Healthy dietary profiles contribute to successful aging, and dietary intake is dependent upon food procurement capabilities. Both formal and informal social networks can contribute to grocery shopping capabilities and methods of food procurement. This investigation explores the role of informal networks in food procurement methods among adults aged 65 years and older, and compares Ageing Int (2010) 35:253-275 differences across eight European countries. Food shopping ways (FSW), identified by quantitative analysis (cluster analysis and correspondence analysis), guided the content qualitative analysis which was carried out addressing three main research questions addressing food shopping routines, feelings of dependency and needs of informal support for shopping, and differences between past and present food shopping behaviours. Living circumstances influence food shopping habits. Informal networks differed between two groups of individuals: those living alone and those living with others. Gender differences emerged in shopping pleasure. Geographical factors were associated with preference for shopping companions, attitudes toward receiving support, and availability of a car for shopping. The importance of living circumstances (i.e., alone vs. with others) in FSW was revealed. Informal social networks may play an important role in public health and welfare policies, particularly given the increase in this demographic group. Assistance with grocery shopping and the availability of trained personnel could widen informal networks, and effective informal networks may be an important supportive service for older adults. The comparison across countries highlighted relationships between food B. Schuhmacher 254Ageing Int (2010) 35:253-275 procurement capabilities and social networks. These findings may be used to develop resources to better meet the nutritional needs of older adults.

Objective: Menopause is the period when significant changes occur in women and influence their life quality. The aim of this study was to investigate lifestyle behaviours and dietary habits in an Italian sample of pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted May to July 2021 by online platforms. A total of 250 women (130 pre-menopausal and 120 post-menopausal) completed a self-reported questionnaire, comprising questions on demographic characteristics, anthropometrics data, lifestyle behaviours and dietary habits. Results: Overweight/obesity prevalence was 22.4% with higher values of post-menopausal than pre-menopausal women (25.9% vs 19.2%). Pre-menopausal women were slightly more physically active (67.7% vs 65.8), but with significantly lower percentages when exercised for 60+ minutes (36.2% vs 54.7%; p=0.0130). As to sedentary activities, higher and significant percentage of pre-menopausal women was found compared to post-menopausal women (89.2% vs 67.5%; p <0.0001). Regarding the dietary habit of having breakfast regularly, a significantly higher percentage of post-menopausal than pre-menopausal women (90.0% vs 80.0%) emerged. Multiple logistic regression model showed that smoking, physical activity and sleep duration affected significantly the ponderal status, whereas age, marital status, alcohol consumption, breakfast habit, and sweet consumption were not significant. Conclusions: Not many differences in lifestyle and eating habits exist between pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. The only significant differences relate to physical activity duration, sedentary behaviours and breakfast habit in favor of post-menopausal women. However, the prevalence of overweight/obesity was particularly linked to lifestyle behaviors such as smoking, sleep and physical activity in all participating women. Key words: Premenopausal women, postmenopausal women, lifestyle behaviours, dietary habits, overweight/obese.

Objective: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a global public health emergency resulting in lockdowns, associated food habits and lifestyle changes and constraint public health delivery. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 induced lockdown in Italy on lifestyle behaviours among physically active population adults. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from April to June 2020 on 175 subjects (48.6% males and 18–66 age range) by a structured questionnaire to collect information on demographic characteristics, anthropometric data, lifestyle factors and dietary habits. Results: It merged that 40% of the sample gained weight (≈1kg) with no significant differences between genders. Alcohol consumption and physical activity practice and duration significantly decreased during lockdown, while physical activity frequency, sedentary activities, sleep times, daily breakfast habits and consumption of sweets significantly increased. A multiple logistic regression model showed that education level, nutritional status, frequency of physical activity, eating between meals, and sweet consumption had a significant effect on weight gain during COVID-19. Conclusions: Lockdown had a bi-directional impact (both positive and negative) on lifestyle changes, because more time was spent at home. These results need to be confirmed with further longitudinal studies among a larger population sample to better understand the lasting effects of this pandemic on lifestyle behaviors and their changes. Key words: Covid-19, lifestyle behaviour, lockdown, pandemic, physical activity.

This work provides an updated picture of communication strategies developed to improve healthy dietary habits in schoolchildren, with a focus on the importance of milk consumption. The paper has investigated two main areas: the definition of the main orientations and key points of research approach relative to the communication methods, with special attention to multiple strategies and the identification of their peculiarities to increase daily milk consumption. The school environment is considered as a unique environment to help increase the adoption of a correct dietary habit and lifestyle; it increases physical activity by facilitating the flow of health-related information. In this regard, several studies have highlighted the importance and effectiveness of school-based interventions on a large-scale, also considering multiple contexts, early interventions as well as the involvement of teachers, students and families. The effective actions range from interventions on prices and the availability of desirable and undesirable foods to educational programmes that improve food knowledge and the choices of students and/or their parents. From the nutritional point of view, milk is an important component of a well-balanced diet—especially for children—because it contains essential nutrients. It is a substantial contributor to the daily energy intake; however, its consumption often declines with aging and becomes insufficient. Therefore, developing strategies to increase its consumption is an important objective to reach.