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SunGold Kiwifruit and Psychological Health (GoKiPH): a randomised, crossover trial
- M. Billows, N. Kakoschke, I. Zajac
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 83 / Issue OCE1 / April 2024
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 07 May 2024, E51
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Gold kiwifruit consumption and increased vitamin C intake have been associated with improved mood, vitality, and wellbeing in healthy individuals(1,2). However, to date, no studies have focussed exclusively on the efficacy of gold kiwifruit for improving such outcomes in participants with disturbed mood. A randomised crossover trial was undertaken to examine the efficacy of ZespriTM SunGoldTM kiwifruit for improving psychological wellbeing and vitamin C concentrations in adults with sub-clinical levels of mood disturbance. In a two-period, non-blinded crossover trial, N = 26 adults aged 21 to 60 years (M = 36.1, SD = 11.0) with mild to moderate mood disturbance were randomised to a counter-balanced sequence. Participants consumed 2x SunGold kiwifruit daily or their typical diet for four weeks, with a two-week washout between periods. The primary outcome was change in mood disturbance, with secondary outcomes including plasma vitamin C, wellbeing, vitality and gut health. Results indicated a significant time x treatment interaction effect for mood disturbance (F(2,107.3) = 6.19, p = ,003) with significant improvements in mood disturbance scores between baseline and post-intervention during the SunGold kiwifruit period. A significant time x treatment interaction effect for blood plasma vitamin C (F(2,98.5) = 3.65, p = ,029) also demonstrated increased vitamin C concentrations during the SunGold kiwifruit period. A significant time x treatment interaction effect for wellbeing (F(2,104.7) = 4.5, p = ,013) was evident with wellbeing significantly improved between baseline and post-intervention during the SunGold kiwifruit period. The time x treatment interaction for vitality approached significance (F(2,104.7) = 2.89, p = ,06) with increases in vitality following SunGold kiwifruit consumption. These results provide preliminary evidence that SunGold kiwifruit consumption improves psychological wellbeing in mood-disturbed adults, which corresponds to increased plasma vitamin C concentrations. Future research is required to replicate this effect and to further demonstrate the potential benefit of whole-food interventions for treating mood-disturbance.
Snacking motivations and behaviour in Australian adults: The role of personality traits
- N. Kakoschke, S. Mercorella, P. Delfabbro, E. Brindal
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 83 / Issue OCE1 / April 2024
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 07 May 2024, E74
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Snacking, namely, consuming food and beverages in-between main meals, especially snacks with a high fat, salt and/or sugar content, is a major contributor to excessive energy intake and long-term weight gain(1). There are many potential drivers of snacking behaviours, including physiological (e.g., hunger) as well as social, psychological, and emotional reasons(2). Individual differences, such as personality traits, have been linked to unhealthy snacking. Nevertheless, it is important to examine the potential explanatory pathways, such as motivations for snacking and habit strength, that may explain this relationship between personality and snacking. This cross-sectional study investigated the associations between personality traits, habit strength, motivations for snacking, and snacking behaviour, including choice and consumption. Participants were n = 230 Australian adults (female: n = 164; 71.3%) aged 18-77 years old (M = 34 years, SD = 13.4) who completed an online survey. The survey included assessments of personality traits (The Big Five Inventory 2), habit strength (the Self-Report Habit Index), motivations for snacking (The Eating Motivation Survey), momentary snack food choice (Snack Preference Task), and habitual snack food consumption (Snack Frequency Questionnaire). Overall, the most frequently selected motivations for snacking were ‘liking’, ‘convenience’, and ‘habit’. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between motivations for snacking and snacking behaviour. We found that health motivation for snacking was negatively correlated with momentary choice (r = -.042, p <.01) and habitual consumption (r = -.033, p <.01) of unhealthy snack foods and beverages. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to examine whether habit strength and the Big Five personality traits predicted both motivations for snacking and snacking behaviours after controlling for demographic variables. For health motivations for snacking, habit strength (beta = −0.15, p = .025), openness (beta = 0.50, p = .003, and conscientiousness (beta = 0.58, p = .001) were significant predictors. For momentary choice of unhealthy snacks, health motivation (beta = −4.35, p = .004), pleasure (beta = 3.53, p = .029), and visual appeal (beta = 5.29, p <.001) were significant predictors. For habitual consumption of unhealthy snacks, health motivation (beta = −5.39, p = .001), habit strength (beta = 2.89, p = .045) and neuroticism (beta = 5.16, p = .045) were significant predictors. These findings indicate that health motivation for snacking predicts both momentary snack preference and habitual snack food consumption. Moreover, personality traits may be linked with habitual unhealthy snacking behaviour via their association with specific motivations for snacking. Overall, these findings suggest that health promotion messages focusing on health motivation may be important for increasing healthier momentary and habitual snack choices to improve dietary intake and support weight management.
Disrupting future discounting: a commentary on an underutilised psychological approach for improving adherence to diet and physical activity interventions
- Naomi Kakoschke, David N Cox, Jillian Ryan, Ian Gwilt, Aaron Davis, Paul Jansons, Barbora de Courten, Grant Brinkworth
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- Journal:
- Public Health Nutrition / Volume 26 / Issue 5 / May 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 14 February 2023, pp. 1088-1093
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Non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as CVD and type 2 diabetes mellitus are major contributors to the burden of disease. NCD are largely driven by modifiable lifestyle factors including poor diet and insufficient physical activity, and consequently, prevention is a public health priority. Although diet and physical activity levels can be improved via lifestyle interventions, long-term adherence to such interventions remains low, which limits their effectiveness. Thus, it is critical to identify the underlying mechanisms that challenge uptake and adherence to such interventions. The current commentary discusses an important, but underexplored, psychological driver of poor adherence to lifestyle interventions, namely, future discounting, which describes the tendency to prefer smaller, short-term rewards over larger, long-term rewards. For example, in the nutrition domain, future discounting refers to valuing the immediate reward of excessive intake of energy-dense, nutrient-poor, discretionary foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat, and insufficient intake of low-energy, nutrient-dense, whole foods such as vegetables. Prominent theoretical models propose that excessive future discounting is a major contributor to the development of unhealthy lifestyle behaviours. Furthermore, a vast body of evidence suggests that future discounting plays a key role in risk of NCD. Thus, the evidence to date supports the idea that future discounting is an important multi-behaviour target for supporting lifestyle behaviour change; however, this approach has been largely neglected in preventive health efforts. Furthermore, this commentary discusses promising techniques (e.g. Episodic Future Thinking) for disrupting future discounting to promote improved adherence to lifestyle interventions aimed at reducing NCD risk.