According to the health field concept, the most important factor affecting health is a lifestyle. The current upward trend in overweight and obesity among younger populations is a consequence of inadequate lifestyle habits. The study aimed to characterise youth nutrition behaviour and knowledge in the context of the risk of developing overweight or obesity. The study group consisted of 307 high school students, 59% females and 41% males, aged between 15 and 19. Nutrition behaviours were studied using the standardised Questionnaire of Eating Behaviour. Body weight and body height were measured with a body composition analyser and a body height meter, respectively. It was observed that the average body mass index was 21.7 ± 3.4 kg/m² for the females and 22.3 ± 3.1 kg/m² for the males (p = 0.036). Disturbed weight-to-height ratios (i.e., overweight and obesity) were found in 15.6% of the females and 16.5% of the males. The diets of approximately 90% of these youth were characterised by excessively low pro-health product content. The males showed a significantly higher intensity of adverse health traits compared to the females (8.1% vs. 0.7%, p = 0.002). More than half of the males presented insufficient knowledge about food and nutrition (53.5% vs. 30.8%, p < 0.001). Regardless of gender, the study showed a positive correlation between adolescents’ level of knowledge and the pro-health diet index (gamma coefficient: 0.42, p < 0.001) and a negative correlation between their level of knowledge and the unhealthy diet index (gamma coefficient: −0.66, p < 0.001). The level of knowledge was closely related to the indicators of the intensities and adverse health characteristics of their diets. These results indicate the need for educational programs to raise awareness among youth in civilisation backgrounds.

The high resistance of staphylococcal biofilm against antibiotics and developing resistance against antiseptics induces a search for novel antimicrobial compounds. Due to acknowledged and/or alleged antimicrobial activity of EOs, their application seems to be a promising direction to follow. Nevertheless, the high complexity of EOs composition and differences in laboratory protocols of the antimicrobial activity assessment hinders the exact estimation of EOs effectiveness. To overcome these disadvantages, in the present work we analysed the effectiveness of volatile and liquid forms of seven EOs (derived from thyme, tea tree, basil, rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, and menthol mint) against 16 staphylococcal biofilm-forming strains using cohesive set of in vitro techniques, including gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, inverted Petri dish, modified disk-diffusion assay, microdilution techniques, antibiofilm dressing activity measurement, AntiBioVol protocol, fluorescence/confocal microscopy, and dynamic light scattering. Depending on the requirements of the technique, EOs were applied in emulsified or non-emulsified form. The obtained results revealed that application of different in vitro techniques allows us to get a comprehensive set of data and to gain insight into the analysed phenomena. In the course of our investigation, liquid and volatile fractions of thyme EO displayed the highest antibiofilm activity. Liquid fractions of rosemary oil were the second most active against S. aureus. Vapour phases of tea tree and lavender oils exhibited the weakest anti-staphylococcal activity. The size of emulsified droplets was the lowest for T-EO and the highest for L-EO. Bearing in mind the limitations of the in vitro study, results from presented analysis may be of pivotal meaning for the potential application of thymol as a antimicrobial agent used to fight against staphylococcal biofilm-based infections.

The aging population in Poland poses significant socioeconomic and health challenges, particularly regarding malnutrition among seniors. This study examines the impact of place of residence on the nutritional status and related health outcomes of older adults. Data were collected from 338 community-dwelling seniors and those in long-term care facilities. The results indicate that long-term care residents exhibited significantly higher frailty and depression levels and poorer nutritional status, functional fitness, gait, and balance compared to those in communities. Self-reported quality of life did not differ significantly between groups. Regardless of residence, having a family correlated with better nutritional status, quality of life, and functional fitness and lower frailty and depression levels. Malnutrition was significantly associated with reduced functional fitness across all residences, and well-nourished individuals in care facilities had lower functional fitness than those who were at home. Community-dwelling residents had significantly lower frailty levels, with frailty negatively correlating with nutritional status. Normal nutritional status was linked to higher balance and gait scores, indicating a lower fall risk, with the risk further reduced for those living in community settings. Additionally, normal nutritional status correlated with lower depression levels and higher quality of life, with malnourished individuals experiencing better quality of life in community-dwelling settings. These findings underscore the critical role of residence and family support in elderly nutrition and health outcomes.