Relationship Between Nutrition and Supplementary Food Use and Fear of COVID-19 in Nurses Who Worked Actively During the Pandemic

Objectives: This research was conducted to determine the effects of nurses' fear of COVID-19 on their dietary habits and use of supplements. Methods: The research, which is descriptive and cross-sectional, was shared as an online survey over the social net-working site and social networking with the snowball sampling method. It was carried out between December 2020 and March 2021 with 485 nurses who worked actively during the pandemic and agreed to participate in the study. The data were obtained with the questionnaire in line with the relevant literature and the "COVID-19 Fear Scale". The data were used to evaluate the number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, median, minimum, maximum, t-test, ANOVA test, and x(2) test. Results: Fear levels were found to be higher in nurses who regularly took food supplements during the pandemic and didn't have adequate or balanced nutrition, who couldn't eat most of the time due to working conditions, who took the food supplements to help in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and who recommended them to the in-dividuals around them (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that there was an increase in nurses' use of food supplements before and during the pandemic, and this increase was statistically significant (p<0.001).

Emotional eating in relation to gastrointestinal symptoms and burnout among young women during the pandemic

Background: The emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), created unique constraints in everyday life. Emotional eating is a known phenomenon in disasters and is markedly associated with gastrointestinal symptoms. In this study, the aim was to assess the relationship of gastrointestinal symptom severity and COVID-19 burnout with emotional eating among young women during the pandemic disaster. Methods: A cross-sectional study approach was used to allow 462 young women participants in this study. The design of the questionnaires was based on demographics, health behaviors, Gastrointestinal Symptom Severity Scale, Emotional Eating Scale and COVID-19 Burnout Scale. Data were analyzed using percentages, mean values, independent t-test, chi-squared test. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed for predicting risk factors of emotional eating. Significance levels were set at the 5% level. Results: Of the women, 73.8% were emotional eaters. The level of COVID-19 burnout was moderate with mean score of 29.4+or-11.1 and emotional eating total score was 21.0+or-8.1. Increased number of meals, increased weight gain and shorter sleep time were significantly associated with emotional eating (p<0.05). Participants with more than three meals per day were more likely to be emotional eaters (Beta=4.26). The regression model showed that indigestion and COVID-19 burnout were strong risk factors of emotinal eating (p<0.05). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that indigestion and COVID-19 burnout were strong risk factors of emotinal eating. Emotional eating could pose an additional health burden to young women in the form of poor food choices.

Supplements purchase intention: young consumer's perspective

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the factors that influence young consumers' purchase intention towards dietary supplements (DS) in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe supplement industry in Malaysia has been growing rapidly recently due to a paradigm shift in healthcare management, from curative to prevention. Thus, it has sparked interest to conduct a study on the factors that influence young consumers' purchase intentions towards DS. With a response rate of 74.5%, a survey questionnaire was used to elicit data from 149 Gen-Y respondents who consume supplements on a regular basis.FindingsThe results revealed that the influencing factors towards purchase decisions among these Gen-Y respondents aged between 17 and 25 are based on product knowledge and product quality. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are outlined at the end of this paper.Originality/valueThis study offers empirical insights from the perspective of an emerging digital economy on the factors that influence young consumers' purchase intentions towards DS in Malaysia.

Progress in understanding the health promoting effect of egg yolk immunoglobulin

As an important immuneoactive component in eggs, yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) shows great competitiveness in research and production due to its good stability, high safety, low cost, easy availability, strong immune activity, and no drug resistance. This article highlights the significant advantages of IgY as a good antibiotic substitute in the prevention and treatment of viral and bacterial diseases. Also, IgY has great potential in the regulation of nutrient metabolism balance, intestinal microflora and immune homeostasis by affecting key rate-limiting enzymes, and relevant receptors and inflammatory factors specifically. Proper diet and targeted delivery of foodborne IgY may be a new perspective on inflammation regulation, disease control, nutritional balance or homeostasis, and oral microencapsulated IgY is expected to be a new approach against increasing public health emergencies (such as COVID-19 pandemic).

Whats' happening on the follicular unit of adolescents after the COVID-19 pandemic: Severe acne is a growing problem of nowadays

Objectives: Acne is a leading skin problem in adolescents. After the end of COVID-19 pandemic, with the gradual transition to the routine life, we started to encounter more severe forms of acne in the last 6-month than we had seen before in the 10 year period of our Paediatric Dermatology outpatient clinic. Method(s): We evaluated the demographic and clinical characteristics, COVID infection and vaccination status, and treatment of patients who were treated at our Paediatric Dermatology outpatient clinic in the last 6 months due to severe acne. Result(s): One of our patients had acne fulminans, and four patients had acne conglobata. The common features of these patients presenting with severe acne were that they were young boys aged 15- 16 years, medium height, normal weight, and skin type 3-4. All patients had a family history of acne in their parents. They had no known comorbidities, additional treatment, history of nutritional supplement use, or accompanying arthralgia or arthritis. Four patients were initially treated with isotretinoin for severe acne, developed acne conglobata, and one developed acne fulminans during the follow-up period. Dapsone therapy was initiated in all patients according to the severity of the lesions, and adalimumab was administered to acne fulminans. Discussion(s): The frequent occurrence of severe forms of acne after the pandemic raises the question of whether COVID-19 infection or vaccination may play a role in its aetiology. Cases of mask-related acne exacerbation during COVID-19 have been well-described in the literature. However, there are no data on the effects of COVID-19 vaccination or infection on the development of severe acne. In this report, we present cases of adolescent patients with severe acne to investigate the possible reasons for the increasing number of severe acne cases presenting to our outpatient clinic during the postpandemic period.

Understanding the Dimensions of Resilience for Food and Nutrition Security Among Informal Traders During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Zimbabwe

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some unprecedented economic and labour market shocks that have caused food and nutrition insecurity, particularly for the informal traders. Yet there is a dearth of scientific evidence on the dimensions of food and nutrition security resilience among the informal traders during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe. This study applied ethnographic research among informal traders in purposively selected provinces of Harare and Masvingo in Zimbabwe in a period of 20 months since the beginning of COVID-19 in March 2020. In addition, documentary analysis and key informant interviews with policymakers, civil society organisations, academia, development partners, and the private sector were also conducted to supplement ethnographic research. The study found that COVID-19 disproportionately impacted on the income and livelihood strategies of most informal traders in Zimbabwe than the rest of the people, because of the hash implementation of the measures to reduce the spread of the pandemic. This paper recommends that it is crucial for the government to strengthen its social protection systems and build resilience capacities of the informal traders. These resilience capacities may be in the form of business rescue packages, infrastructure and other assets, social safety nets, and the enhancement of traders' networks with suppliers, service providers, and customers. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.

Iron deficiency anemia and COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a significant health and financial issue in the current century. Despite significant attempts to manage the illness, the transmission routes of the virus and its widespread genomic mutations have led to an increasing number of new infections and mortality rates. In the absence of specific treatment for this new virus, identifying and managing factors affecting the prognosis of the disease is one of the critical strategies to reduce disease mortality. Patients with iron deficiency anemia (IDA), who account for an estimated half a billion people globally, are more prone to infections due to immune system disorders. Since they visit hospitals more frequently for follow-up care and diagnosis, they are more susceptible to becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2. Once infected with SARS-CoV-2, low hemoglobin (Hb) levels and compromised immune systems disrupt the restriction of infection in these individuals, ultimately leading to severe complications of COVID-19.

Breastfeeding in emergencies with assessment of recent humanitarian crises and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The world is becoming a place where the number of emergencies and humanitarian crises is increasing rapidly due to economic inequality and the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries, as well as climate changes leading to disruption of the natural balance and development of natural disasters. The most vulnerable groups of the population including women and children always are affected by disasters. The younger the child, the more vulnerable he/she is, especially if not naturally fed or having a mother or parents. Various humanitarian organizations have been involved in a number of crises, with the World Health Organization and UNICEF and other United Nations-related organizations leading the way. In the care of mothers, infants and young children, most important is to ensure appropriate nutrition because otherwise it can result in life-threatening health conditions. The lack of protection, support and promotion of natural nutrition (breastfeeding) and its disruption and undermining by uncritical and uncontrolled donations and distribution of infant formula are the biggest challenge due to the lack of information of mothers, those who provide support in emergencies from both governmental and non-governmental sector, without cross-sectoral cooperation, thus causing uncoordinated and sometimes harmful interventions. Therefore, it is recommended that governments issue guidelines on infant and young child nutrition prior to the occurrence of an emergency, and crisis management regulations in which the issue of infant and young child nutrition will be given due consideration.Copyright © 2020 Croatian Paediatric Society. All rights reserved.

Can Domestic Food Production Provide Future Urban Populations with Food and Nutrition Security?—Insights from Bangladesh, Kenya and Uganda

Population growth and urbanization increasingly put pressure on our planet's availability of areas needed for food production. The dependencies on domestically produced food are increasingly judged favourable, following the consequences of the Ukrainian war, with escalating fuel and grain prices and less accessibilities to low-income groups. It is, however, unclear whether land is domestically available. Applying a food system approach, the main aim of this article is to investigate spatial foodsheds and theoretical self-sufficiency for food production needed to supply increasing future populations in a selection of cities, including estimates for Dhaka in Bangladesh, Nairobi in Kenya and Kampala in Uganda. The projected foodshed scenario areas for the years 2020 and 2050 are estimated for the production of three core products currently extensively produced and consumed in the three countries. They show that it is not possible to feed an ever-increasing urban population based on domestic production alone. International trade, new technological developments and new consumer demands for less area-intensive food production systems may give solutions to the immense challenge of feeding the world's population with nutritious food in 2050. However, to ensure fair and inclusive transition pathways for low-income groups: (1) affordability and accessibility of trade opportunities, technologies and products, (2) a common vision aiming for the SDGs, including SDG2: Zero hunger and SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities as well as (3) best practices in co-creation and cooperation with the most vulnerable urban and rural populations, are highly needed.

Impact of COVID-19, Lockdowns and Economic Slowdown on Food and Nutrition Security in India

The two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in India have resulted in widespread food insecurity and hunger in the country as a result of the burden of health expenditure and illness, economic slowdown and loss of livelihoods. Given the context of high levels of malnutrition and some reversal in the gains made in the last decade, this could have serious long-term implications. The response of the government in the form of additional benefits for PDS beneficiaries and some continuation of school meals and supplementary nutrition under ICDS scheme has been inadequate. This paper argues that there is a need to use the pandemic as an opportunity to expand and strengthen these schemes with a view of making the food system more equitable. As immediate measures, universalisation of the PDS including pulses and oil and strengthening of direct nutrition programmes for children and women are imperative. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.

Economic Inequality during Covid-19 as a Pathway to Food Insecurity for People who are Disabled and Racialized as Non-White

Covid-19 heightened economic inequality across the U.S., especially for people who are disabled and non-white. These intersecting economic vulnerabilities open pathways to hunger. Using a survey from July 2020 (n = 2,043) in the Intermountain West, we find that economic inequality explained a substantial portion of food insecurity for people with disabilities. Racially stratified models show that people who were also non-white were more likely to be food insecure and receive differential protection from economic resources. Stronger social support will help mitigate food insecurity, yet such programs must grapple with the ways that ableism and racism intersect, especially during economic shock.Copyright © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Determinant factors of the improvement of nutritional status (based on height-for-age index category) in children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cohort study of children's growth and development in Bogor

The COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to trigger a global economic and food supply crisis, which further affects children's nutritional status as a vulnerable group. This study aimed to observe alterations in nutritional status before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (during 2019-2021) and determinant factors involved in the improvement of nutritional status (based on the height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) index category) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings were intended as evidence-based suggestions for policy formulation concerning the improvement of child nutritional status and stunting reductions. This study was part of a cohort study of children's growth and development conducted by National Institute of Health Research and Development (NIHRD) in Bogor city-Indonesia. The analysis was conducted on 565 children under five in 2019 with height measurement data in 2019 and 2021, environmental conditions, parental education, consumption habits, and social assistance. Children were classified as having an improved nutritional status if the HAZ category increased in 2021 compared to 2019. In addition, multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to predict determinant factors involved in improving the child's nutritional status. In this study, 17.5% of children had improved nutritional status, and 79.3% had a steady nutritional status. However, there were 3.2% of children with decreased nutritional status. Model factors determinant related to improved nutritional status includes consumption more than once per week of red meat (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.15;95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-4.35, p=0.034), milk consumption more than once per week (aOR = 1.56;95% CI: 0.89-2.74, p=0.119), and age under 5 years old (aOR = 1.86;95% CI: 1.14-3.15, p=0.016). Children under five years old, the consumption of red meat and milk more than once a week have the opportunity to improve nutritional status (by height-for-age index) in children.

Diabetes in Poland - public health challenges and opportunities

Introduction and objective: Diabetes, with its medical complications and societal consequences, is one the most difficult concerns for modern society. The purpose of this narrative review is to characterize the selected public health challenges and opportunities resulting from diabetes in Poland, as well as to identify public health measures that may be adopted to lower the diabetes burden in Poland. Review methods: This narrative review is based on the literature about diabetes in Poland. Scientific papers on diabetes published between 1 January 2010-31 January 2023, available in the PubMed database, were identified using a combination of the following key words: 'diabetes', 'Poland', 'public knowledge', 'management' and 'costs'. Particular attention was paid to the following diabetes-related issues: (1) current and forecast prevalence of diabetes in Poland, (2) diabetic care before and after the COVID-19 pandemic onset, (3) public knowledge of diabetes and diabetes risk factors, and (4) public health interventions to reduce the diabetes burden at the population level. Abbreviated description of the state of knowledge: A continuous growth of both the incidence and the prevalence of diabetes is predicted. Due to insufficient public awareness of diabetes risk factors and symptoms, and the health-debt caused by COVID-19 pandemic, a further rise in the number of diabetic complications is expected, as well as an increase in public spending on health care and social insurance systems. Summary: Public health interventions targeted at preventing diabetes and its complications should not be confined to reducing complications and improving diabetes care, but also include a wide range of initiatives aimed at addressing the fundamental causes of diabetes. Future study should look at the cost-effectiveness of such initiatives in order to mobilize different stakeholders and society.

Survey and 10-day diary data on infant nutrition, development, and home learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic from the LEARN-COVID pilot study

The LEARN-COVID pilot study collected data on infants and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessments took place between April and July 2021. Parents (N = 357) from Switzerland (predominantly), Germany, and Austria answered a baseline questionnaire on their behaviour related to the pandemic, social support, infant nutrition, and infant regulation. Subsequently, parents (n = 222) answered a 10- day evening diary on infant nutrition, infant regulation, parental mood, and parental soothing behaviour. Data and documentation are stored on Zenodo, https://doi. org/10.5281/zenodo.6946048. These data may be valuable to researchers interested in infant development and parenting during the pandemic as well as to researchers interested in daily variability in infant behaviour, parenting, and nutrition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Reviving Smallholder Hill Farming by Involving Rural Youth in Food System Transformation and Promoting Community-Based Agri-Ecotourism: A Case of Uttarakhand State in North-Western India

Until recent decades, labour-intensive subsistence farming was a way of life and livelihood in the hill communities of Uttarakhand, India. However, the nature of agriculture falls far short of the expectations of the main labour force, the rural youth, leading to their mass migration to non-agricultural occupations. The large-scale youth migration has left many hill farming landscapes depopulated and farmlands abandoned. As youth have special stakes in food systems, they must be included in the sustainable transformation of food systems. By doing so, the migration-prone hill region may be transformed into a place where rural youth have more options for work and income. Therefore, the agriculture sector needs to change and develop into a more engaging and youthful workplace. There are opportunities to explore and barriers to be removed. Besides identifying priority research areas on local food systems, in this exploratory research, we investigate opportunities to involve rural young people in the transformation of the food system. We document information by conducting focus group discussion (FGD) meetings in about 100 villages in the Uttarakhand hills, representing all major farming landscapes. This study mainly focuses on improving the production and consumption aspects of local food, which not only benefits the health and wellbeing of local communities but also has many positive economic, social, and environmental effects. In addition, we explore opportunities for reviving mountain agriculture through agri-ecotourism, which is a symbiotic relationship between tourism and agriculture. Making home- or farm stays in agri-ecotourism a subsistence strategy for local youth will contribute to a more prosperous rural economy. Recognising Uttarakhand's rich culture and heritage while exploring the culinary travel opportunities in homestays will provide opportunities to focus more on traditional food systems, exposing various tangible and intangible aspects of the host region's food culture to tourists. The findings of this study will aid in identifying specific policy issues for consideration by planners and policymakers at the local and state levels. Additionally, this exploratory study will assist young, motivated researchers in conducting follow-up, in-depth investigations and producing empirical data in their specialised fields.

The reference and experience of food hygiene security in a major field activity

To summarize thepractice and experience of targeted food hygiene security measures in a major field activity of the army in order to provide references for diverse tasks. Considering the characteristics of heavy activity, field operations and the influence of COVID-19, a series of support measures related to food hygiene surveillance were strengthened. The first measure was review of recipes, health management and training of employees, procurement and storage of raw materials, warehouse management, processing and manufacturing management, disinfection of tableware, as well as food sample retention. Secondly, the control points that probably cause spread of COVID-19 in the phase of food service industry were analyzed, then relevant supervision and guidance were carried out from the aspects of employees and diners, foods of cold chain logistics, environment and emergency response plan. Finally, in order to assure the safety of food processing and crowd-gathered diet in the field, the following measures were guided to adopted including selecting the site of cooking and dining properly, cleaning the environment, making dishes using pure water and semi-manufactured foodstuff, keeping food sanitation in the course of transport and dinning, as well as supervising the robot machines for cooking automatically. The main experiences were listed as follows: promoting food safety awareness of the principal and the employees of the canteen, enhancing legal enforcement capacity and technical capacity of health supervisors, focusing on new risks related to food safety as well as reinforcing the management of health supervisors and employees in the field.

Applications of Multi-omics Approaches for Food and Nutritional Security

Food systems are constantly changing to accommodate the advancement of societies. Increased challenges, including the World Wars, natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic, have stimulated the improvement of the economics, quantity, and quality of food around the globe. Food security was introduced to alleviate and eradicate hunger and poverty with an aim to provide access to enough food and calories to everybody all the time. In society, this was translated to an increase in food rich in carbohydrates but not specifically all the nutrients and minerals required for healthy growth and development. Agriculturally, this has resulted in a rise in large-scale production of starch and filling food that can be used as staples worldwide. While hunger is not a problem in most countries, malnutrition is rampant on many levels. There are several cohorts of people suffering from metabolic disorders related to an imbalance in nutrients, including diabetes, obesity, and anemia, amongst others. The introduction of nutritional security is to ensure that everybody has access to nutrients from all food groups;this means proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, vitamins, and minerals. Rapid development in omics research has resulted in high-throughput techniques that can profile the makeup of crops, environmental samples, food, and human biofluids. Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics all explain how the different systems behave. Multi-omics is the assembly of all the complex data recorded to explain what is happening at a macroscale. This chapter provides an overview of the most up-to-date applications of multi-omics in food and nutrition security. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Insecurity in Puerto Rico

This survey (n = 1,356) reports food insecurity (FI) in Puerto Rico (PR) at 38% before, and 40% since, the COVID-19 pandemic. Odds for FI increased for households with annual income <=$15k vs. >=$60k (OR: 3.52;95% CI: 1.20, 10.36);experiencing an income reduction (OR: 2.22 (1.55, 3.18));participating in the United States Department of Agriculture Nutrition Assistance Program (OR: 1.75 (1.14, 2.70));higher food acquisition anxiety (OR: 1.45 (1.29, 1.64));increased home availability of fruit-flavored drinks (OR: 1.52 (1.04, 2.22)), whereas increased fruit availability was protective (OR: 0.63 (0.43, 0.93)). Results heighten the need to examine FI strategies in PR.Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Organic food and obesity: factors influencing actual purchase of organic food in COVID-19 pandemic with moderating role of organic food availability

Purpose: Organic food consumption decreases the risk of becoming obese or overweight. This study intends to see the influence of customer perceived value, COVID-19 fear, food neophobia, effort and natural content on the intention to purchase organic food (IPOF) that leads to the actual purchase of organic food (APOF). Moreover, organic food availability is a moderator between IPOF and APOF. Design/methodology/approach: PLS-SEM is used for hypothesis testing. A purposive sampling technique was followed to gather data from organic food consumers in Lahore, Gujranwala and Islamabad and a total of 479 questionnaires were part of the analysis. Findings The outcomes show that customer perceived value, effort and natural content is positively related to IPOF. Despite this, COVID-19 fear and food neophobia are negatively associated with IPOF. IPOF and organic food availability are positively related to APOF. Finally, organic food availability significantly moderated between IPOF and APOF. Practical implications: This study outcome reveals that companies of organic food can recognize customer perceived value, COVID-19 fear, food neophobia, effort, natural content and organic food availability in their decision-making if they determine the actual purchase of organic food. This study offers a valuable policy to companies of organic food to enhance customer's behavior in purchasing organic food in Pakistan. Besides, practitioners and academicians can benefit from this study finding. Originality/value: This initial research integrates customer perceived value, COVID-19 fear, food neophobia, effort, natural content, IPOF and organic food availability to determine APOF in the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, consumption value theory is followed to develop the framework.

Areas within the United States at the Highest Risk for African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, and Foot-and-Mouth Disease Introduction

Domestic livestock production is a major component of the agricultural sector, contributing to food security and human health and nutrition and serving as the economic livelihood for millions worldwide. The impact of disease on global systems and processes cannot be understated, as illustrated by the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic through economic and social system shocks and food system disruptions. This study outlines a method to identify the most likely sites of introduction into the United States for three of the most concerning foreign animal diseases: African swine fever (ASF), classical swine fever (CSF), and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). We first created an index measuring the amount of potentially contaminated meat products entering the regions of interest using the most recently available Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Monitoring (AQIM) air passenger inspection dataset, the AQIM USPS/foreign mail, and the targeted USPS/foreign mail interception datasets. The risk of introduction of a given virus was then estimated using this index, as well as the density of operations of the livestock species and the likelihood of infected material contaminating the local herds. Using the most recently available version of the datasets, the most likely places of introduction for ASF and CSF were identified to be in central Florida, while FMD was estimated to have been most likely introduced to swine in western California and to cattle in northeastern Texas. The method illustrated in this study is important as it may provide insights on risk and can be used to guide surveillance activities and optimize the use of limited resources to combat the establishment of these diseases in the U.S.