Opportunities exist for nutrition and dietetic (N&D) professionals to contribute to sustainable development and support actions towards the attainment of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SGD’s). Students undertaking higher education are well-placed to develop skills and capabilities in creative and critical problem solving for sustainability. However, there is limited literature exploring nutrition and dietetic students’ perceptions of sustainability that would help to inform an effective and constructively aligned embedding of sustainability content and active learning opportunities into curriculum. This descriptive cohort study design utilised a 17-question online survey to explore 95 Australian N&D undergraduate students’ self-reported familiarity with and perceived importance of sustainability and related concepts, and view of sustainability for future practice. Participants reported being more familiar with the term environmental sustainability and related concepts than economic or social sustainability. Varying levels of familiarity of 42 sustainability related concepts within economic resilience, environmental integrity, social development and cross-cutting issues were reported. Most participants (82%, n = 78) reported sustainability was very important in general (82%, n = 78), and for professional practice (63%, n = 60). Over half of the participants identified government led initiatives to address the future of society (65%, n = 71). Our study highlights the complexity of sustainability in a discipline specific context and the need for understanding students’ perceptions of sustainability to inform N&D curriculum design.

International travel and short-term residence overseas is now a common feature of an elite athlete’s competition schedule, however, food choice away from home may be challenging and potentially impact on performance. Guidelines for dietary intake specific to competition exist for athletes, however, there is little evidence available to ascertain if athletes meet these recommendations during competition periods, particularly when food is provided in-house. During the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, dietitians based in the dining hall recorded 24 h dietary recalls with all athletes who visited the nutrition kiosk. Analysis of dietary intake was conducted with FoodWorks (Xyris Pty Ltd., Brisbane, Australia). Overall, athletes reported consuming a median total daily energy intake of 8674 kJ (range 2384–18,009 kJ), with carbohydrate within the range of 1.0–9.0 g per kg of bodyweight (g/kg) (median = 3.8) and contributing to 50% total energy (TE) (range 14%–79%). Protein and fat intake ranged from 0.3–4.0 g/kg (median = 1.7) to 10–138 g (median = 67 g), and contributed to 21% TE (range 8%–48%) and 24% TE (range 8%–44%), respectively. Athletes reported consuming between 4 and 29 different food items (median = 15) in the previous 24 h period, with predominately discretionary, grains/cereals, meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and meat alternative items. This suggests that dairy, fruit, and vegetable intake may be suboptimal and intake of the micronutrients iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamins A and C may be of concern for a number of athletes.

Ongoing dietary transitions in the Solomon Islands has resulted in an over-reliance on commercially sourced foods, leading to food insecurity, and a subsequent rise in multiple forms of malnutrition. The aim of this study was to investigate the individual dietary diversity and food preferences of the adult population living in Auki, Solomon Islands. A cross-sectional study involving 133 adults was undertaken in the Auki district via an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Individual dietary diversity scores (DDS) were determined based on the results of a 24-h recall method. Overall mean DDS was 7.27 (range 2–12). Females and participants who lived outside the Auki town center had significantly higher dietary diversity scores. Low consumption of a variety of nutritious foods within food groups and high consumption of energy dense processed foods, indicates that diet quality is likely limited in some of this population. Participants desire for a diverse diet including local foods suggests that current dietary diversity status in this population may be influenced by food security rather than food preference.

The aim of this study was to investigate the dietary regimens reported by athletes competing at a major international competition and report whether these were based on nutrient composition, religious beliefs, cultural eating style, food intolerance or avoidance of certain ingredients. A questionnaire was randomly distributed to 351 athletes in the main dining hall of the athletes’ village over the three main meal periods during the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games (23rd Sept—14th Oct, 2010). The majority (n = 218, 62%) of athletes reported following one or more dietary regimens, with 50% (n = 174) following a diet based on the nutrient composition of the food. Significantly more athletes from weight category and aesthetic sports (28%, p = .005) and from power/sprint sports (41%, p = .004) followed low fat and high protein regimens respectively. Other specialized dietary regimens were followed by 33% of participants, with avoidance of red meat (13%), vegetarian (7%), Halal (6%), and low lactose regimens (5%) reported most frequently. Significantly more athletes from non-Western regions followed a vegetarian diet (p < .001), while more vegetarians reported avoiding additives (p = .013) and wheat (p ≤ .001). A Western style of eating was the most commonly reported cultural regimen (72% of total with 23% from non-Western regions). Those following a Western diet were significantly more likely to report following a regimen based on nutrient composition (p = .02). As a high proportion of athletes from differing countries and sports follow specialized dietary regimens, caterers and organizers should ensure that adequate nutrition support and food items are available at similar events.