abstract chocolate is derived from cocoa beans - the fruit of the cacao tree or theobroma cacao (the latin term: food of the gods). recent published articles demonstrate that the quality and quantity of the antioxidants in cocoa and chocolate are very high and their flavonoids are believed to reduce the number of free radicals in the body that contribute to medical problems, such as cardiovascu...

American Samoa, one of the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands, has documented the highest prevalence of adults with obesity (75%) in the world. The nutritionally poor food and beverage environment of food retail venues has been suspected to be a contributing factor, although an evaluation of these venues in American Samoa has not been conducted. In January 2014, American Samoa established an Obesi...

Many adolescents have diets that are less than optimal, particularly adolescents of low socioeconomic position (SEP). The determinants of SEP differences in adolescent dietary intake are poorly understood. This study examined the home food environments of adolescents and specifically investigated whether low SEP adolescents have less supportive home meal environments, fewer eating rules and poo...

OBJECTIVE Examine the nutritional quality of food and beverages consumed across a sample of community aquatic and recreation centres in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. METHODS Interviewer-administered surveys of randomly selected patrons attending four aquatic and recreation centres were conducted to ascertain food and beverage items consumed over two data collection periods (May-June 2014...

BACKGROUND Age-related cataract is a major cause of morbidity. Previous studies of diet and cataract risk have focused on specific nutrients or healthy eating indexes but not on identifiable dietary groups such as vegetarians. OBJECTIVE We investigated the association between diet and cataract risk in a population that has a wide range of diets and includes a high proportion of vegetarians. ...

PURPOSE To investigate potential dietary changes among Southeast Asian international students living in self-catered accommodation while studying abroad and to consider implications for their health. DESIGN Participants were interviewed about their food preferences and behaviours in their home countries and during their undergraduate studies at the Australian National University. SETTING A ...

Health psychologists aim to improve eating behaviour to achieve health. Yet the effectiveness of healthy eating interventions is often minimal. This ineffectiveness may be in part because many healthy eating interventions are in a battle against evolved mechanisms (e.g., hedonic and related systems) that promote the consumption of energy-dense foods. Such foods, once rare, are now abundant in o...

Despite national health objectives to reduce the incidence of obesity to 15% of the population by 2010, public health data suggest that the incidence of obesity in the United States is actually increasing. The U.S. recognizes that it (like other industrialized countries) faces an epidemic of obesity and related health conditions. How can U.S. jurisdictions (federal, state, and local) and the pr...

OBJECTIVE The question-behaviour effect (QBE) refers to the finding that measuring behavioural intentions increases performance of the relevant behaviour. This effect has been used to change health behaviours. The present research asks why the QBE occurs and evaluates one possible mediator-attitude accessibility. DESIGN University staff and students (N = 151) were randomly assigned to an inte...