A Scoping Review of the Causal Pathways and Biological Mechanisms Linking Nutrition Exposures and Health Outcomes.

Background/aim: Building on the evidence for multifaceted effects of different nutrients, foods and dietary patterns is a new priority for nutrition science. This review aims to describe the causal pathways and biological mechanisms that elucidate the associations between different nutrition exposures (nutrients, foods and dietary patterns) and health outcomes.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted in two stages: 1) review of nutrition science textbooks; and 2) a review of reviews of empirical literature using a systematic approach to elucidate causal pathways and biological mechanisms for nutrition exposures and health outcomes.

Cross-sectional associations between fruit and vegetable intake and successful ageing across six countries: findings from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE).

Objective: This study develops successful ageing profiles across six low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and examines associations with fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake.

Design: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted in mid-aged and older adults from the WHO Study of Global Ageing. Participants without chronic disease, cognitive impairment, depression or disability and with good physical, cardiovascular and respiratory function were considered to have successfully aged.

Contextual factors influence food intake at eating occasions in young adults: A mixed effect analysis.

Understanding eating behaviours of young adults is crucial for developing strategies to improve their diet quality. Factors that influence eating behaviours are often multifaceted and highly contextual, with little research focused on young adults. This study examined contextual factors influencing food intake at eating occasions among young adults.

Characteristics associated with fruit and vegetable consumption in mid aged and older Chinese men and women: a cross-sectional analysis of the first wave of WHO SAGE China.

Adequate fruit and vegetable consumption is essential for healthy ageing and prevention and management of chronic disease. This study aimed to examine characteristics associated with fruit and vegetable consumption in Chinese men and women aged 50 years and over. Data from the first wave of the Chinese cohort (2008-2010) of the WHO's Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) survey was used.

Association between protein intake, diet quality, and obesity in Australian adults: a comparison of measurement units.

Previous investigations on protein associations with diet quality and obesity still have inconclusive findings, possibly due to how protein intake was expressed. This study aimed to compare how different ways of expressing total protein intake may influence its relationships with diet quality and obesity. Usual protein intake was estimated from the 2011-12 Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey ( = 7637 adults, ≥19 years), expressed in grams (g/d), percent energy (%EI), and grams per actual kilogram body weight (g/kgBW/d).

Associations between the nutritional quality of snacks, overall diet quality and adiposity: findings from a nationally representative study of Australian adolescents.

The primary aim of this study was to examine the association between snack nutritional quality, overall diet quality and adiposity among Australian adolescents. The secondary aim was to assess the distribution of discretionary foods (i.e.

Analytic Methods for Understanding the Temporal Patterning of Dietary and 24-H Movement Behaviors: A Scoping Review.

Dietary and movement behaviors [physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SED), and sleep] occur throughout a 24-h day and involve multiple contexts. Understanding the temporal patterning of these 24-h behaviors and their contextual determinants is key to determining their combined effect on health. A scoping review was conducted to identify novel analytic methods for determining temporal behavior patterns and their contextual correlates.

Advances in methods for characterizing dietary patterns: A scoping review.

There is a growing focus on better understanding the complexity of dietary patterns and how they relate to health and other factors. Approaches that have not traditionally been applied to characterize dietary patterns, such as machine learning algorithms and latent class analysis methods, may offer opportunities to measure and characterize dietary patterns in greater depth than previously considered. However, there has not been a formal examination of how this wide range of approaches has been applied to characterize dietary patterns.

Identifying the barriers and facilitators to fruit and vegetable consumption in rural Australian adults: a mixed methods analysis.

Background: Low fruit and vegetable consumption is a leading contributor to non-communicable disease risk. However, understanding of barriers and facilitators to fruit and vegetable intake in rural settings is limited. This study used a mixed methods approach to determine the barriers and facilitators to increasing fruit and vegetable intake in rural Australian adults and to identify if these varied by gender.

Bioavailability of Australian pre-schooler iron intakes at specific eating occasions is low.

Purpose: Poor bioavailability may contribute to iron deficiency among children in high-resource countries, but iron bioavailability of Australian pre-schooler diets is unknown. This study aimed to estimate the bioavailability of Australian pre-schooler iron intakes across the day and by eating occasions to identify optimal timing for intervention, by using five previously developed algorithms, and to estimate the proportion of children with intakes of absorbable iron below the requirements.

Methods: Dietary data of children aged 2 to < 6 y (n = 812) from the 2011-12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey were collected via two 24-h recalls.

Modeling the Impact of Substituting Meat and Dairy Products with Plant-Based Alternatives on Nutrient Adequacy and Diet Quality.

Background: Novel plant-based meat and dairy alternatives are designed to mimic and replace animal-sourced products, yet their nutritional composition differs from traditional alternatives such as legumes and beans. The nutritional impacts of switching from animal-sourced to traditional or novel plant-based alternatives remains unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to model the impact of partial and complete substitution of animal-sourced meat and dairy products with traditional or novel plant-based alternatives on diet quality and nutrient adequacy in a nationally representative sample of Australian adults.

#Fail: the quality and accuracy of nutrition-related information by influential Australian Instagram accounts.

Background: Social media is a popular source of information about food and nutrition. There is a high degree of inaccurate and poor-quality nutrition-related information present online. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality and accuracy of nutrition-related information posted by popular Australian Instagram accounts and examine trends in quality and accuracy based on author, topic, post engagement, account verification and number of followers.

The burden of cardiovascular disease attributable to dietary risk factors in Australia between 1990 and 2019.

Unhealthy diet is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, there are no studies reporting the impact and trends of dietary risk factors on CVD in Australia. This study aimed to determine the burden of CVDs attributable to dietary risk factors in Australia between 1990 and 2019.

Determining the feasibility of a codesigned and personalised intervention (Veg4Me) to improve vegetable intake in young adults living in rural Australian communities: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Diets low in vegetables are a main contributor to the health burden experienced by young adults in rural communities. Digital health interventions provide an accessible delivery model that can be personalised to meet the diverse preferences of young adults. A personalisable digital vegetable intake intervention (Veg4Me) was codesigned to meet the needs of young adults living in rural communities.

Co-design of a personalised digital intervention to improve vegetable intake in adults living in Australian rural communities.

Background: Diets low in vegetables are a main contributor to the health burden experienced by Australians living in rural communities. Given the ubiquity of smartphones and access to the Internet, digital interventions may offer an accessible delivery model for a dietary intervention in rural communities. However, no digital interventions to address low vegetable intake have been co-designed with adults living in rural areas.

Associations of adherence to the DASH diet and Mediterranean diet with maternal c-reactive protein levels during pregnancy.

Background And Aims: Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) during pregnancy, a marker of inflammation, is associated with adverse outcomes. Better understanding the relationship between CRP and modifiable factors, including diet, is essential to assist early pregnancy lifestyle interventions. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet (DASH-diet) and the Mediterranean diet (MED-diet) during pregnancy with maternal plasma CRP in early and late pregnancy.

Sociodemographic differences in dietary trends among Iranian adults: findings from the 2005-2016 Iran-WHO STEPS survey.

Objective: To examine trends in the intake of key food groups among Iranian adults between 2005 and 2016, overall, and according to sociodemographic characteristics.

Design: Repeat cross-sectional data from the Iran-STEPwise approach to risk factor surveillance (Iran-WHO STEPS) 2005-2016 were analysed. Regression analyses were used to evaluate trends in the frequency of fruits, vegetables and fish intake and type of oil used over time.

Achieving high diet quality at eating occasions: findings from a nationally representative study of Australian adults.

This study examined differences in food groups consumed at eating occasions by the level of adherence to dietary guidelines in Australian adults (≤19 years) and whether consumption differed with respect to age, sex and education levels. Secondary analysis of the 2011-2012 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey ( 9054) was performed, using one 24-h dietary recall with self-reported eating occasions. Dietary Guideline Index scores were used to assess adherence to the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Kia Tīmata Pai (Best Start): a study protocol for a cluster randomised trial with early childhood teachers to support children's oral language and self-regulation development.

Introduction: Oral language skills are associated with children's later self-regulation and academic skills; in turn, self-regulation in early childhood predicts successful functioning later in life. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the separate and combined effectiveness of an oral language intervention (Enhancing Rich Conversations, ENRICH) and a self-regulation intervention (Enhancing Neurocognitive Growth with the Aid of Games and Exercise, ENGAGE) with early childhood teachers and parents for children's oral language, self-regulation and academic functioning.

Methods And Analysis: The Kia Tīmata Pai (Best Start) study is a cluster randomised controlled trial with teachers and children in approximately 140 early childhood centres in New Zealand.

Maternal diet quality and associations with plasma lipid profiles and pregnancy-related cardiometabolic health.

Purpose: To assess the relationship of early pregnancy maternal diet quality (DQ) with maternal plasma lipids and indicators of cardiometabolic health, including blood pressure (BP), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and gestational weight gain (GWG).

Methods: Women (n = 215) aged 18-40 years with singleton pregnancies were recruited at 10-20 weeks gestation. Diet quality was assessed by the Dietary Guideline Index, calculated at early ([mean ± SD]) (15 ± 3 weeks) and late (35 ± 2 weeks) pregnancy.

Do food-related capabilities, opportunities and motivations of adolescents mediate the association between socioeconomic position in adolescence and diet quality in early adulthood?

Background: Socio-economic position (SEP) in adolescence may influence diet quality over the life course. However, knowledge of whether individual and environmental determinants of diet quality mediate the longitudinal association between SEP and diet quality is limited. This study examined whether and to what extent food-related capabilities, opportunities and motivations of adolescents mediated the longitudinal association between SEP in adolescence and diet quality in early adulthood overall and by sex.

A scoping review of approaches used to develop plant-based diet quality indices.

Plant-based dietary patterns are comprised of a range of foods, and increasingly, diet quality indices are used to assess them and their associations with health outcomes. As the design of these indices varies, a review of existing indices is necessary to identify common features, strengths, and considerations. This scoping review aimed to synthesize the literature on plant-based diet quality indices by examining their ) basis for development, ) scoring methodology, and ) validation approaches.

Nutrition-Related Information on Instagram: A Content Analysis of Posts by Popular Australian Accounts.

Social media is a popular source of nutrition information and can influence food choice. Instagram is widely used in Australia, and nutrition is frequently discussed on Instagram. However, little is known about the content of nutrition information published on Instagram.