Objective: A family of nutrient-rich food (NRF) indices was validated against the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) and their associations with obesity were tested. Design: Cross-sectional study. NRF indices include nutrients to encourage ranging from 6–11 (protein; fibre; vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B12; Ca; Fe; K; Mg; Zn) and two nutrients to limit (saturated fat and Na), described as NRFn.2 (where n 6–11), based on reference amount of 100 g or 100 kcal using the NRF index family of algorithms. The percentage of variation in MAR (R2) was the criteria of index performance. Logistic regression models were applied to predict the association between NRF index and obesity. Setting: Three communities in Zhengzhou city, Henan province, China. Participants: A total of 656 adults were recruited from Henan as the subjects. Results: The NRF9·2 index, based on nine beneficial nutrients and two nutrients to limit, using the algorithm based on sums and 100 kcal, had the higher R2 values (R2 = 0·232). The OR for overweight (defined by BMI) in the 4th quartile (Q4) v. the 1st quartile (Q1) of the NRF9·2 index was 0·61 (95 % CI = 0·37, 0·98) after multiple adjustments. Conclusion: NRF9·2 index using the algorithm based on sums and 100 kcal gave the best predicted model for diet quality. NRF9·2 index score was associated with overweight defined by BMI, but it was not associated with central obesity. The NRF9·2 index is a valid tool to assess the overall diet quality among adults in Henan province of China.

Objectives Sarcopenia is a clinically relevant syndrome with health, social, and economic implications. Alcohol consumption is one of the risk factors for sarcopenia, but it has not been fully investigated in Chinese populations. The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship between alcohol consumption patterns (including the volume and frequency of alcohol consumption) and sarcopenia or its elements among Chinese women and men from Henan Province. Method A cross-sectional study was designed to collect information about nutrition and health in Henan Province, China, and a total of 680 individuals were studied. Sarcopenia was defined according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) criteria updated in 2019. Alcohol consumption was calculated in grams per day and divided into three groups. Drinking frequency was divided into four groups. We assessed the likelihood that sarcopenia was associated with drinking patterns using multiple logistic regression analysis by odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CIs) after multiple adjustments. Results We found that men who consumed > 25 g of ethanol per day were approximately three times more likely to have low muscle mass (OR, 3.99; 95% CI, 1.10–17.05) or low grip strength (OR, 3.39; 95% CI, 1.33–9.92) than nondrinkers after multiple adjustments. In addition, males who consumed alcohol more than 4 times per week were approximately threefold to fivefold more likely to have low muscle mass (OR, 4.99; 95% CI, 1.24–25.55) or low grip strength (OR, 3.37; 95% CI, 1.40–8.74) than nondrinkers. Unfortunately, we did not find a relationship between alcohol consumption patterns and sarcopenia or gait speed among males, and there was no association between alcohol consumption patterns and sarcopenia or any elements. Conclusion Heavy alcohol consumption and frequent drinking are important risk factors for low muscle mass and muscle strength in Chinese men from Henan province.

Objectives: Food price is a determining factor in food choices. However, its relationship with diet quality is unclear in Chinese adults. This study aimed to examine daily energy-adjusted dietary cost (CNY/2000kcal) concerning diet quality in northeast central Chinese adults. Design: Cross-sectional study. The food consumed by 680 Chinese adults from Henan province during the year 2020 was recorded by 24-h dietary recalls. Three dietary quality indices, namely the nutrient-rich foods (NRF) index, the mean adequacy ratio (MAR), and the energy density (ED), were adopted. Daily energy-adjusted diet cost was calculated by dividing the estimated daily diet costs (CNY/day) by the energy intake per day (kcal/day) and multiplying 2000. Setting: Three communities in Zhengzhou city, Henan province, China. Participants:A total of 680 adults were recruited from Henan as the subjects. Results: Subjects who closely adhered to the NRF9.2, MAR, and ED paid daily ¥8.92, ¥13.17, and ¥14.34 more for food consumption, respectively, than those who weakly adhered to these dietary patterns. Furthermore, adjusted linear regression analysis revealed that an increase in ¥1 of the energy-adjusted diet cost per day was associated with a change of 0.494 units (P< 0.001), 0.003 units (P<0.001), and -0.018 units (P<0.001) in the NRF9.2, MAR, and ED, respectively. Conclusion:Higher energy-adjusted diet costs were associated with higher-quality diets. This might be of importance for public health policies in an effort to develop strategies to promote healthy diets by regulating food and diet costs.