The aim of this comparative cross‐cultural study was to explore the relationship between eating behavior and sociocultural attitudes towards appearance and body image in female university students from two distinct cultural contexts, Cyprus and Lebanon. The Dutch Eating Behavior questionnaire (DEBQ) and the Perceived Sociocultural Influences on Body Image and Body Change Questionnaire were used to assess the different variables in 200 students from each culture. Results indicated that the Lebanese students engaged more in emotional and external eating and were impacted to a larger extent by sociocultural influences including media influences compared to the Cypriot students. In addition, a positive relationship was found between emotional and external eating in both cultures. Finally, significant correlations were found between sociocultural influences and eating scores only in the Cypriot sample. Culture specific factors such as the individualistic or collectivistic aspect of the culture, the societal values and norms specific to Lebanon and Cyprus as well as the westernization history of each are discussed as underpinnings for the dissimilarities found among the two samples. These findings are significant in understanding the high rise of eating pathology in these two cultures.

Meta-analyses on the effect of vitamin D intake on status in children are lacking, especially those focused on vitamin D-fortified foods. The objective of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of vitamin D interventions (fortified foods, supplements, bolus injections) on vitamin D status in children 2-18 y of age. Following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, literature searches were conducted up to December 2016. Randomized placebo-controlled vitamin D interventions in healthy children aged 2-18 y were included. A random-effects model was used with I2 assessing heterogeneity. We included 26 trials (5403 children) with interventions (n = 9 fortified foods, n = 15 supplements, n = 2 bolus injections) from 100-4000 IU vitamin D/d over 4 wk to 2 y. The serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] weighted mean difference for all 26 trials (23.5 nmol/L; 95% CI: 20.7, 26.3 nmol/L; I2 = 99.9%) resulted in a mean increase of 1.0 nmol/L (95% CI: 0.3, 1.7 nmol/L) for each increase of 100 IU vitamin D/d (per 1 µg/d : 0.4 nmol/L; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.7 nmol/L). The response per 100 IU vitamin D/d was greater in trials with a mean baseline serum 25(OH)D <30 nmol/L, with the use of fortified foods and with baseline vitamin D intakes <100 IU/d. In conclusion, the serum 25(OH)D response to vitamin D intake differs on the basis of baseline status, intakes, and delivery mode, but not age, sex, or latitude.

Cell phone pictures may be an easy, relevant, and accessible method of diet self-monitoring when aiming at dietary changes. Future trials should combine this technique with healthy eating education.

Background Intrauterine exposure to maternal vitamin D status &lt;50 nmol/L of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) may adversely impact infant body composition. Whether postnatal interventions can reprogram for a leaner body phenotype is unknown. Objectives The primary objective was to test whether 1000 IU/d of supplemental vitamin D (vs. 400 IU/d) improves lean mass in infants born with serum 25(OH)D &lt;50 nmol/L. Design Healthy term breastfed infants (Montréal, Canada, March 2016–2019) were assessed for serum 25(OH)D (immunoassay) 24-36 h postpartum. Infants with serum 25(OH)D &lt;50 nmol/L at 24-36 h were eligible for the trial and randomized at baseline (1 month postpartum) to 400 (29 males, 20 females) or 1000 IU/d (29 males, 20 females) of vitamin D until 12 months. Infants (23 males, 18 females) with 25(OH)D ≥50 nmol/L (sufficient) formed a non-randomized reference group provided 400 IU/d. Anthropometry, body composition (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) and serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Results At baseline, mean serum 25(OH)D concentration in infants allocated to the 400 and 1000 IU/d vitamin D groups were 45.8 ± 14.1 and 47.6 ± 13.4, respectively, and the reference group 69.2 ± 16.4 nmol/L. Serum 25(OH)D concentration increased on average to ≥50 nmol/L in the trial groups at 3 to 12 months. Lean mass varied differently among groups over time; at 12 months it was higher in the 1000 IU/d vitamin D group compared to the 400 IU/d group (7013 ± 904.6 vs. 6690.4 ± 1121.7 g, P = 0.0428), but not the reference (6715 ± 784.6 g, P = 0.19). Whole body fat mass was not different among groups over time. Conclusions Vitamin D supplementation (400 or 1000 IU/d) during infancy readily corrects vitamin D status, whereas 1000 IU/d modestly increases lean mass by 12 months. The long-term implications require further research.

The implications of maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) and vitamin D status to neonatal bone health are unclear. We tested whether maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and GWG relate to neonatal bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD). Healthy term appropriate for gestational age breastfed neonates (n = 142) and their mothers were recruited 24–36 h after delivery and followed at 1.0 ± 0.5 month. At birth, obstetric data were collected and newborn serum 25(OH)D was measured. At 1 month, neonatal whole-body (WB) BMC, WB BMC relative to body weight (WB BMC/kg), lumbar spine BMC and BMD, maternal and neonatal 25(OH)D concentrations, and anthropometry were measured. Infant BMC and BMD between maternal 25(OH)D (<50, ≥50 nmol/L) and GWG (insufficient, adequate, and excessive) categories were compared. Maternal 25(OH)D was not related to infant whole-body BMC, BMC/kg, lumbar spine BMC, and BMD. Infants in the excessive maternal GWG category had greater (p = 0.0003) whole-body BMC and BMC/kg and lumbar spine BMC and BMD than inadequate GWG, and greater (p = 0.0063) whole-body BMC/kg and lumbar spine BMC and BMD than adequate GWG. These results suggest that maternal GWG, but not vitamin D status, modestly relates to bone mass in neonates.