Eating Patterns and Daily Dietary Recall of Primary School Pupils: An Empirical Evidence from A School Feeding Scheme

The objective of this study was to experimentally evaluate children’s daily food memory and eating habits.The study found that the gender and school location had an impact on the nutritional condition of primary school students as well as the school food scheme.The investigations were based on three hypotheses and three research questions.In this study,the Eating Habits and Daily Dietary Recall Scale was the tool utilized to gather data(EPDDRS).Four experts—three from the department of vocational education and one lecturer in test and measurement evaluation—validated the instrument’s face.The dependability indices of EPDDRS were calculated using Cronbach’s Alpha.While delivering the instruments,the researcher used the direct administration and retrieval approach.58 instructors and a sample size of 1240 students were selected using a systematic random selection approach.The obtained data was examined using mean and standard deviation to address the research objectives,and the null hypotheses were tested using t-test statistics and Analysis of variance(ANOVA)at the 0.05 level of significance.The main conclusions of this study were that the school meal program had a favorable impact on the students’nutritional status.Also,a balanced ration of nutrient-dense meals that were suitably varied was supplied for the students via the school food program.Also,the findings revealed a substantial difference in the mean assessments of male and female students about their eating patterns.On the school meal program’s dietary recall list,students from high,middle,and low socioeconomic status differ significantly.Recommendations were given to the government,schools,and parents based on the study’s findings.The study’s shortcomings were discussed,and recommendations for more research were made.

Diversity of eating patterns and obesity in older adults—A new challenge

The increase in the variety of food choices influences the eating patterns of older adults, which is in turn increases the occurrence of obesity. This study aimed at identifying eating patterns and their association with obesity in a representative sample of older adults living in an urban area and registered in the basic health unit in the city of Botucatu, S?o Paulo, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study and data collection took place from March to June of 2011 through the application of a validated food frequency questionnaire for older adults, a socio-demographic survey and an anthropometric evaluation. Eating patterns were identified through principal component analysis. Scores of individual consumption were divided in tertiles, characterizing as low, moderate or high adherence of the individuals to each pattern. Logistic regression models were fitted for the outcomes “general obesity” and “abdominal obesity” and the tertiles of consumption adjusting by sociodemographic variables. Six eating patterns were identified: Healthy foods, Snacks and weekend meals, Fruits, Light and whole foods, Mild diet and Traditional diet. It was found that the adherence to healthy foods is protective against obesity as well as adherence of snacks and weekend meals are risk of obesity. Eating patterns and their recognized influence on obesity comprise an issue that deserves continuous attention in order to evaluate collectively the eating profile, and develop specific nutritional guidelines for older adults.

The north-east North Atlantic Tripole implicated as a predictor of the August precipitation decadal variability over north China

Monthly precipitation over north China in August(NCAP)is the second highest in the year,and it is important to understand its driving mechanisms to facilitate reliable forecasting.The NCAP displays a significant decadal variability of a cycle about 10-year and negatively correlates with the July north-east North Atlantic Tripole(NAT)over the decadal timescales.This study shows that the Eurasian decadal teleconnection(EAT)acts as a bridge that links the July NAT with NCAP decadal variability.This coupled ocean–atmosphere bridge(COAB)mechanism,through which the July NAT influences the decadal variability of NCAP,can be summarized as follows.The cumulative effect of the NAT drives the EAT to adjust atmospheric circulation over north China and the surrounding regions,and so regulates precipitation in north China by influencing local water vapor transport.When the July NAT is in a negative(positive)phase,the EAT pattern has a positive(negative)pattern,which promotes(weakens)the transmission of water vapor from the sea in the south-east to north China,thus increasing(decreasing)NCAP over decadal timescales.The decadal NCAP model established based on the July NAT can effectively predict the NCAP decadal variability,illustrating that the July NAT can be implicated as a predictor of the NCAP decadal variability.