The purpose of this study was to clarify whether the support activities of dietitians during disasters were able to address the problems faced by mothers about their children’s diet and nutrition.

Dietitians (7 in total) and mothers (8) were selected by the snowball sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were used to conduct focus group interviews about children’s diet and nutrition. Verbatim data were generated, and an inductively qualitative descriptive analysis was conducted.

Six categories were generated for each group. Dietitians responded to problems that mothers had regarding their children’s diet and nutrition via 2 activities: [dealing with allergy food shortages] and [school lunch support].

It is important for dietitians to recommend stockpiling allergy-friendly foods to accommodate children with allergies and achieve early resumption of school lunches to meet children’s nutritional needs.

Dietary transitions in China have undergone rapid changes in over the last three decades. The purpose of this study is to describe trends in the macronutrient consumption, the sources of those nutrients and the diet quality among Chinese adults.

Longitudinal China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) cohort analysis. Main outcomes are dietary energy intake from total carbohydrate, protein and fat and their subtypes, as well as food sources of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, and the China Dietary Guidelines Index 2018 (CDGI-2018).

CHNS (1991, 2000, 2009 and 2015).

Data from the longitudinal 1991, 2000, 2009 and 2015 CHNS of adults aged 18 years or older who had complete demographic information.

The estimated mean energy intake from total carbohydrate decreased from 62·6 % to 50·6 % between 1991 and 2015, while the mean energy intake from total protein increased from 12·6 % to just 13·1 % and the mean energy intake from total fat significantly increased from 24·0 % to 35·8 % (P < 0·001 for trend). Decreases were observed in evaluated mean energy from low-quality carbohydrates (from 53·6 % to 41·7 %) and incomplete protein (from 9·3 % to 7·5 %), while increases were seen in estimated mean energy from high-quality protein (from 3·3 % to 5·5 %), high-quality fat (from 9·1 % to 16·7 %) and low-quality fat (from 14·9 % to 19·0 %). Low-quality carbohydrates, primarily those derived from refined grains, decreased from 52·2 % to 36·2 %. The diet quality as measured by CDGI-2018 improved, with the estimated mean increasing from 41·7 to 52·4 (P < 0·01 for trend).

For Chinese adults, there was a significant change in the macronutrient composition over the previous few decades. The percentage of energy consumed from carbohydrates significantly decreased; however, the percentage of energy consumed from total fat significantly increased. Additionally, the diet quality remains suboptimal.

To examine demographic and dietary correlates of consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables (FV) among Texas adolescents. Different types of FV are needed for adequate dietary intake of vitamins and phytochemicals for proper development and functioning throughout the lifespan.

Cross-sectional analysis from the Texas Surveillance of Physical Activity and Nutrition (Texas SPAN) data comparing consumption of a variety of fruit and vegetables by gender, race/ethnicity and region (Texas-Mexico border/non-border).

Middle, high schools in Texas.

8th, 11th grade Texas adolescents (n 9056 representing n 659 288) mean age 14·8 years.

Within this sample, mean fruit and vegetable variety scores (0–7) ranged from 2·47 to 2·65. Boys consumed a significantly greater variety of fruit than girls (mean = 1·12 compared with 1·04). Adolescents in non-border regions consumed a greater variety of vegetables and FV compared with those in border regions. FV variety was associated with healthier eating in the full sample, particularly in the highest socio-economic status (SES) tertile. Within the highest SES tertile, a one-unit increase in variety of fruit, vegetable and FV was associated with significant increases (P < 0·001) in a healthy eating measure, the SPAN Healthy Eating Index: Fruit variety (β = 1·33, se = 0·29), vegetable variety (β = 0·90, se = 0·28) and FV variety (β = 0·81, se = 0·19).

Consumption of a greater variety of FV appears to be associated with a healthier overall diet. Associations of FV variety with healthy eating were most significant in the highest SES tertile. These findings support the need to further examine consuming a variety of FV within healthy eating behaviour.

Iodine deficiency is a public health problem, especially in Peru, where it affects women of childbearing age and school-age children. The objective of the study was to conduct a household-level analysis of the factors associated with the consumption of table salt with inadequate amounts of iodine in Peru.

Analytical cross-sectional study using Peruvian household-level data from the Demographic and Family Health Survey. Table salt iodine concentrations were considered as the dependent variable (‘inadequate’ with iodine levels <30 PPM and ‘adequate’ with levels ≥30 PPM). The association between iodine concentrations in salt and independent variables was evaluated using crude and adjusted log-binomial regression models.

Peru.

A total of 25 007 households were included.

In Peru, 21·8 % households had inadequate table salt iodine concentrations. Belonging to the poorer and poorest wealth index, living in the Highlands natural region, and living with women of childbearing age with native mother tongue were identified as factors associated with inadequate iodine concentrations in table salt.

There is an urgent need to ensure that table salt with adequate iodine concentrations is available for poor populations, residents of the Highlands and households with ethnic presence. Likewise, it is necessary to promote good storage practices, greater regulation/law enforcement and better monitoring of the companies that manufacture or sell this product. Furthermore, the population needs to be informed of the disorders associated with iodine deficiency.

To investigate the relationships between children’s food and drink choices at school lunch for children who consume high and low sugar intakes at home.

Children’s food and drink consumption at home was assessed using diet diaries over three consecutive days. Children were classified as ‘high’ or ‘low’ sugar consumers at home using the WHO recommendation that free sugars should be less than 10 % of their daily total energy intake. A purposive sample of children was then selected and observed during school lunch, recording food selections, food left on plates and content of packed lunches.

Six primary schools in Newham and Kent, England.

Parents and children aged 6–7 years.

Seventy-one parents completed diet diaries. From the seventy-one, thirty-nine children were observed during school lunch. Twenty children were high sugar consumers, nineteen children were low sugar consumers; thirty-one children had a school meal. Eleven of the fifteen children (73 %) who had school meals and who were high sugar consumers selected a high-sugar dessert rather than fruit. Only five of the sixteen (31 %) children who had school meals and were low sugar consumers at home chose a high-sugar dessert. Most of the children who had packed lunches had sweet items, despite school policies.

Children who consumed high sugar intake at home tended to select foods high in sugar for school meals or had packed lunches containing high-sugar foods. The implications for public health programmes include healthy eating workshops and implementing school food policies.

Epidemiological investigations evaluating the association of dietary Ca intake with metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk have yielded controversial results. Therefore, a meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively summarize the association between dietary Ca intake and the risk of MetS.

PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were searched for relevant articles published up to October 2018. The pooled OR and 95 % CI were calculated with a random-effects model.

Meta-analysis.

Nine cross-sectional studies.

A total of nine articles with fifteen studies for dietary Ca intake were finally included in the meta-analysis. The combined OR with 95 % CI of MetS for the highest v. lowest category of dietary Ca intake was 0·80 (95 % CI 0·70, 0·91). For dose–response analysis, a non-linear relationship was found between dietary intake of Ca and risk of MetS (Pnon-linearity<0·001). The threshold for dietary Ca intake was 280 mg/d (OR=0·87; 95 % CI 0·82, 0·93), reducing the risk of MetS by 13 %.

The present meta-analysis suggests that dietary Ca intake might reduce the risk of MetS, which needs to be further confirmed by larger prospective cohort studies.

To categorize and assess all foods, beverages and ingredients provided over one week at Australian long day care (LDC) centres according to four levels of food processing and to assess the contribution of Na from each level of processing.

Cross-sectional.

Menus for lunch, morning and afternoon snacks were collected from LDC centres. The level of food processing of all foods, beverages and ingredients was assessed utilizing a four-level food processing classification system: minimally processed (MP), processed culinary ingredients (PCI), processed (P) and ultra-processed (ULP).

A total of thirty-five menus (lunch, n 35; snacks, n 70) provided to 1–5-year-old children were collected from seven LDC centres. Proportions of foodstuffs classified as MP, PCI, P and ULP were 54, 10, 15 and 21 %, respectively. All lunches were classified as MP. ULP foods accounted for 6 % of morning snacks; 41 % of afternoon snacks. Mean daily amount of Na provided per child across all centres was 633 (sd 151) mg. ULP foods provided 40 % of Na, followed by P (35 %), MP (23 %) and PCI (2 %).

Centres provided foods resulting in a mean total daily Na content that represented 63 % of the recommended Upper Level of Intake for Na in this age group. A significant proportion of ULP snack foods were included, which were the major contributor to total daily Na intake. Replacement of ULP snack foods with MP lower-Na alternatives is recommended.

To investigate the potential influence of dietary Se intake on mortality among Chinese populations.

We prospectively evaluated all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality risks associated with dietary Se intake in participants of the Shanghai Women’s Health Study (SWHS) and the Shanghai Men’s Health study (SMHS). Dietary Se intake was assessed by validated FFQ during in-person interviews. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI.

Urban city in China.

Chinese adults (n 133 957).

During an average follow-up of 13·90 years in the SWHS and 8·37 years in the SMHS, 5749 women and 4217 men died. The mean estimated dietary Se intake was 45·48 μg/d for women and 51·34 μg/d for men, respectively. Dietary Se intake was inversely associated with all-cause mortality and CVD mortality in both women and men, with respective HR for the highest compared with the lowest quintile being 0·79 (95 % CI 0·71, 0·88; Ptrend<0·0001) and 0·80 (95 % CI 0·66, 0·98; Ptrend=0·0268) for women, and 0·79 (95 % CI 0·70, 0·89; Ptrend=0·0001) and 0·66 (95 % CI 0·54, 0·82; Ptrend=0·0002) for men. No significant associations were observed for cancer mortality in both women and men. Results were similar in subgroup and sensitivity analyses.

Dietary Se intake was inversely associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in both sexes, but not cancer mortality.

Conflicting results on the association between fruit consumption and cancer risk have been reported. Little is known about the cancer preventive effects of different fruit types. The present meta-analysis investigates whether an association exists between apple intake and cancer risk.

Relevant observational studies were identified by literature search (PubMed, Web of Science and Embase). A random-effect model was used to estimate the cancer risk in different anatomical sites. Between-study heterogeneity and publication bias were assessed using adequate statistical tests.

Twenty case–control (three on lung, five on colorectal, five on breast, two on oesophageal, three on oral cavity, two on prostate and one each on pancreas, bladder, larynx, ovary, kidney and brain cancer) and twenty-one cohort (seven on lung, two on colorectal, three on breast and one each on oesophageal, pancreas, bladder, kidney, endometrial, head–neck, urothelial and stomach cancer) studies met the inclusion criteria. Comparing the highest v. lowest level of apple consumption, the reduction of lung cancer risk was statistically highly significant in both case–control (OR=0·75; 95% CI 0·63, 0·88; P=0·001, I2=0 %) and cohort studies (relative risk=0·89; 95% CI 0·84, 0·94; P<0·001, I2=53 %). Instead, in the case of colorectal (OR=0·66; 95% CI 0·54, 0·81; P<0·001, I2=55%), breast (OR=0·79; 95% CI 0·73, 0·87; P<0·001, I2=1 %) and overall digestive tract (OR=0·50; 95% CI 0·36, 0·69; P<0·001, I2=90 %) cancers a significant preventive effect of apples was found only in case–control studies while prospective studies indicated no effect. No evidence of publication bias could be detected for colorectal, oral cavity, oesophageal and breast cancer. However, some confounding effects may be present and related to the consumption of other fruit which have not been considered as adjusting factors.

The present meta-analysis indicates that consumption of apples is associated with a reduced risk of cancer in different anatomical sites.

To measure total daily salt intake using 24 h urinary Na excretion within a sample of Victorian schoolchildren aged 5–13 years and to assess discretionary salt use habits of children and parents.

Cross-sectional study.

Completed within a convenience sample of independent primary schools (n 9) located in Victoria, Australia.

Two hundred and sixty children completed a 24 h urine collection over a school (34 %) or non-school day (66 %). Samples deemed incomplete (n 18), an over-collection (n 1) or that were incorrectly processed at the laboratory (n 3) were excluded.

The sample comprised 120 boys and 118 girls with a mean age of 9·8 (sd 1·7) years. The average 24 h urinary Na excretion (n 238) was 103 (sd 43) mmol/24 h (salt equivalent 6·0 (sd 2·5) g/d). Daily Na excretion did not differ by sex; boys 105 (sd 46) mmol/24 h (salt equivalent 6·1 (sd 2·7) g/d) and girls 100 (sd 41) mmol/24 h (salt equivalent 5·9 (sd 2·4) g/d; P = 0·38). Sixty-nine per cent of children (n 164) exceeded the recommended daily Upper Limit for Na. Reported discretionary salt use was common: two-thirds of parents reported adding salt during cooking and almost half of children reported adding salt at the table.

The majority of children had salt intakes exceeding the recommended daily Upper Limit. Strategies to lower salt intake in children are urgently required, and should include product reformulation of lower-sodium food products combined with interventions targeting discretionary salt use within the home.

To determine the relative validity of a quantitative FFQ in assessing dietary fluoride intakes using 3 d food and beverage diaries for reference.

Parents were asked to complete questionnaires for the preceding week and diaries for 3 d for their children. Fluoride intakes were estimated from ‘selected’ foods and beverages for questionnaires and from ‘all foods and beverages’ for diaries. Data collected at 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months were analysed cross-sectionally.

A 3 d food and beverage diary and an FFQ collected through mail from children living in the state of Iowa.

Children from the Iowa Fluoride Study whose parents completed both an FFQ and a 3 d food and beverage diary at each analysed time point.

Correlations between daily mean dietary fluoride intake estimated from questionnaires and diaries range from 0·90 to 0·65.

A quantitative FFQ can provide relative estimates of dietary fluoride intake.

To determine the relative validity of the culture-sensitive quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) developed for the Transition, Health and Urbanisation in South Africa (THUSA) study by 7-day weighed food records, urinary nitrogen excretion and basal metabolic rate (BMR).

A cross-sectional study.

A community-based study in a population stratified according to level of urbanization.

Residents of the North West Province, South Africa, aged between 15 and 65 years. The weighed food record study comprised 74 participants while 104 participants collected 24-hour urine samples.

All participants were interviewed using the QFFQ. For the weighed food record study, participants kept detailed weighed food diaries for seven consecutive days. For the urinary nitrogen study, participants made one 24-hour urine collection. Completeness of the urine collections was checked against 240 mg para-aminobenzoic acid. BMR was estimated by the Schofield equations.

Spearman rank correlation coefficients between the QFFQ and weighed food record ranged between 0.14 (fibre) and 0.59 (vitamin C). The QFFQ tended to underestimate intakes compared with the weighed records. Quintile distributions were similar for both methods. The correlation between urinary nitrogen excretion and dietary intake was poor. Possible underreporting was identified for 43% of the participants with the QFFQ and 28% with the weighed food record.

The QFFQ appeared to be a relatively valid instrument for the assessment of dietary intakes of the population of the North West Province. The use of biomarkers in this population was difficult and needs further investigation.