Global F&V Newsletter
The Global Fruit and Veg Newsletter (GFVN) is a monthly newsletter published since 2006 * throughout more than 30 countries involved in the promotion of fruit and vegetables consumption worldwide to improve public health. The articles published are scientifically based and come from the literature review. Doing so allows us to disseminate the scientific knowledge outside the box and share the work with more than 10 000 readers from other disciplines (Scientists, health professionals, fruit and vegetable professionals, consumer associations, journalists and general public).
*GFVN replaces the Ifava Scientific Newsletter
Food preferences A worldwide shared newsletter
Genetic and environmental influences both play a role in food preferences in adolescence The formation of food preferences in children and adolescents is a complex process with both genetic and environmental factors at play. This edition of The Global Fruit and Veg Newsletter offers three viewpoints examining the role of genetics in shaping food preferences [...]
The updated healthy nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children - WIC
WIC – the USA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children has been providing healthy food, breastfeeding support, referrals to health and social services, and nutrition education to vulnerable income qualified American families with nutritional needs for over 40 years. The program, administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, serves around 7.5 [...]
Barriers to F&V consumption A worldwide
Average intake of fruit and vegetables is, in Europe and North America, still below recommended levels. In addition, averages hide the disparities within a country, particularly with regard to an intake gradient according to socio-economic level. Knowing this, it is helpful to explain why individuals do not follow recommendations. The articles presented in this edition [...]
Fruit and vegetables: still surprising!
Most people are aware of the recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption, but few apply them and even fewer know why! And yet the list of benefits is long. Their consumption is associated with a lower prevalence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular accidents, hypertension, cancer, age-related cognitive decline and age-related macular degeneration. Fruit and [...]
Perfect timing for a national fruit and vegetable nutrition policy
Although a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables is considered a cornerstone of good health, Canadians are still consuming less than the 7-10 servings per day recommended in Canada’s Food Guide. The studies featured this month illustrate how health behaviours in Canada are effected by various interventions and policies. In fact, shopping frequency, awareness [...]
Diet quality in the early years
A good way to represent ‘health’ in a picture is to use a mosaic. From far away you can see the whole image, but up close you see that the image is made up of many tiles. This example shows the complex nature of health; it is the result of many ‘tiles’ including good nutrition, [...]
Food labeling
Gradation of solutions in food labelling? The increased burden of obesity and other diet-related diseases all around the world, concomitant with the industrialization and globalization of the food chain, pushed many public health authorities to regulating the information delivered to the final consumer through food labelling, at least for pre-packed foods. The three papers in [...]
Obesogenic environment: origin and consequences
This month’s edition highlights the extraordinary and relatively recent changes in food habits across the Western World which inevitably increase the risk of obesity and other disabilities for the majority of our populations. Three countries are highlighted – Australia, Germany and Norway – which have very different economies, indigenous foods and political processes for dealing [...]