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The promotion of children’s healthy eating is a key public health priority. However, children’s food consumption is a complex phenomenon with several contributing factors, and there is a call to continue developing comprehensive models with several variables acting simultaneously. The present study aimed to examine the role different motivational-related variables (e.g., self-regulation, self-efficacy) may play in children’s consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods. To address this goal, data were collected in a sample of 242 fifth and sixth graders with access to both healthy and unhealthy foods at home. A path model was conducted to analyze networks of relationships between motivational-related variables and children’s healthy and unhealthy eating. The gender variable was included as a covariate to control its effect. The data showed that self-regulation for healthy eating mediates the relationship between the predictor variables (i.e., knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy) and the type of food consumption (healthy and unhealthy). Current data contribute to understanding the complexity behind food consumption by providing a comprehensive model with motivational-related factors associated with both healthy and unhealthy eating. The present findings are likely to help inform the development of early preventive interventions focused on the promotion of healthy eating., This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi/UM) School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget (UIDB/01662/2020). Additionally, this study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds (PTDC/PSI-GER/28302/2017) and cofinanced by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01- 0145-FEDER-028302). This study was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through the national funds, within the scope of the Transitory Disposition of the Decree No. 57/2016, of 29th of August, amended by Law No. 57/2017 of 19 July. BP (SFRH/BD/143469/2019) and DR (DFA/BD/10221/2020) were supported by a Doctoral research grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology

The circumstances of the COVID-19 lockdown affected many students’ life spheres, including their feeding patterns and snack intake. The main goals of the present study were to: (a) analyze the changes in students’ breakfast and snacking consumption during lockdown, and (b) analyze changes in the content of the students’ snacks using the Healthy Eating Index. This study analyzed data from a sample of 726 students from 36 classes from the late elementary (i.e., fifth grade) through high school (i.e., twelfth grade) from two public schools in the north of Portugal. Data were collected in five moments during the 2020/2021 school year, pre-, during, and post-second lockdown moments. Throughout the five moments, almost 90% of the students ate breakfast, and the majority brought snacks from home to eat in school. Surprisingly, there was an increase in the quality of the snacks consumed during lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown moments (e.g., consumption of more whole and total fruits and less consumption of food with added sugar, saturated fats, refined grains, and fatty acids). Suggestions for healthy behavior promotion will be discussed, such as improving the school food environment and teaching children to prepare healthy lunch boxes., This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi/UM) School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget (UIDB/01662/2020). Additionally, this study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds (PTDC/PSI-GER/28302/2017), and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01- 0145-FEDER-028302). This study was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through national funds, within the scope of the Transitory Disposition of the Decree No. 57/2016, of 29th of August, amended by Law No. 57/2017 of 19 July. BP (SFRH/BD/143469/2019) was supported by a Doctoral research grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.

Childhood obesity rates have been increasing over the years and is considered one of the most serious public health problems of the century. Low socioeconomic status has been associated with a higher body mass index. However, the pathways underlying this complex relationship are poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the possible mediation and/or moderation effects of complexity of knowledge about healthy eating, and self-regulation processes towards healthy eating, in the association between family&rsquo, s income and weight of elementary school age children. The results showed that complexity of knowledge does not mediate the relationship between socioeconomic status and weight. Still, whenever the levels of complexity of knowledge and self-regulation are high, there is a moderation effect of complexity of knowledge on the relationship between family&rsquo, s income and weight, conditioned by self-regulation scores. These promising findings support the idea that knowledge about healthy eating in isolation could be insufficient for practicing a healthy diet and underline the relevance of combining transmission of knowledge with training in specific competences (e.g., self-regulation strategies). Considering that complexity of knowledge about healthy eating and self-regulation strategies are interrelated and can be both improved, future preventive interventions could consider incorporating both in their design to mitigate childhood obesity.

Background: Sleep plays a key role in our overall function, and sleep insufficiency has been highlighted as a major health issue. ‘Bedtime procrastination’—i.e., needlessly delaying the time one goes to bed without external reasons—is one reason for sleep insufficiency. The present research aims to explore the interrelationships among Bedtime Procrastination, other domains of Procrastination, and routine-related variables. Methods: The mediating effects of Wake-up Time and Dinner Time on the relationship between Bedtime Procrastination and General Procrastination, Academic Procrastination, and Perceived Importance of Sleep were tested. Self-reported questionnaires were used, and the sample comprised of 446 university students. Results: A partial mediation model was found. General Procrastination, Academic Procrastination, and Perceived Importance of Sleep showed direct effects on Bedtime Procrastination. Moreover, Academic and General Procrastination were positively associated with Bedtime Procrastination, whereas Perceived Importance of Sleep was negatively associated with Bedtime Procrastination. Indirect effects of the Perceived Importance of Sleep and General Procrastination, as mediated by Wake-up Time and Dinner Time, on Bedtime Procrastination were also found. Conclusions: Personal routines (Wake-up Time and Dinner Time) along with individual characteristics (General and Academic Procrastination) and beliefs (perceived importance of sleep) may affect Bedtime Procrastination. Present results highlight the complexity of Bedtime Procrastination., This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi/UM) School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget (UIDB/01662/2020). Additionally, this study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds (PTDC/PSI-GER/28302/2017) and cofinanced by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028302). This study was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through the national funds, within the scope of the Transitory Disposition of the Decree No. 57/2016, of 29th of August, amended by Law No. 57/2017 of 19 July. Beatriz Pereira and Andre Oliveira were supported by PhD studentships (SFRH/BD/143469/2019 and SFRH/BD/143471/2019, respectively) of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, I.P.), funded with allocations from the State Budget of the Ministry for Science, Technology and Higher Education and with allocations from the European Social Fund, to be made available under PORTUGAL 2020, namely through the North Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020).

Promoting children’s healthy diets is a key public health priority. Family can play a relevant role in children’s eating patterns. The goals of the current research were to identify different latent diet profiles in children based on their food consumption and to assess the relationship between profiles and family-related factors. A total of 678 school-aged children from the fifth and sixth grades participated. The study design was cross-sectional and questionnaire based. Research assessed healthy (fruit and vegetables) and unhealthy (fast food, sugar-sweetened beverages, and candies) food consumption and family-related factors. A latent profile analysis and multivariate data analysis were developed. Four diet profiles were identified: Combined Diet, Mainly Healthy Diet, Mainly Unhealthy Diet, and Very Unhealthy Diet. Nearly half of the children (45.22%) showed a Combined Diet profile, meaning that they reported eating nearly the same amount of healthy and unhealthy types of foods. Associations between the diet profiles, family income, and food availability were found. For example, the Mainly Healthy Diet profile was statistically associated with a higher family income and less access to unhealthy foods. The present study reinforces the idea that profiling diets can allow for a tailored healthy eating intervention model according to the specific needs of each diet profile., This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi/UM) School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget (UIDB/01662/2020). Additionally, this research was funded by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and by Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds, grant number PTDC/PSI-GER/28302/2017, and cofunded by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement, grant number POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028302. This research was also funded by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through the national funds, within the scope of the Transitory Disposition of the Decree No. 57/2016, of 29 August, amended by Law No. 57/2017 of 19 July. BP was funded by a Doctoral research grant from Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, grant number SFRH/BD/143469/2019, and CS was funded by a Postdoctoral research grant awarded by the project “In-person and Online Healthy Eating Promotion through Self-regulation: Assessing the Efficacy of a Narrative-based Intervention”, grant number POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028302.