Socioeconomic inequality in breakfast skipping among Norwegian adolescents.

Background: Skipping breakfast is associated with negative health-related and school-related outcomes. Breakfast is the most frequently skipped meal among adolescents. Thus, there is a need to explore the reasons for breakfast skipping across population subgroups to better inform policy makers.

Ultra-processed foods - a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are increasingly consumed worldwide and have been linked to several chronic diseases. This paper aims to describe the totality of the available evidence regarding UPFs in relation to health-related outcomes as a basis for setting food-based dietary guidelines for the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023. Systematic literature searches were conducted to identify systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and prospective cohort studies examining the association between UPF intake and non-communicable diseases or mortality.

How traditional Norwegian outdoor activities are changing; a 10-year follow up in relation to sociodemographic factors.

Introduction: The study aims to evaluate the relationship between sociodemographic factors and changes in Norwegian outdoor activities between 2008 and 2018. Traditional outdoor activities, such as family trips in nature, the gathering of mushrooms and wild berries, and growing one's own plants to eat, are believed to have a positive impact on physical activity levels and health in general.

Method: This study includes repeated cross-sectional surveys conducted in 38 randomly selected schools across two Norwegian counties.

The effect of free school fruit on academic performance: a nationwide quasi-experiment.

In past research, higher intake of fruit has been associated with better academic achievement. In Norway, the government required lower secondary schools to provide fruit to their pupils from 2007 to 2014. The present study assessed whether this policy improved academic performance.

Physical activity when riding an electric-assisted bicycle with and without cargo.

Background: Regular physical activity provides several health benefits, and active transport is a convenient way to implement physical activity in everyday life. However, bikes' lack of possibilities to carry cargo is a limitation. E-cargo bikes can help overcome barriers to cycling and increase levels of active transport while still providing the option to carry cargo such as groceries and children.

Does an obesogenic family environment moderate the association between sports participation and body composition in children? The ENERGY project.

Background: Previous research on the association between sports participation and body composition has shown mixed findings. The family home is considered one of the most influential environments on childhood obesity. Thus, the association between sports participation and body composition in children may be influenced by an obesogenic home environment.

Effect of Ending the Nationwide Free School Fruit Scheme on the Intake of Fruits, Vegetables, and Unhealthy Snacks in Norwegian School Children Aged 10-12 Years.

The Norwegian authorities started a nationwide free school fruit program in 2007, implemented in all secondary schools (grades 8-10) and combined schools (grades 1-10) in Norway. The program ended in 2014. This study evaluates the effect of ending the nationwide free school fruit program on the consumption of fruit, vegetables, and unhealthy snacks among Norwegian sixth and seventh graders.

E-cycling and health benefits: A systematic literature review with meta-analyses.

The objective of the present study is to review and meta-analyze the effect of E-cycling on health outcomes. We included longitudinal experimental and cohort studies investigating the effect of E-cycling on health outcomes. The studies were identified from the seven electronic databases: Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Cinahl and SportDiscus and risk of bias was assessed with the revised Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool (RoB2).

Towards More Sustainable Sports: Analyzing the Travel Behavior of Adolescent Soccer Players in Southern Norway.

Mitigating climate change is a global challenge demanding effort from all sectors, and sports are no exception. While transportation is one of the key issues regarding sustainable sports, the methods by which children and adolescents get to practice have not received much attention. The objectives of this study were, therefore, to present how adolescents in Southern Norway travel to soccer practice and assess how the mode of transportation is related to sex, socioeconomic status, age, ethnicity, and distance from home to practice.

Adherence to a healthy and potentially sustainable Nordic diet is associated with child development in The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).

Background: The rapid neurodevelopment that occurs during the first years of life hinges on adequate nutrition throughout fetal life and early childhood. Therefore, adhering to a dietary pattern based on healthy foods during pregnancy and the first years of life may be beneficial for future development. The aim of this paper was to investigate the relationship between adherence to a healthy and potentially sustainable Nordic diet during pregnancy and in early childhood and child development.

A nationwide school fruit and vegetable policy and childhood and adolescent overweight: A quasi-natural experimental study.

Background: School free fruit and vegetable (FFV) policies are used to promote healthy dietary habits and tackle obesity; however, our understanding of their effects on weight outcomes is limited. We assess the effect of a nationwide FFV policy on childhood and adolescent weight status and explore heterogeneity by sex and socioeconomic position.

Methods And Findings: This study used a quasi-natural experimental design.

Overweight, obesity, and thinness among a nationally representative sample of Norwegian adolescents and changes from childhood: Associations with sex, region, and population density.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and thinness among Norwegian 13-year-olds and the changes from childhood (age 8 years) to adolescence (age 13 years); and to explore associations with sex, region, and population density from childhood to adolescence.

Design: We used longitudinal, anthropometric data collected by school health nurses conducted in Norway. Weight status was classified according to the International Obesity Task Force cut-offs for overweight, obesity, and thinness, and according to mean body mass index (kg/m2).

Does organized sports participation in childhood and adolescence positively influence health? A review of reviews.

Sports participations have the potential for both positive and negative health outcomes. We hence aimed (i) to assess systematically reviewed associations between organized sports participation in children and adolescents and their health, and (ii) to assess qualitative syntheses of experiences among children and adolescents concerning organized sports participation and health. A search was undertaken in April 2020 across the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, APA PsycInfo (Ovid), Scopus, SPORTDiscus (EBSCO), and specialized databases for reviews.

Family meal participation is associated with dietary intake among 12-month-olds in Southern Norway.

Background: Family meal participation is associated with healthier eating among children and adolescents. Less is known about family meal participation among infants and toddlers. The objective of the present study was to explore whether family meal participation at 12 months of age is associated with dietary intake and whether a potential relationship differs according to maternal education or child sex.

Development and description of New Nordic Diet scores across infancy and childhood in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).

In recent years, examining dietary patterns has become a more common way of investigating potential associations between diet and adverse health outcomes. The New Nordic Diet (NND) is a potentially healthy and sustainable dietary pattern characterized by foods that are locally available and traditionally consumed in the Nordic countries. The diet has been typically examined in adult populations, and less is known about compliance to the NND from infancy throughout childhood.

Childhood adherence to a potentially healthy and sustainable Nordic diet and later overweight: The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).

The New Nordic Diet (NND) is a potentially healthy and sustainable dietary pattern represented by locally available and traditionally consumed foods in the Northern countries. The diet has been commonly examined in adult populations, but less is known regarding its potential associations with overweight/obesity in children. We have previously developed child diet scores measuring compliance to the NND at child age 6 and 18 months and 3 and 7 years.

Validity of Items Assessing Self-Reported Number of Breaks in Sitting Time among Children and Adolescents.

: Sedentary behaviour guidelines recommend that individuals should regularly break up sitting time. Accurately monitoring such breaks is needed to inform guidelines concerning how regularly to break up sitting time and to evaluate intervention effects. We investigated the concurrent validity of three "UP4FUN child questionnaire" items assessing the number of breaks in sitting time among children and adolescents.

The effects of an abrupt increase in taxes on candy and soda in Norway: an observational study of retail sales.

Background: Fiscal policies are used to promote a healthier diet; however, there is still a call for real-world evaluations of taxes on unhealthy foods and beverages. We aimed to evaluate the effect of an abrupt increase, of respectively 80 and 40%, in the excising Norwegian taxes on candy and beverages on volume sales of candy and soda. We expected sales to fall.

Cumbersome but desirable-Breaking the code of everyday cycling.

Introduction: Cycling for transport could integrate physical activity (PA) into daily routines and potentially increase total PA levels. However, for parents with young children, most factors affecting transport mode choice tend to facilitate car use. Greater insight is necessary into reasons for (not) using sustainable transport modes in parents with young children.

Fruit and vegetable consumption in Europe according to gender, educational attainment and regional affiliation-A cross-sectional study in 21 European countries.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine fruit and vegetable consumption according to gender, educational attainment and regional affiliation in Europe.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: 21 European countries.

Time trends (1995-2008) in dietary habits among adolescents in relation to the Norwegian school fruit scheme: the HUNT study.

Introduction: The importance of healthy eating in adolescence is well established. The present study examined possible effects of the free Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (NSFS), changes in dietary habits between 1995 and 2008, and whether secular changes in dietary habits differed among schools who implemented the NSFS during September 2007.

Method: We used data from the Young-HUNT1 survey conducted from 1995 to 1997 and the Young-HUNT3 survey conducted from 2006 to 2008, which are part of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), a longitudinal population health study.

How to evaluate the effect of seven years of the Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (2007-2014) on fruit, vegetable and snack consumption and weight status: A natural experiment.

From August 2007 to June 2014, the Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (NSFS) legally established that all pupils in junior high and combined schools (275,000 pupils every year), but not those in primary schools (343,000 pupils every year), were entitled to a free piece of fruit or vegetable every school day. The NSFS is a natural experiment, unique in terms of scope and lengthiness. Such governmental efforts to improve the diet of the public are rarely evaluated.

From cars to bikes - The effect of an intervention providing access to different bike types: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: We aimed to investigate whether providing parents with children in kindergarten with access to different bicycle types could influence (i) travel behavior and cycling amount, and (ii) intrinsic motivation for cycling and psychological constructs related to car use.

Methods: A randomized, controlled trial was conducted in Southern Norway from September 2017 to June 2018. In total 36 parents were recruited and randomly drawn into an intervention (n = 18) or control group (n = 18).