The present study was undertaken to learn more about parents’ (i) knowledge regarding healthy foods, factors associated with food purchasing and preparation, and current nutrition education resources, (ii) barriers to and promoters for establishing healthy eating habits for children and families, and (iii) interest in participating in nutrition interventions.

Focus group interviews were conducted with parents of low-income children from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

LAUSD Title 1 elementary schools where 50 % or more of students are eligible for free/reduced-price meals.

Sixty-four parents (93 % female; 84 % Hispanic/Latino) of elementary-school students.

The most common barriers to eating healthy foods were cost, difficulty in getting children to eat healthier foods and easy access to fast food. Parents had a basic knowledge about what foods are healthy and received most of their nutrition education through the media. Parents expressed a desire for nutrition classes and almost all of them said they would attend a nutrition programme at their child's school. Topic areas of interest included what to purchase, how to cook healthier foods, how to encourage their children to eat healthier and how to read food labels. Parents also requested classes that engage the whole family, especially fathers.

Parents in our study were interested in participating in nutrition education programmes. The information from these focus groups was used to design a parent nutrition education programme especially designed to respond to the needs of the LAUSD parents, the majority of whom are low-income and Hispanic/Latino.

To evaluate compliance with the national recommendation on supplemental iron to all pregnant women in Denmark and to explore differences between compliers and non-compliers with respect to dietary habits and other lifestyle factors.

Intake of supplemental iron from pure iron supplements and from multivitamin and mineral preparations was estimated in mid-pregnancy.

Nationwide cohort study, the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC), comprising more than 100 000 women recruited in early pregnancy.

Information on diet and dietary supplements was available for 54 371 women. Of these, information on lifestyle factors was available for 50 902 women.

A high compliance with the recommendation was found, as approximately 77% of the women reported use of iron supplements during pregnancy. However, many of the compliers did not obtain the recommended doses of iron, which can partly be explained by the lack of iron preparations of appropriate doses available on the Danish market. Compliance with the recommendation was associated with age above 20 years, primiparity, body mass index < 30 kg m− 2, non-smoking and long education. No major differences were seen in dietary intake between compliers and non-compliers.

Overall, a high compliance rate was found among participants of the DNBC but a clarification on daily dose is needed, and more concern should be paid to vulnerable groups such as young, smoking women and women with no or short education.

Stature is a powerful indicator of poor nutrition early in life in nations where undernutrition is a public health problem. Hypertension in adults has been associated with factors present early in life such as low birth weight. We tested the hypothesis that short stature is associated with hypertension among adults.

A household survey of representative adults in Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil was carried out in 1996.

Blood pressure and anthropometric measures were collected from 2802 adults in their own households. Prevalence estimates and modelling incorporated the sample design and weights.

Age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension for both sexes was lower in the third quartile of stature distribution. In women, but not in men, the odds ratio comparing the first quartile of stature with the fourth quartile was statistically significant with an odds ratio of 1.68 (95% CI 1.02–2.76). Adjusting for known risk factors for hypertension such as age, income, smoking, sodium and alcohol intake and race, the association among women, comparing the first with the fourth quartile for stature, was 1.84 (95% CI 1.03–3.30). With further adjustment for residual of weight on height the ratio reduced to 1.76 (95% CI 0.97–3.19, P value of trend = 0.03). Systolic blood pressure showed a U-shaped association with quartiles of stature, mainly among women, with a β-coefficient significantly lower at the third quartile.

This association of stature with hypertension supports the theory of an important ontogenetic dependence of adult blood pressure, at least among women.

To identify the best anthropometric index that predicts cardiometabolic risk factors.

Cross-sectional study in Turkey, in 2003.

Turkish men and women aged 18 years and over (n 1692) were examined. Body weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, TAG, glucose and insulin were measured. Metabolic syndrome score was calculated as the sum of modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria, excluding waist circumference. Insulin resistance was estimated by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR).

BMI, waist:hip ratio (WHpR), waist:height ratio (WHtR), waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were significantly correlated with each other. Partial correlation coefficients between systolic blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, TAG levels or HOMA-IR and BMI, WC or WHtR were similar and higher than correlation coefficients of WHpR and HC. The association of anthropometric indices with metabolic syndrome score and Framingham risk score was highest for WHtR. Areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves showed that WHtR was the best anthropometric index that discriminated between the presence and absence of hypertension, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, whereas WHpR was better for dyslipidaemia.

WHtR was the best anthropometric index for predicting most cardiometabolic risk factors. WC and BMI ranked second for their predictive capability of cardiometabolic risk, followed by WHpR and HC.

The primary objective of this study was to generate a reference table of food items and average amounts of these items consumed by South Africans, for the Department of Health. The reference table was required to be representative of foods and beverages eaten frequently by children and adults from all age and ethnic groups in order for the Department of Health to test for contaminants in these foods.

The National Food Consumption Survey (NFCS) served as a framework for compiling data on children since this was a national representative survey of 1–9-year-old children undertaken in South Africa in 1999. However, there has never been a national dietary survey on adults in South Africa. Consequently the data had to be extrapolated from existing isolated surveys on adults. Secondary data analysis was conducted on existing dietary databases (raw data) obtained from surveys undertaken on adults in South Africa between 1983 and 2000. Available datasets were regional and independent, and were not individually representative of the South African diet. It was therefore necessary to use different statistical methods, including factor analyses, weighting and correlations, to generate ethnic and geographic representative data for adults. Two methods were used: Method 1, which corresponded with results of the NFCS (over-sampled for low socio-economic status), and Method 2, which was based on ethnic proportions of the population.

The secondary data analyses generated food items most commonly consumed by the South African adult population (Method 1) in descending frequency of usage and average (mean) amount per day: maize porridge (78%/848 g), white sugar (77%/27 g), tea (68%/456 g), brown bread (55%/165 g), white bread (28%/163 g), non-dairy creamer (25%/6 g), brick margarine (21%/19 g), chicken meat (19%/111 g), full-cream milk (19%/204 g) and green leaves (17%/182 g). In 6–9-year-olds, maize porridge (72%/426 g), sugar (76%/23 g), tea (51%/258 g), full-cream milk (35%/171 g) and white bread (33%/119 g) were eaten most frequently. Similarly, in 1–5-year-olds, the foods consumed most frequently were maize porridge (80%/426 g), sugar (76%/21 g), tea (44%/224 g), full-cream milk (39%/186 g) and white bread (24%/83 g). In order to evaluate the validity of the adult data generated, kilojoule values of the individual food items (per capita) were compared with food balance sheets (FBSs). The comparison was favourable except that the FBSs had a higher overall energy intake per capita of between 22 and 28%.

Reference tables of commonly consumed foods and beverages were generated at minimal cost based on secondary data analyses of past dietary surveys in different South African populations.

To assess the association between nutrition and health in an adult urban homeless population.

Cross-sectional – nutritional state (body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold (TSF), upper arm circumference), dietary habits (food frequency), socio-demographic data and self-stated diseases were assessed.

Four sites for homeless people in Kiel and Hamburg, Germany.

Sample of 75 homeless people (60 males, 15 females) aged 19–62 years.

A lack of food was not found in the majority of the homeless. Seventy-six per cent of the study population showed a normal dietary pattern. Critical food groups were fresh fruit and vegetables, rice and noodles. However, 52 or 29% of the homeless were malnourished (i.e. they were below the 25th or 5th percentile of arm muscle area). In addition, 22.7% of the homeless were obese (i.e. BMI>30 kg m−2 and/or TSF>90th percentile). Almost two-thirds of the population suffered from at least one chronic disease (prevalence of nutrition-related disorders 33.3%, gastrointestinal disorders 32.0%, dental diseases 22.7%, psychiatric disorders 18.7%, wasting diseases 6.7%). Smoking (prevalence rate 82%), drinking alcohol (51%) and drug abuse (20%) were frequent among homeless people. Food intake was not related to nutritional state, the prevalence of chronic diseases or addiction habits. By contrast, a poor nutritional state was associated with drug abuse and the prevalence of wasting diseases.

Prevention of nutritional problems should be directed to health-related problems such as the prevention or treatment of chronic diseases and addiction habits.

To evaluate associations of fast-food items (FFI) and sugar-sweetened drinks (SSD) with mortality outcomes including deaths due to any cause, CVD and total cancers among a large sample of adults.

Using a prospective design, risk of death was compared across baseline dietary exposures. Intakes of FFI and SSD were quantified using a semi-quantitative FFQ (baseline data collected 2000–2002). Deaths (n 4187) were obtained via the Washington State death file through 2008, excluding deaths in the first year of follow-up. Causes of death were categorized as due to CVD (I00–I99) or cancer (C00–D48). Cox models were used to estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI.

The Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) study among adults living in Western Washington State.

Men and women (n 69 582) between 50 and 76 years of age at baseline.

Intakes of FFI and SSD were higher among individuals who were younger, female, African-American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian-American or Pacific Islander, of lower educational attainment, and of lower income (P<0·0001 for all). Higher risk of total mortality was associated with greater intake of FFI (HR=1·16; 95 % CI 1·04, 1·29; P=0·004; comparing highest v. lowest quartile) and SSD (HR=1·19; 95 % CI 1·08, 1·30; P<0·0001; comparing highest v. lowest quartile). Higher intake of FFI was associated with greater cancer-specific mortality while an association with CVD-specific mortality was suggested. Associations between intake of SSD and cause-specific mortality were less clear.

Intake of FFI and SSD has a detrimental effect on future mortality risk. These findings may be salient to socially patterned disparities in mortality.

The current study examined clustering of dietary intake and activity behaviours (i.e. physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour) in 5-year-old children, as well as the longitudinal association with BMI and overweight development.

Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify behavioural patterns. Backward regression analyses were used to examine the association of behavioural patterns with parent and child background characteristics, as well as the association of the patterns with BMI Z-score and overweight development up to ages 7 and 8 years.

The Netherlands.

Data originated from the KOALA Birth Cohort Study (n 2074 at age 5 years).

Four patterns emerged: a ‘sedentary-snacking’ pattern (including television viewing and snack consumption), a ‘healthy intake’ pattern (including healthy items such as fruit, vegetables and fish), a ‘sandwich’ pattern (including bread and sandwich fillings) and a ‘sporty-traditional meal’ pattern (including sports, meat and potatoes). The patterns were related to child gender, general appetite and various parental characteristics. The sedentary-snacking pattern was positively associated with longitudinal BMI development.

Cross-behavioural energy balance-related behavioural patterns exist at age 5 years. Different activity types (e.g. sports, television viewing) clustered differently with the behavioural patterns, indicating the need to incorporate these different types instead of one general PA measure in energy balance-related pattern analyses. The clustering and potential synergy between activity behaviours and dietary intake, as well as the associations with weight status development, stress the importance of an integrated approach to PA and healthy nutrition promotion in preventing childhood overweight.

To study the association between adherence to several a priori-defined healthy food patterns and the risk of hypertension.

Prospective, multipurpose, dynamic cohort study (recruitment permanently open). We followed up 10 800 men and women (all of them university graduates), who were initially free of hypertension, for a variable period (range 2–6 years, median 4·6 years). During follow-up, 640 participants reported a new medical diagnosis of hypertension. Baseline diet was assessed using a validated 136-item FFQ. Validated information about non-dietary potential confounders was also gathered. We calculated adherence to fifteen different hypothesis-oriented food patterns and assessed the association between each of them and incident hypertension using multivariable Cox models.

The SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra – University of Navarra Follow-up) Project, Spain.

Participants recruited to the SUN cohort before October 2005 were eligible for inclusion; after excluding those with self-reported hypertension or CVD at baseline, or with extreme total energy intake, data of 10 800 were analysed.

Higher adherence to the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet (range of the score: 0 to 5) was significantly associated with a lower risk for developing hypertension (P for trend = 0·02). The other food patterns showed no significant association with incident hypertension.

Our results support a long-term protection of the DASH diet against the incidence of hypertension, but we found no evidence of a similar inverse association with hypertension for any other a priori-defined healthy food pattern.

To investigate the effectiveness of an online, interactive intervention, referred to as the Green Eating (GE) Project, to motivate university students to adopt GE behaviours.

The study was quasi-experimental and integrated into courses for credit/extra credit. Courses were randomly stratified into experimental or non-treatment control. The 5-week intervention consisted of four modules based on different GE topics. Participants completed the GE survey at baseline (experimental, n 241; control, n 367) and post (experimental, n 187; control, n 304). The GE survey has been previously validated and consists of Transtheoretical Model constructs including stage of change (SOC), decisional balance (DB: Pros and Cons) and self-efficacy (SE: School and Home) as well as behaviours for GE. Modules contained basic information regarding each topic and knowledge items to assess content learning.

The GE Project took place at a public university in the north-eastern USA.

Participants were full-time students between the ages of 18 and 24 years.

The GE Project was effective in significantly increasing GE behaviours, DB Pros, SE School and knowledge in experimental compared with control, but did not reduce DB Cons or increase SE Home. Experimental participants were also more likely to be in later SOC for GE at post testing.

The GE Project was effective in increasing GE behaviours in university students. Motivating consumers towards adopting GE could assist in potentially mitigating negative consequences of the food system on the environment. Future research could tailor the intervention to participant SOC to further increase the effects or design the modules for other participants.

A national survey found that micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent in South African children, particularly calcium, iron, zinc, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin A, E and C. Mandatory fortification of maize meal and wheat flour were introduced in 2003 to combat some of the deficiencies found in children. To date however, there has not been a national survey on dietary intake in adults.

The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the micronutrient intake of the diet consumed by the average adult South African by means of secondary data analyses and secondly to evaluate the effects of fortification on selected nutrient intakes.

Secondary data analysis was carried out with numerous dietary surveys on adults to create a database that included sampling (and weighting) according to ethnic/urban–rural residence in line with the population census, of which 79% were black Africans and the majority resided in rural areas. The effect of fortification was evaluated by substituting fortified foods in the diet for the unfortified products.

The combined database used in this study comprised 3229 adults.

Mean calcium, iron, folate and vitamin B6 intakes were very low particularly in women. Mean intakes of most micronutrients were lower in rural areas. Fortification of maize meal and wheat flour (bread) raised mean levels of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and folate above the recommended nutrient intakes (RNIs). In women, despite fortification, mean iron intakes remained below the RNIs, as did calcium since it was not in the fortification mix.

The average dietary intake of adults was of poor nutrient density, particularly in rural areas. Fortification of maize meal and wheat flour (bread) considerably improved mean vitamin B6, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate and iron intakes as well as the overall mean adequacy ratio of the diet.

It is known that social isolation process has an impact on individuals’ eating behaviours. Continuing nutritional behaviour resulting from emotional eating, uncontrolled eating and cognitive restriction may turn into eating disorders in the future. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the possible effects of Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and social isolation process on individuals’ nutritional behaviours and body weight changes.

Retrospective cohort study.

Nutritional behaviours of the participants before the COVID-19 pandemic and in the social isolation process were evaluated with the Three Factor Nutrition Questionnaire. The changes in individuals’ body weight during this period were also evaluated.

A total of 1036 volunteer individuals (827 women, 209 men) aged 18 years and over participated in the study.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation process, there was an increase in emotional eating and uncontrolled eating behaviours of individuals, but no significant change in cognitive restriction behaviour occurred (P = <0·00; P = <0·00 and P = 0·53, respectively). It was reported that the body weight of 35 % of the individuals who participated in the study increased during this period.

Social isolation process practiced as a result of COVID-19 pandemic may lead to changes in some nutritional behaviours. Some precautions should be taken to prevent this situation that occurs in nutritional behaviours from causing negative health problems in the future.

Increasing evidence documents fathers’ influential role in their children’s eating, physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours (SB). We aimed to expand limited existing research examining fathers’ influence in these areas by exploring Latino fathers’ beliefs, attitudes and practices related to eating, PA and SB of their young children.

Seven focus group discussions were conducted in Spanish with Latino fathers (n 28) of children aged 2–8 years. Audio recordings were transcribed and translated verbatim without identifiers. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify key concepts and themes using NVivo 11 software.

Fathers expressed positive beliefs and attitudes about the importance of healthy eating for their young children, themselves and their families. Nevertheless, the majority reported familial practices including eating out, getting take-out, etc. that have been linked to increased obesity risk among Latino children. Fathers were more involved and engaged in children’s PA than eating and feeding. However, several fathers reported engaging predominantly in sedentary activities with their children, appeared permissive of children’s sedentary habits and struggled to set limits on children’s screen-time.

We provide new information on Latino fathers’ beliefs and child feeding and PA practices that may provide important targets for interventions aimed at promoting healthful eating and PA behaviours of Latino children. Future research should further quantify the influence of Latino fathers’ parenting styles and practices on development of children’s eating, PA and SB. This information is needed to identify risk factors amenable to interventions and to design culturally appropriate parenting and family-based interventions targeting Latino children’s home environment and designed to meet this ethnic group’s specific needs.

To evaluate how well respondents perceive digital images of food portions commonly consumed in Greece.

The picture series was defined on the basis of usual dietary intakes assessed in earlier large-scale studies in Greece. The evaluation included 2218 pre-weighed actual portions shown to participants, who were subsequently asked to link each portion to a food picture. Mean differences between picture numbers selected and portions actually shown were compared using the Wilcoxon paired signed-rank test. The effect of personal characteristics on participants’ selections was evaluated through unpaired t tests (sex and school years) or through Tukey–Kramer pairwise comparisons (age and food groups).

Testing of participants’ perception of digital food images used in the Greek national nutrition survey.

Individuals (n 103, 61 % females) aged 12 years and over, selected on the basis of the target population of the Greek nutrition survey using convenience sampling.

Individuals selected the correct or adjacent image in about 90 % of the assessments and tended to overestimate small and underestimate large quantities. Photographs of Greek traditional pies and meat-based pastry dishes led participants to perceive the amounts in the photos larger than they actually were. Adolescents were more prone to underestimating food quantities through the pictures.

The digital food atlas appears generally suitable to be used for the estimation of average food intakes in large-scale dietary surveys in Greece. However, individuals who consistently consume only small or only large food portions may have biased perceptions in relation to others.

To review current information on under- and over-malnutrition and the consequences of socioeconomic disparities on global nutrition and health.

Malnutrition, both under and over, can no longer be addressed without considering global food insecurity, socioeconomic disparity, both globally and nationally, and global cultural, social and epidemiological transitions.

The economic gap between the more and less affluent nations is growing. At the same time income disparity is growing within most countries, both developed and developing. Concurrently, epidemiological, demographic and nutrition transitions are taking place in many countries.

Fully one-third of young children in the world's low-income countries are stunted because of malnutrition. One-half of all deaths among young children are, in part, a consequence of malnutrition. Forty per cent of women in the developing world suffer from iron deficiency anaemia, a major cause of maternal mortality and low birth weight infants. Despite such worrying trends, there have been significant increases in life expectancy in nearly all countries of the world, and continuing improvements in infant mortality rates. The proportion of children malnourished has generally decreased, although actual numbers have not in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. Inequalities are increasing between the richest developed countries and the poorest developing countries. Social inequality is an important factor in differential mortality in both developed and developing countries. Many countries have significant pockets of malnutrition and increased mortality of children, while obesity and non-communicable disease (NCDs) prevalences are increasing. Not infrequently it is the poor and relatively disadvantaged sectors of the population who are suffering both. In the industrialized countries. cardiovascular disease incidence has declined, but less so in the poorer socioeconomic strata.

The apparent contradicitions found represent a particular point in time (population responses generally lag behind social and environmental transitions). They do also show encouraging evidence that interventions can have a positive impact, sometimes despite disadvantageous circumstances. However, it seems increasingly unlikely that food production will continue to keep up with population growth. It is also unlikely present goals for reducing protein-energy malnutrition prevalence will be reached. The coexistence of diseases of undernutrition and NCDs will have an impact on allocation of resources. Action needs to be continued and maintained at the international, national and individual level.

To determine the contribution of forest foods to dietary intake and estimate their association with household food insecurity.

Cross-sectional survey conducted among 279 households. Using a 7 d recall questionnaire, information on household food consumption was collected from women and used to determine the household dietary diversity score, food variety score and forest food consumption score (FFCS). Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) score was determined and Spearman rank correlation was used to establish the relationship between consumption of forest foods and HFIAS score. Women’s dietary intake was estimated from two 24 h recalls. The contribution of forest foods to women’s nutrient intakes was calculated and women’s nutrient intakes were compared with estimated average nutrient requirements.

Rural forest-dependent households in twelve villages in eastern and southern Cameroon.

Household heads and their non-pregnant, non-lactating spouses.

Forty-seven unique forest foods were identified; of these, seventeen were consumed by 98 % of respondents over the course of one week and by 17 % of women during the two 24 h recall periods. Although forest foods contributed approximately half of women’s total daily energy intake, considerably greater contributions were made to vitamin A (93 %), Na (100 %), Fe (85 %), Zn (88 %) and Ca (89 %) intakes. Despite a highly biodiverse pool of foods, most households (83 %) suffered from high food insecurity based on the HFIAS. A significant inverse correlation was observed between the HFIAS score and the FFCS (r2=−0·169, P=0·0006), demonstrating that forest foods play an important role in ensuring food security in these forest-dependent communities.

Forest foods are widely consumed by forest-dependent communities. Given their rich nutrient content, they have potential to contribute to food and nutrition security.

We aimed to assess the relative validity and reproducibility of a semi-quantitative FFQ in Puerto Rican adults.

Participants completed an FFQ, followed by a 6 d food record and a second administration of the FFQ, 30 d later. All nutrients were log transformed and adjusted for energy intake. Statistical analyses included correlations, paired t tests, cross-classification and Bland–Altman plots.

Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico.

Convenience sample of students, employees and faculty members (n 100, ≥21 years). Data were collected in 2010.

A total of ninety-two participants completed the study. Most were young overweight females. All nutrients were significantly correlated between the two FFQ, with an average correlation of 0·61 (range 0·43–0·73) and an average difference of 4·8 % between them. Most energy-adjusted nutrients showed significant correlations between the FFQ and food record, which improved with de-attenuation and averaged 0·38 (range 0·11–0·63). The lowest non-significant correlations (≤0·20) were for trans-fat, n 3 fatty acids, thiamin and vitamin E. Intakes assessed by the FFQ were higher than those from the food record by a mean of 19 % (range 4–44 %). Bland–Altman plots showed that there was a systematic trend towards higher estimates with the FFQ, particularly for energy, carbohydrate and Ca. Most participants were correctly classified into the same or adjacent quintile (average 66 %) by both methods with only 3 % gross misclassification.

This semi-quantitative FFQ is a tool that offers relatively valid and reproducible estimates of energy and certain nutrients in this group of mostly female Puerto Ricans.

Previous studies in Western populations have linked caffeine intake with health status. While detailed dietary assessment studies in these populations have shown that the main contributors to caffeine intake are coffee and tea, the wide consumption of Japanese and Chinese teas in Japan suggests that sources of intake in Japan may differ from those in Western populations. Among these teas, moreover, caffeine content varies widely among the different forms consumed (brewed, canned or bottled), suggesting the need for detailed dietary assessment in estimating intake in Japanese populations. Here, because a caffeine composition database or data obtained from detailed dietary assessment have not been available, we developed a database for caffeine content in Japanese foods and beverages, and then used it to estimate intake in a Japanese population.

The caffeine food composition database was developed using analytic values from the literature, 16 d weighed diet records were collected, and caffeine intake was estimated from the 16 d weighed diet records.

Four areas in Japan, Osaka (Osaka City), Okinawa (Ginowan City), Nagano (Matsumoto City) and Tottori (Kurayoshi City), between November 2002 and September 2003.

Two hundred and thirty Japanese adults aged 30–69 years.

Mean caffeine intake was 256·2 mg/d for women and 268·3 mg/d for men. The major contributors to intake were Japanese and Chinese teas and coffee (47 % each). Caffeine intake above 400 mg/d, suggested in reviews to possibly have negative health effects, was seen in 11 % of women and 15 % of men.

In this Japanese population, caffeine intake was comparable to the estimated values reported in Western populations.

To characterise parent presentations of fussy eating and mealtime interactions at a point of crisis, through analyses of real-time recordings of calls to a parenting helpline.

Qualitative analysis included an inductive thematic approach to examine clinical parent presentations of fussy eating and derive underlying themes relating to mealtime interactions.

Calls made to the Child Health Line regarding feeding concerns were recorded and transcribed verbatim.

From a corpus of 723 calls made during a 4-week period in 2009, twelve were from parents of children aged 6–48 months.

Parents of infants (≤12 months, n 6) presented feeding concerns as learning challenges in the process of transitioning from a milk-based to a solid-based diet, while parents of toddlers (13–48 months, n 6) presented emotional accounts of feeding as an intractable problem. Parents presented their child’s eating behaviour as a battle (conflict), in which their children’s agency over limited intake and variety of foods (child control) was constructed as ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’. Escalating parent anxiety (parent concern) had evoked parent non-responsive feeding practices or provision of foods the child preferred.

Real-time descriptions of young children’s fussy eating at a time of crisis that initiated parents’ call for help have captured the highly charged emotional underpinnings of mealtime interactions associated with fussy eating. Importantly, they show the child’s emerging assertion of food autonomy can escalate parents’ emotional distress that, in the short term, initiates non-responsive feeding practices. The current study identifies the importance of educational and emotional support for parents across the period of introducing solids.