Establishing healthy dietary practices at an early age is crucial, as dietary behaviors in childhood track to adulthood. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify factors associated with successful nutrition education interventions conducted in children and published between 2009 and 2016. Using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) guidelines, relevant studies were identified through the PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) databases. Studies published in English between 2009 and 2016 that included a nutrition education intervention among children aged 2 to 19 years were included. Review articles, abstracts, qualitative or cross-sectional studies, and studies targeting children with special nutritional needs were excluded. Four authors screened and determined the quality of the studies using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) system and extracted the data from the articles. Forty-one studies were included: 7 targeted preschool children, 26 targeted elementary school children, and 8 targeted secondary school children. A total of 46% met their primary objectives of nutrition education intervention, while the rest either partially achieved or did not achieve their stated objectives. Successful interventions targeting school children engaged parents by means of face-to-face sessions, identified specific behaviors to be modified, and assured fidelity by training teachers or recruiting trained experts to deliver the intervention. In addition, they allowed adequate dosage, with an intervention duration of at least 6 months, and used age-appropriate activities. Interventions with a multicomponent approach that were age appropriate and of adequate duration (≥ 6 months), that engaged parents, and that ensured fidelity and proper alignment between the stated objectives, the intervention, and the desired outcomes were more likely to succeed.

Unhealthy dietary practices have increased among college students in South Asia. Higher intakes of energy-dense foods may increase health risks such as weight gain in college students. The purpose of the study was to gather evidence on fast food consumption patterns and factors that influenced fast food consumption among college students in South Asia. Electronic databases (CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, and ScienceDirect) were used to find relevant potential English-written articles. We followed the standard process of identification, screening, eligibility assessment, study quality assessment, and data extraction from the included articles in this review. In total, data were synthesized from 28 articles. Factors such as gender, being younger, higher socio-economic class, higher body mass index (being overweight or obese), study groups such as students from Humanities, low nutrition knowledge, and the internet addiction played the roles as positive determinants (all P values < 0.05) of consuming fast food frequently. Furthermore, taste, brand reputation, accessibility, location, price, ambiance, hygiene practice, variety, promotional offers, and timely service significantly (all P values < 0.05) increased intakes of fast food in college students. Engaged institutional nutrition education intervention and multisectoral approaches are necessary to reduce fast food consumption in college students along with enabling them to make healthy food choices.

Food insecurity has been undermining the health and well-being of a growing number of older adults in Sub-Saharan Africa. This review aimed to examine the prevalence of food insecurity and the related contributing factors of food insecurity among older adults in Sub-Saharan Africa. We used PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science Core Collection as our search engines and included 22 articles for data extraction. Prevalence of severe and moderate food insecurity in households with older adults ranged from 6.0 to 87.3% and from 8.3 to 48.5%, respectively. Various socio-economic (e.g., low education level, being widowed, low income, lower wealth position of households, living in a rental house, living in rural areas, lack of social grants or pensions), demographic (e.g., female, Black racial group, larger family size), and health and nutrition status-related (e.g., self-reported poor health status, having a functional and mobility-related disability, psychological disorders) factors influence food insecurity in older adults in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings of this review can help stakeholders to prioritize the issue of food insecurity, design and implement policies and programs to improve food security among older adults in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: To increase nutrition knowledge, fruit and vegetable preference, eating and cooking self-efficacy among 3rd- to 5th-grade students after a 6-week school-based nutrition education intervention. Design: Quasi-experimental pre–post design. Setting: Title I elementary schools, South Plains, West Texas. Method: A nutrition education curriculum informed by social cognitive theory was developed and implemented in four Title I elementary schools. A total of 115 children from 3rd to 5th grade (age range: 8–11 years) participated and completed both baseline and post-intervention surveys. The intervention included class-based nutrition education for 25 minutes, and a cooking and tasting session for 20 minutes each week. Nutrition handouts on fruit and vegetable were sent to parents. Face-to-face survey questionnaires were administered on nutrition knowledge, fruit and vegetable preference, fruit and vegetable eating and cooking self-efficacy during pre- and post-surveys. Changes in mean score of nutrition knowledge, fruit and vegetable preference, fruit and vegetable eating and cooking self-efficacy were analysed using paired t-tests. Results: Participants showed significant improvements in nutrition knowledge, fruit and vegetable preference, eating and cooking self-efficacy after the intervention. Conclusion: Study results suggest that a brief 6-week multi-component and school-based nutrition education intervention had the potential to engage students and create health-promoting behaviours.

Objective: To gather research evidence on the association between diet and depression and anxiety among college students. Methods: Systematic searches were performed in CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, an...

Background: Pneumonia and diarrhea are the leading causes of under-five (U5) child mortality in Bangladesh. Seeking appropriate care in timely manner may prevent U5 child mortality due to pneumonia and diarrhea, and thus, it is important to understand perception and barriers of health-seeking behavior of parents during childhood pneumonia and diarrhea in order to develop healthcare policies, and design programs to improve health care utilization practices in disadvantaged areas. The study aimed to explore the factors affecting health-seeking behavior during the first episode of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia.Methods: In a cross-sectional study, survey interviews with 392 mothers, and two focus group discussions (FGD) with fathers (n = 16) were conducted in two villages of Teknaf Upazila in a coastal district in Bangladesh.Results: Logistic regression analysis indicated that during childhood diarrhea, mother’s age, household monthly income, monthly health expenditure and mother’s knowledge regarding danger signs, and during childhood pneumonia, mothers’ education level, monthly household income, monthly expenditure for treatment, household size, and knowledge regarding danger signs were the predictors of mothers’ health-seeking behavior. Results from FGDs indicate that financial problems, low education, distance to health facilities, poor transport facilities hinder the ability to seek timely care during childhood diarrhea and pneumonia.Conclusions: Policies and programs should be in place to address barriers of health-seeking behaviors to reduce child mortality due to diarrhea and pneumonia in coastal areas.