scholarly journals Quantifying Actual and Perceived Inaccuracy When Estimating the Sugar, Energy Content and Portion Size of Foods

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M. König ◽  
Katrin Ziesemer ◽  
Britta Renner

In order to adhere to dietary guidelines and manage health risks, consumers need to be able to estimate with some accuracy the sugar and energy content of foods. The present study compared how well participants could estimate the sugar and energy content of foods, the weight of foods, and approximate portion size (using a hand measure estimation aid). The study had three aims. First, it aimed to investigate differences in accuracy across the four measures. Second, it aimed to examine whether these differences in accuracy between estimation measures were accurately perceived by the participants. Third, it aimed to test if estimation accuracy was related to food journaling experience, body-mass index or gender. One hundred and ninety-seven participants took part in an estimation task and filled in a questionnaire. While the participants were inaccurate when using all four estimation measures, inaccuracy was most pronounced for sugar content (ds ≥ 0.39), which was consistently overestimated by between 62.1% and 98.5% of the sample. None of the other measures showed a consistent pattern of under- or overestimation. Participants’ perceived accuracy did not match their actual accuracy (rs ≤ |0.20|, ps ≥ 0.005). Actual accuracy showed only marginal covariation with food journaling experience (ts ≤ 2.01, ps ≥ 0.049, ds ≤ 0.14), body-mass index (rs ≤ |0.15|, ps ≥ 0.041) or gender (ts ≤ 3.17, ps ≥ 0.002, ds ≤ 0.46). It is particularly challenging for consumers to estimate the sugar content of food, which might have negative consequences for health and well-being. Thus, more education about sugar content and misperceptions is needed to support consumers so that they can make healthy food choices.

Author(s):  
Laura Cabiedes-Miragaya ◽  
Cecilia Diaz-Mendez ◽  
Isabel García-Espejo

The so-called Mediterranean diet is not simply a collection of foodstuffs but an expression of the culture of the countries of the south of Europe, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Despite the link between food and culture, little has been studied about how diet contributes to the well-being of the population. This article aims to analyze the association between subjective well-being and the eating habits of the Spanish population in order to gain a better understanding of the subjective well-being that food culture produces. For this study, we used a representative sample of the Spanish adult population from a survey by the Sociological Research Center (CIS 2017). Three indicators of subjective well-being were used: perceived health, life satisfaction, and feeling of happiness. The independent variables relating to eating habits considered in the analysis were, among others, how often meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, and sweets were consumed; how the food was prepared; how often meals were eaten out at restaurants or cafés and how often they were eaten with family or friends. Other independent variables related to lifestyle habits were also included in the analysis, in particular, physical exercise and body mass index. We used ordinal logistic regressions and multiple linear regression models. Our findings coincide in large measure with those obtained in earlier studies where perceived health and income play a key role in evaluating subjective well-being. In turn, several variables related to lifestyle habits, such as consuming sweets and fruits, social interaction around meals, exercising, and body mass index, were also associated with subjective well-being.


Author(s):  
OJS Admin

Nutrition has fundamental role in the well-being of any individual. The intake of proper diet along with any kind of regular activity is essential for obtaining good health.


Author(s):  
C.-Y. Lee ◽  
Y. Sun ◽  
H.-J. Lee ◽  
T.-F. Chen ◽  
P.-N. Wang ◽  
...  

Background: Evidence of the associations of dietary habits and body mass index with dementia is inconsistent and limited in East Asian countries. Objective: We aim to explore the associations of dietary habits and body mass index with the odds of dementia. Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Setting: A nationwide, population-based, door-to-door, in-person survey. Participants: Selected by computerized random sampling from all 19 counties in Taiwan. Measurement: Diagnosis of dementia using the criteria recommended by the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association. Lifestyle factors, dietary habits and demographic data were compared between normal subjects and participants with dementia. Results: A total of 10432 residents were assessed, among whom 2049 were classified as having a mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 929 were diagnosed with dementia, and 7035 were without dementia or MCI. After adjustment for age, gender, education, body mass index (BMI), dietary habits, habitual exercises and co-morbidities, including hypertension, diabetes and cerebrovascular diseases, we found inverse associations of dementia with the consumption of fish (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.41-0.94), vegetables (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.13-0.95), coffee (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.35-0.97), green tea (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.34-0.75) and other types of tea (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.28-0.60). There was no association between dementia and fruit consumption. Compared with people who had a normal BMI (18 < BMI <= 24), older overweight people (24 < BMI <=30) had a reduced risk of dementia with an adjusted OR of 0.77 (95% CI 0.61-0.96). Conclusions: Our study provides preliminary evidence that suggests that the consumption of fish, vegetables, tea, and coffee has potential benefits against dementia in East Asian population. Being modestly overweight (nadir risk at BMI = 25) in late life was associated with decreased odds of dementia. The benefit of fruits may be offset by their high sugar content.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (32) ◽  
pp. 3039-3042
Author(s):  
Lekshmi Raj Jalaja ◽  
Stuti Lohia ◽  
Priyadarsini Bentur ◽  
Ravi Ramgiri

‘Obesity’ is defined as a condition with excess body fat to the extent that health and well-being are adversely affected and uses a class system based on the body mass index (BMI), by the world health organization (WHO). Anaesthetic management of morbidly obese is challenging, as there is an increased risk of perioperative respiratory insufficiency and supplemental oxygen must be given throughout recovery period. The incidence of morbid obesity continues to grow and anaesthesiologists are exposed to obese patients presenting for various procedures. The prevalence of obesity is on the upward trend worldwide. Obesity is a multisystem disorder, involving the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, and therefore, undergoing a surgical procedure under anaesthesia may entail a considerable risk. Thus, a multidisciplinary approach is required in treating such patients. Quantification of the extent of obesity is done using the body mass index. BMI is defined as the relationship between weight and height (weight [kg] / height2 [m2 ]).


2018 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 157-162.e1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Zhao ◽  
Yunting Zhang ◽  
Fan Jiang ◽  
Patrick Ip ◽  
Frederick Ka Wing Ho ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Rhanderson N Cardoso ◽  
Daniel Garcia ◽  
Alexandre Benjo ◽  
Francisco Macedo ◽  
Cesar Benjo ◽  
...  

Background: Permanent pacemakers (PPM) have improved cardiovascular outcomes and quality of life (QoL) in patients with a wide variety of cardiac rhythm disturbances. Nevertheless, misperceptions about the safety of daily activities (SODA) and associated factors can compromise patients’ absolute well-being. We aimed to study factors associated with worst QoL in PPM patients. Methods: PPM patients from a tertiary hospital answered an 18-question questionnaire about their perception on the SODA, which was scored based on misperception rate. Patients also answered SF-36, a validated QoL questionnaire which is scored from 0 to 100 on each of its 8 scales. Baseline characteristics were compared to average on SF-36 scales in a cross-sectional model by t-test for categorical variables and by univariable regression for continuous variables. Statistical analysis was done with Stata software 10.0 (Texas). Results: A total of 75 PPM patients aged 65.3±12 years were included, of which 31 (41%) were males. Most common reason for PPM was 3rd degree atrioventricular block (44%). Body mass index (p=0.019) and misperception rate on SODA (p=0.003) presented a significant negative regression coefficient with SF-36 average. Age, gender, average income, Chagas disease etiology, diabetes, hypertension, ejection fraction, NYHA classification, previous myocardial infarction (MI), smoking history and peripheral vascular disease were not significantly associated with SF-36 QoL results. Conclusions: In a cross-sectional study, body mass index and misperceptions about the safety of daily-life activities were associated with worst quality of life in patients with permanent pacemaker. These results suggest that optimal physician education of patients and their families about the SODA for PPM patients may ultimately improve patients’ well-being.


Author(s):  
Wei Ning (Will) Jiang

Maternal body mass index (BMI) has been reported to be associated with the number of fetal body movements and the duration of fetal breathing movements in hypertensive pregnant women (Brown et al., 2008). However, whether a relationship exists in pregnancies classified as overweight or normal weight but not complicated by hypertension is unknown and the focus of this study. Forty-five maternal-fetal pairs (normotensive, normal weight=15; normotensive, overweight=15; hypertensive=15) who had participated in a study of fetal behavior which included a 20 min real-time ultrasound scan observation of fetal movements were randomly selected from the laboratory archival database. Gestational age at testing ranged from 33-39 weeks [M(SD)= 36.2 (1.4) weeks]. All infants were delivered healthy at term. Video-recordings of the ultrasound scans were scored for the number of fetal body movements (interrater reliability r=.97) and the cumulative duration of breathing (interrater reliability r=.94) movements. The number of fetal body movements differed between groups, F(2,38)=3.19, p=0.05, with fetuses of overweight mothers moving less frequently than those of normal weight mothers (M=9.7 vs 15.5, respectively). Maternal BMI prior to pregnancy, r=-0.43, p<0.01, and at time of observation, r=-0.44, p<0.01, was associated with the number of fetal body movements, but not with duration of breathing movements. As BMI increased, the number of fetal body movements decreased. It was concluded that maternal BMI may affect the number of spontaneous fetal movements. A prospective study is necessary to determine whether BMI should be considered when using body movement counts to assess well-being and/or neurodevelopment.


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