Search Results (4)

(1) Background: Refugees are a population group at imminent risk of death, being forced to migrate to countries with different cultures. Many of the refugees are at great risk of malnutrition, especially adolescent orphans. The aim of the study was to establish a nutritional and food education program to improve the integration process of young orphan refugees newly arrived in Portugal. (2) Methods: A nutrition and food education program with nine sessions of food and nutrition education over 12 weeks was carried out by a nutritionist from March to June 2016, in 15 young residents of the Reception Center for Refugee Children. The program included the application of a nutritional knowledge questionnaire, an anthropometric assessment, and the collection of data on food habits and lifestyle. The evaluation of the program was carried out by comparing the initial and final scores of the nutritional knowledge questionnaire. (3) Results: There was an improvement in nutritional knowledge among the adolescents, and a direct relationship between attendance at the sessions and improvement of this knowledge was found. Non-significant changes were observed in some anthropometric measurements between the beginning and the ending of the program. (4) Conclusions: This food education program contributed to a better understanding by young orphan refugees newly arrived in Portugal of the foods available in Portugal and of the Portuguese gastronomy. Full article

Green restaurants are based on the implementation of environmental management and are closely related to quality management through a set of instruments and programs. This study aimed to build an instrument classification adopting cutoff points and classify restaurants using traffic light scores from the sustainability assessment checklist validated in Brazilian Portuguese for restaurants. The questionnaire classification validation was performed using a cross-sectional study conducted in a convenience sample of 97 restaurants. The instrument has 76 items, and all items were based on yes/no/not applicable answers, comparing sustainability activities. The instrument score was obtained by assigning one point to each “yes” item. Each section received a score, and a total score was provided to the restaurant from the three sections’ sum. International instruments used in the checklist development stage were checked to assist in the cutoff points determination. Therefore, the score for restaurants with low adherence to sustainable practices or red seal ranges from 0 to 40%, restaurants with medium adherence to sustainable practices or yellow seal from 40% > to <75%, and restaurants with good adherence to sustainable practices or green seal ≥75%. The instrument is divided into three sections (1. water, energy, and gas supply; 2. menu and food waste; 3. waste reduction, construction materials, chemicals, employees, and social sustainability). Percentages must be reached in all sections. Researchers did not find any green or sustainable restaurants through the checklist application in the tested sample, and 47.4% of the restaurants had the yellow seal (presenting sustainable activities) with higher scores for Section 2 regarding menu and food waste. The items less scored were the company has goals for the rational use of water, the company achieves zero greenhouse gas emissions with proven partnerships, the company has a documented program to reduce carbon emissions, and towels or uniforms are made of organic or sustainable material. Thus, it demonstrates the attention points and improvements in the analyzed restaurants. We hope that the construction and validation of the checklist and its score’s determination have contributed to broadening the discussions on sustainability in food services and serve as a starting point for future research. Strategies like these are fundamental to improve the understanding of the subject and to expand the knowledge of nutritionists who deal directly with this economic sector. Full article

This exploratory, nationwide cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the well-being of Portuguese nutritionists, in addition to outlining their professional and demographic profile. Descriptive analyses were carried out to determine the measures relating to centralising tendency and dispersion of the sample. We compared means and proportions through t-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The sample size was 206 individuals, respecting a minimum of eight respondents per item to validate the instrument. We recruited Nutritionists from Portugal nationwide using the list of electronic mail provided by the Order of Nutritionists. We sent an electronic mail to all the Nutritionists registered in this Order. We also used messaging applications and social networks (Instagram, Facebook) to reach Nutritionists who were not accessing electronic mail. Most respondents are women (92.5%), young (mean age = 31.4 ± 8.07 years; 54.2% of participants aging under 30 years), single, and with no children. More than half are Catholic (73.8%) and have less than ten years of nutritionist undergraduate completion (55.4%). The only variable that influences well-being at work is the economic variable Household Monthly Income. Those who earn less than €500.00 per month perceive themselves at a lesser state of work well-being than those who earn from €2501.00 to €5000.00 per month. Full article

Question formats are critical to the collection of consumer health attitudes, food product characterizations, and perceptions. The information from those surveys provides important insights in the product development process. Four formats based on the same concept have been used for prior studies: Check-All-That-Apply (CATA), Check-All-Statements (CAS), Rate-All-That-Apply (RATA), and Rate-All-Statements (RAS). Data can vary depending on what question format is used in the research, and this can affect the interpretation of the findings and subsequent decisions. This survey protocol compares the four question formats. Using a modified version of the Eating Motivation Survey (EMS) to test consumer eating motivations for five food items, each question format was translated and randomly assigned to respondents (N = 200 per country per format) from Brazil (Portuguese), China (Mandarin Chinese), India (Hindi or English), Spain (Spanish), and the USA (English). The results of this survey should provide more understanding of the differences and similarities in distribution of data for the four scale formats. Also, the translations and findings of this survey can guide marketers, sensory scientists, product developers, dieticians, and nutritionists when designing future consumer studies that will use these question formats. Full article