4 results
A digital meal nutritional score may influence food choices in a workplace restaurant: A pilot study
- Daniela Prozorovscaia, Emma Jacquier, Florent Dudan, Suttipong Mungkala, Hilary Green
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E91
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Introduction
Food choice is complex. Digital nutrition applications are emerging to help decisions about food choices. Nestlé's Meal Nutritional Score (MNS) is a number between 0 and 100 that provides a measure of the extent to which a meal meets US dietary recommendations. The objective was to evaluate if the MNS influences food choices in a workplace restaurant.
Materials and MethodsA workplace education campaign ran over two weeks in order to introduce the MNS to employees. This was done during the lunch break at the entrance to the cafeteria of Nestlé's research centre, which serves around 250 hot meals at lunchtime every day. Employees choose between a typical Western meal, a healthy meal and a vegetarian meal. During the campaign, and for three weeks afterwards, LED screens displayed the MNS for the three different types of meal, every day. Employees’ voluntary feedback on the MNS was collected using a closed-ended questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were done for the scores and sales of each type of meals for one week before the education campaign, immediately after the campaign and three weeks later. Data are reported as mean ± 1 standard deviation.
ResultsFeedback was obtained from 152 employees, of whom 96% said the MNS helped them to understand the nutritional balance of the meals, and 38% said the MNS influenced their meal choices. The MNS scores pre-campaign, post-post campaign and 3 weeks later were 52 ± 14, 50 ± 16 and 56 ± 11 for the Western meal; 54 ± 14, 62 ± 6 and 67 ± 6 for the healthy meal and 64 ± 11, 57 ± 14 and 57 ± 12 for the vegetarian meal, respectively. The percentage of sales pre-campaign, post-post campaign and 3 weeks later were 48 ± 10%, 43 ± 9% and 33 ± 9% for the Western meal; 25 ± 10%, 30 ± 8% and 36 ± 10% for the healthy meal, and 27 ± 4%, 27 ± 4% and 30 ± 8% for the vegetarian meal, respectively.
DiscussionThe number of people selecting the healthy meal, which usually had the best score, increased during the three weeks following the education campaign, suggesting that the MNS positively influences food choices. The MNS may also help chefs to design more nutritionally balanced meals. Longer-term follow up is necessary to evaluate if these are sustained behaviour changes as well as to test the impact of the MNS in a different workplace environment.
Screen-use, active-play and sleep behaviours in a nationally representative sample of infants, toddlers and pre-school children from the U.S.
- Emma Jacquier, Yvonne Lenighan, Andrea Anater, Brian Kinneman
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E215
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Introduction
Inadequate sleep, excessive screen-use and low-levels of physical activity may lead to an increased risk of childhood obesity. Caregivers during early childhood should limit screen-time, encourage active play and establish bedtime routines to ensure adequate sleep. The benefits of such may also extend to improved attention, learning, memory, psycho-social development and other factors. There is limited data on such lifestyle behaviours in infants and children in the U.S. Therefore, this analysis describes findings from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) 2016.
MethodsFITS 2016 is a national, cross-sectional survey of caregivers of children aged 0–3.9 y in the U.S. Demographic data and information on feeding practices, sleep, physical activity and screen-use were collected using a questionnaire (n = 4380). Differences in behaviours across age groups were assessed using a one-way ANOVA or chi-squared tests.
ResultsChildren older than 12 months slept for an average of 9.6 (sd = 2.0) hours per night, which was significantly higher than infants (0–11.9mo) who slept for 8.9 (sd = 2.1) hours per night (P < 0.001). All children slept for approximately one hour during the day. There were no significant difference in the weekly hours spent in active play (mean = 20.8,sd = 16.5) between younger and older children, while participation in sports was higher among older versus younger children. However, time spent playing video games, watching TV videos/DVDs and using a screen was significantly higher in older versus younger children (P < 0.001). For example, infants spent 7.8 hours per week watching TV, compared to 9.4 hours in 3 year old children (P < 0.001). Approximately 65% of caregivers reported that they did not allow electronics in the bedroom, however this decreased with increasing age (P = 0.036). Consequently, 5% of infants (0–11.9mo) viewed a tablet or smartphone in their bedroom, compared to 26% of 3 year old children (P < 0.001).
DiscussionRecent guidelines from the American Academy for Pediatrics (AAP) recommend that children younger than 18 months avoid use of screen media, and that children aged 2–5 should limit screen-time to one hour per day. This data from the US FITS suggests that children are exceeding these recommendations. However, the current population are meeting the AAP physical activity recommendation of minimum 60 minutes/day. Furthermore, infants and children in this population are also failing to meet the AAP sleep recommendations. Therefore, further emphasis needs to be placed on the importance of limiting screen-time and promoting physical activity and positive sleep behaviours in this young population.
The impact of wealth status on dietary diversity of infants and young children in the Philippines
- Yvonne M. Lenighan, Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa, Marvin B. Toledo, Mario V. Capanzana, Emma F Jacquier
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E345
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Introduction
Dietary diversity and socio-economic status are recognised as determinants of childhood malnutrition. The impact of wealth status on dietary diversity of infants and toddlers in Filipino infants and toddlers is currently unknown. Therefore, the aim of this analysis was to describe the impact of wealth status on dietary patterns using data from the 2013 Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS).
MethodsThe FITS is a cross-sectional, national survey of infants (6–11.9mo;n = 362), younger toddlers (12–17.9mo;n = 360) and older toddlers (18–23.9mo;n = 373). Dietary data were collected using 24-hour recalls. Percentage consumption of food groups were calculated. Data were stratified by socio-economic status (SES) based on the characteristics of their dwelling units.
ResultsFifty percent of the population were classified as low-SES, 20% middle-SES and 30% high-SES. Rice was the most commonly consumed food across all ages, followed by human milk and infant formula in infants and younger toddlers. Sixty-nine percent of infants from the low-SES consumed human milk compared to 41% of infants from the high-SES. In contrast, infant formula was consumed by 62% of high-SES infants compared to 25% of low-SES infants. Similarly, 54% of younger toddlers from the low-SES consumed human milk, compared to 24% of children from the high-SES, and only 10% of toddlers from poor-SES consumed toddler formula, compared to 47% of toddlers from the high-SES. Differences in non-milk based food groups were more evident in the older toddlers. Rice was consumed by approximately 90% of this population. Fish consumption varied by SES among toddlers (45% in low-SES compared to 33% in high-SES). However, pork, chicken and sausages were consumed by less than 10% of toddlers from the low-SES compared to 18%, 16% and 25%, respectively, from the high-SES. Vegetables were more highly consumed by toddlers from the low-SES (34%) than the high-SES (27%). Approximately 20% of older toddlers consumed cookies and 22% consumed sugar sweetened beverages, while cakes were consumed by 18% of toddlers from the high-SES compared to only 5% of toddlers from the low-SES.
DiscussionDietary diversity in Filipino infants and toddlers is very limited. Rice, human milk and infant formula are the main source of nutrients for infants and young toddlers. Typically, there is low consumption of vegetables and protein-containing foods and high consumption of sugary foods, which is further impacted by SES. These data can be used to support public health initiatives to improve dietary diversity in the first years of life.
Cross-sectional analysis of eating patterns and snacking in the US Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study 2008
- Denise M Deming, Kathleen C Reidy, Mary Kay Fox, Ronette R Briefel, Emma Jacquier, Alison L Eldridge
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- Journal:
- Public Health Nutrition / Volume 20 / Issue 9 / June 2017
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 20 March 2017, pp. 1584-1592
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Objective
To explore eating patterns and snacking among US infants, toddlers and pre-school children.
DesignThe Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) 2008 was a cross-sectional national survey of children aged 6–47 months, weighted to reflect US age and racial/ethnic distributions. Dietary data were collected using one multiple-pass 24h recall. Eating occasions were categorized as meals, snacks or other (comprised of all feedings of breast milk and/or infant formula). The percentage of children consuming meals and snacks and their contribution to total energy, the number of snacks consumed per day, energy and nutrients coming from snacks and the most commonly consumed snacks were evaluated by age.
SettingA national sample of US infants, toddlers and pre-school children.
SubjectsA total of 2891 children in five age groups: 6–8 months (n 249), 9–11 months (n 256), 12–23 months (n 925), 24–35 months (n 736) and 36–47 months (n 725).
ResultsSnacks were already consumed by 37 % of infants beginning at 6 months; by 12 months of age, nearly 95 % were consuming at least one snack per day. Snacks provided 25 % of daily energy from the age of 12 months. Approximately 40 % of toddlers and pre-school children consumed fruit and cow’s milk during snacks; about 25 % consumed 100 % fruit juice. Cookies were introduced early; by 24 months, 57 % consumed cookies or candy in a given day.
ConclusionsSnacking is common, contributing significantly to daily energy and nutrient needs of toddlers and pre-school children. There is room for improvement, however, with many popular snacking choices contributing to excess sugar.