Caregiver Nutritional Health Outcomes of the Simple Suppers Study: Results from a 10 Week, Two-Group Quasi-Experimental Family Meals Intervention

Individuals from racial minority backgrounds, especially those with low income, are at increased risk for obesity. Family meals positively impact child nutritional health; however, there is limited evidence examining the impact on caregivers, particularly racial minority and income-restricted individuals. The objective of this intervention study was to determine the effect of Simple Suppers, a 10 week family meals program, on caregiver diet and nutrition outcomes. Intervention versus waitlist control participants were compared from baseline (T0) to post-intervention (T1). In addition, intervention participants were assessed at a 10 week follow-up time point (T2). This study was a two-group quasi-experimental intervention trial. Lessons (10 total) were delivered on a weekly basis for 90 min. Data were collected from intervention and waitlist control participants at T0 and T1, and intervention participants at T2. After baseline (T0) data collection, families enrolled in the immediate upcoming session of Simple Suppers (intervention group) or waited for 10 weeks (waitlist control group) to begin the program. Participants were caregivers of children ages 4–10 years. This study was conducted in a faith-based community center for underserved families in Columbus, Ohio. Primary outcomes were: diet quality assessed by Healthy Eating Index (HEI) total and component scores, and total energy intake (kcal/day); body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2), waist circumference (cm), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) (mmHG); and self-efficacy for having healthy meals and menu planning (both scalar). The impact of the intervention (T0:T1) was assessed using generalized mixed-effects linear regression models. Maintenance of change in study outcomes among intervention participants (T1:T2) was examined with paired t-tests. 109 caregivers enrolled in this study. The retention rate at T1 was 90% (i.e., 98 participants). 56 of 68 intervention participants completed T2, resulting in a retention rate of 82%. Almost all (99%) were female, 61% were Black, and 50% were between 31 and 40 years old. In total, 40% had low income and 37% had low or very low food security. At T1, intervention vs. waitlist controls had a lower daily energy intake (p = 0.04), but an HEI-2010 component score for fatty acids (adequacy) that was lower indicating a lower dietary intake of fatty acids (p = 0.02), and a component score for empty calories (moderation) that was significantly lower indicating a higher intake of empty calorie foods (p = 0.03). At T1, intervention vs. waitlist controls also had a lower BMI (p < 0.001) and systolic BP (p = 0.04), and higher self-efficacy (p = 0.03). There were no group differences in other outcomes. At T2, intervention participants maintained the changes in daily energy intake, BMI, systolic BP, and self-efficacy that improved during the intervention period. There was no change (improvement) in the component score for fatty acids; however, the component score for empty calories significantly improved (p = 0.02). Engagement in the Simple Suppers program led to improvements in caregivers’ daily caloric intake, weight status, systolic blood pressure, and self-efficacy for family meals. Future research should further explore the dietary and nutritional health benefits of family meals among caregivers at the highest risk for obesity.

Maternal internal migration and child growth and nutritional health in Peru: an analysis of the demographic and health surveys from 1991 to 2017

Background Peru has historically experienced high rural-to-urban migration. Despite large reductions in undernutrition, overweight is increasing. Elsewhere, internal migration has been associated with differences in children’s growth and nutritional health. We investigated how child growth and nutritional status in Peru varied over time and in association with maternal internal migration. Methods Using data from Demographic & Health Surveys from 1991 to 2017, we assessed trends in child growth (height-for-age [HAZ], weight-for-age [WAZ], weight-for-height [WHZ] z scores) and nutritional health (stunting, underweight, overweight) by maternal adult internal migration (urban [UNM] or rural non-migrant [RNM], or urban-urban [UUM], rural-urban [RUM], rural-rural [RRM], or urban-rural migrant [URM]). Using 2017 data, we ran regression analyses, adjusting for confounders, to investigate associations of maternal migration with child outcomes and the maternal and child double burden of malnutrition. We further stratified by timing of migration, child timing of birth and, for urban residents, type of area of residence. Results are given as adjusted predictive margins (mean z score or %) and associated regression p-values [p]. Results In 1991–2017, child growth improved, and undernutrition decreased, but large differences by maternal migration persisted. In 2017, within urban areas, being the child of a migrant woman was associated with lower WHZ (UUM = 0.6/RUM = 0.5 vs UNM = 0.7; p = 0.009 and p < 0.001 respectively) and overweight prevalence ((RUM 7% vs UNM = 11% [p = 0.002]). Results however varied both by child timing of birth (birth after migration meant greater overweight prevalence) and type of area of residence (better linear growth in children of migrants [vs non-migrants] in capital/large cities and towns but not small cities). In rural areas, compared to RNM, children of URM had higher HAZ (− 1.0 vs − 1.2; p < 0.001) and WAZ (− 0.3 vs − 0.4; p = 0.001) and lower stunting (14% vs 21%; [p < 0.001]). There were no differences by timing of birth in rural children, nor by time since migration across all children. The mother and child double burden of malnutrition was higher in rural than urban areas but no differences were found by maternal internal migration. Conclusions Migration creates a unique profile of child nutritional health that is not explained by maternal ethnic and early life factors, but which varies depending on the pathway of migration, the child timing of birth in relation to migration and, for urban dwellers, the size of the place of destination. Interventions to improve child nutritional health should take into consideration maternal health and migration history.

Tuna Massage Training as An Effort to Improve the Nutritional Status of Toddlers

Difficulty eating in children cause malnutrition, dehydration, underweight, electrolyte imbalance, impaired cognitive development, anxiety disorders, and in more severe cases can be a life-threatening condition. Tuina massage is a massage technique that can overcome eating difficulties in toddlers. The purpose of this activity is to increase the knowledge and skills of health cadres about nutritional health and Tuina massage. The service was carried out in Pasir Lor village, Karanglewas district, which was attended by 23 cadres. Data collection techniques were carried out using questionnaires about toddler nutrition and observation sheets to assess Tuina's massage skills. The results of the activity showed that the knowledge of cadres before training was mostly in the sufficient category, while the knowledge of cadres after attending the training showed that the level of knowledge of cadres was mostly in the good category. Most of the health cadres have good skills in doing Tuina massage. The training activities were effective and able to increase the knowledge and skills of cadres about toddler nutrition and developmental problems and Tuina massage.

Nutrition-Related Mobile Apps in the French App Store: Assessment of Functionality and Quality (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The global burden of disease attributes 20% of deaths to poor nutrition. Although hundreds of nutrition-related mobile applications have been created to help improve this situation and these have been downloaded by millions of users, the effectiveness of integrating these technologies on the adoption of healthy eating remains mixed. Similarly, no significant evaluation of nutrition applications in French, spoken by approximately 300 million people, has yet been identified in the literature. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to review which nutrition mobile apps are currently available on the French market, and to carry out an exhaustive assessment of their quality using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) tool. METHODS A screening of apps related to nutritional health was conducted from March 10 to 17, 2021, on the Google Play Store and the French App Store. A shortlist of 15 apps was identified and assessed using the French version of MARS. Eight dietitian nutritionists assigned to assess seven apps. Remaining apps were randomly allocated to ensure four ratings per app. Intraclass correlation was used to evaluate inter-rater agreement. Mean ± SD scores and their distributions for each section and item were calculated. RESULTS The top scores for quality were obtained by Yazio (mean 3.84 ± standard deviation 0.32), FeelEat (3.71 ± 0.47) and BonneApp (3.65 ± 0.09). The engagement scores (Section A) ranged from 1.95 ± 0.5 for iEatBetter to 3.85 ± 0.44 for Feeleat. The functionality scores (Section B) ranged from 2.25 ± 0.54 for Naor to 4.25 ± 0.46 for Yazio. The Aesthetics scores (Section C) ranged from 2.17 ± 0.34 for Naor to 3.88 ± 0.47 for Yazio. The information scores (Section D) ranged from 2.38 ± 0.60 for iEatBetter:Journal alimentaire to 3.73 ± 0.29 for Yazio. The MARS subjective quality (Section E) varied from 1.13 ± 0.26 for Naor and 1.13 ± 0.25 iEatBetter:Journal alimentaire to 2.28 ± 0.88 for Compteur de calories Fatsecret. The specificity of apps varied from 1.38 ± 0.64 for iEatBetter:Journal alimentaire to 3.50 ± 0.91 for Feeleat. The app-specific score was always lower than the subjective quality score that was always lower than the quality score and that was lower than the rating score from the iOS or Android app stores. CONCLUSIONS Although the prevention and information messages regarding nutritional habits are not scientifically verified before marketing, dieteticians-nutritionists evaluated that the apps quality was quite relevant. The subjective quality and mobile app specificities were associated with lower ratings. Further investigations are needed to assess their alignment with recommendations and their long-term impact on users.

Nutritional Health Education during Pandemic

Covid-19 has been booming since December 2019, and is a serious concern in the world. The transmission of this virus is very fast, especially in patients who are hospitalized. So that as a precautionary measure of contracting this virus, actions can be taken in the form of enlightenment in terms of cognitive to the community, in this case in the form of Educational Interactive Communication in the form of Health Education. Health education for patients to meet adequate nutritional intake, so that it is hoped that the spread of this virus can be inhibited with high immunity obtained from varied, balanced nutrition, and all aspects of substances that the body needs can be fulfilled. The purpose of this community service is to provide health education to 15 patients. The method provided is in the form of service learning by providing health education to patients by visiting the patient one by one at each patient. The results of this community service were all participants who understand about nutritional intake, types of balanced nutrition, and things that increase immunity in preventing the transmission of covid-19

Self-Care by Muslim Women during Ramadan Fasting to Protect Nutritional and Cardiovascular Health

The practice of Ramadan involves a series of changes in lifestyle, mainly in eating habits. The research aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of overweight-obesity, the degree of compliance with dietary recommendations and the effects of religious fasting on cardiovascular health among a population of Muslim women living in Melilla, a Spanish city in North Africa. A follow-up cohort study was conducted on 62 healthy adult women (33.6 ± 12.7 years). Anthropometric and body composition parameters were obtained using bioimpedance and dietary records. All of the participants were overweight or obese, especially due to the non-compliance with dietary recommendations; however, more than 60% considered their weight was appropriate or even low. By the end of Ramadan, the women’s body mass index and fat component values had fallen significantly (p < 0.001), but this loss was later recovered. Dietary records revealed an excessive consumption of lipids and sodium, and the presence of a high waist-to-hip ratio. All of these factors are related to cardiovascular risk. In conclusion, promoting nutritional health and encouraging year-round self-care among adult Muslim women is necessary in order to ensure healthy fasting during Ramadan.

Avaliação do estado nutricional e concordância de métodos em idosos portadores de doença renal crônica em hemodiálise

Objetivo: analisar o estado nutricional e a concordância entre três métodos subjetivos e antropometria em idosos portadores de doença renal crônica (DRC) em hemodiálise (HD). Metodologia: estudo prospectivo, transversal, quantitativo, com idosos, de ambos os sexos, em HD por mais de três meses. Foram coletadas as informações sobre tempo de diálise, presença de hipertensão e diabetes. Os seguintes dados foram obtidos após sessão de HD: peso, altura, circunferência da panturrilha, circunferência do braço. O índice de massa corporal (IMC) foi calculado e também aplicados os métodos subjetivos para diagnóstico nutricional: Avaliação Subjetiva de Sete Pontos (7p-ASG), Mini Avaliação Nutricional (MAN) e Determine Your Nutritional Health (DNH). Para análises estatísticas, o teste Qui-Quadrado de Person foi utilizado para variáveis categorizadas. A correlação de Pearson e Spearman foi utilizada para os resultados dos escores dos métodos utilizados. A probabilidade de significância estatística foi considerada p0,05. Resultados: foram avaliados 32 idosos, 25 (78,12%) do sexo masculino. Em relação ao IMC, 14 (43,75%) participantes apresentaram valores menores que 22 kg/m2. A 7p-ASG e a MAN apresentaram concordância com o IMC, no entanto, o DNH não se correlacionou com nenhum outro método. Conclusão: a desnutrição é prevalente nos idosos em HD e a 7p-ASG é um método eficaz e válido para o diagnóstico do estado nutricional nessa população.

Does Living with Grandparents Affect Children’s and Adolescents’ Health? Evidence from China

The level of nutritional health of children and adolescents is an important indicator of social development, and grandparents, as common co-caregivers, may have a considerable impact on the health level of their grandchildren. In this paper, we investigated the effects of grandparents’ coresidence on children’s and adolescents’ nutritional health levels using the CHNS (China Health and Nutrition Survey) database using the PSM (Propensity Score Matching) method’ and identified heterogeneity in the effects of grandparents’ coresidence by PSM grouping in terms of urban and rural areas, age, and the mothers’ education level. It was found that grandparents’ coresidence is beneficial for children’s and adolescents’ health to a certain extent. Overfeeding and spoil that many people worried when grandparents involved in childcare did not happen in our samples. Moreover, grandparents’ coresidence had a more significant effect on the health level of children and adolescents in rural areas at a younger age and with a lower level of maternal education. Government and families should put more effort into equipping caregivers with knowledge on how to raise their grandchildren better.