Confinement due to COVID-19 has brought important changes in people’s lives as well as in their eating and resting habits. In this study we aimed at exploring the eating habits and sleep quality of the adult population of Ecuador during the mandatory confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a cross-sectional study, which used an online survey that included questions about eating habits and sleeping habits in adults (n = 9522) between 18–69 years old. The Pittsburg sleep quality questionnaire validated for the Hispanic population was used, and questions about dietary habits. The statistical test Chi-square statistical test was used to analyze the data. The results show that sleep quality differs according to sex, being worse in women, both in all components of sleep quality and in the total score (p < 0.001). Women had greater changes in the habitual consumption of food compared to men (24.24% vs. 22.53%), and people between 18 and 40 years of age decreased their food consumption in relation to people >40 years (24.06% vs. 17.73%). Our results indicate that mandatory confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador has generated changes in the eating habits and sleep quality in the adult population sampled, and these changes are more noticeable in women and young adults. These changes offer an important alert for the health system and further, advice for the implementation of future public health policies.

Objetivos. Determinar la correlación y concordancia diagnóstica del índice de masa corporal (IMC), con el perímetro abdominal (PA) y el índice cintura-talla (ICT). Materiales y métodos. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, transversal, de datos secundarios usando las bases de datos antropométricos de la Encuesta Vigilancia Alimentaria y Nutricional por Etapas de Vida Adulto de 18 a 59 años 2017-2018 que incluyó 1084 personas para los dominios geográficos Lima Metropolitana, resto urbano y rural. Se estimaron las prevalencias de obesidad según IMC, PA e ICT y se empleó el coeficiente de correlación de Lin y Kappa de Cohen para determinar la correlación y concordancia entre las tres mediciones antropométricas. Resultados. Según los criterios de IMC, PA e ICT las prevalencias de obesidad fueron de 26,8%, 50,4% y 85,4%, respectivamente; las prevalencias fueron mayores en mujeres y en mayores de 30 años. La correlación entre IMC vs. PA e IMC vs. ICT fue pobre y de PA con ICT fue moderada, con diferencias entre hombres y mujeres. Además, la concordancia entre IMC y PA fue aceptable, mientras que la concordancia entre IMC vs. ICT fue leve. Conclusiones. Los resultados de la correlación y concordancia son limitados y sugieren que no son medidas intercambiables, por lo que es necesario evaluar la suficiencia de emplear solo IMC para el diagnóstico de obesidad en el Perú. Esta limitada correlación y concordancia se refleja en las diferentes proporciones de obesidad que oscilan entre 26,8% a 85,4% al aplicar los tres criterios.

Objective: Determine the frequency of malnutrition or risk of malnutrition and the associated factors, in non-institutionalized autonomous older adults living in the city of Arequipa, Peru. Methods: Cross-sectional study in a sample of 214 older adults. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) was used to rate the nutritional status, the functional assessment using the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scala, the Pfeiffer test for the measurement of mental status, prevalence of depresion using the Yesavage scale and the socio-family risk with the test of Gijón. For the association between the risk factors with the MNA, the crude Odds Ratio (OR) and adjusted Odds Ratio (ORa) were calculated, the latter using a binary logistic regression model, with 95% confidence intervals (CI95%). Results: Of the total of subjects studied, 88,3% are women and 11,7% men. 51% presented risk of malnutrition and 2% malnutrition. The risk factors associated with malnutrition or nutritional risk were: age (OR=3,2; 95% CI [1,6-6,2]), previous pathologies (OR=3,9; 95% CI [1,7- 8,8]), functional dependency (OR = 3,8; 95% CI [2,0-7,4]) and be at social risk (OR= 3,1; 95% CI [1,8-5,5]). Adjusted ORs identified the same risk factors with the exception of functional dependence (ORa = 1,7; 95% CI [0.6-4.5]). Conclusions: These findings showed a high percentage of older adults with nutritional risk or undernutrition associated with age, previous pathologies, functional dependence and social risk.

There are few studies in the scientific literature on Peruvian native cereal-based instant mixes. Food aid programs of the Peruvian government allow food to be distributed to infants in public schools, and in general, these foods contain carbohydrates and a protein fraction, but there is some rejection on the part of consumers due to the sensory aspect of the product that does not has been considered in this population. The objective of this study is to know the bioactive, nutritional potential and the level of sensory acceptance of infant food made from Andean pseudocereals from the Ancash region and tropical fruits from the Piura region, Peru. Three formulations were prepared based on mango, banana, quinoa and kiwicha flours (T1, T2 and T3) and were compared with a commercial product based on kiwicha and oatmeal. The total amounts of phenolic compounds, vitamin C, antioxidant activity, composition, water absorption index, oil, milk was determined; viscosity and sensory evaluations were carried out with the participation of preschool children (4 and 5 years). The content of phenols, ascorbic acid (AA) and antioxidant capacity of T1 and T2 were 10 times higher than the control treatment. Physical and chemical composition analysis showed that there were no significant differences among the treatments evaluated. Banana flour contributes to the water and oil absorption capacity and viscosity. Finally, the addition of quinoa and kiwicha flour improves milk absorption capacity. The characteristics of the developed mixtures allow the incorporation of more food and less water to increase viscosity acceptance. The greatest preferences were obtained by T2 and T1, obtaining a level of acceptance above 82%, which shows that today children have a healthy food alternative such as mixtures of Andean pseudocereals and tropical fruits without sacrificing their nutritional qualities.

Introduction: Food and nutrition insecurity (FNI) is a complex problem that entails economic, nutritional and physiological adaptations in people, which might negatively impacts their health status according to the particular context. Objective: To determine the association between FNI and metabolic risk in adult women in Lima. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional observational analytical study was conducted with a population of 373 adult women were selected 186 assisted by public health establishments in districts of Lima. FNI level was assessed using the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) and the metabolic risk with the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score test (FINDRISC). Chi square test was used to assess the association and Prevalence Ratio (PR) to determine the probability of presenting a higher metabolic risk. Results: 96.8% of women showed some level of FNI: 34.9% severe, 33.9% moderate and 28% mild. The prevalence of women with high and very high metabolic risk was 59.2%. The association between moderate (PR: 2.15, CI: 1.34-3.43) and severe (PR: 2.98, CI: 1.93-4.63) FNI with metabolic risk was significant. Conclusions: The results indicate that metabolic risk is associated with FNI in adult women from Lima. Therefore, the identification of FNI would be positive implications in the prevention of an important public health problem.