To investigate test–retest reliability of primary-school children's reports of food preferences and to investigate agreement with parental reports.

Children completed an online test and retest, one to two weeks later, during school hours; parents completed a paper-and-pencil or an online questionnaire at home. The children's preferences questionnaire contained 148 food items, reduced to twelve scales; the parental questionnaire contained seventy-eight items reduced to nine scales.

Children of fourteen primary schools in Belgium-Flanders.

In total 572 children participated; test–retest data were available for 354 children, children's tests could be matched to 362 parental reports.

Test–retest intraclass correlations were on average 0·73, ranging between 0·62 and 0·86; correlations between children's and parents’ reports were on average 0·50, ranging between 0·32 and 0·62. Retest preferences were significantly higher for more than half of the scales. Children reported higher preferences than their parents for milk & milk products, fruit and soft drinks, while parents reported higher preferences for bread & breakfast cereals, meat, snacks and sauces.

The results indicate that the test–retest stability was good; however, agreement between parents and children was rather low to moderate.

The aim of the paper is to describe the formative evaluation of the feedback component of an online nutrition tailoring instrument, the Children's and Adolescents’ Nutrition Assessment and Advice on the Web (CANAA-W), among parents of schoolchildren.

Parents of pre-primary and primary-school children recorded their child's food intake over 3 d with CANAA-W and completed the evaluation questionnaire online. A subsample participated in focus group discussions.

Parents completed CANAA-W at home.

Forty-six parents completed the evaluation questionnaire. Seventeen parents participated in three focus group discussions.

Parents were enthusiastic: the majority (81 % or more) found the advice comprehensible, interesting, logical, useful, believable, well formulated, correct, personal, relevant, complete, attractive, containing enough and not too much information; they indicated that it is helpful to improve their children's eating habits and that they intend to use it. The qualitative analyses revealed that the respondents appreciated the confrontation with their child's diet and the visualization (i.e. traffic light colours, pictograms, food models, diagrams). The length of the feedback was rather a drawback, but it was useful nevertheless.

CANAA-W was well received by the parents; the scores on the feasibility questionnaire were high and the qualitative analyses showed that the confrontation with their child's diet, and attractive visualization of the most relevant feedback linked to more elaborated optional feedback, were well appreciated. The major challenge will be to convince parents who are less interested in food habits and less computer-literate to participate in this type of study.

Despite extensive research into the biological mechanisms behind obesity-related inflammation, knowledge of environmental and genetic factors triggering such mechanisms is limited. In the present narrative review we present potential determinants of adipose tissue inflammation and suggest ways ahead for future research in the field.

We searched the literature for potential determinants of obesity with inflammation through MEDLINE by applying the MeSH headings ‘obesity’ and ‘inflammation’ in combination with specific terms for a series of environmental and genetic factors.

Numerous articles reported on the association between environmental or genetic factors and respectively obesity and inflammation, whereas only a few studies assessed obesity and inflammation as a combined outcome. Among suggested determinants for obesity with inflammation were Adenovirus-36, the gut microbiota, trans-fatty acids, and the four genes FTO, MC4R, TNF-α and LEPR.

We present a limited number of factors potentially contributing to the development of obesity with inflammation, while concluding that overall the area is indeed sparsely investigated. We present ideas for future studies that can identify relevant aetiological factors. This identification is essential for targeted prevention of obesity with inflammation and the clinical consequences thereof.

There is increasing pressure for adolescents to be thin and this may not always be acted upon in healthy ways; for example, certain foods or food groups may be restricted or meals skipped. As foods are not eaten in isolation it is useful to examine dietary patterns and associated psychosocial factors to better understand eating behaviour. The aim of the present study was to identify correlates of ‘dieting’ in adolescents from Otago, New Zealand.

A web-based survey was conducted in 2009, collecting information on food consumption and factors potentially associated with food consumption. Principal components analysis was used to investigate dietary patterns. Correlates were examined in 1329 students using multiple logistic regression analysis.

Nineteen secondary schools in the province of Otago, New Zealand.

Students from school years 9 and 10 (mean age 14·1 (sd 0·7) years).

There was no relationship between dieting and dietary patterns. Those not dieting were 17 % (95 % CI 7, 26 %) more likely to eat lunch and 22 % (95 % CI 3, 37 %) more likely to eat an evening meal on one more weekday than those who were dieting. Those who reported dieting were more likely to report healthiness (OR = 2·18, 95 % CI 1·11, 4·26) as an important factor when choosing food and that eating fruit and vegetables makes you better looking. No sex by dieting interaction was found.

In this cohort, while there was no difference in actual food consumption between dieters and non-dieters, there were significant differences in attitudes to food.

The relationship between a child's environment and nutritional status is difficult to examine yet could offer an important guide to policy. The objective of the present work was to examine individual and environmental correlates with childhood height-for-age in Ghana.

Data were derived from the 2008 MEASURE Demographic and Health Survey in Ghana, the 2000 Ghana Population and Housing Census, and the World Wide Fund for Nature's eco-regions database. A generalized linear mixed regression model was used to estimate the effects of individual and environmental correlates on height-for-age.

The study examined 2225 Ghanaian children aged 0–59 months.

The setting was all districts in Ghana for the year 2008.

After accounting for individual characteristics of children, mothers and households, height-for-age was significantly associated with population density. Other significantly associated variables in the final model were the age of the child, vaccination status, the size of the child at birth, months of breast-feeding, mother's BMI, whether the child's mother had health insurance and wealth quintile.

In addition to a number of characteristics of the children and their households, the social milieu is important to understanding differences in height-for-age among children in Ghana. The biophysical environment was not associated with height-for-age.

To examine the prospective association of television (TV) watching from adolescence to young adulthood with BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and obesity.

A community-based longitudinal cohort study.

Mater–University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) Cohort, Brisbane, Australia.

A sub-sample of 2439 children was followed up at ages 14 years and 21 years as part of a population-based birth cohort. Offspring reported the number of TV viewing hours each day at 14 and 21 years. BMI, WC and WHR were measured at 21 years.

In the adjusted model, offspring who watched TV for <3 h/d at 14 years but for ≥3 h/d at 21 years, or who watched TV for ≥3 h/d at 14 and 21 years, had greater BMI, WC and WHR at 21 years. Offspring who watched TV for ≥3 h/d at 14 years but for <3 h/d at 21 years had similar mean BMI, WC and WHR at 21 years to those who watched TV for <3 h/d at 14 and 21 years. Those offspring who reduced their TV watching hours to <3 h/d during the transition from adolescence into young adulthood were at less risk of becoming obese and those who continued or increased their TV watching to ≥3 h/d were at greater risk of becoming obese. This association remained independent of the potential confounding factors considered.

The present findings suggest that our efforts to decrease obesity by reducing TV watching hours among adults should consider interventions to reduce TV time among adolescents.

To inform public health approaches for chronic disease prevention, the present study identified sociodemographic, anthropometric and behavioural correlates of work, transport and leisure physical inactivity and sitting time among adults in Oman.

Cross-sectional study using the WHO STEPwise study methodology.

Sur City, Oman.

Men and women aged 20 years and older (n 1335) in the Sur City Healthy Lifestyle Study who had complete data for demographic variables (gender, age, education, work status and marital status), BMI and behavioural risk factors – smoking and dietary habits plus physical inactivity and sitting time (the outcome variables).

The highest level of physical inactivity was in the leisure domain (55·4 %); median sitting time was about 2 h/d. Gender-stratified logistic regression models found that the statistically significant (P < 0·05) correlates of inactivity (in one or more domains) were age, work status and fruit and vegetable intake in women, and age, education, work status, marital status and BMI in men. Gender-stratified linear regression models found that the statistically significant correlates of sitting time were age, work status and BMI in women and education in men.

Findings suggest that public health interventions need to be gender responsive and focus on domain-specific physical inactivity. In the Omani context, this might include gender-segregated exercise facilities to promote leisure physical activity among women and walking-friendly environmental initiatives to promote transport physical activity among men. Further evidence on barriers to physical activity and factors that influence prolonged sitting is required to develop relevant public health interventions.

We examined whether drinking water per se is associated with drinking less of other beverages and whether changes in BMI are associated with the intake of water and other beverages.

Secondary analysis of a randomized trial of fourth graders followed over 1 year.

Public schools in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Participants were 1134 students aged 10–11 years.

At baseline, a higher frequency of water consumption was associated with a greater daily intake of fruit juice (P = 0·02) and a higher daily frequency of milk (P = 0·005). In the intervention group, the baseline frequency of water consumption was negatively associated with weight change over 1 year but without statistical significance (coefficient = −0·08 kg/m2; 95 % CI −0·37, 0·24 kg/m2), whereas fruit juice intake frequency was positively associated with weight change: each increase in fruit juice intake of 1 glass/d was associated with a BMI increase of 0·16 (95 % CI 0·02, 0·30) kg/m2.

Our findings do not support a protective effect of water consumption on BMI, but confirm consumption of juice drinks as a risk factor for BMI gain. Students who reported high water consumption also reported high intake of other beverages; therefore, the promotion of water consumption per se would not prevent excessive weight gain.

Previous studies showed an inconsistent association of fruit and vegetable consumption with bone health. We assessed the associations in Chinese adolescents, young and postmenopausal women.

A cross-sectional study conducted in China during July 2009 to May 2010.

Bone mineral density (BMD) and content (BMC) at the whole body, lumbar spine and left hip were measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Dietary intakes were assessed using an FFQ. All these values were separately standardized into Z-scores in each population subgroup.

One hundred and ten boys and 112 girls (11–14 years), 371 young women (20–34 years, postpartum within 2 weeks) and 333 postmenopausal women (50–70 years).

After adjustment for potential covariates, analysis of covariance showed a significantly positive association between fruit intake and BMD and BMC in all participants combined (P-trend: < 0·001 to 0·002). BMD Z-score increased by 0·25 (or 2·1 % of the mean), 0·22 (3·5 %), 0·23 (3·0 %) and 0·25 (3·5 %), and BMC Z-score increased by 0·33 (5·7 %), 0·25 (5·8 %), 0·34 (5·9 %) and 0·29 (4·7 %), at the total body, lumbar spine, total hip and femoral neck in participants belonging to the top tertile compared with the bottom tertile of fruit intake (all P < 0·05), respectively. There was no significant association between vegetable intake and bone mass at all bone sites studied except for total body BMD (P = 0·030). Relatively more pronounced effects were observed in boys and postmenopausal women.

Our findings add to the existing evidence that fruits and vegetables may have a bone sparing effect.

The present study aimed to (i) describe the availability of nutrition information in major chain restaurants, (ii) document the energy and nutrient levels of menu items, (iii) evaluate relationships with restaurant characteristics, menu labelling and trans fat laws, and nutrition information accessibility, and (iv) compare energy and nutrient levels against industry-sponsored and government-issued nutrition criteria.

Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis of the energy, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, carbohydrate and protein levels of 28 433 regular and 1833 children's menu items.

Energy and nutrition information provided on restaurant websites or upon request, and secondary databases on restaurant characteristics.

The top 400 US chain restaurants by sales, based on the 2009 list of the Restaurants & Institutions magazine.

Complete nutrition information was reported for 245 (61 %) restaurants. Appetizers had more energy, fat and sodium than all other item types. Children's menu specialty beverages had more fat, saturated fat and carbohydrates than comparable regular menu beverages. The majority of main entrées fell below one-third of the US Department of Agriculture's estimated daily energy needs, but as few as 3 % were also within limits for sodium, fat and saturated fat. Main entrées had significantly more energy, fat and saturated fat in family-style restaurants than in fast-food restaurants. Restaurants that made nutrition information easily accessible on websites had significantly lower energy, fat and sodium contents across menu offerings than those providing information only upon request.

The paper provides a comprehensive view of chain restaurant menu nutrition prior to nationwide labelling laws. It offers baseline data to evaluate how restaurants respond after laws are implemented.

To determine the main dietary patterns of pregnant women during each of the three trimesters of pregnancy and to examine associated nutrient intakes.

Participants completed a 3 d food diary during each trimester of pregnancy. Thirty-six food groups were created and dietary patterns were derived using k-means cluster analysis.

National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

Two hundred and eighty-five healthy pregnant women aged between 20 and 41 years.

Two dietary patterns were identified at each time point. They were labelled ‘Unhealthy’ (n 143, 150 and 155 at trimester 1, 2 and 3, respectively) and ‘Health Conscious’ (n 142, 135 and 130 at trimester 1, 2 and 3, respectively). Women in the ‘Health Conscious’ cluster were significantly older, had lower BMI and were higher educated than those in the ‘Unhealthy’ cluster. Of those in the ‘Unhealthy’ cluster in the first trimester (n 143), 103 (72·0 %) continued in this dietary pattern into trimester 2 and eighty-one (56·6 %) continued into trimester 3. Of those in the ‘Health Conscious’ cluster in trimester 1 (n 142), ninety-five (66·9 %) continued in this dietary pattern into trimester 2 and sixty-nine (48·6 %) continued into trimester 3.

Cluster analysis produced two clearly defined dietary patterns at each stage of pregnancy. Knowledge of maternal dietary patterns is important for the development of pregnancy-specific dietary guidelines. Identifying women with an ‘Unhealthy’ dietary pattern in early pregnancy affords the opportunity for a dietary intervention which may positively impact both maternal and infant health.

To examine the association between frequency of assisting with home meal preparation and fruit and vegetable preference and self-efficacy for making healthier food choices among grade 5 children in Alberta, Canada.

A cross-sectional survey design was used. Children were asked how often they helped prepare food at home and rated their preference for twelve fruits and vegetables on a 3-point Likert-type scale. Self-efficacy was measured with six items on a 4-point Likert-type scale asking children their level of confidence in selecting and eating healthy foods at home and at school.

Schools (n 151) located in Alberta, Canada.

Grade 5 students (n 3398).

A large majority (83–93 %) of the study children reported helping in home meal preparation at least once monthly. Higher frequency of helping prepare and cook food at home was associated with higher fruit and vegetable preference and with higher self-efficacy for selecting and eating healthy foods.

Encouraging children to be more involved in home meal preparation could be an effective health promotion strategy. These findings suggest that the incorporation of activities teaching children how to prepare simple and healthy meals in health promotion programmes could potentially lead to improvement in dietary habits.

To investigate maintenance of changes in food intake and motivation for healthy eating at follow-up 2 data collection after a lifestyle intervention among Pakistani immigrant women.

A culturally adapted lifestyle intervention, aiming at reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Data collection including FFQ and questions on intentions to change dietary behaviour was completed at baseline, right after the 7 ± 1 month intervention (follow-up 1) and 2–3 years after baseline (follow-up 2).

Oslo, Norway.

Pakistani women (n 198), aged 25–60 years, randomized into control and intervention groups.

From follow-up 1 to follow-up 2 there was a shift from action to maintenance stages for intention to reduce fat intake (P < 0·001), change type of fat (P = 0·001), increase vegetable intake (P < 0·001) and reduce sugar intake (P = 0·003) in the intervention group. The reduction in intakes of soft drinks with sugar, fruit drinks with sugar and red meats, and the increase in intakes of vegetables and fish from baseline to follow-up 1 were maintained (significant change from baseline) at follow-up 2 in the intervention group. The intake of vegetables was higher (P = 0·019) and the intake of fruit drinks with sugar lower (P = 0·023) in the intervention group compared with the control group at follow-up 2.

The culturally adapted intervention had the potential of affecting intentions to change food behaviour among Pakistani immigrant women long after completion of the intervention and also of leading to long-term maintenance of beneficial changes in diet.

(i) To map how US adults value ‘choice’ in the context of obesity policy and (ii) to discuss implications for obesity prevention in children.

Semi-structured interviews (n 105) were conducted between 2006 and 2009 about causes of and solutions to childhood obesity. Quotes captured in field notes from community meetings (n 6) on childhood obesity prevention were also analysed. Each use of the word ‘choice’ and its variants was identified in these texts. Content and discourse were analysed to identify the implied values and meaning in each use.

North-eastern USA.

One hundred and five adults, some involved in childhood obesity prevention initiatives.

Three distinct frames of ‘choice’ emerged: (i) having choices (choice as freedom), (ii) making choices (choice as responsibility) and (iii) influencing choices (contextual constraints and impacts on choice). Many speakers used more than one frame over the course of an interview. Most people using the third frame seemed to share the values behind the first two frames, but focused on conditions required to enable people to be accountable for their choices and to make truly free choices. A small subset thought outside the frame of individual choice, valuing, as one person put it, a ‘social contract’.

Public debate in the USA about responsibility for and solutions to rising obesity rates often hinges on notions of ‘choice’. These frames, and the values underlying them, are not mutually exclusive. Respecting the values behind each ‘choice’ frame when crafting obesity prevention policy and employing all three in public communications about such policy may facilitate greater consensus on prevention measures.

To determine parents’ and children's attitudes towards food, beverage and alcohol sponsorship of elite and children's sports and the acceptability of policies and alternative funding models to limit this sponsorship.

Telephone surveys were conducted with parents in February–May 2011. One child from each household was invited to complete an online survey. Surveys assessed parents’ perceptions about the influence of sponsorship on children and support for limiting sponsorship, and children's awareness of and attitudes towards sponsors.

Randomly sampled households in New South Wales, Australia.

Parents (n 825) and children aged 10–16 years (n 243).

Three-quarters of parents supported the introduction of policies to restrict unhealthy food, beverage and alcohol sponsorship of children's and elite sports. More parents (81 %) supported the introduction of alternative funding models to allow these companies to sponsor sport provided there was no visible branding. Two-thirds of children recalled sponsors of their favourite elite sports team/athlete, with 428 sponsors recalled. Of these, 11 % were food/beverage companies and 3 % were alcohol-related. For 39 % of sponsors, children reported feeling better about the company after it had sponsored a team/athlete.

Australian parents support restrictions on unhealthy food, beverage and alcohol sport sponsorship. Children's positive associations regarding sponsors are likely to be linked to brand preferences and usage.

Household food access remains a concern among primarily agricultural households in lower- and middle-income countries. We examined the associations among domains representing livelihood assets (human capital, social capital, natural capital, physical capital and financial capital) and household food access.

Cross-sectional survey (two questionnaires) on livelihood assets.

Metropolitan Pillaro, Ecuador; Cochabamba, Bolivia; and Huancayo, Peru.

Households (n 570) involved in small-scale agricultural production in 2008.

Food access, defined as the number of months of adequate food provisioning in the previous year, was relatively good; 41 % of the respondents indicated to have had no difficulty in obtaining food for their household in the past year. Using bivariate analysis, key livelihood assets indicators associated with better household food access were identified as: age of household survey respondent (P = 0·05), participation in agricultural associations (P = 0·09), church membership (P = 0·08), area of irrigated land (P = 0·08), housing material (P = 0·06), space within the household residence (P = 0·02) and satisfaction with health status (P = 0·02). In path models both direct and indirect effects were observed, underscoring the complexity of the relationships between livelihood assets and household food access. Paths significantly associated with better household food access included: better housing conditions (P = 0·01), more space within the household residence (P = 0·001) and greater satisfaction with health status (P = 0·001).

Multiple factors were associated with household food access in these peri-urban agricultural households. Food security intervention programmes focusing on food access need to deal with both agricultural factors and determinants of health to bolster household food security in challenging lower- and middle-income country contexts.

To evaluate associations between home environmental factors and BMI of young American-Indian children.

Cross-sectional and prospective study.

School-based obesity prevention trial (Bright Start) on a Northern Plains Indian reservation in South Dakota. Mixed model multivariable analysis was used to examine associations between child BMI categories (normal, overweight and obese) and home food availability, children's dietary intake and physical activity. Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, socio-economic status, parent BMI and school; prospective analyses also adjusted for study condition and baseline predictor and outcome variables.

Kindergarten children (n 424, 51 % male; mean age = 5·8 years, 30 % overweight/obese) and parents/caregivers (89 % female; 86 % overweight/obese) had their height and weight measured and parents/caregivers completed surveys on home environmental factors (baseline and 2 years later).

Higher fast-food intake and parent-perceived barriers to physical activity were marginally associated with higher probabilities of a child being overweight and obese. Vegetable availability was marginally associated with lower probabilities of being overweight and obese. The associations between home environmental factors and child weight status at follow-up were not significant.

Findings indicate that selected aspects of the home environment are associated with weight status of American-Indian children. Obesity interventions with this population should consider helping parents to engage and model healthful behaviours and to increase availability of healthful foods at home.

To assess the relative risk of low daily fruit and vegetable consumption for six large migrant groups in Switzerland.

Cross-sectional health survey carried out 2007 (Swiss Health Survey) and 2010 (Swiss Migrant Health Survey) in Switzerland. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate relative risk rates (RRR) of migrants relative to Swiss nationals.

Data obtained from representative samples of Swiss and foreign nationals living in Switzerland.

A random sample (n 14637) of the Portuguese, German, Italian, Turkish, Serbian, Kosovan and Swiss permanent resident adult population (17–64 years old) was interviewed.

The proportion of participants who adhered to the recommended fruit and vegetable consumption was below one-third in all study populations. Compared with Swiss nationals, the relative risk of low daily fruit and vegetable intake relative to recommended intake was higher in Turkish nationals (RRR = 2·92, 95 % CI 1·91, 4·48; P = 0·0000) and Kosovan nationals (RRR = 4·76, 95 % CI 3·01, 7·55; P = 0·0000). The respective relative risks of Portuguese, Serbian, German and Italian nationals were not significantly different from the Swiss reference group.

Initiatives for the promotion of fruit and vegetable consumption should continue to address the population at large. At the same time, programmes that are tailored to the specific needs of migrants from Turkey and Kosovo should be considered.