Changes in Snacking Patterns during COVID-19 Lockdown in Adults from Mumbai City, India

Mumbai was one of the 1st cities in India to go into total lockdown in March 2020. The lockdown was expected to have an influence on eating habits specially the snacking patterns. The main objective of this study was to access the change in snacking patterns of participants living in Mumbai city, India during lockdown. Data was collected in 256 Mumbai residents (60 males, 196 females) using Google forms. Information regarding number of meals consumed, meals at which snacks were consumed, change in snacking pattern, reasons for increase or decrease in snacking, and type of snacks consumed during lockdown as compared to before lock was collected. Around 20% reported a decrease, 31% reported no change and 49% reported an increase in snack consumption during lockdown. Participants consumed higher number of meals during lockdown (p<0.05). Significantly higher percentage of participants did not consume store brought snacks during lockdown (30.9% vs 13.7%) (p<0.05). Significantly higher percentage of participants consumed snacks at mid-evening (50.4% vs 33.6%), late evening (48% vs 32%) and late night (32% vs 16.8%) during lockdown as compared to before lockdown (p<0.05). Significantly change in lemon-water (57.8% vs 43.4%), coffee (47.3% vs 40.6%) and carbonated beverages (14.8% vs 23.4%) was observed during lockdown as compared to before lockdown (p<0.05). Significant increase in nuts (74.2% vs 65.6%), instant noodles (69.5% vs 60.9%) and biscuits (78.5% vs 68%) was observed during lockdown as compared to before lockdown (p<0.05). Significant decrease in South Indian (61.75 vs 69.1%), Frankie (32.8% vs 51.6%), bhel (50.4% vs 69.1%), Chinese bhel (21.5% vs 35.5%) and usal (32% vs 40.2%) was observed during lockdown as compared to before lockdown (p<0.05). To conclude, snacks were consumed at more number of meals during lockdown in comparison to before lockdown. A change in type of snacks consumed was observed during lockdown. Ready and easy to eat snacks such as nuts, instant noodles and biscuits showed an increase whereas snacks that require elaborate cooking procedure showed a decrease in consumption. With partial lockdown still persisting in many parts of the country and many still working from home it is imperative to circulate more accurate information on appropriate snacking habits.

Assessment of Fluoride and pH Levels in a Range of Ready-to-Drink Children’s Beverages Marketed in Malaysia

This study aimed to determine the fluoride and pH levels of beverages likely to be consumed by children in Malaysia and to estimate daily fluoride intake from consumption of these beverages. A convenience sampling of 120 ready-to-drink beverages were purchased and categorised into 11 groups (UHT recombined milk, fresh milk [pasteurised], cultured milk [probiotic], yogurt beverages, fresh fruit juices, fruit flavoured beverages, soy-based beverages, malt-based beverages, tea, carbonated beverages and bottled waters). Fluoride concentration was measured using a fluoride ion-selective electrode while the pH level was measured using a pH meter. The fluoride concentration in the beverages ranged from 0.02±0.00 mg/L to 2.77±0.06 mg/L. Tea was found to have the highest fluoride concentration. The intake of fluoride from consumption of other types of beverages is below the lowest-observed-adverseeffect level (except tea). The pH of the beverages included in the study ranged from 2.20±0.01 to 7.76±0.00. Carbonated beverages (mean pH: 2.98±0.50) were found to be extremely acidic followed by fresh fruit juices (mean pH: 3.38±0.34) and fruit flavoured beverages (mean pH: 3.90±0.92). The correlation between fluoride and pH levels was weak, τ = 0.058 and not statistically significant (p

Sugar Content of Market Beverages and Children’s Sugar Intake from Beverages in Beijing, China

(1) Background: This study aims to find the sugar content of market beverages and estimate the sugar intake from beverages among students in Beijing. (2) Methods: Using snapshotting, we collected the sugar content of beverages through their packages or nutrition labels. Combined with the statistic of student beverage consumption, we estimated students’ sugar intake. (3) Results: The median sugar content of total beverages was 9.0 g/100 mL, among which the fruits/vegetable juices and beverages had the highest sugar content (10.0 g/100 mL). Sugar content in most beverages in Beijing was generally higher than the recommendations, and fruit/vegetable juices and beverages exceeded the most. The median of sugar intake from beverages among students was 5.3 g/d, and the main sources were fruit/vegetable juices and beverages, protein beverages and carbonated beverages. Sugar intake from beverages differed according to gender, age and living area. Higher sugar intake was found among boys, older students and rural students. (4) Conclusions: Sugar content in market beverages in Beijing were high. Gender, age and residence were the influencing factors of sugar intake. Targeted measures should be taken to decrease the sugar content in beverages, especially the fruit/vegetable juices and beverages and the sugar intake among students.

Dietary Practices of Health Professionals during Working Hours in a Tertiary Referral Teaching Hospital In Ghana: A Neglected Vulnerable Group

Aim: Generally, it is assumed that health professionals are knowledgeable about healthy eating and as such studies aimed at assessing their dietary practices and the factors that influence these practices have been largely neglected. These studies are important because the dietary habits of healthcare professionals (HCPs) can have an impact on their well-being, health status and even their work output. Largely, there is a dearth of information about the dietary practices of HCPs during working hours. This study was aimed at assessing the dietary practices of HCPs during working hours at a referral teaching hospital in Ghana. Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study in which a questionnaire was administered to 320 HCPs. Methodology: A questionnaire was administered to the HCPs in the hospital after obtaining informed consent (written) from the HCPs. The questionnaire solicited information about their socio-demographics, dietary practices and nutritional knowledge. Descriptive statistics were summarized as frequencies and proportions. Results: Approximately 13.1%, 47.5% and 39.4% were underweight, normal weight and overweight respectively. Carbonated beverages, baked foods and fried foods were consumed four (4) or more times in a week by more than half of the HCPs because they were regarded as convenience foods which could be eaten while working. About 76.9%, 52.8% and 58.4% skipped their breakfast, lunch and supper meal respectively at least once in the past one (1) week before the study. Conclusions: The findings reveal concerns about the unhealthy dietary habits and basic nutrition knowledge gaps among the surveyed HCPs. Most HCPs skipped breakfast and ate a lot of unhealthy foods such as carbonated beverages, baked foods and fried foods frequently during working hours. Recommendations made include the need for hospital management to provide canteens that serve healthy meals for HCPs at their job sites. There is also the need for management to organize the work-schedules of HCPs in order to manage their workloads in a manner that enables them have adequate breaktimes to access and eat healthy foods while at work.

In vitro evaluation of the dissolving effect of carbonated beverages (Coca-Cola® ) and enzyme-based solutions on enteroliths obtained from horses: pilot study

Enteroliths are concretions of minerals that cause partial or total obstruction of the intestinal lumen, resulting in recurrent and chronic colic in horses. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the in vitro solvent effect of carbonated beverages (Coca-Cola® and Coca-Cola® Zero), and papain and cellulase enzymes (Robinson Pharma®, Santa Ana, CA, USA) on enteroliths obtained from horses. Six 51-grams samples of six enteroliths were assigned to six treatments of immersion solutions: T1, Coca-Cola®; T2: Coca-Cola® Zero; T3: distilled water + papain (90 mg) and cellulase (120 mg); T4: Coca-Cola® + papain and cellulase; T5: Coca-Cola® Zero + papain and cellulase; and, CT: distilled water (control). The volume for immersion in the assigned solution was 150 mL, at a pH of 7.1, using an incubation shaker (Heidolph® , Germany) at 37ºC and 25 rpm, for 72 h. The evaluation periods of the dissolution percentage (difference between the initial weight and final weight of the samples), were 0, 3, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h. After 72 h of immersion, solutions T4, T5, and T1 presented 47, 38.8, and 14.9% of dissolution, respectively. The other solutions did not have major differences with CT (control). Under the in vitro conditions of this pilot study, papain and cellulase enzymes potentiated the dissolving effect of the carbonated solutions on the enteroliths obtained from horses. Further studies are suggested since the existing literature is on the dissolution of phytobezoars and not of enteroliths.

Top Sweeteners in Top Contributors of Commercially Processed Foods With Added Sugars in the U.S.: Application of the IngID Program

Objectives Added sugars should be limited to help achieve healthy dietary patterns within calorie limits. According to What We Eat in America Data Briefs 2015–2018, beverages and sweet foods provided 90% of added sugars intake combined. However, there is a knowledge gap in the type of sweetener used in these foods. A framework for parsing and reporting of ingredients used in commercially packaged foods (IngID) was recently developed to make this analysis possible. This study aims to analyze top types of added sugars and most frequently appearing concurrent ingredients in the top sugar contributing categories. Methods Two categories, carbonated beverages and cookies, were selected as examples to demonstrate the analyses of ingredients. Universal Product Codes (UPC) of foods in these categories were obtained from IRI's (Information Resources Incorporated) scanner data covering over 80% of the total sold products in the category. Ingredient statements were obtained from USDA's Global Branded Food Products Database (BFPD) and manufacturer or distributor websites. A program developed for IngID was applied to parse the ingredient text strings for each product (unique UPC). A thesaurus was applied to assign preferred descriptors (PDs) to equivalent ingredient terms such as synonyms and spellingy errors. Results In the 982 carbonated beverages with unique UPCs aside from carbonated water and flavor, the top 5 ingredients were citric acid, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), caramel color, sodium benzoate and caffeine. The order of sweeteners most frequently used among the 21 sweeteners used in carbonated beverages were HFCS, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucrose and sucralose. In the 1718 cookie products included, aside from flavor, the top ingredients were sucrose, sodium chloride, soy lecithin, and wheat flour and. Majority of the 70 sweeteners used in cookies were nutritive sweeteners. The order of sweeteners most frequently used is sucrose, HFCS, dextrose, corn syrup and molasses. Conclusions Multiple kinds of sweeteners were used in packaged foods with added sugars. The analyses offer policy makers and consumers information to understand the current sweeteners used in packaged foods. Importantly, BFPDB and IgnID program provided valuable tools for up-to-date ingredient analysis. Funding Sources USDA.