scholarly journals Dietary Intake and Sources of Potassium in a Cross-Sectional Study of Australian Adults

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2996
Author(s):  
Kristy A. Bolton ◽  
Kathy Trieu ◽  
Mark Woodward ◽  
Caryl Nowson ◽  
Jacqui Webster ◽  
...  

A diet rich in potassium is important to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. This study assessed potassium intake; food sources of potassium (including NOVA level of processing, purchase origin of these foods); and sodium-to-potassium ratio (Na:K) in a cross-section of Australian adults. Data collection included 24-h urines (n = 338) and a 24-h diet recall (subsample n = 142). The mean (SD) age of participants was 41.2 (13.9) years and 56% were females. Mean potassium (95%CI) 24-h urinary excretion was 76.8 (73.0–80.5) mmol/day compared to 92.9 (86.6–99.1) by 24-h diet recall. Na:K was 1.9 (1.8–2.0) from the urine excretion and 1.4 (1.2–1.7) from diet recall. Foods contributing most to potassium were potatoes (8%), dairy milk (6%), dishes where cereal is the main ingredient (6%) and coffee/coffee substitutes (5%). Over half of potassium (56%) came from minimally processed foods, with 22% from processed and 22% from ultraprocessed foods. Almost two-thirds of potassium consumed was from foods purchased from food stores (58%), then food service sector (15%), and fresh food markets (13%). Overall, potassium levels were lower than recommended to reduce chronic disease risk. Multifaceted efforts are required for population-wide intervention—aimed at increasing fruit, vegetable, and other key sources of potassium intake; reducing consumption of processed foods; and working in supermarket/food service sector settings to improve the healthiness of foods available.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darine Dogui ◽  
Myriam El Ati-Hellal ◽  
Radhouene Doggui ◽  
Jalila El Ati

Abstract Background: Excessive intake of fat and fatty acids is associated with major health hazards such as obesity or chronic diseases. The aim of this study is to provide the first data on total fat, SFA and TFA intakes and their major food sources in Tunisian children. Methods: A total of 1200 children, aged 3 to 9 years old, were randomly selected from primary schools and kindergarten under a cross-sectional design. The 24hour recall method and food frequency questionnaire were used to assess dietary intake over a period of one week.Results: The energy percentages of total fat, SFA and TFA in Tunisian children were respectively 29.6, 11.4 and 0.15. No sex differences were found. The WHO recommendations for total fat, SFA and TFA were adopted by 58 %, 39 % and 89 % of the study population, respectively. The leading food groups of fat and fatty acids were ultra-processed foods, bread and cereals and dairy products. The meat, fish, eggs and fish alternatives were the fifth main contributors to the total fat and SFA intakes in Tunisian children.Conclusions: The implementation of a relevant strategy for fat reduction, especially from ultra-processed foods, considered as low nutrient energy-dense products, is needed to promote health among children and prevent diet-related chronic diseases.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. 274-283
Author(s):  
Katie Brown ◽  
Jenna Ellis ◽  
Dana Ogan ◽  
Heidi Wengreen

Background: The functions, food sources, deficiency symptoms, and toxicity symptoms are important for dietetic professionals to know and apply to community, food service, and clinical settings.Purpose: To assess nutrition and dietetic students’ knowledge of vitamins and minerals and identify students’ strategies for learning and retaining vitamin and mineral information.Methodology: Students from three universities in the western United States were invited to participate in cross-sectional study. Participants completed a brief questionnaire that included multiple choice and short answer questions to assess their knowledge of a representative list of 8 vitamins and minerals. The questionnaire also included free-response questions about strategies for retention of vitamin/mineral information. Two researchers independently reviewed responses and identified themes.Results: Students’ scores on multiple-choice vitamin/mineral questions suggested that they had difficulty remembering details regarding vitamins and minerals. Three themes were identified as common study strategies for learning vitamin and mineral content: repetition, mnemonic devices, and personal application.Conclusions: These findings suggest that further research assessing the increased use of repetition, mnemonic devices, and especially personal application in dietetics education curriculum are warranted.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 765
Author(s):  
Qiping Yang ◽  
Yue Xi ◽  
Hanmei Liu ◽  
Jing Luo ◽  
Yufeng Ouyang ◽  
...  

This study aims to estimate the free sugars intake, identify the primary food sources of free sugars, and explore the relationship between free sugars intake and dental caries among Chinese adolescents. This cross-sectional study included 1517 middle-school students aged 12–14 years in Changsha city, China. Adolescents completed a 12-item Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and oral health assessment. The students’ dental caries experience was available as DMFT score (number of decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth). Statistical analyses included the Mann–Whitney test, Kruskal–Wallis test, Chi-square test, and binary logistic regression model. The average intake of free sugars was 53.1 g/d in adolescents, and 43.2% of the students consumed more than 50 g of free sugars daily. The primary contributor to free sugars was sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Age, boarders, and high family income were risk factors for excessive free sugars intake (p < 0.05), and increased free sugars intake was a risk factor for dental caries (odds ratio, OR = 1.446, 95% confidence interval: 1.138–1.839). Both the free sugars intake and dental caries prevalence in Chinese adolescents were high. Targeted interventions are urgently needed to address the excessive consumption of free sugars and improve Chinese adolescents’ oral health.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2289 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Belén Ruíz-Roso ◽  
Patricia de Carvalho Padilha ◽  
Diana C. Matilla-Escalante ◽  
Paola Brun ◽  
Natalia Ulloa ◽  
...  

Aim: to describe physical activity and ultra-processed foods consumption, their changes and sociodemographic predictors among adolescents from countries in Europe (Italy and Spain) and Latin America (Brazil, Chile, and Colombia) during the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic period. Methods: Cross-sectional study via web survey. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and weekly ultra-processed food consumption data were used. To compare the frequencies of physical activity status with sociodemographic variables, a multinomial logistic and a multiple logistic regression for habitual ultra-processed foods was performed. In final models, p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Sample of 726 adolescents, mostly females (59.6%) aged 16–19 years old (54.3%). Adolescents from Latin America presented odds ratio (OR) 2.98 (CI 95% 1.80–4.94) of being inactive and those whose mothers had higher level of education were less active during lockdown [OR 0.40 (CI 95% 0.20–0.84)]. The habitual ultra-processed consumption was also high during this period in all countries, and more prevalent in Latin America. Conclusion: A higher prevalence of inactivity was observed in this population, but reductions of physical activity and habitual ultra-processed consumption during the pandemic were more pronounced in Latin America. Our findings reinforce the importance of promoting a healthy lifestyle, i.e., exercise and diet, during periods of social isolation.


Social Forces ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Schneider ◽  
Kristen Harknett

Abstract American policymakers have long focused on work as a key means to improve economic wellbeing. Yet, work has become increasingly precarious and polarized. This precarity is manifest in low wages but also in unstable and unpredictable work schedules that often vary significantly week to week with little advance notice. We draw on new survey data from The Shift Project on 37,263 hourly retail and food service workers in the United States. We assess the association between routine unpredictability in work schedules and household material hardship. Using both cross-sectional models and panel models, we find that workers who receive shorter advanced notice, those who work on-call, those who experience last minute shift cancellation and timing changes, and those with more volatile work hours are more likely to experience hunger, residential, medical, and utility hardships as well as more overall hardship. Just-in-time work schedules afford employers a great deal of flexibility but at a heavy cost to workers’ economic security.


BMJ Open ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e009892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eurídice Martínez Steele ◽  
Larissa Galastri Baraldi ◽  
Maria Laura da Costa Louzada ◽  
Jean-Claude Moubarac ◽  
Dariush Mozaffarian ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
DIOGO THIMOTEO da CUNHA ◽  
VERIDIANA VERA de ROSSO ◽  
ELKE STEDEFELDT

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to verify the characteristics of food safety inspections, considering risk categories and binary scores. A cross-sectional study was performed with 439 restaurants in 43 Brazilian cities. A food safety checklist with 177 items was applied to the food service establishments. These items were classified into four groups (R1 to R4) according to the main factors that can cause outbreaks involving food: R1, time and temperature aspects; R2, direct contamination; R3, water conditions and raw material; and R4, indirect contamination (i.e., structures and buildings). A score adjusted for 100 was calculated for the overall violation score and the violation score for each risk category. The average violation score (standard deviation) was 18.9% (16.0), with an amplitude of 0.0 to 76.7%. Restaurants with a low overall violation score (approximately 20%) presented a high number of violations from the R1 and R2 groups, representing the most risky violations. Practical solutions to minimize this evaluation bias were discussed. Food safety evaluation should use weighted scores and be risk-based. However, some precautions must be taken by researchers, health inspectors, and health surveillance departments to develop an adequate and reliable instrument.


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