Browsing by Author "Leal, Marcela"
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- 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.
- Conocimiento y hábitos en relación a la fibra dietética: resultados preliminariesPublication . Leal, Marcela; Carranza, C; Herrera, J; Guiné, RaquelIntroducción. El consumo de fibra dietética, y el conocimiento de sus beneficios son fundamentales en el cambio de conducta alimentaria para la prevención de ECNT. Objetivo. Describir los hábitos de consumo de alimentos con fibra dietética y el nivel de conocimiento. Metodología. Estudio cuantitativo, descriptivo, no experimental transversal, parte del proyecto internacional del Instituto Politécnico (Portugal) donde participan 10 países. Muestra no probabilística por voluntarios de 867 adultos de distintas localidades de Argentina. Se evaluó por cuestionario estructurado, el consumo de frutas y verduras, cereales integrales, la actitud al comprar alimentos, beneficios y prevención de enfermedades, recomendaciones establecidas y alimentos que contienen fibra. Se utilizó el SPSS statistics 20 para analizar los datos. Resultados. La edad promedio fue 36,9±15,9 años. El 23,8% consume diariamente cereales integrales. La ingesta semanal de frutas fue 7,9±6 unidades. El 18,3% incluye verduras en 14 comidas semanales. El 76% afirmo: las legumbres, cereales y frutas son ricos en fibra dietética, y que los productos de origen animal no contienen fibra (48,6%). El 63,4% refuto que los cereales integrales y fruta pelada tienen menos fibra que no integrales y con cáscara (62,2%). El 48,8% conoce la recomendación diaria (25g/día) y los tipos de fibra (soluble e insoluble) (42%). Sin embargo, 47,7% piensa que la fibra contiene calorías. El 80,1% reconoce que el consumo de fibra ayuda a prevenir/tratar enfermedades, sobresaliendo el colesterol (77,3%) seguido de constipación (77,9%). El 37,2% lee el rótulo y la información nutricional (37,4%). 66,3% no controla la cantidad fibra ni lo considera en la elección de alimentos (61,3%). Al comprar envases "Rico o Alto en fibra", 65,9% no revisa el contenido de fibra. La radio fue la elegida para obtención de información (33, 4%) y promoción de consumo (33,2%). Conclusión. La población estudiada mostró un conocimiento adecuado sin embargo el consumo fue bajo.
- Cultural dimensions associated with food choice: A survey based multi-country studyPublication . Djekic, Ilija; Bartkiene, Elena; Szűcs, Viktória; Tarcea, Monica; Klarin, Ivo; Černelić-Bizjak, Maša; Isoldi, Kathy; EL-Kenawy, Ayman; Ferreira, Vanessa; Klava, Dace; Korzeniowska, Małgorzata; Vittadini, Elena; Leal, Marcela; Frez-Muñoz, Lucia; Papageorgiou, Maria; Guiné, RaquelThe aim of this research was to analyze motivations behind food choices from a cross-cultural perspective. It presents results derived from a multi-country study associated with Hofstede's cultural dimensions. A total of 11,919 respondents from 16 countries took part in this research. Two groups of statements were included in the survey: ‘economic & availability motivations' and ‘social & cultural motivations'. Six Hofstede's cultural dimensions covered: Power Distance Index, Individualism–Collectivism Index, Masculinity–Femininity Index, Uncertainty Avoidance Index, Term Orientation Index and Indulgence Restraint Index. This study confirmed that different cultural aspects have influence on food choice. A cluster analysis revealed two clusters as follows: ‘attitudinal’ cluster comprising of 11 countries (57.7% % of the total sample) opposed to the ‘ambivalent’ cluster (47.3%) consisting of the remaining five countries. The results confirm a correlation between Hofstede's dimensions, specifically with individualistic, feminine and tolerant societies. Obtained results may be of interest for different food and gastronomy stakeholders shifting their food policies from a local to a cross-cultural perspective.
- Determinants of economic motivations for food choice: insights for the understanding of consumer behaviourPublication . Martinho, Vítor; Bartkiene, Elena; Djekic, Ilija; Tarcea, Monica; Barić, Irena Colić; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Szűcs, Viktória; Sarcona, Alessandra; El-Kenawy, Ayman; Ferreira, Vanessa; Klava, Dace; Korzeniowska, Małgorzata; Vittadini, Elena; Leal, Marcela; Bolhuis, Dieuwerke; Papageorgiou, Maria; Guiné, Raquel P. F.Food consumption involves several dimensions, being some of them directly associated with the consumers’ characteristics. The interrelationships between these domains impact consumer behaviour for food choice and the consequent decisions for food consumption. In these frameworks, economic motivations are determinant. On the other hand, the scientific literature highlights that the economic-based stimuli to choose food is still underexplored. In this perspective, the objective of this study was to assess the main sociodemographic and anthropometric determinants of the economic motivations for food choice. For that, a questionnaire survey was carried out involving 11,919 respondents from 16 countries. A validated questionnaire was used, translated into the native languages in all participating countries, using a back-translation process. First, the information obtained was assessed through factor analysis to reduce the number of variables associated with the economic motivations and to identify indexes. After, and considering the indexes obtained as dependent variables, a classification and regression tree analysis was performed. As main insights, it is highlighted that the main determinants of the economic motivations are country of residence, age, gender, civil state, professional activity, educational level, living environment, responsibility for buying food, weight, height, body mass index, healthy diets and physical exercise practices. Additionally, the results also reveal that economic motivations may be associated with two indexes, one related to convenience attitudes and the other to quality concerns. Finally, the younger persons and the women are the social groups more concerned with healthy diets and food quality. In conclusion, this work confirmed that food choice is to a high extent influenced by several sociodemographic and behavioural factors.
- Dietary fibre: eating habits and knowledge in different regions of the globePublication . Szűcs, Viktoria; Guiné, Raquel; Leal, Marcela; Ferreira, Manuela; Correia, Paula; Duarte, JoãoIntroduction: Dietary fibre (DF) is an important component in a healthy diet and its consumption constitutes one tool that can be used to lower risk factors for many diseases. Objetives: Because DF has so many health benefits, this study aimed at comparing the eating habits and attitudes towards labelling as well as the knowledge about fibre rich foods and their health effects in three countries situated in different parts of the globe (Argentina, Portugal and Hungary). Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on a convenience non-probabilistic sample of 1525 participants, by questionnaire survey. Results: The results showed that the ingestion of DF was below the recommended dosages in the three countries, and people in general do not care much about the nutritional information in the food labels or the contents in DF. Internet appeared as a very important media that people use to get information about DF or healthy eating, while hospitals and health centre seem to fail somewhat on their educational role. Conclusion: In general, the respondents showed a moderate level of knowledge about the nature and sources of DF but a better knowledge about its effects on human health, being this similar among the countries at study.
- Dietary fibre: eating habits and knowledge in different regions of the globePublication . Szűcs, Viktória; Guiné, Raquel; Leal, Marcela; Ferreira, Manuela; Correia, Paula; Duarte, JoãoIntroduction: Dietary fibre (DF) is an important component in a healthy diet and its consumption constitutes one tool that can be used to lower risk factors for many diseases. Objetives: Because DF has so many health benefits, this study aimed at comparing the eating habits and attitudes towards labelling as well as the knowledge about fibre rich foods and their health effects in three countries situated in different parts of the globe (Argentina, Portugal and Hungary). Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on a convenience non-probabilistic sample of 1525 participants, by questionnaire survey. Results: The results showed that the ingestion of DF was below the recommended dosages in the three countries, and people in general do not care much about the nutritional information in the food labels or the contents in DF. Internet appeared as a very important media that people use to get information about DF or healthy eating, while hospitals and health centre seem to fail somewhat on their educational role. Conclusion: In general, the respondents showed a moderate level of knowledge about the nature and sources of DF but a better knowledge about its effects on human health, being this similar among the countries at study.
- Evalution through artificial neural networks of the sociodemographic Influences on food choicesPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Ferrão, Ana Cristina; Correia, Paula; Ferreira, Manuela; Mendes, Mateus; Leal, Marcela; Ferreira, Vanessa; Rumbak, Ivana; El-Said, Ayman; Papageorgiou, Maria; Szucs, Viktória; Vittadini, Elena; Klava, Dace; Bartkiene, Elena; Munoz, Lucia; Korzeniowska, Małgorzata; Tarcea, Monica; Djekic, Ilija; Bizjak, Maša; Isoldi, KathyIntroduction: The EATMOT Project is a multinational study that is being carried out in 16 countries about different eating motivations, given their recognized importance in the definition of people’s dietary patterns. Objective: This study investigated the influence of sociodemographic factors on some types of eating motivations, specifically: health related factors; economic and availability aspects; emotional determinants; social, cultural and religious influences; marketing and advertising campaigns and finally environmental concerns. Methods: This is a longitudinal observational study carried out on a non-probabilistic sample with 11960 participants. For the analysis of the data were used the T-test for independent samples or ANOVA with Post-Hoc Tukey HSD, depending on the case. The modelling through artificial neural networks included 7 input variables (sociodemographic characteristics) and 6 output variables (the eating motivations’ groups). Results: Variables like age, marital status, country, living environment, level of education or professional area significantly influenced all the types of eating motivations analysed. However, regarding gender, no significant differences were observed for two of the six types of motivations analysed: economic & availability and marketing & commercial. The results of the ANN modelling showed that the strongest positive factors determining the eating motivations were age for health, country for emotional motivations, gender for economic & availability, country for social & cultural, country for environmental & political, and finally country also for the marketing & commercial motivations. Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of the sociodemographic characteristics as determinants for eating patterns around the globe, and particularly the geographic location.
- Influence of sociodemographic factors on eating motivations – modelling through artificial neural networks (ANN)Publication . Guiné, Raquel; Ferrão, Ana Cristina; Ferreira, Manuela; Correia, Paula; Mendes, Mateus; Bartkiene, Elena; Szűcs, Viktória; Tarcea, Monica; Sarić, Marijana Matek; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Isoldi, Kathy; EL-Kenawy, Ayman; Ferreira, Vanessa; Klava, Dace; Korzeniowska, Małgorzata; Vittadini, Elena; Leal, Marcela; Frez-Muñoz, Lucia; Papageorgiou, Maria; Djekić, IlijaThis study aimed at investigating the influence of some sociodemographic factors on the eating motivations. A longitudinal study was carried conducted with 11960 participants from 16 countries. Data analysis included t-test for independent samples or ANOVA, and neural network models were also created, to relate the input and output variables. Results showed that factors like age, marital status, country, living environment, level of education or professional area significantly influenced all of the studied types of eating motivations. Neural networks modelling indicated variability in the food choices, but identifying some trends, for example the strongest positive factor determining health motivations was age, while for emotional motivations was living environment, and for economic and availability motivations was gender. On the other hand, country revealed a high positive influence for the social and cultural as well as for environmental and political and also for marketing and commercial motivations.
- 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.