This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Comprehensive Emotional Eating Scale (CEES) and examined its associations with emotion regulation, cognitive control, cognitive flexibility, and perceived stress in adults. A cross-sectional design was conducted with 1,521 adults aged 18–74 (68% female). The CEES was adapted following standard cross-cultural guidelines, including translation, back-translation, and approval by the original scale developer. Participants also completed the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16), Cognitive Control and Flexibility Questionnaire (CCFQ), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) assessed construct validity, while internal consistency, convergent validity, and multiple linear regression analyses explored predictors of emotional eating. CFA supported a four-factor structure representing Undereating–Positive Emotions, Undereating–Negative Emotions, Overeating–Positive Emotions, and Overeating–Negative Emotions, with item loadings of 0.48–0.77; one item was removed due to low loading. Internal consistency was high (α = .88–.91), and convergent validity was confirmed via EMAQ correlations. Multiple regression analyses indicated that greater difficulties in emotion regulation, higher perceived stress, lower cognitive control and flexibility, smoking, higher Body Mass Index (BMI), and chronic disease significantly increased emotional eating. Women showed higher undereating-negative emotion and total emotional eating scores, while smoking, higher BMI, and chronic disease elevated scores on specific subscales. The Turkish CEES demonstrates robust psychometric properties and reliably captures multidimensional emotional eating in adults. Psychological and demographic factors increase emotional eating subscales and total scores, supporting the scale’s use in research and clinical settings in Türkiye.

Obtaining accurate estimates of children’s dietary intake is important because these estimates are used to characterize diet-disease relationships and inform nutrition interventions. This systematic review synthesized findings from validation studies of dietary assessment tools for children (aged 1-10 years), in which parents were proxy-reporters. Database searches (Ovid Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane) in January 2026 for validation studies of dietary assessment tools used for estimating daily intake of macronutrients and micronutrients yielded 4,545 citations. Articles were uploaded to Covidence for screening. Sixty-six articles met the inclusion criteria. Median sample size was 103. Eighty-six percent of studies (n=57) validated a food frequency questionnaire; the remainder validated dietary recalls (11%, n=8) or food diaries (2%, n=1). Many studies (67%, n=44) used another parent-proxy report tool as the reference method. For most nutrients, over a quarter of the 66 studies failed to find a significant correlation between the assessment tool and reference method. Among the 69% of analyses that did show a significant correlation, the median correlation for each nutrient ranged from 0.37 to 0.40 for macronutrients and 0.29 to 0.55 for micronutrients. Studies were limited by lack of generalizability, use of reference methods prone to error, and misalignment between the assessment tool and reference method. Overall, this review found no correlation or low-to-moderate correlations between dietary assessments and the reference method. The studies had significant methodological limitations. Future studies should validate parent-proxy report dietary assessments against objective measures, such as biomarkers. The development of novel assessment tools may also be warranted.

This study examined the association between transitions in BMI growth channel (BMI-GC) and the odds of underweight and overweight in young adulthood. Data were drawn from 2,759 participants in the Young Lives study (YL) and 2,782 participants in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97). Normal Weight (NW) subsamples, consisting of 1,922 participants from YL and 1,477 from NLSY97, were selected for sensitivity analyses. Individual BMI-GC trajectories were estimated using linear mixed-effects models, and classified into four groups: Stable, Crossing Upwards, Crossing Downwards, and Fluctuating. Associations between BMI-GC groups and underweight and overweight at age 22 were assessed using logistic regression models. Compared to the Stable group, participants in the Crossing Downwards group had higher odds of being underweight in YL (OR: 2.62; 95%CI: 1.95–3.54), whereas those in the Crossing Upwards group had higher odds of overweight in YL (OR: 3.96 (95%CI: 2.61–5.99)) and in NLSY97 (OR: 2.55 (95%CI: 1.95–3.33)). In sensitivity analysis (NW subsamples), Crossing Downwards remained associated with underweight in YL (OR: 1.75; 95%CI: 1.23–2.48), and Crossing Upwards remained associated with overweight in both cohorts (OR: 1.95; 95%CI: 1.14–3.34 in YL and OR: 1.67; 95%CI: 1.00–2.78 in NLSY97). Crossing BMI-GC was associated with both underweight and overweight outcomes, including among participants with normal weight during childhood and adolescence. These findings highlight the importance of BMI-GC in weight assessments, offering a more nuanced understanding of growth trajectories and emphasizing the need to move beyond BMI categories alone to predict long-term nutritional risks.

Although the shift from traditional to digital food environments has enhanced accessibility and convenience in food purchasing and delivery, emerging evidence suggests that current digital food environments tend to promote energy-dense foods rather than healthier options. Therefore, this commentary aims to highlight the challenges faced by healthcare professionals in shaping a healthier digital food environment and to offer practical recommendations for fostering such an environment in Malaysia. This commentary also emphasises that shaping a healthier digital food environment is not an individual endeavour but a collaborative effort among key stakeholders, including government ministries, platform operators, online food vendors, and platform users.

Obesity is a multifactorial condition arising from complex interactions between genetic susceptibility, environmental exposures, and behavioural factors. Among the genetic contributors identified through genome-wide association studies, variants within the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene represent some of the most consistently replicated loci associated with body mass index, adiposity, and appetite regulation across populations. Experimental and observational evidence suggests that FTO variants may influence energy intake, food preference, and metabolic pathways through effects on hypothalamic signalling, adipocyte biology, and epigenetic regulation. These findings have stimulated interest in precision nutrition approaches that aim to tailor dietary strategies according to individual genetic profiles. This narrative review critically examines the role of FTO gene variants in polygenic obesity and evaluates the current evidence supporting gene-diet interactions relevant to personalized weight management. We synthesized data from mechanistic studies, observational cohorts, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses to assess whether dietary interventions, including macronutrient composition, mediterranean-style dietary patterns, and discretionary food intake, can meaningfully modify obesity risk in individuals carrying FTO risk alleles. While mechanistic plausibility and observational associations are well established, evidence from intervention studies indicates that genotype-specific responses are generally modest and context-dependent. Overall, current findings support the potential of precision nutrition as a complementary framework rather than a deterministic approach to obesity management. Further large-scale, long-term, and ethnically diverse intervention studies are required to clarify clinical utility and inform evidence-based implementation.

The objective is to describe energy, macro-, and micronutrient intake according to Nova food groups and to estimate its association with ultra-processed foods (UPF) energy participation in the diets of children, stratified by age (6–23m/24–59m). A single 24-hour recall from 12,553 children in the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition was used to estimate the relative energy contribution of Nova groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods and culinary ingredients (G1+G2); processed foods (G3); and UPF (G4). Age-stratified linear regression and 95%CI assessed differences in nutrient intake (per 1,000kcal) across UPF energy quintiles. The G1+G2 group accounted for most of the energy consumed (6–23m: 74.5%; 24–59m: 65.1%) compared to G3 or G4. For both age groups, in the lowest quintile of UFP participation, ≤2% of energy came from UPF, while in the highest quintile, this proportion was >55%; and the G1+G2 group provided most nutrients. In 6–23m, higher UPF quintiles were associated with lower fat [β: -3.1 (-3.6; -2.5)], potassium [β: -49.7 (-67.9; -31.4)], and vitamin A RAE [β: -113.7 (-136.7; -90.6)] intake, but higher calcium [(β: 75.5 (57.6; 93.4)], iron [β: 2.9 (2.5; 3.3)], vitamin A RE [β: 104.3 (72.3; 136.3)], and folate [β: 15.7 (12.0; 19.5)] intake. In 24–59m, nutrient intake generally decreased with increasing UPF quintiles. For 6–23m/24–59m, UPF consumption was positively associated with energy [β: 73.6 (44.6; 102.7); 92.8 (66.7; 118.8), respectively] and carbohydrate [β: 7.3 (5.8; 8.7); 2.3 (1.2; 3.3), respectively], while contributing little to overall micronutrient intake.

The aim of this review was to examine what existing low FODMAP diet (LFD) trials can tell us about whether reductions in FODMAP intake plausibly explain symptom improvement in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Although the LFD is an effective treatment, supported by multiple randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses, the mechanisms through which it exerts its effects remain unclear. Symptom improvement is commonly attributed to reduced FODMAP intake, yet this assumption has rarely been evaluated directly. Using a mediation-informed framework, we examined whether published LFD trials assessed two key elements required to support a mechanistic role for FODMAP intake: whether the intervention altered FODMAP intake (a path), and whether variation in intake was associated with symptom outcomes independent of intervention group (b path). We found that evidence for clinical efficacy has not been matched by equivalent evidence explaining how the diet works. While many trials demonstrate that LFD interventions reduce FODMAP intake, few examine whether differences in intake account for differences in symptom improvement between individuals. As a result, it remains uncertain to what extent symptom benefits are driven by FODMAP reduction itself versus other factors accompanying dietary change. Strengthening future trial design to link dietary intake measurement with mechanistic analysis is essential for informing less restrictive, targeted, and personalised dietary strategies in IBS.

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and predictors of nutrition knowledge, nutrition label use and dietary diversity among a sample of university students in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2023 to April 2024 among undergraduate and postgraduate students. About 428 participants (aged 18–26 years) completed a structured questionnaire containing questions related to their demographic information, nutrition knowledge, nutrition label use, and dietary diversity (consumption of different food categories). Separate logistic regression models identified the main factors associated with nutrition knowledge, nutrition label use and dietary diversity. Approximately 32.5% participants had satisfactory nutrition knowledge and 36.0% were frequent nutrition label users. Female participants were more likely to have satisfactory nutrition knowledge (adjusted odds ratio, AOR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.29, 3.26) and use nutrition labels more frequently (AOR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.22, 3.17) than their male counterparts respectively. Around 40% of the participants had a high level of dietary diversity. Students with satisfactory nutrition knowledge (AOR = 3.02, 95% CI = 1.41–6.45) and frequent use of nutrition labels (AOR = 2.73, 95% CI = 1.35–5.55) had a higher dietary diversity compared to their counterparts. Less than half of Bangladeshi students in this study have adequate nutrition knowledge, label use, and dietary diversity. The findings highlight the importance of implementing nutrition awareness programmes and nutrition education interventions for university students, such as basic food and nutrition knowledge and the use of nutrition labels, to enhance their dietary diversity and health status.

This study investigated the annual culling rate and its main causes on dairy farms in the central region of Santa Fe, Argentina. A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and April 2025 on 77 farms located in the central dairy region of Santa Fe province, Argentina (Castellanos and Las Colonias departments). On each farm, an in-person survey was conducted with the farm manager. Information was collected regarding the farm demographics, the number of culls and mortalities and the causes of culling. The average annual total culling rate for pasture-based systems was 22.3% (range: 10–34%), while for confined systems it was 31% (range: 22–54%). The proportion of cows culled in pasture-based systems was 15.6% (range: 2–30%) compared to 23.6% (range: 14–43%) in confined systems. The annual mortality rate in pasture-based systems was 6.7% (range: 2–20%), while in confined systems it was 7.4% (range: 4–17%). The main causes of culling were reproductive problems, udder health issues, hoof diseases, infectious diseases and low milk production. The main causes of mortality on the farms were traumatic injuries, infectious diseases, mastitis and metabolic disorders, among others. Average cow longevity in pasture-based systems was 4.3 (range: 2–9) lactations compared to 2.9 (range: 1.4–4) lactations in confined systems. Productivity, animal welfare and dairy herd longevity are shaped primarily by management practices rather than by production system type alone, and both pasture-based and confined systems can be optimized to achieve sustainable outcomes.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is one of the most common blood cancers. Despite lengthening survival with modern therapy, it remains largely fatal. Understanding the influence of common modifiable risk factors on MM risk is necessary to inform prevention.

We investigated the association between dietary exposures and MM in a population-based case-control study conducted in Victoria, and NSW, Australia (2010-2016). Incident cases of MM (n=746) were recruited primarily via cancer registries. Controls (n=706) were siblings or spouses of cases.

We estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for associations between MM and dietary exposures, including dietary patterns, fish consumption, and a healthy lifestyle index, adjusting for confounders.

Higher scores on a modified version of the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 were associated with reduced risk of MM (mAHEI: OR=0.88, 95%CI=0.78-0.98). There was weaker evidence for reduced risk associated with higher healthful plant-based dietary index score (hPDI: OR=0.91, 95%CI=0.81-1.02). Increased MM risks were observed with higher scores on empirical dietary inflammatory pattern (EDIP: OR=1.20, 95%CI=1.07-1.35), empirical dietary indices for hyperinsulinaemia (EDIH: OR=1.15, 95%CI=1.02-1.31), and insulin resistance (EDIR: OR=1.21, 95%CI=1.08-1.37). There was no clear evidence of association with MM risk for fish consumption or a healthy lifestyle index.

We observed an association between adherence to a healthy diet and lower MM risk. While adherence to dietary patterns with the potential to increase insulin levels, insulin resistance, or promote inflammation was associated with increased MM risk. Results of studies assessing dietary intervention for MM prevention could reveal whether dietary modification directly influences MM risk.

Iron deficiency (ID) is a common nutritional disorder, especially among children, women of reproductive age. Detecting ID before it progresses to iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is critical for prevention. This study assessed mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and red cell distribution width (RDW) as complete blood count (CBC) based markers for early non-anaemic iron deficiency (NAID). We retrospectively analysed records of children aged 2 months to 6 years who underwent regular general health checks at Fujian Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital between July 2022 and July 2024, ID was defined by serum ferritin < 15 µg/L. Children with thalassemia, inflammatory conditions (CRP > 5 mg/L), or incomplete data were excluded. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between CBC indices and ID. Model discrimination was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and externally validated using NHANES (August 2021-August 2023, Cycle 12) data. A total of 2,018 children were included (training: n = 1,413, testing: n = 605; external validation: n = 232). MCH (OR = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.52-0.76; p < 0.001) and RDW (OR = 1.44; 95% CI, 1.16-1.79; p = 0.001) were independent predictors of ID. The model showed consistent performance, with AUCs of 0.77 (training), 0.81 (testing), and 0.87 (validation). MCH and RDW are practical markers for early NAID detection in Chinese and US children, offering a valuable tool for any setting with an automated haematology analyser, particularly when access to advanced iron studies is restricted.

A high sodium intake is a major risk factor for raised blood pressure. Consumption of fish fillet is associated with lower blood pressure in humans and other animals, whereas the effects of consuming fish residuals are less explored. To obtain high-quality fishmeal with acceptable sensory properties, the fish residuals may be washed with seawater onboard factory trawlers. This will increase the sodium content in the residuals, and whether this affects blood pressure has not yet been investigated. The primary objective of the present study was to investigate if the increased sodium content in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) residuals after washing with saltwater affected the development of high blood pressure in male obese Zucker fa/fa rats which spontaneously develop hypertension. Rats were fed diets containing cod protein powders prepared from unwashed or saltwater-washed backbone or head fractions (n 6/group) as 25% of total protein with the remaining 75% as casein, or casein as the sole protein source (Control group, n 6) for six weeks. Blood pressure was measured on day 0 and 40. The diets containing backbone protein powder, independent of whether this fraction was washed with saltwater or not, attenuated the blood pressure increase compared to the Control group, whereas diets containing washed or unwashed head protein powder did not affect the blood pressure development. To conclude, a diet containing cod backbone protein powder attenuated the blood pressure increase in obese Zucker fa/fa rats, and this effect was not compromised by the higher sodium content in backbones washed with saltwater.

Puppetry-based activities could serve as a low cost and manageable intervention in improving health-related outcomes. This review aims to identify the research to date and gaps in practice of the role and application of puppetry interventions in nutrition education. A scoping review was conducted using the PICOS framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, identifying studies across eight databases between January, 1980 and July, 2025.Twenty-five studies were identified, with the majority (n = 19) aimed at pre-school and school-aged children. Fifteen studies used quasi-experimental, pre–post designs. The use of hand and finger puppets was common, as well as videos and puppet theatre. Studies reported consistently positive findings in knowledge gain and psychosocial involvement, but mixed results on behaviour change. Little is known about the rationale for the type of puppet used, the scripts, and what audience was targeted for nutrition intervention messaging. Research could be undertaken to give more insight into matching what type of puppet to use to match the nature, scope, and extent of the educational message. Reports and recommendations in this review showed that participant engagement is a common and important objective. The gaps of knowledge in use of puppetry in nutrition education are many, thus creating opportunities for further evaluations and research, particularly in utilising what seems to be a manageable intervention within health promotion and disease prevention programmes. Puppetry can be a low cost, flexible, and easy to manage adjunct to nutrition education activities, providing culturally appropriate messaging with a range of audiences.

Bovine glycomacropeptide (GMP), present in cheese whey, is a glycan–phosphopeptide complex released from κ-casein by the action of chymosin during cheese making. Because GMP lacks phenylalanine and tyrosine, it is considered a potential dietary source of amino acids for patients with phenylketonuria or tyrosinaemia type I – genetic disorders affecting phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism, respectively. The development of methods to obtain high-purity GMP remains a long-standing challenge in the dairy industry. This review discusses isolation and purification techniques suitable for producing GMP for dietary management of these disorders. Ultrafiltration (or dialysis) and deproteinization are widely used to remove non-GMP components from whey prior to chromatographic separation. Among chromatographic methods, anion exchange chromatography is regarded as the most versatile for selectively adsorbing GMP. Laboratory-scale purification yielding GMP with undetectable levels of contaminating amino acids can be achieved by a combined method with dialysis, deproteinization and anion exchange techniques. In our laboratory, bovine whey protein concentrate prepared by dialysis and commercial whey protein isolate were used as starting materials. Each sample was deproteinized by heat and acid treatments to obtain the soluble whey fraction, which was subsequently fractionated by anion exchange chromatography (or its batch method) to recover GMP free of detectable phenylalanine and tyrosine – making it applicable to the dietary treatment of the above-mentioned disorders. Future research should investigate GMP in ‘second cheese whey’, an industrial by-product from the manufacture of whey cheeses (e.g., Ricotta). Another challenge is developing large-scale GMP production methods using inexpensive, food-grade anion exchangers (e.g., chitin).

In this study, we analysed differences in the infant gut microbiome between breastfed and formula-fed infants using novel machine learning techniques. Breast milk, rich in bioactive agents, supports microbiota composition and immune development, while formulas aim to replicate its nutritional profile. We applied a methodology combining the DADA2 pipeline for 16S rRNA sequencing with the Recursive Ensemble Feature Selection (REFS) algorithm for biomarker discovery. We analysed three publicly available 16S rRNA datasets: PRJNA633365 (70 stool samples from China), PRJDB7295 (40 stool samples from the Philippines), and PRJNA562650 (40 stool samples from China). The discovery dataset (PRJNA633365) revealed 16 significant taxa out of 1,227, validated across the other two datasets. Next, we compared REFS performance with another feature selection algorithm, SelectKBest. Finally, we conducted a literature review to explore links between identified taxa and medical conditions. Additionally, we used MicrobiomeAnalyst to examine associations with diseases, diet, and lifestyle. Our results show differences in the bacterial composition between breastfed and formula-fed infants, and these findings were validated in two independent datasets. Future research should explore the functional roles of these taxa and consider regional and dietary variability to enhance understanding of microbiome dynamics and long-term health outcomes.

Body composition and fat distribution were found to display differential effects on the incidence and mortality of chronic disease. However, it remained unclear whether there is an interaction between lifestyle factors and genetic susceptibility on body composition and fat distribution. This study investigated the associations of lifestyle and genetic factors with body composition and fat distribution among 121,664 women from the UK Biobank cohort study. Women with a favorable lifestyle had lower body mass index (BMI, –7.72% [95% CI: –7.93%, –7.51%]), fat mass index (FMI, –15.70% [95% CI: –16.09%, –15.30%]), fat-free mass index (FFMI, –2.86% [95% CI: –2.98%, –2.74%]), arm fat ratio (AFR, –5.19%, [95% CI: –5.38%, –5.00%]), and trunk fat ratio (TFR, –0.73%, [95% CI: –0.84%, –0.62%]), but higher leg fat ratio (LFR, 2.30% [95% CI: 2.16%, 2.44%]) than those with an unfavorable lifestyle. Significant interactions between lifestyle factors and genetic susceptibility on BMI, FMI, and AFR were observed (Pinteraction < 0.05). Among women with a high genetic susceptibility to body composition or fat distribution, those with a healthy lifestyle still had a lower BMI, FMI, FFMI, AFR, and TFR, and higher LFR (Ptrend < 0.001). Women who adhere to a favorable lifestyle tend to have healthy body composition and fat distribution and this association is consistent across all strata of genetic risk.

Normal reference values for body composition and physical performance measures are needed in order to determine cut-off values for suboptimal health such as obesity and related cardiometabolic diseases, and/or sarcopenia. Few studies have provided comparative normative reference ranges across different populations. We compare several body composition and physical performance measures between older Hong Kong Chinese and Canadians to derive and contrast their respective reference values.

17451 older adults from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) and 4000 from the Hong Kong Mr. and Ms. Osteoporosis (Os) cohort aged 65 years and over were included to derive reference values for walking speed, grip strength, 5-times chair stand test (CST), percentage body fat (PBF), weight, body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and Conicity Index (C-index), stratified by age and sex.

Overall normal reference values for Hong Kong males were higher compared with Canadians, particularly in younger age groups. The observations were reversed for females. Not surprisingly, Canadians have higher body weight and body mass index compared with Hong Kong older adults. Older Canadian males also have a higher percentage body fat and waist-hip ratio, compared with Hong Kong Older males. When fat distribution was compared, Hong Kong Chinese females have higher conicity index- indicating greater central fat distribution compared with Canadian females.

Normative reference values are best derived in the context of ethnicity and geographic regions, when used in relation to health assessments requiring physical performance measures and body composition.