Scientific news

The development of asthma is closely linked to diet. A recent study explored the relationship between the healthy eating index and asthma. This cross-sectional study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey on nearly 26,567 adults. According to this work, people with asthma are more likely to be women from deprived areas backgrounds, with a high body mass index and a low healthy eating index score. An inverse association between healthy eating index and asthma risk was particularly observed. Moreover, a high intake of whole fruit, green vegetables, beans and total protein, as well as a low intake of added sugars, reduced the risk of asthma. This work underlines the need to improve adherence to healthy diets to prevent asthma.

A systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the effectiveness of interventions with chatbots to improve physical activity, diet and sleep. A total of 19 trials involving 25 to 958 participants aged between 9 and 71 were included. The results showed that chatbots had significant effects on increasing total physical activity, number of daily steps, fruit and vegetable consumption, as well as sleep quality and duration. Further analysis showed that text- and AI-based chatbots were more effective than voice chatbots for fruit and vegetable consumption. According to this work, such application represents a relevant approach to changing behavior.

The Mediterranean diet is frequently used as a reference model of sustainable diet. A recent study aims to assess the associations between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and specific domains of sustainability. Dietary intakes of 29,210 volunteers from the French NutriNet-Santé cohort were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was examined using the MEDI-LITE score. Results showed that greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with nutritional and environmental benefits, but also with higher monetary cost higher monetary cost and greater exposure to pesticides. This work illustrates the need to develop large-scale strategies for healthy, sustainable diets for all.

The relationship between cruciferous vegetables consumption and prostate cancer risk remains controversial. A recent meta-analysis therefore assessed this association to provide further evidence. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases were searched. Overall, 11 studies involving almost 1,264,437 participants – including 70,201 prostate cancer patients – were included. According to this work, a greater consumption of cruciferous vegetables was associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer. Furthermore, this work suggests that the risk of prostate cancer decreases for every 15g of cruciferous vegetables consumed per day.

Post-partum depression is a major depressive disorder that usually occurs within a month of childbirth. A recent study explored the relationship between dietary habits and severe symptoms in women from Yazd, Iran. A total of 1028 women participating in the Maternal and Child Health Cohort Study completed a food frequency questionnaire and were submitted to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. 4 postpartum dietary patterns were identified. High adherence to the Prudent dietary pattern was associated with lower risk of severe postpartum depressive symptoms, while high adherence to the Western model was associated with higher risk. No significant association was observed between consumption of sugary and unhealthy products and severity of major symptoms.