Green tea has been widely acknowledged in Japan to induce a pleasurable mental feeling. Recent laboratory studies have suggested positive psychological effects as a result of consuming green tea. The present study examined whether green tea consumption in everyday life in Japan is associated with positive mental health.

A cross-sectional study was performed in February–March 2002.

The subjects of the study consisted of a general population of 600 Japanese aged 20–69 years. Responses of 380 subjects, obtained by home-visit interview, were analysed. The questionnaire inquired about consumption of brewed green tea and other beverages, perceived mental health status, lifestyle and others. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 12) was used for the assessment of mental ill-health (GHQ score ≥4).

After adjustments for age, area, perceived mental stress, lifestyle and daily caffeine intake, the consumption of brewed green tea was not statistically associated with any decrease in risk of mental ill-health among either males or females (odds ratio (OR) = 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.47–1.29 for males; OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.51–1.14 for females). Daily caffeine intake (100 mg) inclusive of green tea, black tea, coffee and other caffeine-containing beverages was associated with a higher risk of mental ill-health among females (OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.01–1.56).

The results provide population-based evidence on the consumption of brewed green tea in everyday life and mental health, together with information on consumption patterns of various beverages and lifestyles.

(i) To assess change in confidence in having conversations that support parents with healthy eating and physical activity post-training. (ii) To assess change in staff competence in using ‘open discovery’ questions (those generally beginning with ‘how’ and ‘what’ that help individuals reflect and identify barriers and solutions) post-training. (iii) To examine the relationship between confidence and competence post-training.

A pre–post evaluation of ‘Healthy Conversation Skills’, a staff training intervention.

Sure Start Children's Centres in Southampton, England.

A total of 145 staff working in Sure Start Children's Centres completed the training, including play workers (43 %) and community development or family support workers (35 %).

We observed an increase in median confidence rating for having conversations about healthy eating and physical activity (both P < 0·001), and in using ‘open discovery’ questions (P < 0·001), after staff attended the ‘Healthy Conversation Skills’ training. We also found a positive relationship between the use of ‘open discovery’ questions and confidence in having conversations about healthy eating post-training (r = 0·21, P = 0·01), but a non-significant trend was observed for having conversations about physical activity (r = 0·15, P = 0·06).

The ‘Healthy Conversation Skills’ training proved effective at increasing the confidence of staff working at Sure Start Children's Centres to have more productive conversations with parents about healthy eating. Wider implementation of these skills may be a useful public health nutrition capacity building strategy to help community workers support families with young children to eat more healthy foods.

To assess the association of fish consumption with risk of dementia and its dose–response relationship, and investigate variations in the association among low-, middle- and high-income countries.

A new community-based cross-sectional study and a systematic literature review.

Urban and rural communities in China; population-based studies systematically searched from worldwide literature.

Chinese adults aged ≥60 years in six provinces (n 6981) took part in a household health survey of dementia prevalence and risk factors. In addition, 33 964 participants from eleven published and eligible studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis.

In the new study in China, 326 participants were diagnosed with dementia (4·7 %); those who consumed any amount of fish in the past two years v. those who consumed no fish had reduced risk of dementia (adjusted OR=0·73, 95 % CI 0·64, 0·99), but the dose–response relationship was not statistically significant. The meta-analysis of available data from the literature and the new study showed relative risk (RR) of dementia of 0·80 (95 % CI 0·74, 0·87) for people with fish consumption; the impact was similar among countries with different levels of income. Pooled dose–response data revealed RR (95 % CI) of 0·84 (0·72, 0·98), 0·78 (0·68, 0·90) and 0·77 (0·61, 0·98) in people with low, middle and high consumption of fish, respectively. Corresponding figures for Alzheimer’s disease were 0·88 (0·74, 1·04), 0·79 (0·65, 0·96) and 0·67 (0·58, 0·78), respectively.

Greater consumption of fish is associated with a lower risk of dementia. Increasing fish consumption may help prevent dementia worldwide regardless of income level.

The present study aimed to: (i) examine associations between food store patronage and diet and weight-related outcomes; and (ii) explore consumer motivations for visiting different types of food store.

A stratified probability sample of residents completed household and individual-level surveys in 2009/2010 on food purchasing patterns and motivations, dietary intake, waist circumference (WC), weight and height. Diet quality was calculated using the Healthy Eating Index for Canada from a subset of participants (n 1362). Generalized estimating equations were created in 2015 to examine how frequency of patronizing different types of food store was associated with diet quality, intake of fruits and vegetable, mean intake of energy (kcal) sodium and saturated fat, WC and BMI.

Three mid-sized urban municipalities in Ontario, Canada.

A representative sample of residents (n 4574).

Participants who shopped frequently at food co-ops had significantly better diet quality (β=5·3; 99 % CI 0·3, 10·2) than those who did not. BMI and WC were significantly lower among those who frequently shopped at specialty shops (BMI, β=−2·1; 99 % CI −3·0, −1·1; WC, β=−4·8; 99 % CI −7·0, −2·5) and farmers’ markets (BMI, β=−1·4; 99 % CI −2·3, −0·5; WC, β=−3·8; 99 % CI −6·0, −1·6) compared with those who did not. Relative importance of reasons for food outlet selection differed by large (price, food quality) v. small (proximity, convenient hours) shopping trip and by outlet type.

Findings contribute to our understanding of food store selection and have implications for potentially relevant retail food intervention settings.

Poor diet quality contributes to morbidity, including poor brain health outcomes such as cognitive decline and dementia. African Americans and individuals living in poverty may be at greater risk for cognitive decrements from poor diet quality.

Cross-sectional.

Baltimore, MD, USA.

Participants were 2090 African Americans and Whites (57 % female, mean age=47·9 years) who completed two 24 h dietary recalls. We examined cognitive performance and potential interactions of diet quality with race and poverty status using baseline data from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study. Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) scores were calculated and interpreted using federal guidelines. A neurocognitive test battery was administered to evaluate cognitive function over several domains.

Linear regression analyses showed that lower HEI-2010 scores were associated with poorer verbal learning and memory (P<0·05) after adjustment for covariates. Diet quality within the sample was poor. Significant interactions of HEI-2010 and poverty status (all P<0·05) indicated that higher diet quality was associated with higher performance on tests of attention and cognitive flexibility, visuospatial ability and perceptual speed among those below the poverty line. No significant race interactions emerged. Higher diet quality was associated with better performance on two measures of verbal learning and memory, irrespective of race and poverty status.

Findings suggest that diet quality and cognitive function are likely related at the population level. Future research is needed to determine whether the association is clinically significant.

To assess the evidence of the impact of new food store (supermarket/grocery store) interventions on selected health-related outcomes.

A systematic review following the Effective Public Health Practice Project guidelines. All quantitative studies were assessed for their methodological quality. Results were synthesized narratively.

Eight electronic databases – MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ProQuest Public Health, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library – were searched to identify relevant records.

Peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles on new grocery store/supermarket interventions with adult study populations, published in the English language after 1995.

Eleven records representing seven new grocery store interventions were identified. Six were assessed having ‘weak’ methodological quality, one as ‘moderate’ and two as ‘strong’. All studies reported fruit and vegetable consumption but results were not consistent, some studies reporting significantly more and others no increase in consumption. BMI and self-rated health did not show significant improvements. Perceptions of food access, neighbourhood satisfaction and psychological health showed significant improvements.

Improved food access through establishment of a full-service food retailer, by itself, does not show strong evidence towards enhancing health-related outcomes over short durations. Presently the field is developing and the complex linking pathways/mechanisms are yet to be elucidated. Further evidence, in the form of high-quality research in different communities with longer follow-up periods, is needed to inform policy decisions.

To evaluate the association between vitamin C supplementation and the incidence and progression of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Prospective cohort study.

Clearwater Osteoarthritis Study (COS): (1988 to the present) a longitudinal study.

Male and female COS participants aged 40 years and above (n 1023). The study exposure was the participants’ self-reported history of vitamin C supplementation. The participants underwent biennial, sequential knee radiographs, which were assessed using the Kellgren–Lawrence ordinal scale to determine evidence of the study 2 outcomes: incident radiographic knee OA (RKOA) and progression of RKOA.

Individuals without baseline knee OA who self-reported vitamin C supplement usage were 11 % less likely to develop knee OA than were those individuals who self-reported no vitamin C supplement usage (risk ratio (RR) = 0·89, 95 % CI 0·85, 0·93). Among those participants with RKOA at baseline, vitamin C supplement usage did not demonstrate an association with RKOA progression (RR = 0·94, 95 % CI 0·79, 1·22).

In the present prospective cohort study, we found no evidence to support a protective role of vitamin C in the progression of knee OA. However, after controlling for confounding variables, these data suggest that vitamin C supplementation may indeed be beneficial in preventing incident knee OA. Given the massive public health burden of OA, the use of a simple, widely available and inexpensive supplement to potentially reduce the impact of this disease merits further consideration.

The overall aim of this study was to examine a variety of belief and demographic factors that are associated with the perception that meat is intrinsically unhealthy.

State-wide survey (written questionnaire) that included questions on meat and nutrition beliefs, perceived barriers and benefits of vegetarian diets, personal values, number of vegetarian friends and family members, and use and trust of health/nutrition/food information sources.

South Australia.

Six hundred and one randomly selected South Australians and 106 non-randomly selected vegetarians and semi-vegetarians.

For all respondents considered as a group, the most important predictors of the belief that meat is intrinsically unhealthy were the perceived benefits of vegetarian diets (all positive predictors). These included: (1) the perceived links between vegetarianism, peace and increased contentment; (2) animal welfare and environmental benefits; and (3) health benefits. There were differences between different dietary groups however. For non-vegetarians, social concerns about vegetarianism (positive) were most important, followed by health and non-health benefits (positive) of vegetarianism. Red meat appreciation was the strongest (positive) predictor for vegetarians, with health benefits of vegetarianism (positive) and education (negative predictor) also important.

The implications of the findings for health and other issues are discussed. Judgements about the healthiness of meat are likely to be related to moral and environmental beliefs and, for non-vegetarians, to social concerns about vegetarianism, in addition to health beliefs. These need to be considered if any attempts are made to influence meat consumption.

The present study examined whether objective measures of the food environment are associated with perceptions of the food environment and whether this relationship varies by socio-economic disadvantage.

The study is a cross-sectional analysis of self-report surveys and objective environment data. Women reported their perceptions on the nutrition environment. Participants’ homes and food stores were geocoded to measure the objective community nutrition environment. Data on the average price and variety of fruit and vegetables were used to measure the objective consumer nutrition environment.

The study was conducted in Melbourne, Australia, in 2003–2004.

Data presented are from a sample of 1393 women aged 18–65 years.

Overall the match between the perceived and objective environment was poor, underscoring the limitations in using perceptions of the environment as a proxy for the objective environment. Socio-economic disadvantage had limited impact on the relationship between perceived and objective nutrition environment.

Further research is needed to understand the determinants of perceptions of the nutrition environment to enhance our understanding of the role of perceptions in nutrition choices and drivers of socio-economic inequalities in nutrition.

To investigate associations of self-perceived eating-related peer norms (called ‘subjective peer norms’) with adolescents’ healthy eating intentions and intake of healthy and unhealthy food.

Cross-sectional data were collected in a large international survey.

Two types of subjective peer norms were assessed: perceived peer encouragement of healthy eating and perceived peer discouragement of unhealthy eating. Outcome variables were healthy eating intentions, intake of healthy food (fruits and vegetables) and intake of unhealthy food (snacks and soft drinks).

Over 2500 European (pre-)adolescents aged between 10 and 17 years participated.

Subjective peer norms were associated with all three outcome variables. While both perceived encouragement of healthy eating and perceived discouragement of unhealthy eating were related to intentions, only peer encouragement of healthy eating was related to intakes of both healthy and unhealthy food.

Subjective peer norms play a role in adolescent eating behaviour and as such are an important target for health promotion. Addressing norms that encourage healthy eating may be more promising in changing behaviour than norms that discourage unhealthy eating.

To evaluate the nutritional adequacy of diets in early childhood as a function of milk intake, cows’ milk (CM) or growing-up milk (GUM).

From a cross-sectional food consumption survey, two groups of children aged 1–2 years were defined: Group CM fed exclusively on CM ≥ 250 ml/d and Group GUM fed on GUM ≥ 250 ml/d. Proportions of children at risk of nutrient excess or insufficiency were estimated relative to the French Recommended Daily Allowances, Estimated Average Requirements or Adequate Intakes.

Parents participating in the survey were recruited from all regions of France by a polling organization. Distribution was adjusted to that of the French population.

Sixty-three (Group CM) and fifty-five (Group GUM) children.

Total energy and macronutrient intakes were similar in the two groups except protein intake of Group CM, which was much higher than the Recommended Daily Allowance and significantly higher than in Group GUM. A high percentage of children of Group CM had intake of linoleic acid (51 %) and α-linolenic acid (84 %) below the lower limit of the Adequate Intake, and intake of Fe (59 %) vitamin C (49 %) and alimentary vitamin D (100 %) less than the Estimated Average Requirement. Significant differences were observed in the proportions of children with a risk of dietary inadequacy between the two groups for all the mentioned nutrients (P < 0·001). In Group GUM, this imbalance was only observed for vitamin D. Intake of foods other than milk and dairy products could not account for these discrepancies.

Consumption of CM (≥250 ml/d) entails the risk of insufficiency in α-linolenic acid, Fe, vitamin C and vitamin D. Use of GUM (≥250 ml/d) significantly reduces the risk of insufficiencies in the mentioned nutrients.

The purpose of this paper is to describe social and economic changes related to shifts in diet and activity and to present prevalences for chronic diseases associated with the nutrition transition.

Observations about social changes are descriptive, based on published reports and personal observations. Prevalence and trends data are based on a Ministry of Health published report and, for infants and toddlers, on primary data.

Disease prevalences for diabetes mellitus and hypertension are taken from four sites, representing underdeveloped, semi-developed and well-developed rural communities and Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. The prevalences of underweight and overweight for infants and toddlers are taken from a small periurban clinic in Tanzania.

Adults over 15 years of age are included in the prevalence data for chronic disease. The urban sample is stratified by occupation and ethnicity. The data for infants and toddlers include newborns to those aged 23 months.

An increase in the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension was observed. Simultaneously, there have been rapid changes in diet and physical activity related to urbanisation and modernisation. The highest prevalences for diabetes and hypertension were among high-ranking executives.

The increase in chronic disease could be related to the rise in the number of high-ranking executives. Simultaneously, per capita income has gone down, and malnutrition prevalence has risen. Programmes are being developed to simultaneously monitor trends in overweight while preventing protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency.

To identify food acquisition patterns in Brazil and relate them to the sociodemographic characteristics of the household.

A cross-sectional national Household Budget Survey (HBS). Principal component factor analysis was used to derive food patterns (factors) on the basis of the acquisition of food classified into thirty-two food groups.

The source of data originates from the 2002–2003 HBS carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics between June 2002 and July 2003 using a representative sample of all Brazilian households.

A total of 48 470 households allocated into 443 strata of households that were geographically and socio-economically homogeneous as a study unit.

We identified two patterns of food acquisition. The first, named ‘dual’, was characterized by dairy, fruit, fruit juice, vegetables, processed meat, soft drinks, sweets, bread and margarine, and by inverse correlations with Brazilian staple foods. In contrast, the second pattern, named ‘traditional’, was characterized by rice, beans, manioc, flour, milk and sugar. The ‘dual’ pattern was associated with higher household educational level, income and the average age of adults on the strata, whereas the ‘traditional’ presented higher loadings in less-educated households and in the rural setting.

Dietary patterns described here suggest that policies and programmes to promote healthy eating need to consider that healthy and non-healthy foods may be integral in the same pattern.

Household budget survey (HBS) data are used regularly for nutritional epidemiological purposes. The validity of HBS data, however, is not well established. The aim of this project was to compare HBS and individual nutrition survey (INS) data in a nationally representative sample of Polish households.

Estimates of food consumption and nutrient intake were compared between household food acquisition data collected over 1 month and a single 24-hour recall collected from every household member in a nationally representative sample of Polish households surveyed between September and November 2000. To facilitate the comparison, INS food consumption data excluded food eaten away from home and were modified using a computer program to estimate food ‘as purchased’ (including disaggregation of recipe data) and to allow for wastage.

Poland.

Participants were 3716 individuals in 1215 households (representing co-operation rates of 86.2% and 89.2%, respectively).

Good agreement was shown between median estimates of foods such as potatoes, vegetables (including processed), meat, meat products and poultry, and animal fats (excluding butter), but agreement was poor for bread and rolls, fruit, vegetable fats and oils, eggs and six other food groups. Estimates of energy and nutrient intake were within ±10% with the exceptions of polyunsaturated fats, potassium and vitamin C.

Possible reasons for differences in findings between the two surveys include survey bias (e.g. social approval bias leading to overreporting of fruit), seasonal variations (e.g. high potato purchases between September and November) and aspects of the methodology (e.g. HBS data were based on records collected over 1 month, whereas 24-hour recall data were based on recalls collected from all household respondents on only 1 day and averaged for each household type). HBSs provide useful data for epidemiological research, but findings need to be interpreted in the light of other data regarding consumption, and numerous factors that may affect consumption need to be taken into account.

To examine and quantify the potential dose–response relationship between green tea intake and the risk of gastric cancer.

We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI and VIP up to December 2015 without language restrictions.

A systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis of observational studies.

Five cohort studies and eight case–control studies.

Compared with the lowest level of green tea intake, the pooled relative risk (95 % CI) of gastric cancer was 1·05 (0·90, 1·21, I2=20·3 %) for the cohort studies and the pooled OR (95 % CI) was 0·84 (0·74, 0·95, I2=48·3 %) for the case–control studies. The pooled relative risk of gastric cancer was 0·79 (0·63, 0·97, I2=63·8 %) for intake of 6 cups green tea/d, 0·59 (0·42, 0·82, I2=1·0 %) for 25 years of green tea intake and 7·60 (1·67, 34·60, I2=86·5 %) for drinking very hot green tea.

Drinking green tea has a certain preventive effect on reducing the risk of gastric cancer, particularly for long-term and high-dose consumption. Drinking too high-temperature green tea may increase the risk of gastric cancer, but it is still unclear whether high-temperature green tea is a risk factor for gastric cancer. Further studies should be performed to obtain more detailed results, including other gastric cancer risk factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption and the dose of the effective components in green tea, to provide more reliable evidence-based medical references for the relationship between green tea and gastric cancer.

Dietary advice is fundamental in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Advice is improved by individual assessment but existing methods are time-consuming and require expertise. We developed a twenty-five-item questionnaire, the UK Diabetes and Diet Questionnaire (UKDDQ), for quick assessment of an individual’s diet. The present study examined the UKDDQ’s repeatability and relative validity compared with 4 d food diaries.

The UKDDQ was completed twice with a median 3 d gap (interquartile range=1–7 d) between tests. A 4 d food diary was completed after the second UKDDQ. Diaries were analysed and food groups were mapped on to the UKDDQ. Absolute agreement between total scores was examined using intra-class correlation (ICC). Agreement for individual items was tested with Cohen’s weighted kappa (κw).

South West of England.

Adults (n 177, 50·3 % women) with, or at high risk for, T2DM; mean age 55·8 (sd 8·6) years, mean BMI 34·4 (sd 7·3) kg/m2; participants were 91 % White British.

The UKDDQ showed excellent repeatability (ICC=0·90 (0·82, 0·94)). For individual items, κw ranged from 0·43 (‘savoury pastries’) to 0·87 (‘vegetables’). Total scores from the UKDDQ and food diaries compared well (ICC=0·54 (0·27, 0·70)). Agreement for individual items varied and was good for ‘alcohol’ (κw=0·71) and ‘breakfast cereals’ (κw=0·70), with no agreement for ‘vegetables’ (κw=0·08) or ‘savoury pastries’ (κw=0·09).

The UKDDQ is a new British dietary questionnaire with excellent repeatability. Comparisons with food diaries found agreements similar to those for international dietary questionnaires currently in use. It targets foods and habits important in diabetes prevention and management.

National data for the USA show increases in sports and energy drink consumption over the past decade with the largest increases among young adults aged 20–34 years. The present study aimed to identify sociodemographic factors and health-risk behaviours associated with sports and energy drink consumption among young adults.

Cross-sectional analysis of survey data from the third wave of a cohort study (Project EAT-III: Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults). Regression models stratified on gender and adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics were used to examine associations of sports and energy drink consumption with eating behaviours, physical activity, media use, weight-control behaviours, sleep patterns and substance use.

Participants completed baseline surveys in 1998–1999 as students at public secondary schools in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA and the EAT-III surveys online or by mail in 2008–2009.

The sample consisted of 2287 participants (55 % female, mean age 25·3 years).

Results showed 31·0 % of young adults consumed sports drinks and 18·8 % consumed energy drinks at least weekly. Among men and women, sports drink consumption was associated with higher sugar-sweetened soda and fruit juice intake, video game use and use of muscle-enhancing substances like creatine (P≤0·01). Energy drink consumption was associated with lower breakfast frequency and higher sugar-sweetened soda intake, video game use, use of unhealthy weight-control behaviours, trouble sleeping and substance use among men and women (P<0·05).

Health professionals should consider the clustering of sports and energy drink consumption with other unhealthy behaviours in the design of programmes and services for young adults.

To examine and analyse consumption changes over time of 24 food items between Sardinia and Malta.

The data were collected in 2001 in Sardinia and 2002 in Malta.

A structured qualitative questionnaire, articulated around four main themes: food supply, transformation, preparation and consumption habits, was administered by face-to-face interviews with the help of a local person. It encompassed mainly open-ended questions, which allowed us to measure factors contributing to change.

Thirty mother–daughter pairs were interviewed in each insular territory.

Despite a common trend revealing a shift away from cereals, pulses and potatoes to the benefit of meat products, fats and sugar, our results showed contrasting evolutions in food consumption between both insular societies. Fruit and vegetables, olive oil and fish, which are part of the main features of the Mediterranean diet, were among the top foods for which consumption frequency has increased in Sardinia. In Malta, besides an increase in olive oil and vegetable consumption, cheeses and desserts showed the highest increase. Along with modernity and improved living conditions, enhanced commercial availability and increased diversity of food preparation were also identified as factors contributing to food consumption changes.

Although the Sardo-Mediterranean model is evolving under the impact of modernisation, it is not disappearing. In Malta, however, modernity has led to a more sudden shift from a state of food shortage to one of affluence, but in a cultural context where the identity is no longer Mediterranean but Anglo-Saxon.

There are no data on optimal cut-off points to classify obesity among OmaniArabs. The existing cut-off points were obtained from studies of Europeanpopulations.

To determine gender-specific optimal cut-off points for body mass index(BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) associated withelevated prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among Omani Arabs.

A community-based cross-sectional study.

The survey was conducted in the city of Nizwa in Oman in 2001.

The study contained a probabilistic random sample of 1421 adults aged≥20 years. Prevalent CVD risk was defined as the presence of atleast two of the following three risk factors: hyperglycaemia, hypertensionand dyslipidaemia. Logistic regression and receiver-operating characteristic(ROC) curve analyses were used to determine optimal cut-off points for BMI,WC and WHR in relation to the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity andspecificity.

Over 87% of Omanis had at least one CVD risk factor (38% had hyperglycaemia,19% hypertension and 34.5% had high total cholesterol). All three indicesincluding BMI (AUC = 0.766), WC (AUC = 0.772) and WHR (AUC = 0.767)predicted prevalent CVD risk factors equally well. The optimal cut-offpoints for men and women respectively were 23.2 and 26.8 kgm−2 for BMI, 80.0 and 84.5 cm for WC, and 0.91 and0.91 for WHR.

To identify Omani subjects of Arab ethnicity at high risk of CVD, cut-offpoints lower than currently recommended for BMI, WC and WHR are needed formen while higher cut-off points are suggested for women.