To explore the meanings that newly arrived refugee adolescents residing in the Southeastern USA attribute to foods.

We used methods from cognitive anthropology to assess whether adolescents from different countries share a cultural model of eating behaviours.

A school-based study in a community in the Southeastern USA.

Adolescents (10–17 years) who arrived in the USA on a refugee visa in the previous year.

Adolescents showed consensus in grouping items and in identifying some foods as associated with adults and others with children. There was evidence of a shared model of eating practices across age, gender and number of siblings. Adolescents who had lived in a refugee camp were significantly different in how they grouped items.

Adolescents from nine countries shared a model of eating behaviours; these patterns are consistent with rapid dietary acculturation within 1 year of arrival or with shared models held from pre-arrival. Our finding that adolescents who recently arrived in the USA generally agree about how foods relate to one another holds promise for generalised nutrition and dietary interventions across diverse adolescent groups.

To understand early-life growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and how it has changed over time, we estimated the prevalence of wasting and overweight at ages under 5 years.

Cross-sectional data from twenty-nine Demographic and Health Surveys with direct anthropometric data and parent-reported demographic information were examined. The study utilised the WHO Child Growth Standards to classify overweight (weight-for-height z-score ≥ 2 sd above the median), wasting (weight-for-height z-score ≤ 2 sd below the median) and unhealthy weight defined as either wasting or overweight.

Nationally representative for nine of the MENA countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen).

Children under age 5 from nine MENA countries between 1987 and 2016 (n 155 961).

Across the region, at the most recent time point, between 7·3 and 23·6 % of children experienced unhealthy weight (Jordan – 7·3 %, Egypt –23·6 %); 1·7 and 16·6 % had wasting (Turkey, Yemen) and 2·0 and 15·0 % had overweight (Yemen, Egypt). Overweight was more common than wasting in all countries except Yemen and Mauritania. Between 1987 and 2016, the prevalence of unhealthy weight in the region increased (10·0–18·4 %) due to increases in both wasting and overweight. Boys had a higher prevalence of unhealthy weight than girls.

Undernutrition continues to be a problem in some countries in the MENA region, and overnutrition is emerging as a health concern in many countries in the region. Countries in the region must advance programmes that reduce undernutrition while not overlooking or inadvertently promoting overnutrition.

To develop and evaluate a Nutrition Transition-FFQ (NT-FFQ) to measure nutrition transition among adolescents in South India.

We developed an interviewer-administered NT-FFQ comprising a 125-item semi-quantitative FFQ and a twenty-seven-item eating behaviour survey. The reproducibility and validity of the NT-FFQ were assessed using Spearman correlations, intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), and levels of agreement using Bland–Altman and cross-classification over 2 months (NT-FFQ1 and NT-FFQ2). Validity of foods was evaluated against three 24-h dietary recalls (24-HR). Face validity of eating behaviours was evaluated through semi-structured cognitive interviews. The reproducibility of eating behaviours was assessed using weighted kappa (κw) and cross-classification analyses.

Vijayapura, India.

A representative sample of 198 adolescents aged 14–18 years.

Reproducibility of NT-FFQ: Spearman correlations ranged from 0·33 (pulses) to 0·80 (red meat) and ICC from 0·05 (fruits) to 1·00 (tea). On average, concordance (agreement) was 60 % and discordance was 7 % for food groups. For eating behaviours, κw ranged from 0·24 (eating snacks while watching television) to 0·67 (eating lunch at home) with a mean of 0·40. Validity of NT-FFQ: Spearman correlations ranged from 0·11 (fried traditional foods) to 0·70 (tea) and ICC ranged from 0·02 (healthy global foods) to 1·00 (grains). The concordance and discordance were 48 % and 8 %, respectively. Bland–Altman plots showed acceptable agreement between NT-FFQ2 and 24-HR. The eating behaviours had acceptable face validity.

The NT-FFQ has good reproducibility and acceptable validity for food intake and eating behaviours. The NT-FFQ can quantify the nutrition transition among Indian adolescents.

To describe adolescents’ eating patterns of traditional, global/non-local and mixed foods, and the factors that may influence food consumption, access and preferences, in a globalizing city.

A representative sample of school-going adolescents completed a cross-sectional survey including an FFQ designed to identify traditional and global foods. Student’s t test and ordinal logistic regression were used to examine weekly food intake, including differences between boys and girls and between adolescents attending private and public schools.

Vijayapura city, Karnataka State, India.

Adolescents (n 399) aged 13–16 years.

Compared with dietary guidelines, adolescents consumed fruit, green leafy vegetables, non-green leafy vegetables and dairy less frequently than recommended and consumed energy-dense foods more frequently than recommended. Traditional but expensive foods (fruits, dairy, homemade sweets and added fat) were more frequently consumed by private-school students, generally from wealthier, more connected families, than by public-school students; the latter more frequently consumed both traditional (tea, coffee, eggs) and mixed foods (snack and street foods; P≤0·05). Girls reported more frequent consumption of global/non-local packaged and ready-to-eat foods, non-green leafy vegetables and added fat than boys (P≤0·05). Boys reported more frequent consumption of eggs and street foods than girls (P≤0·05).

Adolescents’ eating patterns in a globalizing city reflect a combination of global/non-local and traditional foods, access and preferences. As global foods continue to appear in low- and middle-income countries, understanding dietary patterns and preferences can inform efforts to promote diversity and healthfulness of foods.