What influences urban Indian secondary school students' food consumption? - a qualitative study

Indian adolescents' over reliance on foods such as nutrient-poor snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages and take-away foods puts them at significant risk of obesity and several diet-related chronic diseases. Therefore, the factors that influence their dietary behaviours need to be better understood in order to develop effective nutrition promotion strategies. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to investigate adolescents', parents', teachers', and school principals' perceptions of the main influences on adolescent eating behaviours. Fifteen adolescents aged 14-15 years, 15 parents, 12 teachers and 10 principals from 10 private English-speaking schools in Kolkata, India, participated in semi-structured interviews. The digitally-recorded conversations were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. The 52 interviews revealed a number of factors that may influence adolescents' eating habits including parent and peer influences, home and school food environments, and the mass media. Emerging evidence suggests that future health and nutrition promotion interventions need to target the different influences on Indian teenagers' food consumption.

Effect of flour processing on the quality characteristics of a soy-based beverage

Four treatments (roasting, germination, autoclaving and an application of 0.5% EDTA+0.5% sodium hydroxide) were used to reduce the beany flavour of soya beans to produce a soy-based beverage. While germination significantly increased the protein level as compared to the other treatments, the maximum reduction of the beany flavour was achieved by the 0.5% EDTA+0.5% sodium hydroxide application. The soya beans that underwent this treatment were used during the second phase for optimized beverage formulation. During the second phase, a beverage was prepared according to different formulations and analysed for chemical composition and total viable count during a two-month storage period. During storage, the beverage samples exhibited variations in several parameters. The acidity, reducing sugars and total sugars increased, while the ascorbic acid, total soluble solids and pH decreased. Overall, chemical and microbial analyses showed the stability of the product during the storage period.

Mediating effects of dietary intake on associations of TV viewing, body mass index and metabolic syndrome in adolescents

OBJECTIVE: Evidence suggests that TV viewing is associated with body mass index (BMI) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents. However, it is unclear whether dietary intake mediates these relationships.

METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted in adolescents (12-19 years) participating in the 2003-2006 United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. BMI z scores (zBMI) (n = 3,161) and MetS (n = 1,379) were calculated using age- and sex-specific criteria for adolescents. TV viewing (h/day) was measured via a self-reported questionnaire, and dietary intake was assessed using two 24-h recalls. Using the MacKinnon method, a series of mediation analyses were conducted examining five dietary mediators (total energy intake, fruit and vegetable intake, discretionary snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages and diet quality) of the relationships between TV viewing and zBMI and MetS.

RESULTS: Small positive relationships were observed between TV viewing and zBMI (β = 0.99, p < 0.001) and TV viewing and MetS (OR = 1.18, p = 0.046). No dietary element appeared to mediate the relationship between TV viewing and zBMI. However, sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and fruit and vegetable intake partially mediated the relationship between TV viewing and MetS, explaining 8.7% and 4.1% of the relationship, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the complexity of the relationships between TV viewing, dietary intake and cardiometabolic health outcomes, and that TV viewing should remain a target for interventions.