To assess the prevalence and identify sociodemographic predictors of regular fast-food consumption (R-FFC) among United Arab Emirates (UAE) adults to inform public health nutrition responses to growing diet-related ill health in the region.

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study using purposive, convenience sampling. Data were collected using an online survey adapted from two validated surveys and distributed via social media platforms. R-FFC was defined as visiting a fast-food restaurant to eat ≥ 2 times/week. Pearson’s χ2 tests and multiple binary logistic regression models were used to investigate prevalence and predictors of R-FFC. All statistical significance was considered at P-value < 0·05.

Community, adults living in the UAE.

UAE residents, ≥ 18 years, who consumed fast food ≥ once during the previous month.

Totally, 320 respondents met the inclusion criteria (age = mean 23·7 (sd 7·7) years). The prevalence of R-FFC was 46·6 %. Based on results from the regression model, predictors of R-FFC were being female (AOR 2·47; 95 % CI 1·06, 5·79), married (AOR 3·11; 95 % CI 1·25, 7·77), BMI ≥ 25·0 (AOR 2·09; 95 % CI 1·10, 4·00) and residing outside Abu Dhabi (AOR 32·79; 95 % CI 12·06, 89·16). None of the remaining variables reached statistical significance. Taste was the most common reason for FFC (56·9 %), followed by convenience (21·6 %). Regular fast-food consumers were more likely to ‘super-size’ meals (P = 0·011), eat alone (P = 0·009) and not have regular meal patterns (P = 0·004).

The study revealed a high prevalence of R-FFC among UAE adults, and novel cultural predictors and characteristics of FFC in this context, highlighting the importance of socially and culturally informed research and public health strategies in this region.

According to the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, everyone should be entitled to an adequate minimum income sufficient for a healthy diet. Studies show that food insecurity remains a concern in Europe, highlighting the need to determine budgets for adequate nutrition, known as Food Reference Budgets. Previous approaches, based on expert-designed food baskets or focus group discussions, are often limited by their normative nature and/or low representativeness.

To address these problems, this study explores Linear Programming as a novel method to calculate Food Reference Budgets for twenty-six EU member states. To analyse if Linear Programming could be an adequate tool to calculate future Food Reference Budgets, this method was used to design country-specific food baskets that align with consumption habits and healthy diet requirements. The food baskets were then priced at different levels to determine the cost for healthy diets in twenty-six European countries.

Germany.

The calculations are based on consumption data from the EU Household Budget Survey (EU-HBS) from 2015 (2010 for Malta, Portugal and Slovenia). For Germany, data from the national income and consumption survey was used instead, as German data was not included in the EU-HBS.

The results show a positive correlation between optimised healthy and current observed diets for most food groups, indicating that country-specific preferences are reflected in the optimised healthy food baskets. Nevertheless, to meet healthy diet requirements, consumption of vegetables, fruit, fish and dairy must increase compared with the current observed diets. At a lower price level, the Food Reference Budgets ranged from 2·38 to 5·71 €/day, depending on the country. With a low-price level (20th percentile), costs for healthy diet accounted for between 5·74 % of income in Luxembourg and 29·00 % in Romania, showing the large differences in affordability between countries.

Overall, it was concluded that Linear Programming could be a promising approach for determining uniform and comparable European Food Reference Budgets and should be discussed in the context of the EU Commission’s efforts to modernise the European minimum income schemes.

To assess the frequency and correlates of meal-kit use across five countries using population-level data.

Online surveys conducted in 2022 assessed meal-kit use in the past week. Binary logistic regression models examined sociodemographic and nutrition-related correlates of meal-kit use, including self-reported home meal preparation and cooking skills, commercially prepared meal consumption and healthy eating, weight change and sustainability efforts.

Canada, Australia, the UK, the USA and Mexico.

20,401 adults aged 18–100 years.

Overall, 14 % of participants reported using meal-kits in the past week. Use was highest in the USA (18 %) and lowest in Canada (9 %). Meal-kit use was greater among individuals who were younger, male, of minority ethnicity, had high educational attainment, had higher income adequacy or had children living in the household (P < 0·01 for all). Use was greater for those who participated in any food shopping (v. none), those who prepared food sometimes (3–4 d/week or less v. never) and those who reported ‘fair’ or better cooking skills (v. poor; P < 0·05 for all). Consuming any ‘ready-to-eat’ food (v. none) and visiting restaurants more recently (v. > 6 months ago; P < 0·001 for all) were associated with greater meal-kit use. Eating fruits/vegetables more than 2 times/d and engaging in diet modification efforts were also associated with increased meal-kit use, as was engaging in weight change or sustainability efforts (P < 0·001 for all).

Meal-kits tend to be used by individuals who make efforts to support their health and sustainability, potentially valuing ‘convenient’ alternatives to traditional home meal preparation; however, use is concentrated amongst those with higher income adequacy.

Aspects of the school food environment can influence food purchasing and consumption among adolescents, particularly those without access to a school meal programme. Our objective was to describe and compare food vendors of junior high schools (JHS) in Ghana.

We conducted structured observations of food vendors within a 0·25-km radius of eight JHSs. We compared foods sold and hygiene practices by vendor and community characteristics, such as on- v. off-campus location, urban v. rural, and predominant income-generating activity of the community. We also assessed the relationship between adolescent diet quality (food group diversity, all-5, NCD-protect and NCD-risk scores) and procurement method for foods consumed during the school day.

Cape Coast and Elmina, Ghana.

200 randomly selected students.

Of 265 identified vendors, 25·3 % sold foods on-campus. On-campus vendors were less likely to sell branded snacks (19·4 % v. 33·8 %, P = 0·001) and beverages (17·9 % v. 35·4 %, P = 0·008) and more likely to sell prepared dishes (53·7 % v. 31·8 %, P = 0·001) than off-campus vendors. Vendors practised an average of 38·8 % of applicable food hygiene practices, which did not differ by on- or off-campus location. In the previous month, 59·4 % of students most often purchased food on campus. There were no significant relationships between method of food procurement and diet quality.

Many adolescents purchased food at school, and there were differences in foods sold by on- and off-campus vendors. School policies may be a promising avenue to alter food environments for adolescents.

To evaluate the nutritional status of adults with beta thalassemia major in Vietnam by analysing body composition parameters and assessing the adequacy of energy, macronutrient and micronutrient intake.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among adult patients with beta thalassemia major. Nutritional status was assessed using three components: BMI, body composition and dietary intake.

Department of Thalassemia, The National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion in Vietnam.

317 adult patients with beta thalassemia major (54·2 % females, median age 32).

Nearly half (49·5 %) of the patients had a normal BMI, while 18·3 % were severely underweight and 32·2 % were underweight. Severe underweight patients exhibited lower body fat, bone mineral content and visceral fat. Average daily energy intake (1449·9 kcal) was significantly below the estimated requirement (2079·5 kcal), with 81·4 % of patients consuming less than 85 % of their energy needs. Severely underweight patients consumed 12·06 g/d less fat (95 % CI: 6·85, 17·26) and 10·42 g/d less protein (95 % CI: 4·42, 16·42) than normal weight patients. Severe deficiencies in Ca, Mg, Fe and B-complex vitamins were prevalent, with the lowest mean probability of adequacy for minerals and vitamins observed in severely underweight patients.

This study provides the first comprehensive assessment of the nutritional status of beta thalassemia major patients in Vietnam, revealing critical gaps in energy and nutrient intake. Evidence-based strategies, including dietary education and interventions tailored to the unique needs of this population, are urgently needed to improve nutritional outcomes and overall health.

This study aimed to evaluate adult women’s cooking (CS) and food preparation skills (FPS) and their nutrition literacy (NL) levels and to examine the relationship between these two concepts.

Data were collected via face-to-face interviews using a personal information form, the Cooking and Food Preparation Skills scale, and the Evaluation Instrument of Nutrition Literacy on Adults. Data were analysed with SPSS, with P < 0·05 considered significant.

Female adults aged 20–64 years who participated in family support courses in Tepebaşı, Eskişehir, Turkey.

The study sample consisted of 330 female individuals between the ages of 20 and 64 years who agreed to participate in the survey.

NL was generally adequate (91·8 %), though gaps were identified in portion knowledge (54·2 %) and food label reading (44·2 %, borderline). Higher literacy levels were associated with being younger, more educated and employed (P < 0·05). CS and FPS were higher among married women and those with children. Cooking frequency and enjoyment significantly influenced these skills (P < 0·05). Those who cooked more often had higher scores in food label reading and basic math (P < 0·001) and higher total scores (P = 0·049). Participants who enjoyed cooking had better reading comprehension (P = 0·030). A weak but significant correlation was found between FPS and general nutrition knowledge, but no strong relationship was observed between overall cooking skills (CS) and total NL.

Although no strong link was found between NL and CS, these skills appear to support healthier eating behaviours. Promoting cooking and food preparation through nutrition education may help improve public health.

The current study examined perceptions of and experiences with Flint Families Cook, a virtual cooking and nutrition programme for youth and families.

Families were invited to participate in virtual focus groups after completing the 5-week Flint Families Cook programme. The research study was guided by Social Cognitive Theory. Researchers used thematic analysis to examine the transcribed focus groups, identify patterns across transcripts and develop emerging themes.

Families living in Flint and surrounding Genesee County, Michigan, USA, engaged in virtual focus groups via Zoom.

Youth (n 32; 59 % female, 53 % African American) and adult caregivers (n 31; 90 % female, 39 % African American) participated in focus groups between October 2020 and February 2022.

Five themes were generated from the focus group discussions: (i) general cooking challenges; (ii) class format; (iii) family support; (iv) provision of food; and (v) instruction and learning.

In addition to perceived positive impacts on cooking skills and nutrition education, many participants shared that Flint Families Cook encouraged family cohesion and support. Most caregivers felt the programme, which included instruction by a chef and dietitian as well as ingredient box delivery, had important impacts on the emotional health of youth and family resilience. Flint Families Cook, and similar virtual scalable programmes, could broadly reach children and families to support physical and psychosocial health, especially in low-resource communities where such interventions may be most beneficial.

Overweight and obesity have become a global public health concern, with prevalence rising sharply in low- and middle-income countries. This study analysed temporal trends in overweight and obesity among schoolchildren in the largest capital city of Brazil, from 2006 to 2024.

Repeated cross-sectional.

Schoolchildren aged 6 to 19 years from Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil.

A total of 12 646 participants were evaluated. To assess the BMI z-score, standardised body mass and height measurements were used, stratified by sex (male and female) and age group (6–10 and 11–19 years). Temporal trends were assessed using joinpoint regression analysis.

Overall, 17·8 % of participants were classified with overweight, and 8·6 % were classified with obesity. The study also found that obesity prevalence was consistently higher among younger age groups compared to adolescents. The results revealed a significant increase in obesity prevalence among girls (annual percentage change (APC) = 5·81 %; 95 % CI = 1·03–10·81; P-value = 0·021) and children aged 6 to 10 years (APC = 5·20 %; 95 % CI = 1·17–9·39; P-value = 0·017), while no significant trends were observed for overweight or for male adolescents or adolescents aged 11 to 19 years.

Our findings indicate rising obesity among girls and children aged 6–10 years and support the need for urgency. We recommend targeted action, including implementing mandatory quality physical education and school nutrition standards, enforcing restrictions on marketing to children and prioritising municipal policies that increase access to healthy foods.

To describe and evaluate nutrition-related policy, system and environmental (PSE) change strategies implemented in a rural, volunteer-run Georgia food pantry, exploring facilitators and barriers and changes in clients’ perceptions of food distributed following implementation of nutrition-related PSE changes.

The mixed-methods evaluation used pre-post key informant interviews, client surveys and programme documents to assess implementation and outcomes of a nutrition policy and other PSE changes.

Hancock County, Georgia.

Survey respondents were food pantry clients who completed surveys both in January 2021 and March 2022 (n 155). Key informants were programme staff, a local coalition member and food pantry leadership (n 9).

Nutrition-related PSE changes included a nutrition policy, produce procurement partnerships and enhanced refrigeration; an awareness campaign and nutrition education were also conducted. Facilitators included the implementation approach (e.g., encouraging small steps and joint policy development), relationship formation and partnerships. Barriers were modest capacity (e.g., funding and other resources), staffing/volunteers and limited experience with food policy and procurement processes. Client surveys in 2021–2022 showed canned/dried foods as most commonly received, with significant (p < 0.05) increases at follow-up in always receiving meat/poultry/seafood and significant decreases in always receiving canned fruits and dry beans/lentils. In both 2021 and 2022, substantial proportions of respondents reported food insecurity (>60 %), having obesity (>40 %), poor/fair health (>30 %) and a household member with hypertension/high blood pressure (>70 %).

Nutrition-related PSE changes in rural food pantries to improve the healthfulness of foods distributed require substantial resources, yet if sustained, may increase client access to healthy foods and improve diets.

Governments are seeking to regulate food environments to promote health by restricting sales and marketing of processed foods high in fat, sugar and sodium. We aimed to evaluate whether the legal instruments in member states of the Western Pacific Region (WPR) mandate the declaration of nutrient composition for nutrients of concern in relation to Codex Alimentarius and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention.

We undertook content analysis of legal instruments governing food quality and safety, documenting mandates for nutrient declarations in the WPR. Legal instruments were purposefully sourced through a systematic search of regional legal databases and Google. We performed qualitative and quantitative analysis, using an adapted version of Reeve and Magnusson’s Framework for Analysing and Improving the Performance of Regulatory Instruments.

Legal instruments governing food quality and safety in twenty-eight member states of the WPR.

There was substantial variation in the nutrient declaration mandates within legal instruments, with only three out of twenty-eight countries mandating nutrient declarations in full alignment with Codex recommendations (energy, protein, available carbohydrate, fat, saturated fat, sodium and total sugars). Just four countries mandated the display of sodium, sugar, saturated fat and trans-fats, in line with NCD prevention recommendations. Sodium labelling was mandated in ten countries, sugar in seven and saturated fat in six.

There is scope for countries to strengthen legal instruments for nutrient declarations to better support diet-related NCD prevention efforts. Regional support agencies can play a key role in promoting greater policy coherence and alignment with international best practice.

Refugees are susceptible to food insecurity. In high-income countries (HIC), settlement workers (SW) provide information, including food security information resources, to newly arrived refugees. Australia has a range of resources, but their use in settlement work is unknown. This study’s aims were to explore SW’s resource use with refugee clients.

This descriptive, qualitative study explored SW’s perceptions regarding resource use. One-on-one interviews, using a semi-structured guide, were conducted. The Technology Acceptance Model’s usage constructs (including Actual Use and Perceived Usefulness) informed the guide and analytical constructs. Under these constructs, emergent usage themes were identified.

Six Australian cities.

Settlement workers.

Fourteen workers were interviewed. Thirteen worked for government-related departments. Most used resources as part of client welcome packs to address acute food insecurity and/or support clinical deficiency issues. Print, pictorial, translated and co-designed resources were perceived to be most useful. Less useful were resources with limited cultural tailoring, translation issues and high literacy demand. There was limited use of digital resources due to variations in clients’ digital access and literacy. Opportunities for improvement include streamlining access, addressing topics such as clinical deficiencies related to food insecurity and increasing culturally nuanced translation.

Development of culturally appropriate resources, facilitating resource access and improved food culture information may help SW better support refugee populations with food security challenges during resettlement in HIC.

To evaluate the healthfulness of the food/beverage products featured by TikTok influencers whose audiences include millions of adolescents.

In a cross-sectional study, we collected the maximum available up to 100 videos from the top 100 TikTok influencers in the USA – based on views, likes, comments and shares – in July 2022. For each video, we identified the most prominent food/beverage product featured. We used the Nutrient Profile Index (NPI) to classify food products as healthy/unhealthy. We grouped beverages by category.

TikTok

N/A

Our sample included 8871 videos, 1360 (15·3 %) of which featured at least one food (n 755, 55·5 %), beverage (n 580, 42·6 %) or dietary supplement (n 25, 1·8 %). Mean NPI score for foods was 54·73 (sd 19·95). Most foods (58 %) were considered unhealthy, with a 20-percentage-point difference between branded (70·8 %) and unbranded (50·8 %) foods. Alcohol (n 154, 26·6 %) and energy drinks (n 149, 25·7 %) were the most featured beverages overall. Among branded beverages, energy drinks were the largest category (n 148, 38·9 %). Among unbranded beverages, alcoholic drinks were the largest category (n 73, 36·5 %).

More than half of the foods promoted by TikTok influencers were considered unhealthy, and most beverages featured were alcoholic and energy drinks. Many foods and a large share of alcoholic beverages were unbranded, either reflecting genuine influencer preferences or potentially masking the true extent of commercial marketing. Given the reach of influencers, including millions of adolescents, stronger regulations are needed for social media platforms, influencers and brands to protect consumers from undue harm from food/beverage marketing.

To investigate whether taste perception of two artificial sweeteners—aspartame and neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (NHDC)—is causally associated with the risk of site-specific cancers.

A two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) study.

Genetic instruments for taste perception (6 for aspartame; 13 for NHDC) were obtained from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Australian adolescents, and cancer outcome data were sourced from publicly available GWAS datasets.

Genetic data for taste perception from 1757 Australian adolescents and genetic data for cancers from large-scale GWAS cohorts, including UK Biobank (n 500 000) and FinnGen (n 500 000).

A one sd increase in the genetically predicted perceived intensity of NHDC was associated with an increased risk of male genital cancer (OR = 1·11, 95 % CI: 1·04, 1·19) and prostate cancer (OR = 1·03, 95 % CI: 1·01, 1·08) based on FinnGen data. These associations persisted after multivariable MR adjustment for glucose and aspartame perception but were not replicated in the UK Biobank. A weak protective association between aspartame perception and cervical cancer (OR = 0·998, 95 % CI: 0·997, 0·999) was observed, but this attenuated to null in sensitivity analyses.

This study found no compelling evidence that perception of aspartame or NHDC during adolescence causally influences later-life cancer risk. The findings highlight the importance of evaluating individual artificial sweeteners separately in future research examining potential health effects.

The primary aim of this rapid review was to provide a summary of the mechanisms by which household food insecurity (HFI) is associated with child and adolescent health outcomes. The secondary aim was to identify key HFI determinants, provide an updated account of HFI-associated child/adolescent health outcomes and build a conceptual map to illustrate and consolidate the findings.

A rapid review was performed using EMBASE, Medline, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library. Inclusion criteria were observational high-income English-language studies, studies evaluating the mechanisms and associations between HFI and child health outcomes using statistical methods.

High-income English-speaking countries.

Child (3–10 years) and adolescent populations (11–24 years) and their parents, if appropriate.

Eight studies reported on the mechanisms by which HFI is related to child health outcomes, suggesting that maternal mental health and parenting stress play mediating roles between HFI and child/adolescent mental health, behaviour and child weight status. Sixty studies reported on associations between HFI and various child health outcomes. HFI had a significant impact on diet and mental health, which appeared to be interrelated. Sociodemographic factors were identified as determinants of HFI and moderated the relationship between HFI and child/adolescent health outcomes.

There is a gap in the evidence explaining the mechanistic role of diet quality between HFI and child weight status, as well as the interplay between diet, eating behaviours and mental health on physical child health outcomes. The conceptual map highlights opportunities for intervention and policy evaluations using complex systems approaches.

This study assessed iron-rich food consumption and its associated factors among children aged 6–23 months in South and Southeast Asia.

A cross-sectional study from the Standard Demographic and Health Survey (2015–2022).

South and Southeast Asian countries.

Data collected from 95 515 children aged 6–23 months, including information from their parents or caregivers.

The overall proportion of children, aged 6–23 months, consuming iron-rich foods in the region was 29·87 % (95 % CI: 29·58, 30·16). Higher odds of iron-rich food consumption were observed among children aged 12–23 months (adjusted OR (AOR) = 3·59; 95 % CI: 3·45, 3·76), had history of exclusive breast-feeding (AOR = 1·17; 95 % CI: 1·12, 1·23), born to teenage motherhood (AOR = 1·09; 95 % CI: 1·02, 1·17), born in health institution (AOR = 1·10; 95 % CI: 1·02, 1·19) and had pregnant mother at the time of the survey (AOR = 1·60; 95 % CI: 1·50, 1·72). Children of birth order 2–4 (AOR = 1·26; 95 % CI: 1·20, 1·32) and 5+ (AOR = 1·29; 95 % CI: 1·18, 1·43), from female-headed households (AOR = 1·06; 95 % CI: 1·01, 1·12) and those with household mass media exposure (AOR = 1·27; 95 % CI: 1·19, 1·36) also had significantly higher odds of iron-rich food consumption. Additionally, higher odds ratio (OR) (AOR > 1) of iron-rich food consumption were observed in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Maldives, Philippines, Pakistan and Timor-Leste.

Across countries, only about 30 % of children consumed iron-rich foods, with significant variation. Targeted public health efforts are essential to address maternal, child and household factors that influence intake.