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ObjectivesThe effect of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) on long-term satiety is not well understood. This systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to investigate the effect of NNSs on long-term total energy and macronutrients intake.MethodsOnline databases including Scopus, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched up to September 2024 to find relevant randomized control trials (RCTs). A random effects model was used for estimating the overall effects.ResultsThe results showed a reducing effect of NNSs consumption vs. sugar on total energy intake [total energy intake change = −175.26 kcal/day, 95% confidence interval (CI): −296.47 to −54.06, I2 = 61.19%] and carbohydrate intake [Hedges’ g = −0.35, 95% CI: −0.63 to −0.06, I2 = 58.99%]. While, NNSs intake vs. water was not associated with significant change in total energy intake [total energy intake change = 29.94 kcal/day, 95% CI: −70.37 to 130.24, I2 = 34.98%] and carbohydrate intake [Hedges’ g = 0.28, 95% CI: −0.02 to 0.58, I2 = 65.26%]. The Consumption of NNSs compared to the either sugar or water did not have a significant effect on fat intake [Hedges’ g sugar = 0.08, 95% CI: −0.10 to 0.26, I2 = 8.73%/ fat intake change water = 0.20 g/day, 95% CI: −3.48 to 3.88, I2 = 0%] and Protein intake [Hedges’ g sugar = 0.16, 95% CI: −0.11 to 0.42, I2 = 50.83%/Hedges’ g water = 0.00, 95% CI: −0.15 to 0.16, I2 = 0%].ConclusionIn summary, our findings suggest that NNSs consumption may be effective in reducing total energy and carbohydrate intake compared to sugar.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=432816, CRD42023432816.

We aimed to explore and analyse the dietary intake patterns of 3‐6 year‐old children left behind by one or both parents and to assess their associations with body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of childhood anaemia in rural Anhui, eastern China. We used random cluster sampling to recruit rural children aged 3–6 years in two rural areas in Anhui province. Sociodemographic information and dietary intake were collected by self‐reported questionnaires. Height, weight and prevalence of anaemia were measured by trained nurses blinded to parental migration status. Factor analysis was applied to determine that major dietary patterns, binary logistic regression and generalised linear regression were used to explore the associations between anaemia and BMI Z‐score with dietary patterns. Of 1720 children aged 3–6 years, 236 were left by both parents and 388 were left by a single parent. The prevalence of stunting and underweight among left‐behind children with migration of both parents (BLBC) was significantly higher than that of non‐left‐behind children (NLBC). Three dietary patterns—"grain–vegetable," "meat–egg" and "fast food–sweet"—were identified in our study, and the total variance explained was 46.9%. The meat–egg dietary pattern was associated with a decreased risk of anaemia after adjustment for confounding factors in the left‐behind children with migration of both parents (BLBC), left‐behind children with single parent migration (SLBC) and non‐left‐behind children (NLBC) groups. After adjusting for confounding factors, the fast food–sweet dietary pattern was found to be associated with an increased risk of anaemia (OR [95% CI]: Q4: 2.21 [1.14, 4.57], p = 0.034). In addition, children with obesity had a lower intake of vegetables and fruits (β = −0.08, 95% CI: −0.13, −0.02) compared with children with a normal weight. In conclusion, there are correlations between different types of parental migration and children's nutritional status in rural Anhui. The meat–egg dietary pattern may have a preventive effect on anaemia in comparison with other dietary patterns, irrespective of whether children are left behind or not. Children with overweight and obesity had a higher intake of pork and red meat and snacks compared with children with normal BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundMalnutrition has emerged as main side effects of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which might also affect the prognosis of IBD. However, whether these associations are causal remains unclear. We aimed to identify the causality of IBD on malnutrition and explore the causal relationship of malnutrition and nutrients intake on IBD by using Mendelian randomization (MR).MethodsSingle nucleotide polymorphisms associated with IBD, malnutrition and nutrients intake were obtained from previous researches of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) (p 0.05). Further analysis showed similar results that nutrients intake had no direct effect on IBD, neither CD or UC.ConclusionOur results indicated that IBD increases the risk of malnutrition, however, malnutrition and nutrients intake might not directly affect the progression of IBD.

Irrigation is widely considered a potential means to improve agricultural productivity, nutrition, and income, as farmers can carry out farming and production year-round. However, the feasibility of irrigation technologies is highly dependent on the long-term economic return farmers achieve. Solar-based irrigation could address the challenges of underinvestment in irrigation within Africa. Evidence on the economic viability of the adopted solar pumps such as MajiPump is very scant and focused on ex post evaluation. This study evaluated the income and nutritional feasibility of solar-powered irrigation using the MajiPump in sub-humid Ethiopian highlands using the farm simulation (FARMSIM) model and compared it with the manual pulley system. Results from the FARMSIM model show that farmers' adoption of Maji solar pump technology to grow vegetables is economically feasible with financial support such as credit or loan for initial and capital investment to acquire the pump. The average profit under the solar MajiPump, drip irrigation, and conservation agriculture was 3.6 times higher than that of the baseline scenario. While the pulley technology provides the same amount of irrigation water to grow vegetables, its feasibility is limited due to high labor costs and time, estimated to be more than seven times the baseline. The simulation results show that the alternative scenarios' nutrition level has improved relative to other scenarios and met the minimum daily average nutrition requirement level for proteins, iron, and vitamin A but fell short in fat, calcium, and calories. The results suggest that farmers who adopt improved small-scale irrigation technologies (solar MajiPump and drip system) have a higher potential to increase production and income from irrigated crops and improve their nutrition if part of the income generated is used to purchase supplemental food for their nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity and overweight are a major public health problem globally. Diet quality is critical for proper child development, and an unhealthy diet is a preventable risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as obesity. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in childhood may increase the BMI/BMI z-score, body fat percentage, or likelihood of overweight. A strict feeding regulation system allows for sufficient food to be consumed to meet ongoing metabolic demands while avoiding overconsumption. This narrative review explores the issues of obesity and the regulation of food intake related to reward systems and UPF consumption. Nutrient composition alone cannot explain the influence of UPFs on the risk of obesity. Furthermore, the non-nutritional properties of UPFs may explain the mechanisms underlying the relationship with obesity and NCDs. UPFs are designed to be highly palatable, appealing, and energy dense with a unique combination of the main taste enhancer ingredients to generate a strong rewarding stimulus and influence the circuits related to feeding facilitation. How individual UPF ingredients influence eating behavior and reward processes remains not fully elucidated. To increase the knowledge on the relationship between UPFs and pediatric obesity, it may be useful to limit the rapid growth in the prevalence of obesity and subsequent related complications, and to develop new strategies for appropriate food and nutrition policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the blood biochemical characteristics, comorbidities, dietary intake, and other risk factors leading to poor glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) control in elderly Korean diabetes patients over 65 years of age. Methods: Data from the 4th (2007-2009) and the 7th (2016-2018) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) were used. Socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, region, household income, education level, marital status, nutrition education, diabetes duration and diabetes treatment), lifestyle characteristics (drinking, smoking, regular walking, and subjective health perception), anthropometric characteristics (height, weight, and waist circumference), blood biochemical characteristics (HbA1c, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, total cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen, and blood creatinine), co-morbidities (obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and anemia), energy and nutrients intake, food group intake, and HbA1c control-related risk factors were compared. Results: Compared to the 4th survey, the 7th survey showed an increase in diabetes prevalence among men, an increase in the prevalence of diabetes in the older patients, and an increase in the duration of diabetes. The energy ratio from carbohydrate consumption in the 7th survey was lower than in the 4th. Compared to the 4th survey, thiamine and riboflavin intake had improved, and the intakes of vitamin A, vitamin C, and niacin had worsened in the 7th. A comparison of food group intakes showed that there was a decrease in the consumption of whole grains, potatoes, and milk and an increase in the intake of beverages and alcoholic beverages. The risk factors for poor control of HbA1c were the duration of diabetes and co-morbid hypertriglyceridemia in the 4th survey, whereas subjective health perception, obesity, and hypercholesterolemia as co-morbidities were found to be risk factors in the 7th in addition to the risk factors highlighted in the 4th survey. Conclusions: For the future management of elderly Korean diabetes patients, greater care is indicated for men over 75 years, and those with low levels of education. It is necessary to increase the intake of milk and vegetables, and reduce the intake of beverages and alcoholic beverages. In addition, it is necessary to reduce the incidence of obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertriglyceridemia for proper control of blood sugar.

Background: For a child's healthy growth and development, nutrition is indispensable before and during pregnancy. Meeting nutritional needs during pregnancy has always been a significant public health issue. Objective: The study aimed to assess and evaluate energy, macronutrients, and micronutrient consumption from food among pregnant women in Amman Governorate during the second or third trimesters, then compare the consumption to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). In addition, it aimed to assess micronutrient consumption from foods and supplements; finally, it investigated macronutrient consumption among under-weight, normal-weight, overweight, and obese pregnant women. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2018 at the Ministry of Health's (MoH) Maternal and Children Health Centers (MCHC) in Amman to assess the dietary intake in a convenient sample of 300 seemingly healthy pregnant women between 17 and 40 years old and at ≥ 13 weeks of gestation. Maternal demographic characteristics, medical history, anthropometric measurements, and dietary data (three-day recall) were collected. Results: The daily mean intake of carbohydrates exceeded the recommended intake in 45.3% of pregnant women. Fiber intake was less than 28g/day in 90% of them. Total fats intake (45.6g/day) was lower than the RDA in 42.3% of pregnant women. Two-thirds of the pregnant women consumed a moderate amount of saturated fats (14.6g/day). The mean daily intake of proteins was 50.5±20.2g--more than two-thirds consumed protein less than the RDA. Subsequently, intakes of all essential amino acids were below RDAs.The intake of fat-soluble vitamins was lower than RDA for vitamins D, E, and K.While, whereas vitamin A was higher than RDA. Copper and salt intakes were more significant than the RDA for minerals (calcium, fluoride, iodine, iron, zinc, and selenium). Conclusion: The results showed inadequate and imbalanced dietary intake compared to RDA. Maternal nutrition and diets of pregnant women in this study show alarming indicators that may negatively affect the well-being of both pregnant women and fetal growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to assess the food and nutrition insecurity among different income quintiles in Central Sudan. Particularly, it seeks to determine the level of dietary energy consumption (DEC) and other macronutrients intake. In addition, it estimates the Engel ratios and income elasticity of food demand. A sample of about 668 households was selected from Khartoum State to collect the primary data during the year 2017. Primary data was collected through two types of questionnaires, the structured household questionnaire, and the 24-hour food recall questionnaire. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and One-way ANOVA Table. The outcomes prove that income contributes extensively to DEC as well as intakes of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The households in the lowest income quintile spend a high monetary value to purchase foods when compared with households in other income quintiles. The Engel ratios exhibit that the share of food consumption from the total income for the lowest income quintile is about 62%, which is higher relative to the highest income quintile (43.6%). In addition, Engel ratios varies significantly among the income quintiles at level 1%. The income elasticity of food demand in dietary energy consumption is higher for the lowest income quintile (0.49) than the highest income quintile (0.23). This indicates that a little increase in income will contribute significantly to better nutritional status for the lowest income quintile. Eventually, the paper recommends improving income earnings through incomebased policies to reduce the level of food deprivation. The government should adopt specific market policies that focus on the low-income level to enhance access to nutritious foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The effect of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs) on long-term satiety is not well understood. This systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to investigate the effect of NNSs on long-term total energy and macronutrients intake., Methods: Online databases including Scopus, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched up to September 2024 to find relevant randomized control trials (RCTs). A random effects model was used for estimating the overall effects., Results: The results showed a reducing effect of NNSs consumption vs. sugar on total energy intake [total energy intake change = -175.26 kcal/day, 95% confidence interval (CI): -296.47 to -54.06, I 2  = 61.19%] and carbohydrate intake [Hedges' g = -0.35, 95% CI: -0.63 to -0.06, I 2  = 58.99%]. While, NNSs intake vs. water was not associated with significant change in total energy intake [total energy intake change = 29.94 kcal/day, 95% CI: -70.37 to 130.24, I 2  = 34.98%] and carbohydrate intake [Hedges' g = 0.28, 95% CI: -0.02 to 0.58, I 2  = 65.26%]. The Consumption of NNSs compared to the either sugar or water did not have a significant effect on fat intake [Hedges' g sugar  = 0.08, 95% CI: -0.10 to 0.26, I 2  = 8.73%/ fat intake change water  = 0.20 g/day, 95% CI: -3.48 to 3.88, I 2  = 0%] and Protein intake [Hedges' g sugar  = 0.16, 95% CI: -0.11 to 0.42, I 2  = 50.83%/Hedges' g water  = 0.00, 95% CI: -0.15 to 0.16, I 2  = 0%]., Conclusion: In summary, our findings suggest that NNSs consumption may be effective in reducing total energy and carbohydrate intake compared to sugar., Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=432816, CRD42023432816., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Rostampour, Moghtaderi, Najafi, Seyedjafari and Salehi-Abargouei.)

In adolescence, the body requires sufficient amounts of adequate nutrients. This is especially important in the case of young athletes, for whom a nutrition plan should be as significant as a proper training plan. The aim of the study was a 17-week follow-up of the effects of individual and group nutrition intervention on changes in eating habits and selected biochemical parameters. 46 young soccer players aged 12–17 from the Soccer Academy in Northeastern Poland completed the study. One group received only individual recommendations, while the other additionally received group nutrition education. As a result of the dietary education, teenagers from the latter group consumed less saccharose (44 g vs. 39.2 g) in favor of digestible carbohydrates (266 g vs. 273 g) and dietary fiber (19.7 g vs. 22.2 g), further emphasizing the health-promoting profile of diets. The amount of fluid consumed (33% vs. 48% above 2 L of water a day) and the habits of the peri-workout hydration routine were also improved. Many of the participants (41%) reported faster regeneration while 26% experienced an overall better well-being. The short-term intervention produced positive results, but nevertheless it is the implementation of long-term dietary improvement schemes involving parents and coaches that should be the direction of future approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anemia, interpreted as a low blood hemoglobin values, was considered as a major health complication in the world. However, anemia in pregnancy is a global public health problem in the developing countries, posing high risk of adverse results for expecting mothers as well as their fetus. The aim of study was to compare nutrientschr('39') intake among pregnant anemic & non-anemic women. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore over a period of 4 months. The data were collected from 150 pregnant women, including 75 anemic and 75 non-anemic women, through pre-tested questionnaire using non-probability convenient sampling method. Data were tabulated and analyzed with help of SPSS version 21.0. Results: Analysis revealed that 34% of women had carbohydrate intake between 0-150 g/day, 44% had protein intake less than 50 g daily, and 36% had daily fat intake between 0-100 g/day. Moreover, 46.7% of the pregnant women were vitamins deficient, 51% were minerals deficient, 52% were iron deficient, 54.7% consumed tea with their meals, 44% had vitamin B3 intake less than 10 mg, 48% had vitamin C intake less than 50 mg, 48% had vitamin A intake between 0-500 RAE, 42% had calcium intake between 0-500 mg, and 31% had iron intake between 0-10 mg. Conclusion: The findings showed that nutrient intake of anemic pregnant women was not sufficient in the protein rich diet; they had high consumption of tea with their meals. Their overall energy intake and micronutrients were less than the required as per recommended dietary allowance in pregnancy.

Objectives: The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of dietary energy and protein level growth performances of selected indigenous Ethiopian sheep breeds. Materials and Methods: Fifty intact ram lambs, 25 from each breed with 12 months of age and a mean initial body weight (IBW) of 19.31 ± 1.7 kg, were employed for this experiment. Animals were distributed randomly into five dietary treatments, i.e., minimum Energy and Protein (mEmP), medium energy and protein (MEMP), medium Energy and high Protein (MEHP), high energy and medium protein (HEMP), and high Energy and high Protein (HEHP) diets in randomized complete block design with 2 * 5 factorial arrangements. The minimum, medium, and high energy diets were 2.388, 2.866, and 3.344 Mcal/kg dry matter (DM) with the corresponding 10%, 16%, and 20% crude protein (CP) diets, respectively. The diets were formulated in a total mixed ration from wheat bran (WB), maize grain, peanut cake, and pasture hay feed ingredients. Diet offer was at the rate of 3% of lambs live weight and revised biweekly as per the attained body weight changes. Digestibility trial was conducted for 7 days of actual fecal data collection, followed by 90 days of feeding trial. Results: The animals fed on the MEHP diet had a maximum DM and nutrient intakes (CP and organic matter) and the best final body weight (FBW), total gain, gain rate, average daily gains, and feed conversion efficiency (31.3, 12.9 kg, 41.2%, 143.3 gm, and 23.13, respectively), followed by HEMP, HEHP, MEMP, and mEmP diets. Digestibility of DM and nutrients linearly followed similar trends (p < 0.01). Hararghe sheep was heavier (p < 0.01) by 4.3 and 3.1 kg in its FBW and total gain and more efficient in nutrients utilization (22.57 vs. 18.18) as compared to Afar sheep (AS). Conclusion: It is concluded that MEHP and MEMP are superior and optimum diets for sheep breeds, and Hararghe sheep is carried out better than AS in most growth performance parameters. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2021; 8(2.000): 185-194]

The occurrence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) significantly affects the course of diabetes mellitus (DM), resulting in deterioration of insulin sensitivity and metabolic control, as well as many cardiometabolic complications. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between cardiovascular biomarkers, nutritional status, dietary factors and the occurrence of MetS among 120 participants from northeast Poland (adolescents with type 1 DM and healthy peers). MetS was assessed using several criteria: nutritional status by anthropometric measurements, body composition analysis by bioelectrical impedance, and diet using a food diary and questionnaire. MetS was diagnosed in every third diabetic. Compared to healthy peers, MetS patients had higher total body fat (26% vs. 14%, p < 0.001) and visceral fat (77 cm2 vs. 35 cm2, p < 0.001), and lower total antioxidant status (1.249 mmol/L vs. 1.579 mmol/L, p < 0.001). Additionally, their diet was rich in saturated fatty acids, but low in dietary fiber as well as mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The group of diabetics reported many inappropriate eating behaviors. The combination of those with the presence of an excessive content of visceral fat tissue and abnormal values of MetS components may negatively affect metabolic control, thus accelerating the development of cardiometabolic complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic, relapsing and remitting inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Little is known about the link between dietary intake, food avoidance, and beliefs among UC patients of different disease severity. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the dietary intake, food avoidance, and beliefs among active and inactive UC patients. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among UC patients from a tertiary medical center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Demographic, anthropometric, dietary intake, food avoidance and beliefs were assessed. Disease activity of UC patients was evaluated using the Powell Tuck Index. Results UC patients were recruited (64.1% inactive UC and 35.9% active UC). As compared to inactive UC patients, active UC patients were likely to lose weight (75.0% vs. 0%), possess certain food beliefs (95.7% vs. 39.0%), and frequently practiced dietary avoidance (95.7% vs. 43.9%). The dietary intake among inactive UC patients was higher than active UC patients. However, neither of them met the standard nutrients recommendation for protein, calcium, iron, folate, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and vitamin E. Conclusions Active UC patients had poorer dietary intake, were more prone to practicing food avoidance and exhibited certain food beliefs as compared to inactive UC patients. Both macro- and micronutrients intakes were inadequate regardless of patient’s disease status. These findings emphasized the importance for patients to be provided with the nutrition-related knowledge as part of strategies to avoid nutritional inadequacies.

Obesity and overweight are a major public health problem globally. Diet quality is critical for proper child development, and an unhealthy diet is a preventable risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as obesity. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in childhood may increase the BMI/BMI z-score, body fat percentage, or likelihood of overweight. A strict feeding regulation system allows for sufficient food to be consumed to meet ongoing metabolic demands while avoiding overconsumption. This narrative review explores the issues of obesity and the regulation of food intake related to reward systems and UPF consumption. Nutrient composition alone cannot explain the influence of UPFs on the risk of obesity. Furthermore, the non-nutritional properties of UPFs may explain the mechanisms underlying the relationship with obesity and NCDs. UPFs are designed to be highly palatable, appealing, and energy dense with a unique combination of the main taste enhancer ingredients to generate a strong rewarding stimulus and influence the circuits related to feeding facilitation. How individual UPF ingredients influence eating behavior and reward processes remains not fully elucidated. To increase the knowledge on the relationship between UPFs and pediatric obesity, it may be useful to limit the rapid growth in the prevalence of obesity and subsequent related complications, and to develop new strategies for appropriate food and nutrition policies.

Background: Malnutrition has emerged as main side effects of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which might also affect the prognosis of IBD. However, whether these associations are causal remains unclear. We aimed to identify the causality of IBD on malnutrition and explore the causal relationship of malnutrition and nutrients intake on IBD by using Mendelian randomization (MR)., Methods: Single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with IBD, malnutrition and nutrients intake were obtained from previous researches of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) ( p  < 0.00000005). MR analysis was conducted to evaluate the causality with different methods based on OR and their 95% CIs. Meanwhile, heterogeneity, pleiotropy and MR-PRESSO were used for instrumental variables evaluation., Results: The results of MR analysis revealed that IBD, both Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), could directly impact the incidence of malnutrition ( p -value <0.01). CD is directly related to nutrients such as sugar, fat, VA, VC, VD and zinc, while UC is correlated with carbohydrate, fat, VB12, VC, VD, VE, iron, zinc and magnesium. However, our results suggested that malnutrition could not affect the risk of IBD directly ( p  > 0.05). Further analysis showed similar results that nutrients intake had no direct effect on IBD, neither CD or UC., Conclusion: Our results indicated that IBD increases the risk of malnutrition, however, malnutrition and nutrients intake might not directly affect the progression of IBD., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Wang, Meng, Yang, Wu, Chen, Li, Xiao, Yu, Chen, Feng and Gong.)

Background: Anemia, interpreted as a low blood hemoglobin values, was considered as a major health complication in the world. However, anemia in pregnancy is a global public health problem in the developing countries, posing high risk of adverse results for expecting mothers as well as their fetus. The aim of study was to compare nutrients' intake among pregnant anemic & non-anemic women. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore over a period of 4 months. The data were collected from 150 pregnant women, including 75 anemic and 75 non-anemic women, through pre-tested questionnaire using non-probability convenient sampling method. Data were tabulated and analyzed with help of SPSS version 21.0. Results: Analysis revealed that 34% of women had carbohydrate intake between 0-150 g/day, 44% had protein intake less than 50 g daily, and 36% had daily fat intake between 0-100 g/day. Moreover, 46.7% of the pregnant women were vitamins deficient, 51% were minerals deficient, 52% were iron deficient, 54.7% consumed tea with their meals, 44% had vitamin B3 intake less than 10 mg, 48% had vitamin C intake less than 50 mg, 48% had vitamin A intake between 0-500 RAE, 42% had calcium intake between 0-500 mg, and 31% had iron intake between 0-10 mg. Conclusion: The findings showed that nutrient intake of anemic pregnant women was not sufficient in the protein rich diet; they had high consumption of tea with their meals. Their overall energy intake and micronutrients were less than the required as per recommended dietary allowance in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstrak Wanita prakonsepsi yang mengalami anemia berisiko mengalami berbagai masalah saat kehamilan. Salah satu faktor risiko anemia yaitu asupan zat gizi yang tidak adekuat. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis faktor asupan zat gizi yang berpengaruh terhadap kadar Hb wanita prakonsepsi. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain cross-sectional dengan 70 subjek pengantin wanita di KUA Kecamatan Sumowono dan Pringapus, berusia 16-35 tahun, dipilih dengan metode consecutive sampling. Data yang diambil yaitu berat badan, tinggi badan, asupan makan, dan kadar hemoglobin. Data asupan makan diperoleh menggunakan Semi Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (SQ-FFQ). Data kadar Hb diukur menggunakan metode Cyanmethemoglobin. Analisis data menggunakan uji regresi linear sederhana dan regresi linear ganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa prevalensi anemia dan status gizi kurang sebanyak 11,4% dan 15,7%. Asupan energi, protein, vitamin B2, seng, besi dan asam folat tergolong kurang. Asupan energi (p=0,004), protein (p=0,007), zat besi (p=0,009), dan status gizi (p=0,055) merupakan faktor yang mempengaruhi kadar Hb. Faktor yang paling berpengaruh terhadap kadar Hb adalah asupan energi dan status gizi. Kesimpulannya adalah kadar Hb pada wanita prakonsepsi dipengaruhi oleh asupan energi, protein, zat besi dan status gizi. Namun, faktor yang paling berpengaruh adalah asupan energi dan status gizi. Kata kunci: asupan zat gizi, hemoglobin, wanita prakonsepsi Abstract Preconception women who have anemia are at risk of suffering problems during pregnancy. One of risk factors for anemia is inadequate nutrient intake. This study was aimed to analyze the factors of nutrient intakes that affect the level of Hb in preconception women. This study was conducted by using cross-sectional design study that consisted of 70 brides registered at Office of Religious Affairs in Sumowono and Pringapus Subdistricts, aged 16-35 years selected by consecutive sampling method. Weight, height, food intake, and hemoglobin level were measured. Food intake was obtained by using Semi Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (SQ-FFQ). Hb level was measured by Cyanmethemoglobin method. Simple linear regression and multiple linear regression test were used to analyze the data. The result showed that the prevalence of anemia was 11,4% and prevalence of undernutrition status was 15,7%. Energy intake (p=0,004), protein intake (p=0,007), iron intake (p=0,009), nutritional status (p=0,055) were factors that affected Hb level. The most significant factors of Hb level were energy intake and nutritional status. The conclussion is Hb level in preconception women was affected by energy, protein, iron intake and nutritional status. However, the most significant factors with Hb level were energy intake and nutritional status. Keywords: nutrients intake, hemoglobin, preconception women

Objectives: The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of dietary energy and protein level growth performances of selected indigenous Ethiopian sheep breeds. Materials and Methods: Fifty intact ram lambs, 25 from each breed with 12 months of age and a mean initial body weight (IBW) of 19.31 ± 1.7 kg, were employed for this experiment. Animals were distributed randomly into five dietary treatments, i.e., minimum Energy and Protein (mEmP), medium energy and protein (MEMP), medium Energy and high Protein (MEHP), high energy and medium protein (HEMP), and high Energy and high Protein (HEHP) diets in randomized complete block design with 2 * 5 factorial arrangements. The minimum, medium, and high energy diets were 2.388, 2.866, and 3.344 Mcal/kg dry matter (DM) with the corresponding 10%, 16%, and 20% crude protein (CP) diets, respectively. The diets were formulated in a total mixed ration from wheat bran (WB), maize grain, peanut cake, and pasture hay feed ingredients. Diet offer was at the rate of 3% of lambs' live weight and revised biweekly as per the attained body weight changes. Digestibility trial was conducted for 7 days of actual fecal data collection, followed by 90 days of feeding trial. Results: The animals fed on the MEHP diet had a maximum DM and nutrient intakes (CP and organic matter) and the best final body weight (FBW), total gain, gain rate, average daily gains, and feed conversion efficiency (31.3, 12.9 kg, 41.2%, 143.3 gm, and 23.13, respectively), followed by HEMP, HEHP, MEMP, and mEmP diets. Digestibility of DM and nutrients linearly followed similar trends (p < 0.01). Hararghe sheep was heavier (p < 0.01) by 4.3 and 3.1 kg in its FBW and total gain and more efficient in nutrients utilization (22.57 vs. 18.18) as compared to Afar sheep (AS). Conclusion: It is concluded that MEHP and MEMP are superior and optimum diets for sheep breeds, and Hararghe sheep is carried out better than AS in most growth performance parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well recognized that sleep and food intake exhibit 24-h patterns and disturbances of these patterns can lead to health problems. Cross-sectional and prospective studies suggest that diet quality and eating behaviors are negatively affected by short sleep duration. Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable period for the emergence of inadequate sleep and diet patterns. The aim of the study was to investigate associations, from a chrononutrition perspective, of diet quality, nutrients intake, and eating behaviors (eating frequency, eating period, and time-interval between eating occasions) in relation to sleep duration among a multi-ethnic cohort of Brazilian adolescents. Data were collected by the 2015 ISA-Capital survey, a population-based cross-sectional study comprising 419 adolescents of both sexes (12–19 years old) of São Paulo, Brazil. Demographic, socioeconomic, anthropometric, and lifestyle, including sleep duration, data were obtained from an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Dietary data were obtained by 24-h dietary recall (24-HDR), and diet quality was assessed by the Brazilian Healthy Eating Index – Revised (BHEI-R), validated for the Brazilian population. The independent associations between sleep duration categories (i.e., <8 h as short sleep and 8–10 h as adequate sleep), and dietary variables were assessed after adjustments for covariates. Multiple linear, logistic, and Poison regression models were used, depending on the variable. Diet quality, nutrients intake, and eating behaviors differed according to adolescents' sleep duration. Approximately 36% of adolescents were sleep deprived. They presented poorer diet quality (53 points, p =.034) and eating behaviors characterized by lower probability of having lunch (88%, p <.001) and dinner (71%, p <.001) and higher probabilities of eating breakfast (87%, p <.001) and morning snack (26%, p =.001). These adolescents compared to those with adequate sleep duration also had, from snacks and in the 24-h cycle, higher contribution of available carbohydrates (8%, p <.001; 50%, p =.024) and total sugar (6%, p <.001; 21%, p <.001) and added sugar (3%, p <.001; 15%, p <.001). The chrononutrition characteristics of sleep-deprived adolescents were marked by longer eating periods (12 h, p <.001) and time-interval between eating occasions (3 h, p <.001) than adolescents with adequate sleep duration. These differences point to the relevance of the interrelation between sleep and diet, i.e., disruption of circadian cycles and consequent metabolic health problems, to inform public health policies and clinical interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic, relapsing and remitting inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Little is known about the link between dietary intake, food avoidance, and beliefs among UC patients of different disease severity. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the dietary intake, food avoidance, and beliefs among active and inactive UC patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among UC patients from a tertiary medical center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Demographic, anthropometric, dietary intake, food avoidance and beliefs were assessed. Disease activity of UC patients was evaluated using the Powell Tuck Index. Results: UC patients were recruited (64.1% inactive UC and 35.9% active UC). As compared to inactive UC patients, active UC patients were likely to lose weight (75.0% vs. 0%), possess certain food beliefs (95.7% vs. 39.0%), and frequently practiced dietary avoidance (95.7% vs. 43.9%). The dietary intake among inactive UC patients was higher than active UC patients. However, neither of them met the standard nutrients recommendation for protein, calcium, iron, folate, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and vitamin E. Conclusions: Active UC patients had poorer dietary intake, were more prone to practicing food avoidance and exhibited certain food beliefs as compared to inactive UC patients. Both macro- and micronutrients intakes were inadequate regardless of patient’s disease status. These findings emphasized the importance for patients to be provided with the nutrition-related knowledge as part of strategies to avoid nutritional inadequacies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anemia, interpreted as a low blood hemoglobin values, was considered as a major health complication in the world. However, anemia in pregnancy is a global public health problem in the developing countries, posing high risk of adverse results for expecting mothers as well as their fetus. The aim of study was to compare nutrients' intake among pregnant anemic & non-anemic women. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore over a period of 4 months. The data were collected from 150 pregnant women, including 75 anemic and 75 non-anemic women, through pre-tested questionnaire using non-probability convenient sampling method. Data were tabulated and analyzed with help of SPSS version 21.0. Results: Analysis revealed that 34% of women had carbohydrate intake between 0-150 g/day, 44% had protein intake less than 50 g daily, and 36% had daily fat intake between 0-100 g/day. Moreover, 46.7% of the pregnant women were vitamins deficient, 51% were minerals deficient, 52% were iron deficient, 54.7% consumed tea with their meals, 44% had vitamin B3 intake less than 10 mg, 48% had vitamin C intake less than 50 mg, 48% had vitamin A intake between 0-500 RAE, 42% had calcium intake between 0-500 mg, and 31% had iron intake between 0-10 mg. Conclusion: The findings showed that nutrient intake of anemic pregnant women was not sufficient in the protein rich diet; they had high consumption of tea with their meals. Their overall energy intake and micronutrients were less than the required as per recommended dietary allowance in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In recent years a steady increase in the number of obese people has been observed worldwide. This problem is also increasingly applicable to children and adolescents. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies carried out in Poland over ten years (2005-2015) which analysed the diet of preschool children and assessed how significantly it affects the prevention of diet-dependent disease.Material and Methods: Two of the researchers independently performed a systematic search of Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, and the Polish Medical Bibliography to find studies published between 2005 and 2015. The variance of the means of differences between selected factors in relation to dietary guidelines and standards for preschool children was estimated by summing the individual variances of means. The means of differences between selected factors across the studies were pooled using random-effects model meta-analysis.Results: The analysis included a total of 2095 children. Mean protein content in the diet of children studied is 111% higher than indicated in dietary recommendations for this age group; mean consumption of carbohydrates in the study group is 24% higher than recommended. In moderately high calorie diets, analysis showed that the recommended norm is exceeded by 47%, CE 0.77, p < 0.001.Conclusions: Nutrient intake is not compliant with recommendations for this age group and could not only inhibit physical development, but also increase the risk of diet-dependent diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the nutrient digestibility of growing rabbits fed diets with different levels of either Leucaena leucocephala (LLM) or Moringa oleifera (MOLM) leaf meals and also to compare total collection and TiO2 marker methods for estimating digestibility. A total of 30 California growing rabbits (1.81±0.19 kg live weight on average) were randomly distributed into five experimental groups of six rabbits each and were housed in individual cages. The groups were control, 30% LLM, 40% LLM, 30% MOLM, and 40% MOLM. All groups received pelleted diets for two weeks; diets also contained 4 g/kg titanium dioxide as dietary marker. Daily feed intake was recorded during the whole experimental period and total feces were collected daily and weighed individually during four days. The results showed that there were no difference (p>0.05) in feed, dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), digestible energy, and crude fiber (CF) intake between the control group and the other experimental groups. The apparent digestibility values of DM, OM, CP, CF, acid detergent fiber, and gross energy were the highest for control group (p = 0.001), meanwhile MOLM diets had generally higher nutrient digestibility coefficients than LLM diets. Increasing the inclusion level of leaf meal in the diet from 30% to 40% improved the digestibility of CF from 45.02% to 51.69% for LLM and from 48.11% to 55.89% for MOLM. Similar results for apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients were obtained when either total collection or indigestible marker method was used. In conclusion, the digestibility of MOLM containing diets were better than LLM diets, furthermore TiO2 as an external marker could be used as a simple, practical and reliable method to estimate nutrients digestibility in rabbit diets.

Nutritional intakes in Italian kidney transplant recipients Background and Aim: Obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension and glucose intolerance are some of the main nutritional and metabolic problems that occur in post-transplant patients. We evaluated the daily dietary intake in renal transplant recipients to assess whether they fulfil the nutrient intake recommendations (according to the Italian recommended dietary allowances, LARN 2014). Subjects and Methods: Renal allograft recipients that were transplanted between 6 months and 5 years before this study were recruited. The daily intake of nutrients, including protein and salt, was estimated with a five-day food diary. Results: In total, 50 patients were studied (31 males and19 females); the mean patients' age was 48.9±9.9 years, the mean age at transplant was 20.5±15.2 years (median 15.3 y) and the mean eGFR was 56.4±20.2 mL/min/1.73m2, with the eGFR terziles defined as >66.7, between 44.6 and 66.7, and <44.6 mL/min/1.73m2. The mean body mass index was 26.7±4.4 kg/m2. The medium total energy intake was 27.6±7.6 kcal/kg body weight/day. The daily intake of proteins and salt were respectively 1.06±0.32 g/kg body weight/day and 1.203 mg/day. The calcium, iron and fiber intakes were respectively 484±236 mg/die, 9.6±2.9 mg/die, and 12.2±4.9 g/die. No differences in nutrients intake were observed between patients with different degree of renal insufficiency; also, protein intake was above the threshold of 1.0 g/kgBW/day in all patients. Discussion: Our findings suggest that renal transplant recipients in Italy seem to have an adequate energy intake, with normal distributions of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates; the protein intake, however, was higher than that recommended for chronic kidney disease (CKD), at least for moderate to advanced CKD. On the contrary, the daily intake of fiber, calcium and iron were insufficient. Finally, the salt intake was greater than the recommendation in almost all individuals. Conclusions: In renal transplant patients the mean dietary intakes fit with the recommendations, though this is not true for all the patients studied especially regarding the salt and protein intakes in the moderate to advance CKD stages. This observation suggests the need of a specific nutritional counselling and a regular nutritional assessment in patients with renal transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypertension, i.e. increased blood pressure is one of the causes of maternal death. Nutrients intake, physical activity, and pregnancy characteristics have a relationship with blood pressure. This cross-sectional study involved 110 pregnant women in the 3rd trimester in Bogor. The Spearman analysis showed that eicosapentaenoic acid/EPA intake had a correlation with diastolic blood pressure, while physical activity was not related. The pregnancy characteristics closely related to blood pressure were history of abortus, pre-pregnancy BMI, gravidity, mid upper arm circumference/MUAC, parity, and maternal age. This study highlights the importance of pregnancy characteristics to control hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to analyze the ingestive behavior, forage intake and pasture characteristics when beef heifers are kept exclusively on ryegrass pasture (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) or receiving ground corn grain as supplement (0.9% of body weight (BW )) with or without addition of crude glycerin (0.2% BW). Experimental animals were Angus heifers with initial age and body weight of eight months and 166.2 ± 9.5 kg, respectively. The grazing method was continuous with variable number of animals. The experimental design was completely randomized with repeated measures. Dry matter intake was estimated using chromium oxide as an indicator of fecal output. Heifers ingested a similar amount of dry matter and neutral detergent fiber. Forage intake was 19.0% lower when heifers receiving ground corn grain as supplement with or without addition of crude glycerin and these reduction in dry matter intake of forage provided increase of 38.2% in the stocking rate. Heifers that received crude glycerin as a supplement spent more time in the trough than heifers that received only ground corn grain.

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We introduce and study the Box-Cox symmetric class of distributions, which is useful for modeling positively skewed, possibly heavy-tailed, data. The new class of distributions includes the Box-Cox t, Box-Cox Cole-Green (or Box-Cox normal), Box-Cox power exponential distributions, and the class of the log-symmetric distributions as special cases. It provides easy parameter interpretation, which makes it convenient for regression modeling purposes. Additionally, it provides enough flexibility to handle outliers. The usefulness of the Box-Cox symmetric models is illustrated in a series of applications to nutritional data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the reasons why animals of similar performances have different feed requirements is important to increase profits for cattle producers and to decrease the environmental footprint of beef cattle production. This study was carried out aiming to identify the associations between residual feed intake (RFI) and animal performance, nutrient digestibility, and blood metabolites related to energy balance of young Nellore bulls during the finishing period. Animals previously classified as low ( n = 13) and high RFI ( n = 12), with average initial body weight of 398 kg and age of 503 days were used. Cattle were fed a high energy diet and were slaughtered when rib fat thickness measured by ultrasound between the 12th and 13th ribs reached the minimum of 4 mm. A completely randomized design was adopted, being data analyzed with a mixed model that included the random effect of slaughter group, the fixed effect of RFI class, and linear effect of the covariate feedlot time. No differences were found ( p > 0.10) between RFI classes for performance, dry matter, and nutrients intake. However, dry ( p = 0.0911) and organic matter ( p = 0.0876) digestibility tended to be lower, and digestibility of neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein ( p = 0.0017), and total digestible nutrients ( p = 0.0657) were lower for high RFI animals, indicating lesser capacity of food utilization. Difference between low and high RFI animals was also found for blood cortisol at the end of the trial ( p = 0.0044), having low RFI animals lower cortisol concentrations. Differences in the ability to digest food can affect the efficiency of transforming feed into meat by Nellore cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium is an important nutrient for child development. The main objective of this study was to assess calcium intake and its adequacy with dietary reference intake (DRI) in Spanish children. The ANIVA (Antropometría y Nutrición Infantil de Valencia) study is a descriptive cross-sectional study. During two academic years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, 1176 schoolchildren aged 6-9 years were selected from 14 primary schools in Valencia (Spain). Three-day food records were used to assess dietary intake, completed by parents/guardian. Anthropometric data (weight and height) were evaluated in all subjects. Nutritional intake was compared to estimated average requirements (EARs) and adequate intake (AI) values to determine nutritional adequacy. A percentage of 25.77% had inadequate calcium intake, and a significantly higher prevalence was observed in girls (p = 0.006). Adequate calcium intake showed a positive association with the height z-score (p = 0.032). When assessing dietary patterns, schoolchildren with adequate calcium intakes had better nutritional adequacy in all nutrients, except cholesterol (p = 0.086) and fluorine (p = 0.503). These results suggest a public health problem that must be addressed through nutrition education programs to increase intake of calcium-rich food and to correct the associated dietary pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrated feed can be used to increase the milk yield in dairy farms. However, the feeding cost increases when concentrates are used and, sometimes, farmers lose competitiveness, if the cows do not produce what is expected with supplementation. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating the nutrients intake, milk yield and composition and live weight change of dairy cows fed with sorghum silage alone or supplemented with concentrates. Nine crossbred cows (Holstein-Gyr) were allocated in three balanced Latin squares and fed with sorghum silage supplemented with minerals (0.2 kg) or with 2.6 kg (38.5% of crude protein) or 5.0 kg (20% of crude protein) of concentrate per day, aiming at supplying the same amount of crude protein (1.0 kg day-1). The dry matter intake and milk yield were higher for the cows fed with concentrate, independently of its protein level. The productive response (in kg of milk per kg of concentrate) was 1.67 and 0.83, respectively for the low and high supplemental levels. The cows that received only minerals lost weight, while those fed with concentrate gained weight. The cows which produced 13.0 kg of milk day-1 showed a higher increase in milk yield when fed with supplements containing high protein and mineral contents. The response for milk production per kg of concentrate was higher when lower amounts of concentrate with high protein and mineral levels were used, allowing a reduction in the production costs.

Objetivos: El objeto de este trabajo ha sido analizar si la edad de la madre al nacimiento del niño, puede condicionar el consumo de alimentos y la ingesta de energía y nutrientes, así como la adecuación de la dieta, de sus hijos en edad preescolar. Material y métodos: Se han recogido datos socioeconómicos, antropométricos y dietéticos, de un colectivo de 103 preescolares de Madrid, y se ha dividido a la población en función de que la madre fuera = 26 años (Percentil 25) o menor de 26 años en el momento de nacer su hijo. Resultados: Un 25,2% de las madres de los preescolares estudiados, tuvieron a su hijo antes de los 26 años de edad y un 6,8% antes de los 18. Los niños de madres más jóvenes consumen menos azúcares (p < 0,01) y bebidas sin alcohol (p < 0,05), pero también menos frutas (p < 0,01), y más varios (p < 0,05). La energía aportada por las grasas fue inferior (p < 0,05) y la de hidratos de carbono superior (p < 0,05), en los niños de madres más mayores. Además, el perfil lipídico también fue más adecuado en estos niños, con un menor aporte calórico por parte de las grasas poliinsaturadas (p < 0,05). Igualmente, la ingesta de fibra (p < 0,05) y de vitamina C (p < 0,001) fue superior en los hijos de madres de mayor edad. Conclusiones: Parece que la edad de la madre supone una influencia sobre los hábitos alimentarios y la dieta de sus hijos, pudiendo resultar un factor de protección frente a la inadecuación dietética en el niño, por lo que las madres más jóvenes quizás puedan requerir un asesoramiento especial en este sentido.Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyse whether the mother's age at the offspring's birth may condition food consumption and energy and nutrients intake as well as the appropriateness of the diet of their offspring at pre-school age. Materials and methods: socio-economic, anthropometrical, and dietary data were collected from a group of 103 pre-school children from Madrid, and the population was divided according to the mother's age (= 26 years (percentile 25) or < 26 years) at birth. Results: Twenty-two point five of the mothers of the preschool children studied had their offspring before 26 years of age and 6.8% before 18. Children from younger mothers consumed less sugars (p < 0.01) and alcohol-free beverages (p < 0.05), but also less fruits (p < 0.01) and others (p < 0.05). The energy from fats was lower (p < 0.05) and that from carbohydrates higher (p < 0.05) among children with older mothers. Besides, the lipid profile was also better in this children, with less caloric intake from polyunsaturated fats (p < 0.05). Besides, fibre (p < 0.05) and vitamin C (p < 0.001) intake was higher in children from older mothers. Conclusions: It seems that mother's age may have an influence on dietary habits of their children and be a protection factor against dietary inappropriateness of the offspring, so that younger mothers might need special counselling in this respect.

The objective of the present study to assess the effects of mesquite pod addition replacing corn (0, 250, 500, 750, and 1000 g/kg in the dry matter basis) on nutrient intake, animal performance, feeding behavior, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, and microbial protein synthesis. Twenty-five Holstein-Zebu crossbred dairy steers at 219 ± 22 kg initial body weight and 18 months of age were used. The experiment lasted 84 days, divided into three periods of 28 days. A completely randomized design was used, and data were submitted to analysis using PROC GLM for analysis of variance and PROC REG for regression analysis using the software Statistical Analysis Systems version 9.1. Experimental diets were composed of Tifton 85 hay, soybean meal, ground corn, mesquite pod meal, and mineral salt. Samples of food offered were collected during the last 3 days of each period, and the leftovers were collected daily, with samples bulked per week. At the end of each 28-day period, the remaining animals were weighed to determine total weight gain and average daily gain. The assessment of behavioral patterns was performed through instantaneous scans in 5-min intervals for three consecutive 12-h days. A single urine sample from each animal was collected on the last day of each collection period at about 4 h after the first feeding. The replacement of corn by mesquite pod meal did not significantly influence treatments regarding nutrients intake, animal performance, and feeding behavior. Retained and consumed nitrogen ratio did not statistically differ between replacement levels. Likewise, there were no statistical differences regarding microbial protein synthesis and efficiency between replacement levels. Mesquite pod meal can be used in Holstein-Zebu crossbred dairy steers' diet with total corn replacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The relationship between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and reduced mortality or a lower incidence of major chronic diseases has been widely studied. The purpose of this study was to assess the adherence of a Lebanese adult sample to the Mediterranean diet. Design/methodology/approach – This cross-sectional dietary survey involved a Lebanese population sample aged 19 to 70 years. A total of 615 men and women were asked to fill a diet history questionnaire (144 items), assisted by trained nutrition research assistants. Data were analyzed and compared to the Mediterranean diet recommendations, and the Mediterranean diet score, a ten-point scale based on above and below median levels of consumption, was estimated. Findings – There was no significant difference in terms of adherence between men and women participants below the age of 30 years, while women over 30 years had a poorer score than men within this age group. The surveyed sample was found to have a 4.2 Mediterranean diet score and, thus, has a low adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern. Consumption of fruits, vegetables, dairy products, legumes and nuts of this Lebanese sample met the Mediterranean diet recommendations, while whole grains, poultry and fish consumption was lower than the recommended Mediterranean diet intake, and meat consumption was found to be much higher than what was recommended. Originality/value – Facing the fast increase in non-communicable disease incidence, and with a more spread Western-type culture, it is central to raise awareness about the role of traditional Mediterranean diet in preventing and protecting against these diseases. This study contributes to the limited literature on the adherence to the Mediterranean diet in Lebanon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]