Browsing by Author "Fazakas, Zita"
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- An insight of Europeans’ knowledge about dietary fibers in relationship with obesityPublication . Tarcea, Monica; Nemes, L.; Rus, Victoria; Fazakas, Zita; Serban, Costela; Szucs, Viktoria; Guiné, RaquelObjectives: To estimate the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics of Romanian population, and their knowledge towards dietary fibre intake, the information sources preferred and perception of obesity related health risks. Methods: We used a convenient cross-sectional survey, and the data were collected using a validated questionnaire, disseminated online. Six different Romanian counties with 57 cities were selected in 2016, with 670 participants, and we used the SPSS program 22.0 for statistical purpose. The same questionnaire was applied in other 7 European countries, part of an international project design. Results: The knowledge about dietary fibres intake was low in Romanian sample, also was the ingestion of foods rich in fibre (fruits, vegetables and cereals). Compared to men, women agree significantly more frequent that fibres in appropriate amounts can prevent or treat diseases (U=44607, z=-4.66, p<0.001, r=0.18) and separately related to specific diseases, that fibres can prevent and/or treat cardio-vascular diseases, cholesterol, bowel cancer, breast cancer, constipation, and diabetes, but with no differences regarding the deficiency of vitamins and minerals (p=0.774) or obesity (p=0.399). Regarding the differences observed by countries, the highest fruit consumption was found for Portugal (11.7 portions per week), while the lowest was for Hungary (7.4) and Latvia (7.1). Turkey that had the highest interest for food labelling (4.0 points), contrarily to Macedonia (3.0) with the lowest value, and Hungary with 3.6 points. The indepth analysis of factors that are able to influence European’s knowledge and attitudes towards food fibres, defined the social profile of the respondents with interest on dietary fibre intake, which is: young females, with at least high school education, that considers internet and television like main sources of information regarding fibres. Conclusions: Based on our results, we can elaborate efficient community and school intervention programs, more focused on modern information technology and communication skills, fit to the consumer’s profile in order to promote a healthy nutrition behavior and proper knowledge.
- An insight of Romanians’ knowledge about dietary fibers in relationship with cancerPublication . Tarcea, Monica; Fazakas, Zita; Ruta, Florina; Rus, Victoria; Salcudean, M.; Nemes, L.; Serban, Costela; Guiné, RaquelObjectives: To estimate the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics of Romanian population, and their knowledge towards dietary fiber intake, the information sources preferred and perception of cancer related health risks. Methods: We used a convenient cross-sectional survey, and the data were collected using a validated questionnaire, disseminated online. Six different Romanian counties with 57 cities were selected in 2015, with 670 participants, and we used the SPSS program 22.0 for statistical purpose. Results: The knowledge about dietary fibers intake was low in our sample, also was the ingestion of foods rich in fiber (fruits, vegetables and cereals). Compared to men, women agree significantly more frequent that fibers in appropriate amounts can prevent or treat diseases (U=44607, z=-4.66, p<0.001, r=0.18) and separately related to specific diseases, that fibers can prevent and/or treat cardio-vascular diseases, cholesterol, bowel cancer, breast cancer, constipation, and diabetes, but with no differences regarding the deficiency of vitamins and minerals (p=0.774) or obesity (p=0.399). The in-depth analysis of factors that are able to influence Romanian’s knowledge and attitudes towards food fibers, defined the social profile of the respondents with interest on dietary fiber intake, which is: young females, with at least high school education, that considers internet and television like main sources of information regarding fibers. Comparing to other EU countries, Romanian consumers have good information about dietary fibers importance for health but the daily intake is lower. Conclusions: Based on our results, we can elaborate efficient community and school intervention programs, more focused on modern information technology and communication skills, fit to the consumer’s profile in order to promote a healthy nutrition behavior and proper knowledge.
- Az orvostanhallgatók élelmiszerválasztási motivációinak felmérésePublication . Fazakas, Zita; Szűcs, Victoria; Tarcea, Monica; Nemes-Nagy, Enikő; Guiné, RaquelBevezetés: A táplálkozás ma már nem kizárólag a fizikai létfenntartás eszköze, számos motiváció, érzelmi tartalom kötődik hozzá. Az egyetemi hallgatók étkezési motivációi fiziológiai és az érzelmi igények sok változójától függ, valamint jelentős hatást gyakorolnak az általános egészségi állapotukra, megakadályozzák vagy éppen ellenkezőleg növelik azt. A kutatás célja: A romániai orvostanhallgatók élelmiszer-választását befolyásoló tényezők vizsgálata. Jelen kutatásunk a portugál Viseu Műszaki Intézet CI & DETS Kutatóközpontjának projektének részét képezi. Anyagok és módszerek: A kérdőívet a diákok fogyasztói motivációjának alapkutatásaként használtuk fel, amelyet 130 orvostanhallgató (64,5% nő és 35,5% férfi) töltött ki a Marosvásárhelyi Orvostudományi és Gyógyszerészeti Egyetemen. Az adatok bevitele és statisztikai feldolgozása az alapozó kutatások során IBM SPSS statisztikai programcsomag Statistics 24 segítségével történt. A kvantitatív kutatások eredményeinek feldolgozása során a leíró statisztikák mellett kétváltozós összefüggés-vizsgálatokat végeztünk, Chi-négyzet-próba, Skewness és Kurtosis értékek segítségével. Eredmények: A kérdőív eredményei azt mutatják, hogy a megkérdezettek 75% -át nagyon aggasztja az élelmiszer higiéniája és biztonsága (p <0,001). A megkérdezettek 83,5% -át motiválja az egészséges és kiegyensúlyozott étrend; 99,1% -nak fontos, hogy a napi étrendje sok vitamint és ásványi anyagot tartalmazzon (Kurtosis 3,643 ± 0,265). Az érzelmekkel kapcsolatos tényezők esetében - a válaszadók 93,5% -a számára az élelmiszer érzelmi vigaszt nyújt. Következtetés: Az orvostanhallgatók élelmiszer-választási motivációja az egészséges táplálkozás elérésére irányul, amelynek érdekében összpontosítaniuk kell az étrendi önkontrollra és az önszabályozásra.
- Benefits of dietary fibre for human health and eating habits in different countriesPublication . Leal, Marcela; Guiné, Raquel; Tarcea, Monica; Fazakas, Zita; Vittadinni, Elena; Klava, Dace; El-Kenawy, AymanBackground and Objectives: Because DF has unequivocally demonstrated many benefits for the human health, its consumption should be encouraged. In this way, this research aimed at identifying the eating habits regarding fibre rich foods and assessing the knowledge about the effects of DF as enhancers of human wellbeing. The study was undertaken simultaneously in five countries situated in different parts of the globe, namely South America (Argentina), Africa (Egypt), South Europe (Italy), Central Europe (Romania) and North Europe (Latvia). Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on a non-probabilistic sample of 2290 participants from 5 countries. The data collection was made by a questionnaires translated into the native languages in all participating countries. Results: The consumption of vegetables and salads was higher for Argentina and lower for Egypt while fruits are more consumed in Italy and less in Latvia. Whole grains are more consumed in Latvia and Romania and less in Argentina and Italy. The knowledge about the benefits of DF for cardiovascular diseases and cholesterol is higher in Argentina, for bowel cancer and diabetes in Romania and for obesity and constipation in Latvia. Still, an important number of participants do not have opinions about the different health benefits of DF. Conclusions: In general, the participants showed a moderate consumption of vegetables and fruits but low in whole cereals. The level of knowledge about the effects of DF on human health is still far from desirable levels, and differs considerably from country to country.
- Benefits of dietary fibre to human health: study from a multi-country platformPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Duarte, João; Ferreira, Manuela; Correia, Paula; Leal, Marcela; Rumbak, Ivana; Baric, Irena; Komes, Drazenka; Satalic, Zvonimir; Saric, Marijana Matek; Tarcea, Monica; Fazakas, Zita; Jovanoska, Dijana; Vanevski, Dragoljub; Vittadini, Elena; Pellegrini, Nicoletta; Szucs, Viktória; Harangozó, Júlia; EL-Kenawy, Ayman; EL-Shenawy, Omnia; Yalçin, Erkan; Kösemeci, Cem; Klava, Dace; Straumite, EvitaPurpose: Because dietary fibre has been recognized as a major ally to the maintenance of a healthy body as well as to help against the development of some chronic diseases, this work aimed at studying the level of knowledge of a relatively wide range of people about the health effects related to the ingestion of dietary fibre in appropriate dosages. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken on a non-probabilistic sample of 6010 participants. The data were collected from 10 countries in 3 different continents (Europe, Africa and America) and measured the level of knowledge regarding different health benefits from dietary fibre. The questionnaires were applied by direct interview after verbal informed consent. Findings: The results obtained considering the general level of knowledge revealed a considerable degree of information about the benefits of fibre (average score of 3.54±0.5, on a scale from 1 to 5). There were significant differences between genders (p<0.001), with higher average score for women, and also for level of education (p<0.001), with higher score for university level. The living environment also showed significant differences (p<0.001), with people living in urban areas showing a higher degree of knowledge. Also for countries the differences were significant (p<0.001), with the highest score obtained for Portugal (3.7), and the lowest for Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia and Romania (3.5). However, despite these differences, the results showed that for all the countries the degree of knowledge was good (above 3.5), corresponding to a minimum level of knowledge of 70%. Originality/Value: This work is considered important due to the wide coverage, including so many countries inclusive with different social and cultural settings. The study allowed concluding that, in general, the participants in the study were quite well informed about the benefits of dietary fibre for the improvement of human health, regardless of gender, level of education, living environment or country. This finding is very relevant considering the diversity of people that composed the sample and reinforces the necessity of continuing with educational policies aimed at providing the general population with the knowledge that might help them make appropriate food choices.
- Knowledge about dietary fibre: a fibre study frameworkPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Ferreira, Manuela; Correia, Paula; Duarte, João; Leal, Marcela; Rumbak, Ivana; Barić, Irena C.; Komes, Drazenka; Satalić, Zvonimir; Sarić, Marijana M.; Tarcea, Monica; Fazakas, Zita; Jovanoska, Dijana; Vanevski, Dragoljub; Vittadini, Elena; Pellegrini, Nicoletta; Szűcs, Viktória; Harangozó, Júlia; EL-Kenawy, Ayman; EL-Shenawy, Omnia; Yalçın, Erkan; Kösemeci, Cem; Klava, Dace; Straumite, EvitaThe objective of this work was to study the degree of knowledge about dietary fibre (DF), as influenced by factors such as gender, level of education, living environment or country. For this, a descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken on a non-probabilistic sample of 6010 participants from 10 countries in different continents (Europe, Africa and America). The results showed that the participants revealed on average a positive but still low global level of knowledge, which alerts for the need to take some actions to further inform the population about DF and its role as a component of a healthy diet. The results also indicated differences between genders, levels of education, living environments and countries. The highest level of knowledge was revealed by the participants from female gender, with higher education and living in urban areas. Concerning the country, the best informed were the participants from Romania, followed by those from Portugal and Turkey while the least informed were from Egypt.
- Mean Dietary Fiber Intake of Romanian Adults Results of a Survey QuestionnairePublication . Tarcea, Monica; Fazakas, Zita; Szucks, Victoria; Kovacs, Zsolt; Nagy, Eniko; Olah, Peter; Tilinca, Mariana; Guiné, RaquelThe role of dietary fibers is crucial especially for the prevention of degenerative diseases and cancer. The purpose of this study was to find practical mathematical formulas to calculate the mean dietary fiber intake of Romanian adult population. Based on the intakes of vegetables, fruits and whole cereals we calculated the Mean Dietary Fiber Intake/day/person (MDFI). Our research shows that the national average MDFI was 9.8 g fiber/day/person, meaning 38% of Dietary Requirements, and the rest of 62% representing a fiber gap that we have to take into account. Public health programs actions sustained and developed by the Romanian Dietitians should be taken towards increasing the consumption of fiber-rich products associated with an increased frequency of physical activity, because these actions will be helpful in reducing chronic diseases incidence in Romania.
- Population preferences for sources that offers information about dietary fibres health effects - an international cross-sectional surveyPublication . Georgescu, Ion Mihai; Rus, Victoria; Tarcea, Monica; Ruta, Florina; Fazakas, Zita; Guiné, Raquel; Serban, Costela; Iacob, Oana Maria; Frigy, AtillaObjective: To investigate the perceived importance of information about dietary fibre with regard to population socio -demographic characteristics and consumption patterns. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from September to November, 2016, in six different counties and 57 cities across Romania, and was part of a larger project that had nine other countries as well. Data of the Romanian subjects was collected using a validated questionnaire that was disseminated across the 10 countries at the same time. Knowledge about dietary fibre was explored through 10 questions, and the respondents were asked to answer on a 5-point Likert scale varying from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). SPSS 22 was used for data anaylsis. Results: Of the 670 subjects, 358 (53.4%) were females, and the overall mean age was 35.81±15.61 years (range: 18-89 years). There were 298 (44.5%) subjects with a university degree, 314(46.9%) had completed high school and 57 (8.5%) had done primary school. Besides, 568 (84.8%) participants lived in an urban environment. Internet was the main source of getting information for 368(54.9%) subjects, while the lowest was hospitals 122 (18.2%). The percentage of correct answers regarding knowledge about health effects of dietary fibre was 23.12%. Most accurate answers were related to deficiency of vitamins and minerals 370 (55.5%), breast cancer 202(30.3%), vision problems 202(30.3%) and diabetes 168 (25.2%). The question with least accurate answer was the one about general preventive characteristics of dietary fibres 65 (9.7%). Conclusions: A proper and friendly way to transmit information about the importance of dietary fibre consumption is critical in promoting healthy diet patterns and in preventing non-transmissible diseases.