Eating Behaviors among Online Learning Undergraduates during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) has upended education systems. The pandemic switched traditional face-to-face classes to online classes. Poor eating behaviors in undergraduate students’ lives may affect the well-being of their later stages of life. This study aimed to investigate the eating behaviors among online learning undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 122 students were recruited. The results revealed more than half of the respondents (52.46%) skipped meals. Breakfast (46.72%) was the most skipped meal. The majority of the respondents (94.26%) snacked between meals. Biscuits (88.52%), bread (84.43%), and fruits (80.33%) were the most common snacked foods. Meal skipping was found to be associated with gender (χ2 = 6.83, p < 0.05). In the future, more health interventions program aimed to promote healthy eating behaviors among undergraduates are highly warranted.

A scoping review of chronotype and temporal patterns of eating of adults: Tools used, findings, and future directions

Circadian rhythms, metabolic processes, and dietary intake are inextricably linked. Timing of food intake is a modifiable temporal cue for the circadian system and may be influenced by numerous factors, including individual chronotype—an indicator of an individual’s circadian rhythm in relation to the light-dark cycle. This scoping review examines temporal patterns of eating across chronotypes and assesses tools that have been used to collect data on temporal patterns of eating and chronotype. A systematic search identified thirty-six studies in which aspects of temporal patterns of eating including meal timings; meal skipping; energy distribution across the day; meal frequency; time interval between meals, or meals and wake/sleep times; midpoint of food/energy intake; meal regularity; and duration of eating window were presented in relation to chronotype. Findings indicate that compared to morning chronotypes, evening chronotypes tend to skip meals more frequently, have later mealtimes, and distribute greater energy intake towards later times of the day. More studies should explore the difference in meal regularity and duration of eating window amongst chronotypes. Currently, tools used in collecting data on chronotype and temporal patterns of eating are varied, limiting the direct comparison of findings between studies. Development of a standardised assessment tool will allow future studies to confidently compare findings to inform the development and assessment of guidelines that provide recommendations on temporal patterns of eating for optimal health.

Assessment of Dietary Practices Among Adults Suffering from Cholelithiasis Attending Teritary Care Hospitals, Lahore

Less nutritional awareness, unhealthy food consumption and other risk factors leads to many severe diseases such as Cholelithiasis. People unintentionally omit food or some specifc food products due to some reasons such as cultural, social, religious norms and other preferences which leads to many chronic diseases. Objective: To fnd out the dietary practices and among people suffering from cholelithiasis at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore Methods: Total 100 samples of adults both male and female were selected through non- probability convenient sampling technique. Data collection was based on a simple interviewing technique with the help of food frequency questionnaire. SPSS version 21.0 was used for the analysis of data. Results: Less nutritional awareness, unhealthy food consumption and other risk factors leads to many severe diseases such as Cholelithiasis. People unintentionally omit food or some specific food products due to some reasons such as cultural, social, religious norms and other preferences which leads to many chronic diseases.Study revealed that out of 100 patients only 32 were physically active, 54 were frequently skipping meals. Low water intake was seen in 38 patients. 32 patients were smokers in which 1 was female and remaining 31 were males. Starvation and skipping of meals especially breakfast were seen in most of the patients. Poor food habits were also seen into majority of patients. 76 patients were taking calories less than 1500. Fruits consumption in patients was average. 79 patients were frequently consuming fried food and 79 patients were consuming excess oil from their diet. Conclusions: It is concluded that consumption of fried foods, less nutritional awareness, low socioeconomic status, meal skipping, low physical activity ,BMI greater than 30 and other false dietary practices are directly related to the development of Cholelithiasis.

Meal Skipping among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and Its Associations with Glycaemic Control, Eating Out of Home and Binge Eating

Meal skipping is a common way to restrict diet, but its practice by patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains undetermined due to the scarcity of the research. The main aim of this study was to assess how common patients with T2DM skipped meals. Its associations with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, HbA1c, eating out of home and binge eating were examined too. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 among 203 patients at a public healthcare clinic in Kuala Lumpur. A self-administered questionnaire including the Malay-version Binge Eating Scale was used. The proportions of participants who frequently skipped meals and ate out of home were 41.4% and 61.6%, respectively. Only 2% of them had binge eating disorder. Multiple logistic regression showed only Chinese was significantly associated with frequent meal skipping compared to Malay (adjusted odds ratio: 0.36; 95% confidence interval: 0.16-0.77; p value= 0.009) after controlling for age, employment status, educational status, HbA1c, presence of complication, type of treatment, eating out of home and binge eating. In conclusion, meal skipping was a frequently practised eating behaviour. Eating out of home was common too, but binge eating was rare. Meal skipping was not influenced by both eating practices and it had insignificant associations with glycaemic control. Cultural and religious factors may play an important role in defining their eating practice. Further studies are needed to assess the safety and acceptability of this practice, but clinically, its effects must be individually examined to prevent unwanted consequences on their health.

Patterns of Dietary Iron Intake, Iron Status, and Predictors of Haemoglobin Levels among Early Adolescents in a Rural Ghanaian District

Introduction. Early adolescents are vulnerable to anaemia due to lean body mass and menarche. The study assessed patterns of dietary iron intake, iron status, and predictors of anaemia among early adolescents. Method. One hundred and thirty-seven early adolescents were randomly selected in a rural district in Ghana. Multiple-pass 24-hour recall, iron food frequency questionnaire consisting of 27 food items, and semistructured questionnaire were administered. Variables include sociodemographics, dietary factors, and laboratory investigation including haemoglobin, ferritin, and C-reactive protein examination. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to calculate odds ratio and perform Mann–Whitney U test, chi-square (X2) test, exploratory factor analysis, and partial correlation (r) tests. Results. Participants had mean age of 11.5 years. Three iron dietary patterns explaining 28.7% of the total variance were identified: iron dietary pattern 1 (11%) composed of iron-rich, iron-enhancing, and iron-inhibiting foods; iron dietary pattern 2 (9.9%) comprised of iron-rich, iron-enhancing, and non-iron-inhibiting foods; and iron dietary pattern 3 (7.1%) consisting of stinging nettle, iron-inhibiting foods, non-iron-enhancing foods, non-cocoyam leaves, and non-turkey berries. Meal skipping (X2 = 5.7, p < 0.05 ), times of eating a day (X2 = 12.6, p < 0.05 ), and guardian educational status (X2 = 6.7, p < 0.05 ) significantly affected dietary iron intake. Anaemia was associated with meal skipping (β = 0.367, p > 0.05 ), snacking (β = 0.484, p > 0.05 ), and junior high school (JHS) education (β = 0.544, p > 0.05 ). Partial correlation showed statistically significant relationship between iron dietary pattern 1 and dietary iron (r = −0.234, p < 0.01 ), iron dietary pattern 2 and dietary iron (r = -0.198, p < 0.05 ), iron dietary pattern 2 and vitamin C (r = -0.201, p < 0.05 ), and haemoglobin and ferritin (r = −0.178, p < 0.05 ). Conclusion. Meal skipping, guardian educational status, and number of times of eating a day were significantly associated with dietary iron intake. Meal skipping, snacking, and adolescents with JHS education were positively associated with anaemia.

A comparative study on dietary pattern and meal skipping habits of diabetic works

Workers are the pillars of the nation. Hence, the health of the workers must be maintained in terms of Nutrition. But our workers do not concentrate in dietary aspects and skips meal regularly. Improper dietary habits affect the health and the well-being of the workers. To study the dietary pattern and meal skipping habits of dietary work force. Adopting random stratified sampling technique, 100 diabetic general shift workers and 100 diabetic rotation shift workers were selected. Interview schedule was used to obtain the dietary pattern and meal skipping pattern of the subjects. After obtaining the details, raw data was coded and subjected to statistical analysis. About 84.5% and 15.5 were mixed vegetarian and vegetarian respectively. About 86% consumed all three meals a day. 79% brings food from home to workplace. About 37% of diabetic workers skip meal, among them, majority of workers skips breakfast (52.7%). Considering the dietary habits of the diabetic workers, it is essential to educate the workers regarding the good nutritional habits to maintain the blood glucose levels and to prevent micro and macrovascular complication. Employees must provide "health friendly" foods at canteen for the subsidized rates to maintain the wellness of diabetic workers.

Prevalence of thinness cases and dietary diversity among learners of various education stages in Taif region, Saudi Arabia

Monitoring nutritional status during infancy, childhood, and adulthood is essential because good quality diet during growth is vital to cover the cognitive and physical demands, supply enough energy stores for illnesses and pregnancy and avoid adult nutrition-associated diseases.Thinness cases and lack of dietary diversity among learners in various education stages are common nutritional problems. A cross-sectional survey was carried out for the assessments of thinness cases and dietary diversity among the learners in various education stages in Taif Region, Saudi Arabiain August, 2020. A total of randomly selected 1602 respondents who fulfilled the exclusion and inclusion criteria (n=364 primary schools, n=410 middle schools, n=321 high schools, and n=507 university students) were examined and efficiently completed the survey. The survey comprised of socio-demographic characteristics,questions about health problems, adequate dietary diversity, habits, food item consumption, and nutritional knowledge test based on the student's theory and behaviors. The prevalence of thinness status among university students was very obvious (22%) and found to be mild followed by moderate (11%) and (0.4%) severely thin. The prevalence of severe thinness was the highest among primary school participants (28%). The prevalence of moderate thinness was reported slightly similar among middle and high school participants (29% and 32%,respectively). The highest prevalence of thinness cases was found in students from rural areas, while the lowest values were observed in those from urban areas. Students from large family size were more likely to be thin as compared to students from small size families. Students whose mothers were illiterate or had low formal education were more likely to be thin compared to those students whose mothers had completed university education or above. Further, 78% of primary school students reported meal skipping due to lack of appetite, while shape maintaining for the meal was accounted for 50% for middle school students as the main reason for the meal skipping. Snacking was also reported to be at a high rate among primary and high school students as 76% and 83% of the students mentioned having snacks, respectively. A higher frequency of light physical exercise was established for primary school pupils(81%), while university students reported (34%) as moderate. Almost all students had a low level of eating cereals,fruits and vegetables, while high schools and university students had a high-level consumption of fruits, animal-based foods and nutritional supplements. High school students had an excellent score 37% for nutrition knowledge.Education stage of learners was found to have direct influence on thinness, dietary diversity and food consumption frequency of the respondents.Consequently, nutritional education may positively affect the whole student's ability for good diet choices in the way to ensure a healthier status.The knowledge of nutrition education combined with physical exercise programmers may contribute to strengthening of the healthy eating messages at the various education stages.