This study aims to explore associations between emotional eating, depression and laryngopharyngeal reflux among college students in Hunan Province. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1301 students at two universities in Hunan. Electronic questionnaires were used to collect information about the students’ emotional eating, depressive symptoms, laryngopharyngeal reflux and sociodemographic characteristics. Anthropometric measurements were collected to obtain body mass index (BMI). Results: High emotional eating was reported by 52.7% of students. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 18.6% and that of laryngopharyngeal reflux symptoms 8.1%. Both emotional eating and depressive symptoms were associated with laryngopharyngeal reflux symptoms (AOR = 3.822, 95% CI 2.126–6.871 vs. AOR = 4.093, 95% CI 2.516–6.661). Conclusion: The prevalence of emotional eating and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students should be pay more attention in the future. Emotional eating and depressive symptoms were positively associated with laryngopharyngeal symptoms. The characteristics of emotional eating require further study so that effective interventions to promote laryngopharyngeal health among college students may be formulated.

Parental perception of children’s weight may influence parents’ feeding practices, and in turn, child dietary intake and weight status; however, there is limited evidence generated for preschoolers. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate associations between Chinese parents’ perceptions of child weight, feeding practices and preschoolers’ dietary patterns. Participants (1616 parent-child pairs) were recruited from six kindergartens in Hunan, China. Parents’ misperception, concern, and dissatisfaction on child weight were collected through a self-administered caregiver questionnaire. Parental feeding practices and children’s dietary intake were, respectively, assessed using the Child Feeding Questionnaire and a Food Frequency Questionnaire. Linear regression models were applied to analyze associations between parental weight perceptions, feeding practices, and preschooler’s dietary patterns. Associations between parents’ weight perceptions and dietary patterns were significant only among underweight children. Regardless of child weight status, parental weight underestimation and preference for a heavier child were positively associated with pressure-to-eat. Parental weight concern was positively associated with restriction in normal weight child, but this was not found in other weight groups. In conclusion, Parents’ misperception, concern, and dissatisfaction about child weight are associated with parents’ feeding practices and may influence preschoolers’ dietary quality, but the relationships vary by children’s actual weight status.

This study aims to estimate the free sugars intake, identify the primary food sources of free sugars, and explore the relationship between free sugars intake and dental caries among Chinese adolescents. This cross-sectional study included 1517 middle-school students aged 12–14 years in Changsha city, China. Adolescents completed a 12-item Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and oral health assessment. The students’ dental caries experience was available as DMFT score (number of decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth). Statistical analyses included the Mann–Whitney test, Kruskal–Wallis test, Chi-square test, and binary logistic regression model. The average intake of free sugars was 53.1 g/d in adolescents, and 43.2% of the students consumed more than 50 g of free sugars daily. The primary contributor to free sugars was sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Age, boarders, and high family income were risk factors for excessive free sugars intake (p < 0.05), and increased free sugars intake was a risk factor for dental caries (odds ratio, OR = 1.446, 95% confidence interval: 1.138–1.839). Both the free sugars intake and dental caries prevalence in Chinese adolescents were high. Targeted interventions are urgently needed to address the excessive consumption of free sugars and improve Chinese adolescents’ oral health.

This study aims to explore the association between restrained eating, body image, and dietary intake among Chinese college students. This cross-sectional study included 1301 college students at two universities in Hunan Province. Electronic questionnaires were used to collect information including students’ demographic characteristics, restrained eating, perception of body weight, body satisfaction, and dietary intake. Anthropometric measurements were collected to calculate body mass index (BMI). The prevalence of high restrained eating was 52.8%. Students who were dissatisfied with their bodies or overestimated their body weight showed a higher tendency toward high restrained eating (p < 0.05). Students with high restrained eating tended to eat fruits and eggs more frequently, while the frequency of eating domestic animals and poultry, sugar-sweetened beverages, and fast food were the opposite. Moreover, high restrained eating was a risk factor for low dietary diversity (odds ratio (OR) = 1.384, 95% confidence interval: 1.002~1.912). The high incidence of restrained eating among Chinese college students and its energy-restricted diets that may lead to possible health implications require attention. Further studies are needed to investigate the characteristics of college students’ restrained eating to tailor appropriate interventions for forming positive body images and promoting healthy eating behaviors, thus, improving dietary quality.

(1) Background: Research has shown that chronic inflammation can increase the risk of depression. The dietary inflammatory index (DII) is a novel measure of dietary inflammation, which has been used to investigate the relationship between diet and mental disorders in adults. However, little research has been conducted to establish an association between dietary inflammation (as measured by DII) and postpartum depression (PPD) in exclusively breastfeeding women. (2) Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 293 women who were exclusively breastfeeding for 6 months or less were enrolled. The DII scores were evaluated using semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ), and the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to measure depression levels of breastfeeding mothers during the six months following delivery. The participants were classified by tertiles, and the possibility of DII being associated with PPD was assessed by binary regression analysis. (3) Results: The average DII score was 2.32 ± 1.08, which ranged from −1.66 to 4.19. The rate of depression was 60.1%. Adjusted for potential risk factors such as age, educational level, occupational level, number of babies, number of caregivers, social support level, and sleep quality, the results showed that the lowest DII score was associated with a lower risk of PPD than the highest score (OR tertile Q1 vs. 3 = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.93, p = 0.030). (4) Conclusions: In exclusive breastfeeding women, the inflammatory potential of dietary intake seems to be related to depression. Interventions to improve diet quality might consider including a dietary component that aims to lower chronic systemic inflammation to prevent PPD. However, the relationship between DII and PPD among Chinese women remains to be demonstrated in a larger population.