Efficacy of front-of-pack warning label system versus guideline for daily amount on healthfulness perception, purchase intention and objective understanding of nutrient content of food products in Guatemala: a cross-over cluster randomized controlled experiment.

Background: Front-of-package warning labels (FOPWL) have been adopted in many countries aiming at reducing the consumption of unhealthy food and drink products and have also been considered in Guatemala. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of FOPWL versus Guidelines for Daily Amount (GDA) on products' healthfulness perception (HP), purchase intention (PI) and the objective understanding of the nutrient content (UNC) in Guatemala.

Methods: Participants (children and adults) (n = 356) were randomly assigned to evaluate either FOPWL or GDA during a crossover cluster randomized experiment in rural and urban areas across 3 phases of exposure.

Unhealthy food advertising on Costa Rican and Guatemalan television: a comparative study.

This study aimed to exhaustively explore the characteristics of food advertising on TV in Guatemala and Costa Rica. The International Network for Food and Obesity Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) methodology was applied. In 2016, we recorded 1440 h of video among 10 TV channels.

Assessing cohesion and diversity in the collaboration network of the SALURBAL project.

The SALURBAL (Urban Health in Latin America) Project is an interdisciplinary multinational network aimed at generating and disseminating actionable evidence on the drivers of health in cities of Latin America. We conducted a temporal multilayer network analysis where we measured cohesion over time using network structural properties and assessed diversity within and between different project activities according to participant attributes. Between 2017 and 2020 the SALURBAL network comprised 395 participants across 26 countries, 23 disciplines, and 181 institutions.

Growth patterns in childhood and adolescence and adult body composition: a pooled analysis of birth cohort studies from five low and middle-income countries (COHORTS collaboration).

Objective: We examined associations among serial measures of linear growth and relative weight with adult body composition.

Design: Secondary data analysis of prospective birth cohort studies.

Settings: Six birth cohorts from Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines and South Africa.

Subjective social status is associated with happiness but not weight status or psychological distress: An analysis of three prospective birth cohorts from low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Subjective social status (SSS, perception of social position relative to a frame of reference) has been associated with physical, mental and socio-emotional wellbeing. However, these associations may be susceptible to unmeasured confounding by life course objective socio-economic position (SEP; such as wealth, education and employment) and life satisfaction.

Purpose: To estimate the association of position on ladders of perceived community respect and perceived economic status with weight, distress and wellbeing, independent of objective SEP in cohorts from three low and middle-income countries.

Two countries, similar practices: the political practices of the food industry influencing the adoption of key public health nutrition policies in Guatemala and Panama.

Objective: To identify the corporate political activity (CPA) strategies used by food industry actors during the development of two public health nutrition policies in Central America: Law #570 (taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages) in Panama and Bill #5504 (labelling and food marketing regulations) in Guatemala.

Design: We triangulated data from publicly available information from 2018 to 2020, (e.g.

Benchmarking public policies to create healthy food environments compared to best practice: the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index in Guatemala.

Background: Benchmarking the implementation of healthy food environment public policies against international best practices may accelerate the government response to prevent obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the countries. The aim of the study was to determine the extent of food environment policy implementation in Guatemala and to identify and prioritize actions for the government to accelerate their implementation.

Methods: The INFORMAS Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI from the International Network for Food and Obesity/NCDs Research, Monitoring and Action Support) was used.

Effects of early-life poverty on health and human capital in children and adolescents: analyses of national surveys and birth cohort studies in LMICs.

The survival and nutrition of children and, to a lesser extent, adolescents have improved substantially in the past two decades. Improvements have been linked to the delivery of effective biomedical, behavioural, and environmental interventions; however, large disparities exist between and within countries. Using data from 95 national surveys in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), we analyse how strongly the health, nutrition, and cognitive development of children and adolescents are related to early-life poverty.

Circulating bile acid concentrations and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Guatemala.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major liver disease worldwide. Bile acid dysregulation may be a key feature in its pathogenesis and progression.

Aims: To characterise the relationship between bile acid levels and NAFLD at the population level METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in Guatemala in 2016 to examine the prevalence of NAFLD.

Ultraprocessed Products as Food Fortification Alternatives: A Critical Appraisal from Latin America.

Ultraprocessed products (UPPs), associated with obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), are becoming predominant on the global market and a target for market-driven fortification initiatives. The aim of this article is to describe the implications of adding micronutrients to UPPs with excessive amounts of critical nutrients associated with NCDs and provide recommendations for legislation and policies. UPPs with added micronutrients such as breakfast cereals, sugar-sweetened beverages, powder beverages, fruit juices, sauces, and bouillon cubes, among others, are commonly available and heavily promoted in Latin American countries.

Assessing the Validity of Normalizing Aflatoxin B-Lysine Albumin Adduct Biomarker Measurements to Total Serum Albumin Concentration across Multiple Human Population Studies.

The assessment of aflatoxin B (AFB) exposure using isotope-dilution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS) of AFB-lysine adducts in human serum albumin (HSA) has proven to be a highly productive strategy for the biomonitoring of AFB exposure. To compare samples across different individuals and settings, the conventional practice has involved the normalization of raw AFB-lysine adduct concentrations (e.g.

Associations between aflatoxin B-albumin adduct levels with metabolic conditions in Guatemala: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: Metabolic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are highly prevalent in Guatemala and increase the risk for a number of disorders, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Aflatoxin B (AFB) levels are also notably elevated in the population and are known to be associated with HCC risk. Whether AFB also contributes to the high prevalence of the metabolic disorders has not been previously examined.

Age at childbirth and change in BMI across the life-course: evidence from the INCAP Longitudinal Study.

Background: Parity has been associated with both short- and long-term weight gain in women. However, it is not clear if timing of parity across the reproductive age has different associations with BMI.

Methods: To prospectively assess the association between age at childbirth and maternal change in BMI, we analyzed data from the ongoing INCAP Longitudinal Study, which started in 1969 in four villages in Guatemala.

Protein-Energy Supplementation in Early-Life Decreases the Odds of Mental Distress in Later Adulthood in Guatemala.

Background: The prevalence of mental health concerns is growing worldwide, along with lack of access to and receipt of needed treatment. Current gaps in treatment provision have led to exploring alternative methods of prevention, with research linking nutrition and mental health, of particular relevance in low- and middle-income countries, with a high prevalence of undernutrition.

Objectives: To examine whether exposure to a protein-energy nutritional supplement during the first 1000 d of life decreased odds of mental distress in adulthood among men and women in Guatemala compared with receiving a low energy-no protein supplement or supplementation outside the 1000-d window.

Projecting the Impact of Nutrition Policy to Improve Child Stunting: A Case Study in Guatemala Using the Lives Saved Tool.

Background: Child stunting is a critical global health issue. Guatemala has one of the world's highest levels of stunting despite the sustained commitment to international nutrition policy best practices endorsed by the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement. Our objective was to use Guatemala as a case study to project the impact of a recently published national nutrition policy, the Great Crusade, that is consistent with SUN principles.

Association between early child development trajectories and adult cognitive function in a 50-year longitudinal study in Guatemala.

Objectives: Few studies have used longitudinal data to study the development of cognition over the life course in low-income and middle-income countries. The objectives of this study were to assess predictors of cognitive development trajectories from 6 months through 7 years, and if these trajectories predicted adult cognitive function in a birth cohort from Guatemala.

Design: We analysed data from the INCAP Nutrition Supplementation Trial Longitudinal Study in Guatemala.