Our study aimed to describe the association between food patterns and gender, parental education, physical activity, sleeping and obesity in 1976 children aged 5−10 years old. Dietary intake was measured by a semi quantitative food frequency questionnaire; body mass index was calculated and categorized according to the IOTF classification. Factor analysis and generalized linear models were applied to identify food patterns and their associations. TV viewing and male gender were significant positive predictors for fast-food, sugar sweetened beverages and pastry pattern, while a higher level of maternal education and longer sleeping duration were positively associated with a dietary patterns that included fruit and vegetables.

Background: Street foods vary with respect to their nutritional value and safety characteristics and contribute to a sizable proportion of food intake in many populations worldwide. Therefore, the present study aimed to describe the coverage in the scientific literature of different health-related and socio-economic aspects of street food consumption and trading. Methods: Three electronic databases (searched from inception to 16 October 2017), a hand-search of relevant journals and backward citation tracking were used to identify eligible scientific articles with a main objective of investigating or reporting specific results on health-related or socio-economic aspects of street food. Papers published in English, Portuguese, French, Spanish or Italian, as well as English abstracts of papers published in other languages, were assessed. The selected articles were evaluated by two independent researchers and described according to year of publication, geographical distribution, definition of street food, main topics addressed and target population. Results: In total, 441 papers were selected. The number of publications has increased in recent years, almost half of them being published after 2012. Almost three-quarter of the articles were from Africa or Asia. Most studies addressed food safety (85.5%), whereas street food availability and consumption were much less frequently investigated (30.3%). The focus of the studies was usually the food (mostly its microbiological contamination) and the vendors (mostly their food handling), whereas consumers and vending sites were seldom evaluated. More than half of the studies did not specify a definition for street food. Conclusions: Efforts are needed for a more widespread and comprehensive assessment of different issues related to street food availability and consumption in different settings, especially regarding street food offer, nutritional composition, and patterns of purchase and consumption by the population. 152

Background: Handgrip strength is used to identify sarcopenia and frailty phenotypes, being a potential predictor of mortality in older adults. However, uniformity is lacking in the reference values. This study aimed to describe handgrip strength values of older population aged ≥65 years in Portugal, considering the possible influence of anthropometric parameters. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Portugal, among 1500 older adults aged ≥65 years old, according to "The Nutrition UP 65 Study Protocol". Demographic data were collected and cognitive performance, subjective general health, physical activity, anthropometric parameters and nutritional status were assessed and analysed. Handgrip strength data was obtained with a Jamar dynamometer. A Pubmed/Medline search was carried out to compare handgrip strength data between Portuguese older adults and other older populations. Results: Handgrip strength was higher among men than among women (30.3 ± 9.2 Kgf vs 18 ± 5.4 Kgf, p < 0.001, respectively). In general, handgrip strength values of Portuguese older adults were lower than other older populations. In our sample, age, cognitive and nutritional status, self-reported sitting time and practice of physical activity were significantly correlated with handgrip strength in both sexes. Concerning anthropometric parameters, height was the most significantly correlated with handgrip strength (r = 0.34, p < 0.001, in women and r = 0.40, p < 0.001, in men).

BackgroundUnderstanding the influences of educational and economic variables on food consumption may be useful to explain food behaviour and nutrition policymaking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of educational and economic factors in determining food pattern in Portuguese adults.MethodsA cross-sectional study in a representative sample of Portuguese adults (20977 women and 18663 men). Participants were distributed in four categories according to years of education (≤4, 5–9, 10–12, and >12) and income (≤314 euros, 315–547 euros, 548–815 euros, and >815 euros). Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the magnitude of the association between food groups and education/income, adjusting for confounders.ResultsIn both genders, the odds favouring milk, vegetable soup, vegetables, fruit, and fish consumption, increased significantly with education, for those having >12 years of education compared to those with ≤4 years; the odds favouring wine, and spirits consumption decreased significantly with education, for those having >12 years of education compared to those with ≤4 years. In males, the odds favouring starchy foods and meat consumption decreased significantly with income, while for milk, the odds increased with higher income (those having >815 euros compared to those with ≤314 euros).ConclusionsThe low and high income groups are or tend to be similar in regard to several food groups consumption, and access to education/information appears to be the key element to a better food pattern as indicated by higher frequency of milk, vegetable soup, vegetables, fruit, and fish consumption.

BackgroundUnhealthy lifestyle choices tend to cluster, but controversy remains regarding relationships between smoking and dietary habits. The aim of this study was to compare dietary intake and alcohol consumption, according to smoking status, in the Portuguese population.MethodsThe study sample included all participants in the third Portuguese National Health Survey who were older than 19 years (20,302 women and 17,923 men).Participants were selected from households in the five regions of Portugal (NUTS II classification), using a multi-stage random probability design. Trained interviewers conducted face-to-face interviews in each household and obtained information on social and demographic characteristics, lifestyle and health, smoking, and intakes of selected food and beverages. Age-adjusted and education-adjusted binomial and multinomial logistic regression models were fitted separately for males and females, to estimate the magnitude of the association between smoking and the consumption of various food and beverage groups.ResultsWhen heavy smokers were compared with non-smokers, the odds ratio (OR) favouring soup consumption was 0.60 (95% Confidence Interval [95%CI]: 0.54–0.68) in males and 0.46 (95% CI: 0.33–0.65) in females. Similar ORs were observed for vegetables (males: OR = 0.56, 95%CI: 0.49–0.64; females: OR = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.32–0.69) and fruit (males: OR = 0.36, 95%CI: 0.31–0.41; females: OR = 0.29, 95%CI: 0.19–0.44). Overall, these food items were consumed at significantly lower levels as cigarette consumption increased. Heavy male smokers, compared to non-smokers, presented lower odds favouring milk consumption (OR = 0.89; 95%CI: 0.67–0.89). When heavy smokers were compared with non-smokers, the ORs favouring wine drinking, among heavy drinkers, were 1.47 (95%CI: 1.27–1.70) in men and 3.97 (95%CI: 2.07–7.61) in women. Similar ORs were observed for beer (males: OR = 3.30; 95%CI: 2.87–3.78; females: OR = 23.1; 95%CI: 12.2–43.6), Port wine (males: OR = 2.21 95%CI: 1.65–2.98; females: OR = 2.85; 95%CI: 0.68–12.1), brandy (males: OR = 3.67 95%CI: 2.98–4.52; females: OR = 13.2; 95%CI: 3.72–46.6) and whisky (males: OR = 3.31; 95%CI: 2.71–4.03; females: OR = 41.4; 95%CI: 18.5–92.5).ConclusionThis study showed that smokers have a higher intake of alcoholic beverages and a lower consumption of food items rich in fibre, antioxidants, or phytochemicals, which are suspected to have beneficial roles in the prevention of multiple chronic diseases.