J Am Diet Assoc
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Seasonal variation in fruit and vegetable consumption has been documented in a limited number of previous investigations and is important for the design of epidemiologic investigations and in the evaluation of intervention programs. ⋯ Epidemiologic investigations and public health interventions that examine the consumption of fruits and vegetables should consider seasonal variation in consumption patterns, especially in agricultural communities.
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Unsweetened traditional Japanese tea has long been the main beverage consumed in Japan, with soft drinks only recently forming a part of people's diets. Evidence suggests an association between soft drink intake and poor diet quality among youth in the United States. The association is not yet fully examined in the population with relatively low intake level of soft drinks such as the current Japanese population. ⋯ Not only among Western populations, but also among non-Western populations, soft drink intake may be an important factor to consider in evaluating overall dietary intake and diet quality.
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The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a measure of diet quality as specified by Federal dietary guidance, and publication of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 necessitated its revision. An interagency working group based the HEI-2005 on the food patterns found in My-Pyramid. Diets that meet the least restrictive of the food-group recommendations, expressed on a per 1,000 calorie basis, receive maximum scores for the nine adequacy components of the index: total fruit (5 points), whole fruit (5 points), total vegetables (5 points), dark green and orange vegetables and legumes (5 points), total grains (5 points), whole grains (5 points), milk (10 points), meat and beans (10 points), and oils (10 points). ⋯ Intakes between the maximum and minimum standards are pro-rated. The HEI-2005 is a measure of diet quality as described by the key diet-related recommendations of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines. It has a variety of potential uses, including monitoring the diet quality of the US population and subpopulations, evaluation of interventions, and research.
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Review
Commercial assays to assess gluten content of gluten-free foods: why they are not created equal.
A standardized method of analysis is needed to quantitatively determine the gluten content of food and provide the basis for enforcing regulations regarding use of the term gluten-free in food labeling. People with celiac disease should feel confident that foods labeled "gluten-free" have been assessed for gluten using the same "best available" methodology. The Association of Analytical Communities and the Codex Alimentarius Commission endorse different methods. ⋯ It also is unable to accurately quantify hydrolyzed gluten. Foods that can be reliably assessed for gluten using a validated commercially available ELISA are those contaminated with native and heated proteins from wheat, barley, and rye. The degree of confidence that can be placed in a manufacturer's assertion that a product is gluten-free is based on the assay used to determine the gluten content and the specific food analyzed.
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With the passage of the Child Nutrition and Women, Infants, and Children Reauthorization Act of 2004, schools that sponsor school meals programs are required to establish local wellness policies to address childhood obesity. Little is known about how school districts will respond to this mandate, the nature of local wellness policies, and their compliance with this mandate. The objectives of this cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted in early 2007, were to assess local wellness policies established by Pennsylvania public school districts, compare these policies to local wellness policy mandate requirements, and provide information about local wellness policy development and implementation. ⋯ Most respondents identified the superintendent (n=377; 75.6%) and school foodservice director (n=301; 60.3%) as responsible for ensuring local wellness policy implementation. Questions remain about feasibility of these district-level personnel to ensure policy implementation at the school level. The ability of local wellness policies to impact childhood obesity will depend on efforts at both the school and district levels to implement and enforce local wellness policies.