Meat with edible coating: Acceptance, purchase intention and neophobia.

The acceptance of a new product depends on its sensory quality and consumers' physiological and psychological aspects. The fear of consuming foods processed by new technologies is an example. This study aimed to investigate the overall acceptance and purchase intention of chitosan-coated beef and lamb meat in blind and informed conditions and to estimate the psychometric properties using the Food Technology Neophobia Scale (FTNS). Beef and lamb meat samples were evaluated for overall acceptance (1 = extremely disliked, 9 = extremely liked) and purchase intention (1 = certainly would not buy, 5 = certainly would buy). A questionnaire containing the Food Technology Neophobia Scale (FTNS) was applied, and sociodemographic data were collected, and 297 consumers participated in this study. For beef, chitosan-coated in the informed condition was the most accepted. In contrast, for lamb meat, the overall acceptance values of control and chitosan treatments in the blind condition were higher than the samples in the informed condition. However, cluster analysis indicated three clusters of consumers with different perceptions for both types of meat. The original FTNS showed factorial invariance, and the abbreviated scale (AFTNS) was used. The final AFTNS model showed good adjustment index (λ = 0.41 - 0.73; χ2 / gl = 3.5; CFI = 0.93; TLI = 0.90; RMSEA = 0.09) and had 8 items. For most consumers in this study, an absence of neophobia was observed (71.1%), indicating that the chitosan-coated meat would potentially be commerced.

The Body Shape Questionnaire Is Not Invariant Across Sex: Evidence From Portuguese-Speaking University Students.

The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) is a widely used measure of body shape concerns that was originally designed for use with women but has more recently been used with boys and men. The latter use may be problematic, given that no previous study has demonstrated sex invariance for BSQ scores. To determine the extent to which BSQ scores are sex invariant, we asked Portuguese-speaking women ( n = 1,613) and men ( n = 871) to complete the full BSQ (34 items). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a hypothesized 32-item model of BSQ scores and shorter versions had acceptable fit indices in women and men, separately. However, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis showed that these BSQ model scores had configural but not metric, scalar, or strict sex invariance. Differential item analysis indicated significant item-functioning differences on 19 of the 32 retained BSQ items. Thus, BSQ scores are not sex invariant, making problematic the results of previous studies that have compared latent BSQ scores across sex.

MALNUTRITION IN PATIENTS WITH GASTROINTESTINAL CANCER: EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT DIAGNOSTIC METHODS.

OBJECTIVE: to estimate the effectiveness of methods for identifying the risk and/or presence of malnutrition in individuals with gastrointestinal neoplasia. METHODS: participated 143 patients with gastrointestinal cancer, cared for in the Oncology Clinic Infirmary of "Hospital Amaral Carvalho" (Jaú-SP). Excluded from the study were patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit, in a terminal state or those who had members amputated; those who had received blood transfusions during the last month; significant clinical bleeding; received endovenous albumin and uncontrolled infection. The nutritional status was classified according to the ratio between Real Weight and Habitual Weight, Body Mass Index, Nutritional Risk Index and Percent Adequacy. As the gold standard method the Scored Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment was used. The effectiveness of the methods for detecting the risk for or presence of malnutrition was evaluated. A ROC curve was constructed and its area (AUROC) was estimated. The areas were compared using z statistics. For each method the best cut-off point was established. RESULTS: of the patients, 74.1% presented an advanced stage of the disease, and 83.2% were undergoing chemotherapy treatment. All the methods showed adequate discriminatory capacity for detecting the risk of malnutrition and presence of malnutrition. The BMI was significantly better for detecting malnutrition than for the risk of malnutrition. The RW/HW was significantly better for detecting the risk of malnutrition than the other methods. The cut-off points were slightly lower than those recommended for the normative population for the methods RW/HW, NRI and Score %. For the BMI the cut-off point was higher than the recommended for the normative population. CONCLUSION: the methods for evaluating nutritional status showed adequate discriminatory capacity for the risk of malnutrition and presence of malnutrition in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

Objetivo: estimar la efectividad de los diferentes métodos para la identificación y/o presencia de desnutrición en las personas con riesgo de cáncer gastrointestinal. Métodos: los participantes fueron 143 pacientes con cáncer gastrointestinal, atendidos en la sala del Hospital Clínico de Oncología Amaral Carvalho (Jau-SP). No se excluyeron los pacientes ingresados en la unidad de cuidados intensivos, con enfermedad terminal o con miembros amputados que recibieron transfusiones de sangre en el último mes, con hemorragias clínicamente relevantes, que recibieron albúmina intravenosa y aquellos con infección no controlada. El estado nutricional de los participantes se clasificó de acuerdo a la relación Peso Real y Peso Habitual (PR/PH), Índice de Masa Corporal (IMC), Índice de Riesgo Nutricional (IRN) y porcentaje de ajuste (% score). Como método estándar de oro se utilizó la Evaluación Global Subjetiva. Fue evaluada la eficacia de los métodos para detectar el riesgo de desnutrición o la presencia de desnutrición. La curva ROC fue construido y su área (AUROC) se estimó. Las áreas se compararon mendiante z estadística. Para cada método resuelto el mejor punto de corte. Resultados: de los pacientes, el 74,1% había avanzado en el estado de la enfermedad y el 83,2% fueron sometidos a métodos quimioterápicos. Todos los métodos de tratamiento mostraron una adecuada capacidad discriminatoria para detectar el riesgo de desnutrición y la presencia de la misma. El IMC fue significativamente mejor para la detección de la desnutrición que para el riesgo de desnutrición. El riesgo PR/PH fue significativamente mejor para detectar el riesgo de desnutrición que otros métodos. Los puntos de corte fueron inferiores a los puntos de corte recomendados para población normativa con los métodos PR/PH, NRI y porcentaje de ajuste (% score). Para el punto de corte del IMC fue mayor que el recomendado para la población normativa. Conclusión: los métodos de evaluación del estado nutricional mostraron una capacidad discriminatoria adecuada del riesgo de desnutrición y de la presencia de desnutrición en pacientes con cáncer gastrointestinal.

Nutritional status of patients with gastrointestinal cancer receiving care in a public hospital; 2010-2011.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the nutritional status of patients with gastrointestinal cancer and verify its association with demographic and clinical characteristics. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with a nonprobability sampling design. The participants were 143 adult patients with gastrointestinal cancer, receiving care in the Amaral Carvalho Hospital (Jaú-SP, Brazil) from November 2010 to October 2011. A survey was conducted to collect information for the purpose of demographic and clinical characterization. In order to identify nutritional status, the Scored Pati2) test were used. The prevalence ratio (PR) was estimated. The level of significance adopted was 5%. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 57.45 (SD = 9.62) years, with Stages III and IV of the disease being the most prevalent (39.2% and 35.0%). There was 44.8% prevalence of malnutrition. The undernourished individual more frequently reported having problems with eating (pcent-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (Scored PG-SGA) was applied. Descriptive statistics and the Chi-square (< 0.001), presented less desire to eat (p < 0.001), more nausea (p = 0.001), vomiting (p = 0.006), constipation (p < 0.001) and pain (p < 0.001) than eutrophic patients, and more frequently related feeling nauseated by the smell of food (p = 0.012), difficulty with swallowing (p = 0,002) and early satiety (p = 0.020). As regards the prevalence ratio, greater chance was observed of malnourished individuals being exposed to a larger portion of the symptoms related in the Scored PG-SGA. CONCLUSION: High prevalence of malnutrition was observed among patients with gastrointestinal cancer, with significant association with clinical symptoms directly related to the eating process.

Objetivo: Identificar el estado nutricional de los pacientes con cáncer gastrointestinal y verificar su asociación con características demográficas y clínicas. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal, con un diseño de muestreo no probabilístico. Los participantes fueron 143 pacientes adultos con cáncer gastrointestinal, que reciben atención en el Hospital Amaral Carvalho (Jaú-SP, Brasil) entre noviembre de 2010 y octubre de 2011. Se realizó una encuesta para recoger información con el fin de caracterización demográfica y clínica. Para identificar el estado nutricional se aplico la Valoración Subjetiva Global - Generada por el Paciente Score (VSGGP score). La razón de prevalencia (RP) fue estimada. El nivel de significancia adoptado fue de 5%. Resultados: La edad media de los pacientes fue de 57,45 (DE = 9,62) AÑOs, con los estadíos III y IV de la enfermedad es la más frecuente (39,2% y 35,0%). Había 44,8% de prevalencia de la malnutrición. La persona desnutrida tenía problemas más frecuentes para comer. La estadística descriptiva y la prueba de Chi-cuadrado (< 0,001), presentaron menor deseo de comer (p < 0,001), más náuseas (p = 0,001), vómitos (p = 0,006), estreñimiento (p < 0,001) y dolor (p < 0,001) que los pacientes eutróficos y se declararon enfermos por el olor de los alimentos (p = 0,012), dificultad para tragar (p = 0,002) y la saciedad precoz (p = 0,020) com más frecuencia. En cuanto a la proporción de prevalencia, se observó una probabilidad mayor de individuos desnutridos expuestos a una porción más grande de los síntomas relacionados en la puntuación VSG-GP score. Conclusión: La alta prevalencia de desnutrición se observó en pacientes con cáncer gastrointestinal, con asociación significativa con los síntomas clínicos directamente relacionados con el proceso de alimentación.