Eggplant grafting implemented implemented in two field sites in the Philippines, in Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan are used as proofs of concept to illustrate and validate the feasibility of an impact assessment framework for determining the nutritional impact of technology-oriented agricultural activities. Nutritional impacts are assessed by disaggregating the market demand curve into demand curves by income groups using their separate price elasticities of demand. Considering only price effects, the increase in yields following a per unit cost reduction due to eggplant grafting has positive effects on the daily caloric intake per capita in the different income classes with the greatest impact on the lowest income class for both sites. Net increases in calorie intake ranges between 0.09 and 0.6 kilocalories per capita per day. / Master of Science

Esta tese aborda um tema pouco explorado na literatura: ansiedade, consumo alimentar e o estado nutricional de adolescentes. O objetivo foi estudar a relação entre ansiedade e consumo alimentar e seu impacto no estado nutricional em adolescentes escolares. Realizou-se um estudo transversal com adolescentes escolares de 10 a 19 anos que apresentaram triagem positiva para ansiedade, de acordo com a escala de autorrelato para transtornos relacionados à ansiedade na infância (SCARED-C), bem como uma amostra de controles sem transtornos de ansiedade. Na avaliação do consumo de energia e macronutrientes, utilizou-se o questionário de frequência alimentar para adolescentes (QFAA). A avaliação nutricional consistia em avaliação antropométrica e medida de bioimpedância elétrica (BIA), avaliação dos caracteres sexuais secundários e atividade física habitual. O teste qui-quadrado avaliou a associação entre variáveis categóricas e ansiedade ou gênero, e o teste t de Student ou ANOVA, a associação entre variáveis categóricas e o consumo de energia e macronutrientes. Para avaliar a relação entre o consumo, a ansiedade e as características biológicas, comportamentais e sociais, realizou-se análise de regressão, utilizando o método de Equações de Estimação Generalizadas (GEE). Foram avaliados 706 adolescentes com média de idade 13,9±2,4 anos. Desses, 149 (21,1%) apresentaram sobrepeso e 92 (13,0%), obesidade. A composição corporal revelou excesso de gordura em 235 (33,3%), acúmulo de gordura abdominal em 157 (22,2%) e, quanto ao nível de atividade física, 429 (60,8%) eram inativos, sendo que as meninas apresentam maior prevalência do que os meninos (p < 0,001). Na análise não ajustada, os ansiosos apresentaram, em média, maior consumo diário de energia total e carboidrato quando comparados aos não ansiosos (p = 0,039 e p = 0,037, respectivamente), quanto à proteína e à gordura, não apresentaram associação. Após ajuste de coeficientes, o efeito da energia persistiu, demonstrando que ser ansioso implica num consumo diário adicional de 246,5 kcal. Para o consumo de carboidratos com o ajuste pelas calorias totais, esse efeito desaparece. Não se observou relação entre a ansiedade e o estado nutricional e seus determinantes. Concluindo, evidenciou-se que, entre os adolescentes que apresentaram ansiedade, a ingestão de energia total foi superior àqueles não ansiosos, embora exista consumo proporcional de macronutrientes. Neste estudo, ao contrário de alguns achados da literatura, a ansiedade não teve relação com o sobrepeso e a obesidade. / The association between anxiety, food consumption and the nutritional status of adolescents has not been fully explored in the literature. This cross-sectional study evaluated this association in a group of adolescent students aged 10 to 19 years who had positive results for anxiety in a self-report questionnaire for anxiety disorders in childhood (SCARED-C), as well as in a control group of adolescents with no anxiety disorders. A food frequency questionnaire for adolescents (QFAA) was used to evaluate energy and macronutrient intakes. Nutritional status was assessed according to anthropometric parameters, electrical bioimpedance (BIA) measurements, secondary sexual characteristics and habitual physical activities. A chi-square test was used to evaluate the association between the categorical variables and anxiety or sex, and the Student t test or ANOVA, for the association between categorical variables and calorie and macronutrient intake. Regression analysis with generalized estimating equations (GEE) was used to evaluate the association between intake, anxiety and biological, behavioral and social characteristics. Mean age of the 706 adolescents evaluated was 13.9±2.4 years; 149 (21.1%) were overweight, and 92 (13.0%) were obese. The analysis of body composition revealed that 235 (33.3%) had excessive fat, and 157 (22.2%), excessive abdominal fat. The analysis of physical activity revealed that 429 (60.8%) were inactive, and the prevalence was greater for girls than for boys (p < 0.001). In the nonadjusted analysis, adolescents with anxiety had a greater mean total daily calorie and carbohydrate intake than adolescents without anxiety (p = 0.039 and p = 0.037); protein and fat were not significantly associated. After coefficient adjustments, the effect of calorie intake remained significant, which indicated that being anxious led to an additional daily consumption of 246.5 kcal. For the consumption of carbohydrates, this effect disappeared after the adjustment to total calories. There were no associations between anxiety and the nutritional status or its determinant factors. In conclusion, we found that, among adolescents with anxiety, total caloric intake was greater than for adolescents without anxiety, although macronutrient intake was not significantly different. In this study, contrary to several findings reported in the literature, anxiety was not associated with overweight or obesity.

Esta tese aborda um tema pouco explorado na literatura: ansiedade, consumo alimentar e o estado nutricional de adolescentes. O objetivo foi estudar a relação entre ansiedade e consumo alimentar e seu impacto no estado nutricional em adolescentes escolares. Realizou-se um estudo transversal com adolescentes escolares de 10 a 19 anos que apresentaram triagem positiva para ansiedade, de acordo com a escala de autorrelato para transtornos relacionados à ansiedade na infância (SCARED-C), bem como uma amostra de controles sem transtornos de ansiedade. Na avaliação do consumo de energia e macronutrientes, utilizou-se o questionário de frequência alimentar para adolescentes (QFAA). A avaliação nutricional consistia em avaliação antropométrica e medida de bioimpedância elétrica (BIA), avaliação dos caracteres sexuais secundários e atividade física habitual. O teste qui-quadrado avaliou a associação entre variáveis categóricas e ansiedade ou gênero, e o teste t de Student ou ANOVA, a associação entre variáveis categóricas e o consumo de energia e macronutrientes. Para avaliar a relação entre o consumo, a ansiedade e as características biológicas, comportamentais e sociais, realizou-se análise de regressão, utilizando o método de Equações de Estimação Generalizadas (GEE). Foram avaliados 706 adolescentes com média de idade 13,9±2,4 anos. Desses, 149 (21,1%) apresentaram sobrepeso e 92 (13,0%), obesidade. A composição corporal revelou excesso de gordura em 235 (33,3%), acúmulo de gordura abdominal em 157 (22,2%) e, quanto ao nível de atividade física, 429 (60,8%) eram inativos, sendo que as meninas apresentam maior prevalência do que os meninos (p < 0,001). Na análise não ajustada, os ansiosos apresentaram, em média, maior consumo diário de energia total e carboidrato quando comparados aos não ansiosos (p = 0,039 e p = 0,037, respectivamente), quanto à proteína e à gordura, não apresentaram associação. Após ajuste de coeficientes, o efeito da energia persistiu, demonstrando que ser ansioso implica num consumo diário adicional de 246,5 kcal. Para o consumo de carboidratos com o ajuste pelas calorias totais, esse efeito desaparece. Não se observou relação entre a ansiedade e o estado nutricional e seus determinantes. Concluindo, evidenciou-se que, entre os adolescentes que apresentaram ansiedade, a ingestão de energia total foi superior àqueles não ansiosos, embora exista consumo proporcional de macronutrientes. Neste estudo, ao contrário de alguns achados da literatura, a ansiedade não teve relação com o sobrepeso e a obesidade. / The association between anxiety, food consumption and the nutritional status of adolescents has not been fully explored in the literature. This cross-sectional study evaluated this association in a group of adolescent students aged 10 to 19 years who had positive results for anxiety in a self-report questionnaire for anxiety disorders in childhood (SCARED-C), as well as in a control group of adolescents with no anxiety disorders. A food frequency questionnaire for adolescents (QFAA) was used to evaluate energy and macronutrient intakes. Nutritional status was assessed according to anthropometric parameters, electrical bioimpedance (BIA) measurements, secondary sexual characteristics and habitual physical activities. A chi-square test was used to evaluate the association between the categorical variables and anxiety or sex, and the Student t test or ANOVA, for the association between categorical variables and calorie and macronutrient intake. Regression analysis with generalized estimating equations (GEE) was used to evaluate the association between intake, anxiety and biological, behavioral and social characteristics. Mean age of the 706 adolescents evaluated was 13.9±2.4 years; 149 (21.1%) were overweight, and 92 (13.0%) were obese. The analysis of body composition revealed that 235 (33.3%) had excessive fat, and 157 (22.2%), excessive abdominal fat. The analysis of physical activity revealed that 429 (60.8%) were inactive, and the prevalence was greater for girls than for boys (p < 0.001). In the nonadjusted analysis, adolescents with anxiety had a greater mean total daily calorie and carbohydrate intake than adolescents without anxiety (p = 0.039 and p = 0.037); protein and fat were not significantly associated. After coefficient adjustments, the effect of calorie intake remained significant, which indicated that being anxious led to an additional daily consumption of 246.5 kcal. For the consumption of carbohydrates, this effect disappeared after the adjustment to total calories. There were no associations between anxiety and the nutritional status or its determinant factors. In conclusion, we found that, among adolescents with anxiety, total caloric intake was greater than for adolescents without anxiety, although macronutrient intake was not significantly different. In this study, contrary to several findings reported in the literature, anxiety was not associated with overweight or obesity.

A complex system exists to monitor the body’s energy status and regulate food intake and energy expenditure to maintain a constant body weight. However, this homeostatic system is not the sole system regulating appetite. The hedonic system comprised of the mesolimbic reward pathway influences motivation to eat and acts alongside the homeostatic system to control feeding behaviours. It is often assumed that the hedonic system promotes the consumption of palatable, energy-dense foods and this can disrupt homeostatic mechanisms regulating food intake, resulting in energy overconsumption and weight gain in the long term. Yet, it is unclear to what extent the homeostatic system can defend body weight in an environment rich in palatable, energy-dense foods. I hypothesised that the homeostatic system compensates for the energy in palatable foods by reducing subsequent energy consumption, defined as homeostatic caloric compensation. I investigated homeostatic caloric compensation in a rat model of restricted palatable, high-sugar food access. Rats were schedule-fed moderate amounts of sweetened condensed milk (SCM) daily in addition to ad lib bland diet access. Both male and female rats calorically compensated for the energy consumed from moderate amounts of SCM through a robust and accurate reduction in energy consumed from bland diet, resulting in no short-term changes in body weight gain. However, homeostatic responses were limited as male rats were unable to fully calorically compensate for the scheduled-feeding of large amounts of SCM, an apparent loss of homeostatic control. It was not investigated whether female rats are also unable to fully calorically compensate for large amounts of SCM. It is possible that male rats consume these large amounts of SCM due to hedonic drive but continue to eat bland diet to acquire nutrients that are not present in SCM. To determine whether male rats defend bland diet consumption due to nutrient requirements, rats were schedule-fed large amounts of SCM enriched with protein or fibre. However, male rats did not fully calorically compensate for the energy in large amounts of SCM when enriched with protein or fibre. Overall, these findings demonstrate that the homeostatic system is able to respond to the hedonic consumption of palatable food through caloric compensatory mechanisms to defend body weight. However, it appears that the homeostatic system is unable to effectively respond to excessive hedonic palatable food consumption through caloric compensation alone. To shed light on what homeostatic mechanisms may underlie this compensatory behaviour, I used expression of the immediate early gene c-Fos to investigate neuronal activity following the scheduled-feeding of moderate amounts of SCM in male rats. c-Fos expression was increased in the ventral tegmental area of the mesolimbic reward pathway and in the lateral hypothalamus. The lateral hypothalamus has been proposed to act as an interface between homeostatic and hedonic systems. Therefore, in response to the hedonic consumption of palatable food, the homeostatic system and reward pathway may interact. Additionally, c-Fos expression was increased in satiety mediating brain regions of the homeostatic system, including the nucleus of the solitary tract and dorsomedial hypothalamus. This suggests that the homeostatic system may compensate for the energy in the palatable food by reducing subsequent food intake through inducing satiety. Furthermore, following the consumption of SCM, c-Fos expression was increased in magnocellular oxytocin neurons of the hypothalamic supraoptic and paraventricular nucleus. I demonstrated that the oxytocin system was activated by gut-brain signalling potentially involving the nucleus of the solitary tract. Therefore, the oxytocin system may be involved in homeostatic compensatory mechanisms triggered in response to the hedonic consumption of SCM, as part of a pathway mediating satiety. Moreover, I showed that c-Fos expression was also increased in the hypothalamic supramammillary nucleus (SuM) following the consumption of SCM. It has been previously shown that the SuM is involved in reward-related motivated behaviours and was recently implicated in the motivation to acquire and consume palatable food rewards. I also demonstrated that c-Fos expression in the SuM might be specific to the motivated consumption of palatable food, consistent with the SuM being involved in reward-related motivated behaviours. Furthermore, there is additional evidence from these studies that the SuM may functionally communicate with brain regions in the homeostatic and hedonic systems, including the lateral hypothalamus, dorsomedial hypothalamus and ventral tegmental area. Finally, I explored whether the gut-secreted orexigenic hormone ghrelin activates the SuM, as ghrelin may act at the SuM to influence feeding motivation. However, systemic ghrelin administration did not influence SuM c-Fos expression. As the SuM is activated following the consumption of SCM and may act as an interface between the homeostatic and hedonic systems, it is possible that the SuM could be a key component in the regulation of hedonic feeding. Using a rat model, I have shown that homeostatic compensatory mechanisms are triggered in response to the hedonic consumption of palatable, high-sugar food to regulate energy intake. This response is likely to involve homeostatic satiety mechanisms and interactions between multiple brain regions involved in the homeostatic and hedonic control of food intake. Overall, these findings shed light on how the homeostatic system responds to hedonic energy consumption and highlights specific brain regions that may be involved in hedonic feeding or homeostatic compensatory responses.

Esta tese aborda um tema pouco explorado na literatura: ansiedade, consumo alimentar e o estado nutricional de adolescentes. O objetivo foi estudar a relação entre ansiedade e consumo alimentar e seu impacto no estado nutricional em adolescentes escolares. Realizou-se um estudo transversal com adolescentes escolares de 10 a 19 anos que apresentaram triagem positiva para ansiedade, de acordo com a escala de autorrelato para transtornos relacionados à ansiedade na infância (SCARED-C), bem como uma amostra de controles sem transtornos de ansiedade. Na avaliação do consumo de energia e macronutrientes, utilizou-se o questionário de frequência alimentar para adolescentes (QFAA). A avaliação nutricional consistia em avaliação antropométrica e medida de bioimpedância elétrica (BIA), avaliação dos caracteres sexuais secundários e atividade física habitual. O teste qui-quadrado avaliou a associação entre variáveis categóricas e ansiedade ou gênero, e o teste t de Student ou ANOVA, a associação entre variáveis categóricas e o consumo de energia e macronutrientes. Para avaliar a relação entre o consumo, a ansiedade e as características biológicas, comportamentais e sociais, realizou-se análise de regressão, utilizando o método de Equações de Estimação Generalizadas (GEE). Foram avaliados 706 adolescentes com média de idade 13,9±2,4 anos. Desses, 149 (21,1%) apresentaram sobrepeso e 92 (13,0%), obesidade. A composição corporal revelou excesso de gordura em 235 (33,3%), acúmulo de gordura abdominal em 157 (22,2%) e, quanto ao nível de atividade física, 429 (60,8%) eram inativos, sendo que as meninas apresentam maior prevalência do que os meninos (p < 0,001). Na análise não ajustada, os ansiosos apresentaram, em média, maior consumo diário de energia total e carboidrato quando comparados aos não ansiosos (p = 0,039 e p = 0,037, respectivamente), quanto à proteína e à gordura, não apresentaram associação. Após ajuste de coeficientes, o efeito da energia persistiu, demonstrando que ser ansioso implica num consumo diário adicional de 246,5 kcal. Para o consumo de carboidratos com o ajuste pelas calorias totais, esse efeito desaparece. Não se observou relação entre a ansiedade e o estado nutricional e seus determinantes. Concluindo, evidenciou-se que, entre os adolescentes que apresentaram ansiedade, a ingestão de energia total foi superior àqueles não ansiosos, embora exista consumo proporcional de macronutrientes. Neste estudo, ao contrário de alguns achados da literatura, a ansiedade não teve relação com o sobrepeso e a obesidade. / The association between anxiety, food consumption and the nutritional status of adolescents has not been fully explored in the literature. This cross-sectional study evaluated this association in a group of adolescent students aged 10 to 19 years who had positive results for anxiety in a self-report questionnaire for anxiety disorders in childhood (SCARED-C), as well as in a control group of adolescents with no anxiety disorders. A food frequency questionnaire for adolescents (QFAA) was used to evaluate energy and macronutrient intakes. Nutritional status was assessed according to anthropometric parameters, electrical bioimpedance (BIA) measurements, secondary sexual characteristics and habitual physical activities. A chi-square test was used to evaluate the association between the categorical variables and anxiety or sex, and the Student t test or ANOVA, for the association between categorical variables and calorie and macronutrient intake. Regression analysis with generalized estimating equations (GEE) was used to evaluate the association between intake, anxiety and biological, behavioral and social characteristics. Mean age of the 706 adolescents evaluated was 13.9±2.4 years; 149 (21.1%) were overweight, and 92 (13.0%) were obese. The analysis of body composition revealed that 235 (33.3%) had excessive fat, and 157 (22.2%), excessive abdominal fat. The analysis of physical activity revealed that 429 (60.8%) were inactive, and the prevalence was greater for girls than for boys (p < 0.001). In the nonadjusted analysis, adolescents with anxiety had a greater mean total daily calorie and carbohydrate intake than adolescents without anxiety (p = 0.039 and p = 0.037); protein and fat were not significantly associated. After coefficient adjustments, the effect of calorie intake remained significant, which indicated that being anxious led to an additional daily consumption of 246.5 kcal. For the consumption of carbohydrates, this effect disappeared after the adjustment to total calories. There were no associations between anxiety and the nutritional status or its determinant factors. In conclusion, we found that, among adolescents with anxiety, total caloric intake was greater than for adolescents without anxiety, although macronutrient intake was not significantly different. In this study, contrary to several findings reported in the literature, anxiety was not associated with overweight or obesity.

Master of Science / Department of Computing and Information Sciences / Mitchell L. Neilsen / It is well recognized that staying fit and healthy is a significant public problem now days and engaging in moderate levels of physical activity and having healthy food is associated with positive outcomes. Many dietary applications are being used at present times, but they don’t include physical activity in their assessment and even if they do so they require user to manually enter the data which gives room for unintentional mistakes. Nutritional wizard is a dietary and nutritional coach that works synchronously with Fitbit data to achieve this. This application analyses the food intake of an individual and automatically inspects this with his physical activity recorded through the Fitbit to give a cover on his health and fitness. The application has four main parts, input food, analysis, profile, and recipes. In input food part, user gives all the details of the food he had on that day and nutritional wizard gives the person’s calorie intake, steps he made on that day, calories spent, excess calories stored, steps he has to still make on that day. Analysis part of the application gives graphical representations of daily calorie intake in a specific time frame given by user. Profile has user’s height and weight based on which BMI of user is calculated and is represented in a Gantt chart showing if he is in low, good or high BMI. Last Recipes module has few recipes categorized into different selections low carb, low fat, and low protein which user can use to decrease his calorie intake. The completely developed app can be used by any user maintaining a fit bit account to provide good nutritional benefits.

Inledning: Många barn får i sig mycket mer socker än det rekommenderade dagliga intaget. Enligt Världshälsoorganisationen är idag 381 miljoner barn drabbade av övervikt eller fetma. Syfte: Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka om införandet av sockerskatt kan bidra till att minska barnfetma och övervikt, vilket i så fall skulle kunna vara en bidragande faktor till förbättrad möjlighet till en god hälsa och ett långt liv. Metod: En systematisk litteraturstudie där 15 vetenskapliga artiklar som speglade studiefrågan analyserades och sammanställdes. Resultat: Läskskatt är mest effektiv då den är volymbaserad och ligger på 20% eller högre. Hur stor viktreducering läskskatt leder till beror på konsumentens ålder, kön och socioekonomiska ställning. Störst blir viktreduceringen bland barn och ungdomar, vilka är de som konsumerar mest läsk i befolkningen. Diskussion: Studien visar att det inte längre är hållbart för nationer att förlita sig på att befolkningen kan hantera sitt kaloriinatg på egen hand. Att beskatta just läsk är både praktiskt att implementera och en nödvändig hälsoåtgärd. Först då konsumenterna själva känner en motvilja att konsumera livsmedlet, samt förstår kopplingen mellan högt sockerintag och den egna hälsan, ger sockerskatt maximal effekt. / Introduction: Many children consume more sugar than the recommended daily intake. According to the World Health Organization, 381 million children today are affected by obesity or overweight. Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the introduction of sugar tax can help reduce childhood obesity and overweight, which could be a contributing factor to improved opportunities for good health and longevity. Method: A systematic literature study where 15 scientific articles reflecting the study matter were analyzed and compiled. Result: Sugar sweetened beverage tax is most effective when it is volume based and is 20% or higher. That weight reduction taxation leads to depends on the consumer's age, gender and socioeconomic position. The biggest reduction is the weight reduction among children and adolescents, who consume the most sugar sweetened beverages in the population.  Discussion: The systematic review shows that it is no longer sustainable for nations to rely on the population to manage their calorie intake on their own. Taxing sugar sweetened beverages is both practical to implement and a necessary health measure. Once consumers feel a reluctance to consume the groceries, and understand the connection between high sugar intake and their own health, sugar tax gives.

With an increasing rate of urbanisation in East Africa, and with the highest prevalence rate of undernourished population than any region in the developing world, the issue of food access insecurity in urban areas has received considerable attention. While there are noticeable differences between big, medium- and small-sized towns, the variation in the household’s response to food access insecurity across urban hierarchies remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the social, economic and demographic factors in coping with food access insecurity among households in urban slum areas of Ethiopia. The study used both secondary and primary data sources. The national surveys of household consumption and expenditure survey and welfare monitoring surveys of 2004/5, 2010/11, and 2015/16 was used to analyse the food security situation in Ethiopia across time and urban hierarchies. Primary data of 500 households and three focus group discussions were conducted from slum areas of Addis Ababa, Hawassa, and Sheki representing a big city, medium- and small-sized town, respectively. The household survey data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis and a standard regression model to investigate the relationship between factors such as household structure and composition, economic resources, social protection programmes and projects, and urban-rural linkages with coping with food access insecurity across urban hierarchies. A global model and three site-specific regression models were constructed. Descriptive results from both the primary and the secondary data sources have revealed that the proportion of the households affected by food shortage varies across the urban hierarchy that food insecurity was highest in the small-sized town as compared with the medium-sized town and the big city. The quality of food consumed was consistently low among female-headed households regardless of their socio-economic characteristics when compared with male-headed households. The result of the regression analysis for the global model has shown that economic resources (asset and source of income) predict nearly half of the variability in coping with food access insecurity. Household structure and composition such as gender and education of the head of the household, family structure (nuclear/extended), and the ratio of young children in the household predict a quarter of the variability in coping. Social protection programs and services predict one-tenth; the remaining variability in coping is explained by the combined effect of all the factors involved. The significance of these factors in predicting coping with food access insecurity, however, varies across the urban hierarchies. The contribution of economic factors in predicting coping is the highest at the big city (Addis Ababa); household structure and composition took the leading role in predicting coping at the small-sized town (Sheki); the significant factors in predicting coping at the mediumsized town (Hawassa) was the combined effect of all the factors involved. Household characteristics such as female headship, a higher ratio of young children, low education of the household head, lack of access to the financial loan, asset and income poverty, and weak linkages with kin structure at rural areas increase vulnerability to food insecurity and put households under stress to cope with food access insecurity. The study results show that the traditional urban-rural dichotomy may not suffice to portray the degree of food insecurity, as well as the mechanisms how food insecure households strive to cope with food access insecurity, which varies across the continuum of urban hierarchies. Those who wish to support food insecurity challenges need to be sensitive to the variability of factors in coping with food access insecurity across urban hierarchies. During policy, design and program implementation policymakers and international partners need to consider that the needs and coping mechanisms of urban households vary across urban hierarchies besides the other social, economic and demographic variables. / Development Studies / Ph. D. (Development Studies)