Longitudinal geo-referenced field evidence for the heightened BMI responsiveness of obese women to price discounts on carbonated soft drinks

There is increasing interest in the effect that food environments may have on obesity, particularly through mechanisms related to the marketing and consumption of calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods and sugary beverages. Price promotions, such as temporary price discounts, have been particularly effective in the marketing of carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) among consumers. Research has also suggested that the purchasing behavior of consumer groups may be differentially sensitive to price discounts on CSDs, with obese women particularly sensitive. In addition, the intensity of price discount in a person’s food environment may also vary across geography and over time. This study examines whether the weight change of obese women, compared to overweight or normal BMI women, is more sensitive to the intensity of price discounts on CSDs in the food environment. This study used longitudinal survey data from 1622 women in the Montreal Neighborhood Networks and Health Aging (MoNNET-HA) Panel. Women were asked to report their height and weight in 2008, 2010 and 2013 in order to calculate women’s BMI in 2008 and their change of weight between 2008 and 2013. Women’s exposure to an unhealthy food environment was based on the frequency in which their neighborhood food stores placed price discounts on CSDs in 2008. The price discount frequency on CSDs within women’s neighborhoods was calculated from Nielsen point-of sales transaction data in 2008 and geocoded to participant’s forward sortation area. The prevalence of obesity and overweight among MoNNET-HA female participants was 18.3% in 2008, 19.9% in 2010 and 20.7% in 2013 respectively. Results showed that among obese women, exposure to unhealthy food environments was associated with a 3.25 kilogram (SE = 1.35, p-value = 0.02) weight gain over the five-year study period. Exposure to price discounts on CSDs may disproportionately affect and reinforce weight gain in women who are already obese.

Eating habits, hygiene practices, physical exercises and some associated factors among school students aged 13-17 at Hai Phong in 2017

A cross-sectional descriptive study with a target to describe eating habits, hygiene practices, physical exercise and some associated factors among school students aged 13-17 at Hai Phong in 2017. A sample of 1548 students participated in the survey using self-reported questionnaires. Results show that most students eating fruits and vegetables < 5 times/day (75.2%), and 23.4% of students drank carbonated soft drinks ≥ 1 time/day. 43.2% of students did not usually wash hand before eating and after using the toilet and 34.9% did not usually wash hand with soap. Most students did physical activity less than 5 days/week (77.9%); 43.3% of students did not walk or cycle to school, and 36.4% did not play sport (during 7 days). Risk factors that increase improper health behavior include students in the age group 16-17, educational attainment of a parent who has not graduated from high school, being overweight / obese and not being educated health. The intervention of school families and society is needed to improve students' health behaviors.

Digestive Symptoms in UK Adults and the Perceived Effect of Foods

Objectives Fibre intakes in UK adults are below recommended levels, therefore, individuals should be encouraged to increase their consumption of fibrous foods. However, this could increase digestive symptoms in some people. To establish to what extent this might be a problem, we sought to better understand the experience of digestive symptoms and the perceived effect of foods in the UK adult population. Methods An online self-administered survey was developed using an online tool (Online Surveys) and participants were recruited via social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, forums and via word of mouth. Results Of the 238 individuals who completed the survey, 81% reported having at least 1 digestive symptom in the previous 4 weeks. The age range of respondents was 18–82 years: 77% female, 22% male and 0.4% other. The most reported symptoms were flatulence (67%), abdominal bloating (58%) and borborygmi (54%). The most concerning symptoms for respondents were abdominal bloating/distension (19%), abdominal pain and diarrhoea (both 17%). Certain foods/drinks were perceived causes of digestive symptoms in 75% of respondents and 64% routinely avoid certain foods/drinks because of this. Beans, carbonated soft drinks and spicy foods were the most common perceived causes of flatulence (30%), belching (16%) and heartburn (15%) respectively. There was a negative correlation between willingness to consume foods which induce digestive symptoms and severity of the symptoms (r = −.521, P &lt; 0.001). Increased willingness to consume foods which induce symptoms was reported when respondents found a food tasty, perceived it as healthy or it was consumed on a special occasion or seen as a luxury item compared to under normal circumstances (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions Digestive symptoms were common among respondents and the extent to which symptoms affected individuals and influenced dietary choices varied widely. This research also demonstrates that individuals may tolerate increased digestive symptoms related to food consumption under certain circumstances. Funding Sources This research was funded by a BBSRC PhD studentship and Mondelez International.

Phytochemical screening, invitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of polyphenolic fraction extracted from Camellia sinensis bud extract

Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world today, second only to water, well ahead of coffee, beer, wine and carbonated soft drinks. The tea plant, Camellia sinensis, is a member of the Theaceae family and black, oolong, white and green tea are produced from its leaf and buds. Tea beverage is an infusion of the dried leaves of Camellia sinensis. The present study aims to screen the phytochemicals screening, in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of polyphenolic compound extracted from Camellia sinensis bud extract. The qualitative phytochemical results revealed the presence of important phytochemicals like alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, and tannins. The C. sinensis buds could be a rich source of antioxidants. The extract showed significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Total phenolic content of the bud’s extract was found to be 123 mg/GAE. The extract possesses a significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

Modifiable risk factors of cardiovascular diseases in university students

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction. Currently, the risk factors are known for many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. A part of the risk factors are modifiable, and therefore depend on health behaviour of every person. Young student age is the time to build the habits for a healthy lifestyle. Purpose. To study the modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, alcohol abuse and smoking in young university students. Material and methods. The study included 136 university students (24 males and 112 females), median age was 20 (20; 21). The risk factors such as sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, alcohol abuse and smoking were assessed using a questionnaire developed with the help of the adapted international methodologies. Results. The research revealed that 91 (67 %) students have never smoked, 29 (21 %) quit smoking and 16 (12 %) are current smokers. The physical activity analysis showed that 58 (43 %) students have 150 or more minutes of walking activity a week (excluding a way to the study place). 47 (35 %) students have workouts 2-3 times a week and 9 (7 %) do it 5-7 times a week. 50 (37 %) students do not drink alcohol. Almost half of the students (66 (46 %) people) rarely drink alcohol (up to once a week), 10 (7 %) students drink alcohol 2-3 times a week; 10 (7 %) students drink alcohol often (4-6 times per week). The assessment of the eating habits showed that only 26 (19 %) students include vegetables and fruits into their regular diet (6-7 times a week). 78 (57 %) students eat vegetables and fruits rarely (up to 2 times a week). The rest of students (32 (24 %)) almost never eat vegetables and fruits (0-1 times a week). The bratwursts and sausages are included in the daily diet in 20 (14 %) students. 62 (46 %) students eat bratwursts and sausages very often (up to 3-5 times a week). A considerable part of the students (54 (40 %)) completely refuse or rarely eat these products. Most of the students (98 (72 %)) do not drink or drink rarely (1-2 times a week) sweet carbonated soft drinks. 6 (4 %) students often (up to 6-7 times a week) drink sweet carbonated soft drinks, the median daily consumption is 500 (250; 500) ml. 50 (37 %) students refuse to visit fast food restaurants. 40 (29 %) students visit them rarely (0-1 times a week). The rest of the students (46 (34 %)) visit fast food restaurants quite often (2-3 times a week). Conclusions. The research allows to conclude that the university students don"t have the habits for keeping a healthy lifestyle. The proportion of the students who smoke is 12 %, and the number of students who often drink alcohol (more than 3 times a week) is 14 %. More than half of the students (58 %) lead a sedentary lifestyle, most of the students (60 %) eat bratwursts and sausages daily or very often. 34 % of the students often visit fast-food restaurants. But a considerable part of the students (72 %) refuse to drink sweet carbonated beverages.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODE OF MASHING KVASS BASED ON BUCKWHEAT RAW MATERIALS

The preparation of soft drinks is an actively developing branch of the food industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan. To meet the interests of all producers, the enterprises annually produce a large number of non-alcoholic products. To maintain a healthy competition of the enterprise for preparation of soft drinks, create and apply the technology not previously known and expand the assortment of products annually. One of the most popular segments of this market is kvass. This is mainly due to the fact that all over the world there is an increasing demand for products made from natural raw materials, prepared without the addition of any synthetic additives and ingredients. In recent years, there has been an active increase in the consumption of kvass and its replacement with a large share of the market of carbonated soft drinks. The domestic kvass market is very rich and diverse, but there is a problem with the lack of functional drinks for certain groups of citizens. Creating a wide range of functional food products, including beverages, is becoming feasible. At the same time, in the production of kvass, it is important to use non-traditional raw materials, including buckwheat, the introduction of which in the kvass technology allows you to significantly expand the product range. A distinctive feature of buckwheat, which determines the prospects for use in the production of kvass, is its chemical composition. It is rich in vitamins and is considered an important source of antioxidants due to its high concentration of flavonoids. Buckwheat contains rutin, quercetin, folic acid, quercitrin, hyperoside. Thus, the replacement of barley malt with buckwheat contributes to an increase in the proportion of natural flavonoids in the drink, and therefore in the human diet. In this article, studies have been conducted to study the effect of the dose of buckwheat, buckwheat flakes, buckwheat malt and methods of their pretreatment on the effectiveness of the mashing process, when using it as an unsalted material. Buckwheat grains, buckwheat flakes and buckwheat malt were used in the work. Studies of mashing modes and indicators that determine their effectiveness have shown that the use of buckwheat malt in the backfill is more optimal than buckwheat grain. Studies have shown that the most economical and promising when using extruded buckwheat flakes as an unsalted material is the use of a single-boil mashing mode. However, the use of such raw materials is possible in concentrations not exceeding 30% of the backfill. If you need to increase the proportion of buckwheat in the backfill, you should use buckwheat malt. In this case, it is necessary to apply a mashing mode with intermittent heating, which is likely to compensate for the cost of producing malt from buckwheat grain.

Spectrophotometric determining of caffeine content in the selection of teas, soft and energy drinks available on the Croatian market

This study aimed to determine concentrations of caffeine in the samples of the selected brands of teas, soft carbonated and energy drinks that are commercially available on the Croatian market. Quantitative analysis of caffeine content in the chosen beverage samples was done with UV/Vis spectrophotometric method. Chloroform was used as the solvent and concentrations of caffeine were measured at the wavelength of 274 nm for three samples of each of the selected beverages. Among the analyzed tea samples the highest caffeine concentration was found in Franck's Black Tea (1471.021 ppm) and the lowest in Naturavita's Green Tea with Ginger (588.138 ppm). Between the analyzed carbonated soft drinks, the highest caffeine concentration was measured in Fresh Cola (136.036 ppm) and the lowest in Sky Cola (48.198 ppm). The highest caffeine concentration in the analyzed energy drink samples was measured in Hell energy drink (394.670 ppm) while the lowest was in Coca Cola Energy drink (173.574 ppm). The results of this study gave preliminary information about caffeine levels in often consumed teas, carbonated soft drinks and energy drinks in Croatia. The caffeine content in the analyzed teas and drink samples in this study was under the allowed one except for Red Bull and Hell.

Consumption of carbonated soft drinks among Ghanaian adolescents: associations with socio-demographic factors, health risk factors and psychological distress

Background: Carbonated soft drinks consumption is associated with weight gain and other chronic diseases. Aim: To examine whether socio-demographic factors, health risk factors and psychological distress are associated with carbonated soft drink consumption among adolescents in selected senior high schools in Ghana. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2012 Ghana Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS). Participants consisted of 1756 school-going adolescents sampled using a two-stage cluster sampling method. Binomial logistic regression was used to determine whether socio-demographic factors, health risk factors and psychological distress were associated with consumption of soft drinks. Results: The prevalence of carbonated soft drinks consumption was 34.9%. Males (odds ratio (OR) = 0.73 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.59–0.92); p = 0.007), and participants with high socio-economic status (OR = 0.76 (95% CI 0.48–0.97); p = 0.033) had smaller odds for consumption of soft drinks. Also, adolescents in Senior High School (SHS) 3 (OR = 0.72 (95% CI 0.53–0.97); p = 0.034) and SHS 4 (OR = 0.63 (95% CI 0.43–0.91); p = 0.014) had smaller odds for soft drinks intake compared to those in SHS 1. Health risk factors associated with greater odds of high soft drink consumption were tobacco use (OR = 1.68, (95% CI 1.07–2.65); p = 0.025), fast food consumption (OR = 1.88, (95% CI 1.47–2.41); p = 0.011) and alcohol consumption (OR = 1.43, (95% CI 1.02–1.99); p = 0.039). Consuming adequate fruit (OR = 0.19 (95% CI 0.15–0.24); p = 0.000) and adequate vegetable (OR = 0.55 (95% CI 0.34–0.87); p = 0.011) were associated with lower odds for soft drink consumption. Adolescents who reported feeling anxious had smaller odds for soft drink intake (OR = 0.65, (95% CI 0.47–0.91); p = 0.011). Conclusions: The findings from this study show that socio-demographic characteristics, health risk factors and psychological distress are associated with the soft drink consumption among adolescents in Ghana. Interventions aimed at reducing soft drink consumption and other health risk factors are needed.

Neera, a non-fermented traditional drink from coconut spadix restores the redox status in sodium fluoride intoxicated mice

Objectives Neera, non-fermented coconut inflorescence sap (NFCIS) and its fermented form, toddy (FCIS) are the two well-known traditional drinks in South India. Both the saps show high rejuvenation effect and NFCIS is used for the curing of bronchial suffocation, anemia, tuberculosis and piles in traditional medicine. But, a few scientific studies have been reported on their health benefits so far. Presently, the antioxidant effect of both non-fermented (NFCIS) and fermented form (FCIS) of coconut inflorescence were analyzed in experimental animals. Methods The free radical scavenging property of FCIS and NFCIS was analyzed in vitro. The effect of these saps on mitigating sodium fluoride (NaF) deteriorated redox status was evaluated in mice. Results NFCIS exhibited high antioxidant activity than its fermented form. NFCIS reduces metal ions and scavenge hydroxyl and DPPH radicals with IC50 values 6.5 ± 1.9 and 44 ± 3.14 µL/mL, respectively. Supplementation of NFCIS for 14 days increased SOD, CAT and GPx activities and GSH level in liver by 51.67, 52, 27.88 and 35.77%, respectively against NaF induced decline with a concomitant decrease in lipid peroxidation to 40.76%. Saps rich in minerals indicate pharmaceutical and nutritional value. Conclusion The study revealed the antioxidant efficacy of non-alcoholic natural drink, Neera and recommends an alternative for synthetic carbonated soft drinks. The regular consumption of Neera may protect the body from various chronic diseases especially where the oxidative stress played as a key role.

Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Carbonated Soft Drinks Using LCA Methodology

Objectives:In accordance with the concern of global warming problem, many companies in Korea are striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with consumer awareness. Many studies have been reported for various products; however it is difficult to find carbonated soft drinks in Korea. The purpose of this study is to the impact of the greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbonated soft drinks in Korea.Methods:Calculation method of the greenhouse gas emissions followed “Guidelines for Carbon Footprint of Products” used in Korean Carbon Footprint Labeling. It was developed based on international standards such as ISO 14040 series. Life cycle of carbonated soft drinks was considered as a pre-manufacturing stage, manufacturing stage, distribution and disposal stage. Use stage of the product was excluded.Results and Discussion:This study shows that the package types and amounts for pre-manufacturing, manufacturing and disposal steps of carbonated soft drinks (the unit contents: 500 mL/unit, 1.5 L/unit), and also shows the results of greenhouse gas emissions. From the results, the pre-manufacturing stage of PET bottle manufacturing is the first contributor that occupy above 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. For reducing carbon emissions, low carbon manufacturing techniques for PET bottle are important. Sensitivity analysis was performed for PET bottle manufacturing, cap manufacturing and waste plastic disposal including site data and assumptions made. The sensitivity of each item was less than 7%.Conclusions:In conclusion, this study shows that the pre-manufacturing step of PET bottle and cap production have very significant impact on the greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore lightweight packages and usage of recycled plastics would be main techniques for reducing greenhouse gas emissions of carbonated soft drinks. From this study, the increment of product’s carbon footprint certification would be used as an effective policy instrument for achieving reduction goals of Korea Government. And also it could be used to spread the culture of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.