Few studies have investigated the effect of maternal factors on child eating practices. Our study aimed to explore mother–child dietary behaviours and their associations with socio-demographic factors. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from control participants (n 243) in the Healthy Beginnings Trial, which involved first-time mothers and their 2-year-old children. Mother–child dietary behaviours were assessed using short dietary questions (short FFQ) and their associations with socio-demographic factors were examined using binary logistic regression. The dietary intake of 2-year-old children was characterised by low vegetable consumption and high discretionary food intake. In multivariate analysis, lower-income mothers (<Australian $40 000 per annum) reported their child was more likely to consume less fruit (<1 serve/d) (adjusted OR (AOR): 5·83; 95 % CI 1·49, 22·80) and ate hot chips more frequently (≥2 times/week) (AOR: 4·80; 95 % CI 1·28, 18·04), compared with higher-income mothers (≥Australian $40 000 per annum). Younger mothers (<25 years) reported their child consumed more sugary drinks and soft drink (>0·5 cups/d) AOR 2·93 (95 % CI 1·03, 8·35), compared with older mothers (≥25 years). Non-Australian-born mothers reported their child consumed more fruit juice (>0·5 cups/d) AOR 2·04 (95 % CI 1·02, 4·05), sweet snacks AOR 1·96 (95 % CI 1·02, 3·76) and fast food (≥2 times/week) AOR 3·67 (95 % CI 1·29, 10·43) compared with Australian-born mothers. Significant positive correlations between maternal and child dietary intake were observed for all dietary variables except milk, with the largest association for fast foods (Pearson’s r 0·52, P<0·001). This study shows that maternal factors are associated with child dietary behaviours. Targeting young mothers (<25 years) of potential disadvantage, before commencement of early feeding practices, has the potential to improve children’s diets.

Age- and sex-based BMI cut-offs are used to define overweight and obesity, but the relationship between BMI and body composition has not been very well studied in children or compared between children of different ethnic groups. Body size and composition in childhood are also influenced by size at birth. Our aim was to compare body size and composition at 2 years in children with different ethnicity and size at birth. We prospectively followed a multi-ethnic cohort of 300 children born with risk factors for neonatal hypoglycaemia (infants of diabetics, large or small at birth or late preterm) to 2 years corrected age. Complete data on weight, height and head circumference and body composition using bioelectrical impedance 24±1 months corrected age were available in 209 children. At birth, compared with European children, Chinese, Indian and other ethnicity children were lighter, and Indian children had smaller head circumferences, but birth lengths were similar in all ethnic groups. At 2 years, Pacific children were heavier and had higher BMI z scores, and Indian children had smaller head circumferences and lower BMI z scores than those from other ethnic groups. However, fat mass and fat-free mass indices were similar in all groups. At median BMI, fat mass:fat-free mass ratio was 23 % lower in Pacific than in Indian children (0·22 v. 0·27, P=0·03). BMI is not a good indicator of adiposity in this multi-ethnic cohort of 2-year-old New Zealand children.

1. One hundred and ten weanling rats were distributed between five dietary groups in randomized blocks. Each block was constructed from within a litter and each member of the block received a different diet.

2. The main features of the diets were: group I (twenty-six rats) 72% sucrose, group 2 (sixteen rats) 72% uncooked maize starch, group 3 (sixteen rats) 72% roll-dried maize starch, group 4 (twenty-six rats) 36% sucrose and 36% uncooked starch, group 5 (twenty-six rats) 36% sucrose and 36% roll-dried starch.

3. The animals were killed after 20 days on the diets and assessed for dental caries. The rats of group 1 (sucrose) had significantly more caries than all other groups, the rats of group 2 (uncooked starch) had significantly less caries than any of the other groups. Roll-dried starch (group 3) produced significantly more caries than uncooked starch (group 2). The mixture of uncooked starch and sucrose (group 4) was significantly more cariogenic than the mixture of roll-dried starch and sucrose (group 5).

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that a prolonged refeeding duration after successful very-low-energy diet (VLED)-induced weight loss beneficially affects weight development and eating behaviour. Patients (n 269) were recruited to a 1-year obesity treatment programme with 12 weeks of an initial VLED. After the VLED, patients with ≥ 10 % weight loss were randomly allocated to 1 week (group 1) or 6 weeks (group 6) refeeding to an ordinary, energy-reduced diet, and thereafter followed and actively treated for an additional 40 weeks. Eating behaviour (revised twenty-one-item Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire) was measured at baseline, during and after refeeding, and at week 52. Weight change over time in the two treatment groups was tested by repeated-measures analysis in completers and by intention to treat (ITT). Of the patients, 169 (109 women) lost ≥ 10 % during the VLED and were randomised. At randomisation, weight loss was − 16·5 (sd 3·7) % in group 1 and − 16·7 (sd 4·3) % in group 6 (P = 0·73). Between weeks 12 and 52, completers in group 6 regained significantly less weight (3·9 (sd 9·1) %) as compared with group 1 (8·2 (sd 8·3) %; P = 0·006) (ITT, P = 0·05). Completers in group 6 also maintained a higher level of dietary restraint after refeeding was completed, but eating behaviour did not differ at week 52. Weight change after the refeeding periods were completed did not differ significantly between the groups (P = 0·06). Overall, longer refeeding duration after successful weight loss with a VLED improves weight maintenance in a 1-year perspective.

Observational studies have shown a more favourable cardiovascular risk profile in consumers of fruit and vegetables than in non-consumers. Fruit and vegetable intake is usually associated with lower levels of serum cholesterol1 and lower blood pressure2. Furthermore, the increase in cardiovascular risk factors with ageing tends to be slower in fruit and vegetable consumers3,4 resulting in less coronary and cerebrovascular events5–8.

The body composition of thirty-eight Granadina goat kids was measured. Six animals were slaughtered at birth while the remainder were kept individually at an environmental temperature of 24±2° and a relative humidity of 60±5%. They were given goat's milk or a milk-substitute at two planes of nutrition until 15 or 30 d of age and then slaughtered. The goat's milk and milk-substitute contained 260.4 and 222.0 g digestible protein/kg and 23.23 and 20.85 MJ metabolizable energy/kg respectively. Voluntary feed intake as metabolizable energy was a function of metabolic body-weight (kg W0.75), equivalent to 2.42 and 2.44 times the energy requirement for maintenance for goat's milk- and milk-substitute-fed animals respectively. There was a high degree of correlation between the empty-body concentration of dry matter, fat and energy and empty-body-weight (P < 0.001) or animal age (P < 0.001), and between body-weight and animal age (P < 0.001). The relationships between empty-body composition and empty-body-weight were independent of type of milk or plane of nutrition. In contrast relationships between empty-body composition or empty-body-weight and animal age were affected by the type of milk and, over all, by the plane of nutrition. All these results show that in these animals any body-weight will have a similar composition, but it will be reached earlier or later depending on dietary regimen and always with the limitation of voluntary intake.

Nutritional recommendations call for balanced, diversified consumption of starchy foods and increased whole-grain food intake. Their efficiency may depend on sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, for which little information is available. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics and starchy food consumption in a large general population of French adults. Dietary intake was assessed using at least six 24-h dietary records collected, during a 2-year period, from 4574 men and women aged 45–60 years who participated in the Supplémentation en VItamines Minéraux et AntioXydants cohort study in 1995–7. Compliance with the recommendation ( ≥ 3 and < 6 servings/d), non-consumption of whole-grain products, variety and daily cost were compared across sociodemographic and socioeconomic categories using logistic regression and covariance analyses. About 55 % of subjects complied with the starchy food recommendation, with little variation across sociodemographic characteristics. Consumption of whole-grain products was less likely in men (P = 0·001), in subjects with a lower education level (P-trend = 0·01) and in those belonging to intermediate occupational categories (P = 0·02). The variety of starchy food intake increased with education level (P-trend = 0·0002) and was lowest for manual workers (P = 0·03). The proportion of daily food cost spent on starchy foods decreased with occupational category (P < 0·0001), and was higher in rural areas (P = 0·0004). The starchy food budget spent on potatoes decreased with the educational level (P-trend = 0·007), whereas it increased for rice and unsweetened breakfast cereals (P-trend = 0·001 for both). Public recommendations concerning starchy food variety and whole-grain intake should specifically target subjects with a lower education level and/or occupational category.

Compromised nutritional status is associated with a poor prognosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. However, the impact of nutritional support in this group of patients is controversial. The present study systematically reviewed the effect of energy and or protein supplements or food fortification on anthropometry and muscle strength of COPD patients. We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Scopus for all published randomised clinical trials without language restriction up to May 2021. Three reviewers performed study selection and data extraction independently. We judged the risk of bias by RoB 2 and the certainty of evidence by the GRADE approach. We included thirty-two randomised controlled trials and compiled thirty-one of them (1414 participants) in the random-effects model meta-analyses. Interventions were energy and/or protein oral nutritional supplements or food fortification added to the diet for at least one week. Pooled analysis revealed that nutritional interventions increased body weight (muscle circumference (MD) = 1·44 kg, 95 % CI 0·81, 2·08, I2 = 73 %), lean body mass (standardised mean difference (SMD) = 0·37; 95 % CI 0·15, 0·59, I2 = 46 %), midarm muscle circumference (MD = 0·29 mm2, 95 % CI 0·02, 0·57, I2 = 0 %), triceps skinfold (MD = 1·09 mm, 95 % CI 0·01, 2·16, I2 = 0 %) and handgrip strength (SMD = 0·39, 95 % CI 0·07, 0·71, I2 = 62 %) compared with control diets. Certainty of evidence ranged from very low to low, and most studies were judged with some concerns or at high risk of bias. This meta-analysis revealed, with limited evidence, that increased protein and/or energy intake positively impacts anthropometric measures and handgrip strength of COPD patients.

The association between dietary Cu intake and mortality risk remains uncertain. We aimed to investigate the relationship of dietary Cu intake with all-cause mortality among Chinese adults. A total of 17 310 participants from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, a national ongoing open cohort of Chinese participants, were included in the analysis. Dietary intake was measured by three consecutive 24-h dietary recalls in combination with a weighing inventory over the same 3 d. The average intakes of the 3-d dietary macronutrients and micronutrients were calculated. The study outcome was all-cause mortality. During a median follow-up of 9·0 years, 1324 (7·6 %) participants died. After adjusting for sex, age, BMI, ever alcohol drinking, ever smoking, education levels, occupations, urban or rural residents, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and the intakes of fat, protein and carbohydrate, the association between dietary Cu intake and all-cause mortality followed a J-shape (P for nonlinearity = 0·047). When dietary Cu intake was assessed as quartiles, compared with those in the first quartile (<1·60 mg/d), the adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause mortality were 0·87 (95 % CI (0·71, 1·07)), 0·98 (95 % CI (0·79, 1·21)) and 1·49 (95 % CI (1·19, 1·86)), respectively, in participants in the second (1·60–<1·83 mg/d), third (1·83–<2·09 mg/d) and fourth (≥2·09 mg/d) quartiles. A series of subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses showed similar results. Overall, our findings emphasised the importance of maintaining optimal dietary Cu intake levels for prevention of premature death.

We conducted two studies to test the validity, reliability, feasibility and acceptability of using video chat technology to quantify dietary and pill-taking (i.e. supplement and medication) adherence. In study 1, we investigated whether video chat technology can accurately quantify adherence to dietary and pill-taking interventions. Mock study participants ate food items and swallowed pills, while performing randomised scripted ‘cheating’ behaviours to mimic non-adherence. Monitoring was conducted in a cross-over design, with two monitors watching in-person and two watching remotely by Skype on a smartphone. For study 2, a twenty-two-item online survey was sent to a listserv with more than 20 000 unique email addresses of past and present study participants to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the technology. For the dietary adherence tests, monitors detected 86 % of non-adherent events (sensitivity) in-person v. 78 % of events via video chat monitoring (P=0·12), with comparable inter-rater agreement (0·88 v. 0·85; P=0·62). However, for pill-taking, non-adherence trended towards being more easily detected in-person than by video chat (77 v. 60 %; P=0·08), with non-significantly higher inter-rater agreement (0·85 v. 0·69; P=0·21). Survey results from study 2 (n 1076 respondents; ≥5 % response rate) indicated that 86·4 % of study participants had video chatting hardware, 73·3 % were comfortable using the technology and 79·8 % were willing to use it for clinical research. Given the capability of video chat technology to reduce participant burden and outperform other adherence monitoring methods such as dietary self-report and pill counts, video chatting is a novel and promising platform to quantify dietary and pill-taking adherence.

Malnutrition and sarcopenia are prevalent in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Pre-treatment sarcopenia and adverse oncological outcomes in this population are well described. The impact of myosteatosis and post-treatment sarcopenia is less well known. Patients with HNSCC (n = 125) undergoing chemoradiotherapy, radiotherapy alone and/or surgery were assessed for sarcopenia and myosteatosis, using cross-sectional computed tomography (CT) imaging at the third lumbar (L3) vertebra, at baseline and 3 months post-treatment. Outcomes were overall survival (OS) at 12 months and 5 years post-treatment. One hundred and one participants had a CT scan evaluable at one or two time points, of which sixty-seven (66 %) participants were sarcopenic on at least one time point. Reduced muscle attenuation affected 93 % (n = 92) pre-treatment compared with 97 % (n = 90) post-treatment. Five-year OS favoured those without post-treatment sarcopenia (hazard ratio, HR 0·37, 95 % CI 0·16, 0·88, P = 0·06) and those without both post-treatment myosteatosis and sarcopenia (HR 0·33, 95 % CI 0·13, 0·83, P = 0·06). Overall, rates of myosteatosis were high at both pre- and post-treatment time points. Post-treatment sarcopenia was associated with worse 5-year OS, as was post-treatment sarcopenia in those who had myosteatosis. Post-treatment sarcopenia should be evaluated as an independent risk factor for decreased long-term survival post-treatment containing radiotherapy (RT) for HNSCC.

1. The irreversible loss rate (ILR) of glucose, bicarbonate and threonine were determined in six twin- and triplet-bearing ewes on three occasions during the last 6 weeks of gestation.

2. Three of the ewes (group S) were given conventional rations of hay plus concentrates so that their blood ketone levels did not rise over this period. The other three ewes (group H) were given a fixed intake of hay throughout; their blood ketone levels rose, but remained at subclinical levels.

3. The results are presented in the form of three-pool open-compartment models for each period. There was an increase in the glucose ILR for both groups over the 6-week period, but the over-all increase (mean ± SE) was much greater (p < 0·001) in group S (35·1 ± 2·43 g carbon/d) than in group H (11·3 ± 1·28 g C/d). Similarly, increases in bicarbonate ILR were also higher in group S (161 ± 11·2 g C/d) than in group H (63 ± 21·7 g C/d). However, whereas with group S ewes, receiving supplementary feed, this increase was progressive throughout the 6 weeks, with the group H ewesthe increase which occurred over the last 3 weeks of gestation (56 ± 26·3 gC/d) was much greater than that which occurred over the preceding 3 weeks (7 ±4·7 g C/d). This pattern was also evident in the oxidation of glucose to CO2.

4. In contrast to the previously mentioned findings, neither threonine ILR nor the amount of threonine converted to glucose or catabolized to CO2 changed significantly over the 6-week period.

5. The results are discussed in the light of findings presented in the previous paper that the amount of threonine used in catabolic processes can alter if a glucose-only sinkis created in wether sheep.

The ingestion of non-caloric sweeteners (NCS) from food and/or drink was intended to reduce caloric intake without compromising palatability. However, the inconclusive relation between NCS and body weight may partially relate to their form of ingestion (solid or liquid). Thus, two paralleled experiments (aspartame and sucralose) were conducted. In each, Sprague Dawley rats (7-week-old male) were randomly divided into four groups. In Expt 1, aspartame (0·05 %) was added to the diet (AD) or drinking water (AW) or both diet and water (ADW), and a control group (C) was given a non-sweetened diet with plain water. In Expt 2, sucralose (0·016 %) was similarly provided in the diet (SD) or drinking water (SW) or both diet and water (SDW), with a control group (C). All rats had free access to food and water for 7 weeks. Energy intake, body weight and body composition were monitored and blood metabolites were determined. Results showed that aspartame ingestion significantly increased body weight and fat mass mainly due to an increase in energy efficiency. The effect was related to the amount rather than the form of ingestion. Additionally, aspartame ingestion was associated with glucose intolerance. Sucralose ingestion had a similar impact to that of aspartame though to a lesser extent. In conclusion, 7-week ingestion of aspartame and sucralose had adverse effects on body measures that were not related to the form of ingestion.

Diet may play an important role in breast cancer recurrence or survival, and therefore assessment of long-term diet among breast cancer survivors is important in breast cancer survivorship research. Given that the diet of breast cancer survivors may differ from that of the general population, the use of a FFQ specific to this group may be needed. The objective of this study was to develop a FFQ for breast cancer survivors, the most commonly used tool to measure long-term dietary patterns in nutritional epidemiological studies. We collected information on the foods and amounts of foods consumed using 3-d dietary records from a total of 192 women who had been diagnosed with stage I–III breast cancers and had undergone breast cancer surgery at least 6 months before the baseline study. A total of 1254 foods and dishes consumed were re-grouped by the similarity of the main ingredients and/or serving units, and several dishes commonly consumed among the Korean population were added. After we performed contribution analyses and variability analyses to detect between-person variation for selected nutrients, we listed a total of 123 foods and dishes for the FFQ specific to breast cancer survivors. Our breast cancer survivor-specific FFQ can be used to estimate long-term dietary intake and to examine its association with breast cancer prognosis in epidemiological studies of breast cancer in Korea.

Hypophosphataemia is frequently encountered in dairy cows during early lactation. Although supplementation of P is generally recommended, controversy exists over the suitability of oral P supplementation in animals with decreased or absent rumen motility. Since the effects of transruminal P absorption and the reticular groove reflex on the absorption kinetics of P are not well understood, it is unclear in how far treatment efficacy of oral P supplementation is affected by decreased rumen motility. Phosphate absorption was studied in six phosphate-depleted dairy cows fitted with rumen cannulas and treated with test solutions containing either NaH2PO4 or CaHPO4 with acetaminophen. Each animal was treated orally, intraruminally and intra-abomasally in randomised order. Absorption kinetics of P were studied and compared with the absorption kinetics of acetaminophen, a marker substance only absorbed from the small intestine. Intra-abomasal treatment with NaH2PO4 resulted in the most rapid and highest peaks in plasma inorganic P (Pi) concentration. Oral and intraruminal administration of NaH2PO4 resulted in similar increases in plasma Pi concentration from 4 to 7 h in both groups. Treatment with NaH2PO4 caused more pronounced peaks in plasma Pi concentration compared with CaHPO4. Neither transruminal P absorption nor the reticular groove reflex affected P absorption kinetics as determined by comparing plasma concentration–time curves of P and acetaminophen after administration of 1 m-phosphate salt solutions. It is concluded that oral treatment with NaH2PO4 but not CaHPO4 is effective in supplementing P in hypophosphataemic cows with adequate rumen motility. Decreased rumen motility is likely to hamper the efficacy of oral phosphate treatment.

Feeding flaxseed to dairy cows can modulate gene expression and PG synthesis in the uterus at the time of peri-implantation. The objectives of the present study were to determine which flaxseed components are responsible for these effects and how different endometrial cell types are affected. We evaluated the effects of six different linoleic acid (n-6):α-linolenic acid (n-3) ratios and three concentrations of the lignan enterolactone (ENL) on endometrial stromal cells (SC) and epithelial cells (EC). The mRNA abundance of genes with known or suspected roles in embryo survival or PG synthesis was evaluated, along with PGE2 and PGF2α concentrations in culture media. The mRNA abundance of several genes was modulated by different fatty acid (FA) ratios and/or ENL, and this modulation differed between cell types. The FA4 (FA at an n-6:n-3 ratio of 4) treatment (rich in n-3 FA) increased the mRNA abundance of genes that have positive effects on uterine receptivity and implantation when compared with the FA25 (FA at an n-6:n-3 ratio of 25) treatment (rich in n-6 FA). ENL decreased PGE2 and PGF2α concentrations in both cell types, and this reduction was associated with lower mRNA abundance of the PG synthase genes AKR1B1 and PTGES in SC. The combination of ENL with FA (FA4 treatment) resulted in the greatest reduction in PGF2α concentrations when compared with the addition of FA (FA4) or ENL alone. Because of the known luteolytic properties of PGF2α, a reduction in endometrial PGF2α secretion would favour the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy.