The effectiveness of nutrition and health intervention in workplace setting: a systematic review

Health status of workers are crucial to maintain their productivity and it will impact on output per capita. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition and health intervention in workplace setting and implication for further research. Articles were searched from PubMed, PMC, Cochrane Library (Trial), Science-direct, and Google scholar published from 2005-2020. Inclusion criteria was the intervention subject aged 19-64 years old with experimental randomized control trial (RCT) or non-RCT study design. Several keywords used for literature searching including “nutrition education in workplace”, “nutrition intervention in workplace”, and “workplace intervention”. Data were narratively described. Eleven studies were meet inclusion and exclusion criteria and further be reviewed. Five studies focused on intervene food environment in the workplace, four studies focused on nutrition education using different channels i.e., workplace visiting and emails, the other two interventions were objected to decrease health risk regarding occupational health. Positive outcomes were recorded for all workplace intervention, including increase in nutrition knowledge, self-efficacy, reduce risky behavior, and also improved body mass index and blood biomarkers. Workplace nutrition and health intervention proved to be an effective way to enhanced balanced nutrition behavior and improve health status. This study implies an urgency of nutrition and health intervention in a workplace.

Prediction Model of Balanced Nutrition Practices among University Students in the COVID-19 Outbreak

AIM: Students included in the category of youth need balanced nutrition practices, especially during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study aims to determine the model of balanced nutrition behavior in youth in Gowa Regency, Makassar, Indonesia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a quantitative study with a cross-sectional study, in which primary data were collected from June to July 2020. The respondents were 597 students at public and private universities located in Gowa Regency who filled the questionnaires. RESULTS: The bivariate analysis results, which were based on the respondents’ characteristics, showed that only age significantly affected balanced nutrition practices (p = 0.048). Based on the independent variables studied, poor knowledge (p = 0.000, ORcrude = 2.229 [CI 1.601–3.105]) and poor attitude (p = 0.001, ORcrude = 1.735 [CI 1.250-2.409]) obtained a significant correlation with poor balanced nutrition practices. The final model of balanced nutrition practices using multivariate analysis indicated that knowledge was the biggest predictor of balanced nutrition (p = 0.000, OR = 2.067 [CI 1.476–2.893]). The number implied that respondents with good knowledge had 2.067 times the opportunity to take balanced nutrition practices than those with less knowledge after controlling for age and attitude variables. CONCLUSION: Producing well-balanced nutrition behavior requires well-balanced nutrition knowledge, including university students who belong to the late adolescent stage.

S-ademetionine in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

The experimental and clinic data supporting S- ademetionin application in NAFLD complex therapy were presented. The therapy corrects an oxidative stress in hepatocytes and transforms the nutrition behavior in patients with excessive body weight when depressive syndrome is developed.

Determining the Distinguishing Features of Different Eating Action Types in Germany Using a Mixed-Method Approach

Food-related behavior is a very complex topic, as it affects the most diverse areas of life. Accordingly, wide varieties of disciplines have already dealt with the topic to understand it better. The result is that there is neither a uniform nutrition knowledge nor a uniform nutrition behavior. In order to reduce the complexity of a field of study, there is the methodical means of type-building. Both commercial and academic studies have already formed nutrition types, either by means of standardized questionnaires or with a specific content focus. However, since both individual and social aspects influence food-related behavior, we investigate how people integrate eating into their everyday life against the background of (competing) individual and social demands by focusing on the individual point of view, for which a mixed methods approach is used. Based on 42 semi-structured, problem-centered interviews conducted in Germany in 2017, we built qualitative food-related types in a first step, which are analyzed in this article using a quantitative content analysis and cross-over analysis to identify the particular distinguishing feature(s) of each type and test them for significance. The results show the prominent characteristics for each type and indicate furthermore that subjectivization, self-determination, the body as an instrument of power, adaptation to the environment and being overstrained with the own behavior are particularly prominent when it comes to eating. Moreover, we clearly identified The Overstrained and The Relaxed as independent eating action types, which we could not find anywhere else. The study shows that interventions, especially for The Overstrained and The Controlled, are necessary to achieve a relaxed approach to eating in everyday life. At the same time, systematic approaches should be used to intervene in cases of overstraining or controlled behavior.

Self-Care Instruments to Measure Nutrition Practices in Children and Parents: Psychometric Analysis

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the psychometric properties of English and Spanish instruments that measure the nutrition behavior and practices of children and their parents. Orem’s self-care deficit nursing theory was used in this methodological study. A convenience sample of 333 children and 262 mothers participated from two schools in Washington, D.C. and two schools in Santiago, Chile. Principal component analysis indicated three component per instrument corresponding to Orem’s Theory of operations demonstrating construct validity of the instrument. The study findings showed evidence for validity and reliability of the English and Spanish versions and indicated that the instruments appropriately represented Orem’s operations. The results have implications for the development of health behavior measurement instruments that are valid, reliable, designed for children, culturally appropriate, and efficient. Measuring the nutrition behavior of children and parents is critical for determining the effectiveness of nutrition intervention programs. Furthermore, instruments are needed so that researchers can compare corresponding child and parent behaviors or compare behaviors across cultures.

A Women's Group-Based Nutrition Behavior Change Intervention in India Has Limited Impacts Amidst Implementation Barriers and a Concurrent National Behavior Change Campaign

Objectives Women's self-help groups (SHGs) have become one of the world's largest institutional platforms of the poor, reaching over 70 million Indian women in 2020. Limited evidence exists on effects of nutrition interventions through SHGs on maternal and child nutrition outcomes. Methods The Women Improving Nutrition through Group-based Strategies (WINGS) study was a quasi-experimental impact evaluation, comparing 16 matched blocks where communities were provided support to form SHGs and improve women's livelihoods; 8 blocks (1 in each matched pair) received a 3-year nutrition intervention (NI) with nutrition education, agriculture- and rights-based information, facilitated by a trained female volunteer; the other 8 blocks received standard activities (STD) to support savings & livelihoods. We conducted repeated cross-sectional surveys of mother-child pairs in 2017–18 (n = 1609 pairs) and 2019–20 (n = 1841 pairs). We matched treatment groups over time and applied difference-in-difference (DID) regression models to estimate NI impacts. Outcomes were knowledge domains (nutrition for pregnant women, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, child health), child feeding (e.g., early breastfeeding initiation, dietary diversity, animal source food (ASF) consumption), woman's diets, woman's BMI and child anthropometry. Matching covariates included woman, child, and community characteristics. Results About 40% of women were SHG members. Nutrition intervention exposure was low; only ∼10% of NI women had heard of intervention content at endline. There were large improvements in women's knowledge in both groups. DID estimation revealed a positive NI impact on knowledge of timely introduction of ASFs to children (P < 0.05), but knowledge of nutrition for pregnant women unexpectedly improved more in the STD group (P < 0.05). No impacts were observed for any anthropometry or diet indicators except child ASF consumption (P < 0.01). Conclusions Limited impacts on nutrition outcomes may be due to limited exposure, low motivation or skills of volunteers, and a concurrent national nutrition behavior change program targeting mothers and children in all study areas. Our findings add to a growing literature on SHG-based behavior change interventions and the conditions necessary for their success. Funding Sources Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Can Nutrition Education Improve the Nutrition Behavior and Anthropometric Indexes among Patients with Hypertension based on the Health Promotion Model?

Background: Following the rapid urbanization, unhealthy diet, enhanced life expectancy, and sedentary lifestyle has led to an increase in the prevalence of CVD and its risk factors, such as hypertension. Self-care is introduced as “behaviors directed toward oneself or the environment to formulate one’s functioning in the interest of one’s life, and well-being. Can nutrition education improve the nutrition behavior and anthropometric indexes among patients with hypertension based on the Health Promotion Model?Methods: A quasi-experimental and single-blind study was conducted on patients with hypertension attended to the Health Houses of Gorgan city of Iran between June 2018 and February 2019. To collect information, 68 patients in the control and 68 ones in the intervention arm were investigated. Data were collected by distributing self-administered questionnaires about HPM constructs, and testing 3-day diet record. Education was just conducted in the intervention arm including six sessions during three weeks, and in final, measurement was run two and six months after intervention. Results: There was no difference between the two groups about constructs of the HPM, anthropometric indexes, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and nutritional behavior before education, while after education all variables were significantly changed in two and six months’ follow-ups. Conclusion: HPM-based education might be likely useful to improve nutritional behaviors in patients with hypertension and it can also be applied in the health system of Golestan Province.