (8,2 %) i onih s prekomjernom tjelesnom masom (15,1 %). Ispitanicima s ortoreksijom pravilna prehrana je važnija nego ispitanicima bez ortoreksije (p=0,001), dok statistički značajne razlike u samoprocjeni kvalitete prehrane nije bilo (p=0,815). Nadalje, utvrđena je statistički značajna negativna korelacija između rezultata PACS-R i ORTO-15 (p<0,01). U konačnici, postojala je statistički značajna razlika u rezultatima PACS-R između ispitanika obzirom na utvrđenu ortoreksiju (p=0,032). Ortoreksija nervoza utvrđena je kod velikog broja ispitanika. Iako su mlade osobe koje su razvile ortoreksiju nervozu uglavnom adekvatne tjelesne mase, imaju veću sklonost uspoređivati svoj fizički izgled s izgledom drugih, što upućuje na iskrivljenu percepciju vlastitog tijela. Ovime se skreće pozornost na važnost educiranja mladih osoba o pravilnoj prehrani, posebice žena, te se potvrđuje važnost interdisciplinarnog pristupa u liječenju ortoreksije nervoze, koja bi trebala uključivati i psihološkupodršku.
The prevalence of eating disorders in young people is steadily increasing, which brings orthorexia nervosa into focus, especially in pandemic and stress-related periods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa in young people and relate it to anthropometric parameters, eating habits and perception of body appearance. This study included 191 participants aged 18-24 years, of which 85,9 % females. Data on body mass and height were collected, from which body mass index was calculated, while their eating attitudes were evaluated by using 5-point scale. The prevalence of orthorexia nervosa was assessed using the ORTO-15 questionnaire, while the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale - Revised (PACS-R) was used to assess participant’s appearance comparison tendencies with other people. It was found that 38.2% of the respondents had orthorexia nervosa. There were no statistically significant differences in the body mass index between the participants with or without the diagnosis of orthorexia (p=0.276). Nevertheless, in the group of participants not diagnosed with orthorexia, those with adequate body weight predominated (89.9%), while among subjects diagnosed with orthorexia the proportions of undernourished (8.2%) and overweight participants (15.1%) were higher. Participants with orthorexia found a healthy diet more important than subjects without orthorexia (p=0.001), while there were no statistically significant differences in self-rated diet quality between the two groups (p=0.815). Furthermore, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between the results of PACS-R and ORTO-15 (p<0.01). Ultimately, there was a statistically significant difference in the results of PACS-R between participants with or without the diagnosis of orthorexia (p=0.032). High share of participants was diagnosed with orthorexia nervosa. Even though young people who developed orthorexia nervosa mostly had normal body weight, they had a greater tendency to compare their physical appearance to the appearance of others, what indicated distorted perception of their own body image. This brings to attention the importance of educating young people, especially female, about healthy diet, and confirms the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach in treating orthorexia nervosa, including psychological support.
The prevalence of eating disorders in young people is steadily increasing, which brings orthorexia nervosa into focus, especially in pandemic and stress-related periods. Therefore, the aim of this ...study was to determine the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa in young people and relate it to anthropometric parameters, eating habits and perception of body appearance. This study included 191 participants aged 18-24 years, of which 85,9 % females. Data on body mass and height were collected, from which body mass index was calculated, while their eating attitudes were evaluated by using 5-point scale. The prevalence of orthorexia nervosa was assessed using the ORTO-15 questionnaire, while the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale - Revised (PACS-R) was used to assess participants appearance comparison tendencies with other people. It was found that 38.2% of the respondents had orthorexia nervosa. There were no statistically significant differences in the body mass index between the participants with or without the diagnosis of orthorexia (p=0.276). Nevertheless, in the group of participants not diagnosed with orthorexia, those with adequate body weight predominated (89.9%), while among subjects diagnosed with orthorexia the proportions of undernourished (8.2%) and overweight participants (15.1%) were higher. Participants with orthorexia found a healthy diet more important than subjects without orthorexia (p=0.001), while there were no statistically significant differences in self-rated diet quality between the two groups (p=0.815). Furthermore, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between the results of PACS-R and ORTO-15 (p<0.01). Ultimately, there was a statistically significant difference in the results of PACS-R between participants with or without the diagnosis of orthorexia (p=0.032). High share of participants was diagnosed with orthorexia nervosa. Even though young people who developed orthorexia nervosa mostly had normal body weight, they had a greater tendency to compare their physical appearance to the appearance of others, what indicated distorted perception of their own body image. This brings to attention the importance of educating young people, especially female, about healthy diet, and confirms the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach in treating orthorexia nervosa, including psychological support.
The concept of electronic tongue or taste sensor has been developed rapidly in the last decade due to their large potential in food quality control. The electronic tongue is based on electrochemical ...sensors combined with multivariate data analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the discriminating ability of the electronic tongue for the recognition of different milk and yoghurt samples from different producers and various dairy products from one producer. The results were evaluated by multivariate data analysis - Principal components analysis. The electronic tongue α-ASTREE (Alpha M.O.S) has successfully distinguished five brands of milk purchased on the Croatian market, five brands of yoghurt also purchased on Croatian market and differentiated among various products from one dairy producer.
The increase in childhood obesity is one of the biggest public health problems of the 21st century. Among the contributing dietary factors is the high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) ...and sweetened fruit juices (SFJ). On the other hand, regular consumption of milk and dairy products has decreased in many countries over the years, although research has shown an inverse association between dairy consumption and obesity. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a dietary intervention within a multidisciplinary structured programme on reducing the consumption of SSB and SFJ and simultaneously increasing the consumption of milk and diary products in obese children/adolescents. The study included 100 participants of both sexes who had been diagnosed with obesity and participated in a five-day multidisciplinary structured programme focused on dietary intrevention. Standard anthropometric measurements and a validated questionnaire were used during the study. The mean age of the participants was 12.61±1.90 years, body mass index (BMI) was 98.38±1.26 percentiles; mean consumption of SSB was 1.68 ± 2.89 dL; SFJ was 3.72±5.09 dL and milk and dairy products was 3.10±2.35 dL per day at the start of the intervention. After the five-day programme, patients were reeducated once a month for the first six months, then every two months for up to 24 months. After 24 months, a significant decrease in SSB and SFJ intake (p<0.001) and an increase in milk and dairy products intake (p=0.002) were observed. The percentiles of the BMI also decreased after 24 months (p<0.001). The dietary intervention had a positive effect on the anthropometric values and the change in the dietary habits of the participants, with a focus on the consumption of milk and dairy products.
The gluten-free diet, the only treatment in coeliac disease, can be nutritionally unbalanced and deficient in several nutrients. Gluten-free products contain much lower levels of B vitamins, ...especially lower folate concentrations than their gluten-containing counterparts. Folate intake is considered as a major dietary determinant of plasma homocysteine concentration in healthy population. Elevated homocysteine is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and has been associated with osteoporotic fractures, which are an increased risk factor in coeliac disease. The aim of this study is to determine dietary folate intake and plasma homocysteine concentration as metabolic markers of suboptimal intake of folate and B12 in Croatian coeliac patients living on a gluten-free diet. Subjects were 52 coeliac patients (83 % female, age 35±13) adhering to a gluten-free diet. Blood samples were analyzed for plasma homocysteine, serum and red blood cell folate and serum B12. Quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to measure dietary folate intake. Mean dietary folate intake was 206 µg of dietary folate equivalents (DFE), which was far below the national recommendation of 400 µg of DFE (or 200 µg of folic acid). Mean homocysteine was (9±2) µmol/L (range from 5.42 to 13.90 µmol/L), while elevated homocysteine concentrations (>10 µmol/L) were found in 34 % of subjects. In conclusion, coeliac patients adhering to gluten-free diet included in this study showed low folate intake and suboptimal folate and vitamin B12 status, possibly due to low folate content in gluten-free products. Therefore, folate fortification or enrichment of gluten-free products could be beneficial for coeliac patients and it would be of great interest for the food industry. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Celijakija je bolest probavnog sustava pri kojoj dolazi do oštećenja tankog crijeva i problema s apsorpcijom hranjivih sastojaka. Oboljeli ne podnose protein gluten koji se nalazi u pšenici, ječmu, ...raži i zobi. Najmanja količina glutena u hrani oštećuje tanko crijevo oboljelih. U Hrvatskoj postoji vrlo malo podataka o prehrani i prehrambenim navikama ove vrlo osjetljive populacije. Jedini je lijek za oboljele od celijakije bezglutenska prehrana, tj. izbjegavanje najmanjih količina glutena u prehrani. Mlijeko i mliječni proizvodi su najvažniji izvor kalcija, a ova je populacija, zbog malapsorptivnog sindroma osobito osjetljiva te sklona oboljenjima koja nastaju kao posljedica nedovoljnog unosa kalcija (osteoporoza, osteopenija). Stoga je svrha ovog istraživanja bila odrediti udio mlijeka i mliječnih proizvoda u prehrani oboljelih od celijakije, s posebnim osvrtom na unos kalcija. Unos mlijeka, mliječnih proizvoda i kalcija utvrđen je trodnevnim dnevnikom prehrane (3DD) i upitnikom za utvrđivanje prosječnog prehrambenog unosa kalcija (FFQ) kod 15 oboljelih od celijakije. Energetski udio mlijeka i mliječnih proizvoda bio je u prosjeku 11,82 % kJ, što je gotovo dvostruko manje od preporuka. Prosječan dnevni unos kalcija također je bio manji od preporuka (62,64 % DRI), a 67 % ispitanika nije zadovoljilo niti 2/3 dnevnih potreba za kalcijem. Iz skupine namirnica mlijeko i mliječni proizvodi oboljeli koriste najviše mlijeko i puding, a nešto manje su zastupljeni jogurt i voćni jogurt. Potrebno je povećati unos kalcija osobito namirnicama iz skupine mlijeko i mliječni proizvodi koji su najbolji izvor ovog nutrijenta.