1,720,966 research outputs found
Restricting the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children in South Africa: are all nutrient profiling models the same?
Full text linkThe WHO has called for governments to improve children’s food environment by implementing restrictions on the marketing of ‘unhealthy’ foods to children. Nutrient profiling (NP) models are used to define ‘unhealthy’ foods and support child-directed food marketing regulations. The aim of the present study was to assess the suitability of the South African NP model (SANPM), developed and validated for health claim regulations, for child-directed food marketing regulations. The SANPM was compared with four NP models specifically developed for such regulations. A representative list of 197 foods was compiled by including all foods advertised on South African free-to-air television channels in 2014 and foods commonly consumed by South African children. The nutritional information of the foods was sourced from food packaging, company websites and a food composition table. Each individual food was classified by each of the five NP models. The percentage of foods that would be allowed according to the different NP models ranged from 6 to 45 %; the models also varied considerably with regard to the type of foods allowed for marketing to children. The majority of the pairwise comparisons between the NP models yielded κ statistics >0·4, indicating a moderate agreement between the models. An almost perfect pairwise agreement (κ =0·948) existed between the SANPM and the UK Food Standards Agency model (United Kingdom Office of Communication nutrient profiling model), a model extensively tested and validated for such regulations. The SANPM is considered appropriate for child-directed food marketing regulations in South Africa
Assessing the construct validity of nutrient profiling models for restricting the marketing of foods to children in South Africa
No full textBackground
In an effort to combat childhood obesity the WHO has called on governments to restrict the marketing of unhealthy foods to children. Regulators have turned to nutrient profiling (NP) to provide the evidence for their decisions. This has resulted in the development of NP models, of which the validity of only a few have been established. The aim of this study was to assess the construct validity of various NP models for the purpose of restricting the marketing of unhealthy foods to children in South Africa by comparing the classification of foods by the models to the ranking of the same foods by registered dietitians.
Methods
Six current NP models were identified, then a representative food database of 120 foods was developed and each individual food was classified by each of the six models. Lastly dietitians were recruited to rank the healthfulness of the same 120 foods.
Results
Dietitians allowed 24% of the included foods for marketing to children, whereas the percentage of foods allowed by the included models ranged from 7 to 47%. Majority of pairwise comparisons between the NP models and dietitians yielded ҡ statistics >0.6, indicating substantial agreement. An almost perfect pairwise agreement was found between dietitians and the WHO Regional Office for Europe model.
Conclusion
The included NP models displayed good construct validity by agreeing with dietitians on what are ‘less healthy’ foods, thus the foods not allowed for marketing. The findings of this study contributes to the process of establishing validity of NP model
The sodium content of processed foods in South Africa during the introduction of mandatory sodium limits
Full text linkBackground: In June 2016, the Republic of South Africa introduced legislation for
mandatory limits for the upper sodium content permitted in a wide range of processed foods.
We assessed the sodium levels of packaged foods in South Africa during the one-year period leading
up to the mandatory implementation date of the legislation. Methods: Data on the nutritional
composition of packaged foods was obtained from nutrition information panels on food labels
through both in-store surveys and crowdsourcing by users of the HealthyFood Switch mobile phone
app between June 2015 and August 2016. Summary sodium levels were calculated for 15 food
categories, including the 13 categories covered by the sodium legislation. The percentage of foods
that met the government’s 2016 sodium limits was also calculated. Results: 11,065 processed food
items were included in the analyses; 1851 of these were subject to the sodium legislation. Overall,
67% of targeted foods had a sodium level at or below the legislated limit. Categories with the lowest
percentage of foods that met legislated limits were bread (27%), potato crisps (41%), salt and vinegar
flavoured snacks (42%), and raw processed sausages (45%). About half (49%) of targeted foods not
meeting the legislated limits were less than 25% above the maximum sodium level. Conclusion:
Sodium levels in two-thirds of foods covered by the South African sodium legislation were at or
below the permitted upper levels at the mandatory implementation date of the legislation and many
more were close to the limit. The South African food industry has an excellent opportunity to rapidly
meet the legislated requirement
The validation of a suitable nutrient profiling model for South Africa
Full text linkThesis (MSc (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.Aim Nutrient profiling is defined as “the science of classifying or ranking food items according to their nutritional composition for reasons related to preventing disease and promoting health, and can be used to govern the criteria under which nutrient and/or health claims may be made”. The validation of a nutrient profiling model (NPM) is an essential part of the model development process, and is extremely important for the model to meet basic scientific criteria. This mini-dissertation investigated the content and convergent validity of a suitable NPM for South Africa. Method
Content validity was tested for by comparing the NPM classification of 131 “indicator” foods with the classification of the “indicator” foods by the Food Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs). Convergent validity was tested for by comparing the standard ranking of a representative data set of food items (n = 128) by nutrition experts with the classification of the food items by the NPM. The questionnaire asked respondents to rank 40 foods (electronically generated from a master list of 128 foods) according to the nutritional information provided from “more healthy” to “less healthy” using a six point Likert scale. The 128 foods were selected to be representative of the South African diet. These questionnaires were sent via e-mail to all full members (n = 1105) of the Association of Dietetics in South Africa. The draft “Guiding principles and framework manual for the development or adaptation of nutrient profile models” dated 22 February 2011 (WHO, 2011), was used as a guide in the validation process of the NPM. Results
The NPM showed good content validity: the way that the NPM categorises foods correspond well with that of the FBDGs (kappa statistic = 0.73). Two hundred and ninety two responses were received (26.4%) from the nutrition experts, these responses were used to rank the 128 foods by the average score which they received from the nutrition experts. The NPM also showed good convergent validity: the NPM classification of foods had a good correlation with the standard ranking of foods by dietitians (r = 0.853; p = 0.0001). Conclusion The NPM demonstrated good content validity by classifying food items in way that supports the FBDGs with the exception of a few processed food items and combined food items. The NPM also demonstrated good convergent validity by classifying food items in accordance with the views of nutrition experts in South Africa.Master
A framework to regulate the marketing of foods and beverages to children in South Africa
No full textPhD (Dietetics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2017Globally the childhood obesity prevalence has increased dramatically and appears to be rapidly increasing in low-income and middle-income countries as well. In South Africa the rates of childhood obesity have increased by 7% during the last decade. The ‘obesogenic’ food-environment which promotes the consumption of foods and non-alcoholic beverages high in fat, sugar and/or salt (HFSS) has been recognized as a key driver in this global pandemic. The World Health Organization has called for governments to improve children’s food environment by implementing restrictions on the marketing of HFSS foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children. Nutrient profiling is defined as the science of categorizing foods according to their nutritional composition for the purpose of preventing disease and promoting health. Internationally, nutrient profiling has recently proliferated, specifically in the context of restricting the marketing of HFSS foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children.
Aim :This study aimed to develop a framework for regulating the marketing of HFSS foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children in South Africa with the support of an appropriate nutrient profiling model. The framework will be submitted to the South African Department of Health for consideration to be implemented into the child-directed food marketing regulations.
Methods :
The appropriateness and validity of the South African nutrient profiling model (SANPM), originally designed to screen food for the eligibility of a nutrient and/or health claim, for regulating the marketing of foods to children was established. The SANPM was compared to four global non-industry developed models for the purpose of regulating the marketing of HFSS foods to children. Comparisons between the models were done by classifying the ‘healthiness’ of 197 individual foods according to each of the nutrient profiling models’ classification criteria. Then, registered dietitians in South Africa were requested to categorize 120 foods on a 6-point Likert scale in one of six positions on the basis of their ‘healthiness’ via an online survey. The classification of the 120 foods by the included nutrient profiling models was then compared to the views of the dietitians. Finally, the scientific evidence supporting the absolute exclusion criteria used by the nutrient profiling models were evaluated for inclusion into the suggested framework.
Results :
The percentage of foods permitted for child-directed food marketing according to the different models ranged from 6% to 45 %. The majority of the pairwise comparisons between the models yielded kappa statistics greater than 0.4 indicating a moderate agreement between the models. An almost perfect pairwise agreement (kappa = 0.948) existed between the SANPM and a model extensively tested and validated for such regulations, the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency model (Ofcom).
Four of the included nutrient profiling models displayed a medium correlation with the views of dietitians (Spearman’s correlation = 0.38-0.68, p = 0.001). The SANPM was the only model displaying a strong correlation with the views of dietitians (Spearman’s correlation = 0.71, p = 0.001).
The SANPM was included as the first step in the suggested framework and the inclusion of an absolute exclusion criterion for non-nutritive sweeteners was found to be scientifically sound.
Conclusion :
This study provided valuable information regarding the use of a nutrient profiling model for child-directed food marketing regulations. The appropriateness and construct validity of the SANPM for regulating the marketing of foods to children in South Africa was established. A suggested framework for regulating the marketing of foods to children in South Africa was developed by including a non-nutritive sweetener absolute exclusion criterion. We recommend that this framework is legislated to regulate the marketing of foods to children in South Africa to support the Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Obesity in South Africa.
Key terms: marketing of foods, food marketing regulations, childhood obesity, nutrient profiling, obesity prevention strategies
Agtergrond :
Die voorkoms van kinderobesiteit het wêreldwyd drasties toegeneem en blyk ook in lae-inkomste en middel-inkomste lande toe te neem. In Suid-Afrika het die voorkoms van kinderobesiteit met 7% gedurende die laasste dekade toegeneem. Die ‘obesogeniese’ voedselomgewing wat die inname van voedsels en nie-alkoholiese dranke hoog in vet, suiker en/of sout (HVSS) bevorder, is erken as ʼn sleuteldrywer in hierdie globale pandemie. Die Wêreld Gesondheid Organisasie het ʼn beroep op regerings gedoen om die voedselomgewing van kinders te verbeter deur beperkings op die bemarking van HVSS-voedsels aan kinders te implementeer. Nutriëntprofilering word omskryf as die wetenskap van kategorisering van voedsels volgens hul nutriëntsamestelling met die doel om siektes te voorkom en gesondheid te bevorder. Internasionaal het nutriëntprofilering onlangs veld gewen, spesifiek in die konteks van beperking op die bemarking van HVSS-voedsels aan kinders.
Doel :
Die oogmerk van hierdie studie was om ʼn raamwerk te ontwikkel vir die regulering van die bemarking van HVSS-voedsels aan kinders in Suid-Afrika met die ondersteuning van ʼn gepaste nutriëntprofielmodel. Die raamwerk sal aan die Suid-Afrikaanse Departement van Gesondheid voorgelê word vir oorweging om te implementeer in die voedselbemarkings-regulasies gerig op kinders.
Metodes :
Die geskiktheid en geldigheid van die Suid-Afrikaanse nutriëntprofielmodel (SANPM), oorspronklik ontwerp om voedsel te sif vir geskiktheid vir ʼn nutriënt- en/of gesondheidsaanspraak, is vasgestel vir die regulering van bemarking van voedsels aan kinders. Die SANPM is met vier globale nie-industrieël-ontwikkelde modelle vergelyk met die doel om bemarking van HVSS-voedsels aan kinders te reguleer. Die modelle is met mekaar vergelyk deur die ‘gesondheid’ van 197 individuele voedsels te klassifiseer volgens elk van die nutriëntprofielmodelle se klassifikasie kriteria. Daarna is geregistreerde dieetkundiges in Suid-Afrika versoek om 120 voedsels op ʼn 6-punt Likertskaal te kategoriseer in een van ses posisies op die basis van hul ‘gesondheid’ in ʼn aanlynopname. Die klassifikasie van die 120 voedsels deur die ingeslote nutriëntprofielmodelle is daarna met die opinies van die dieetkundiges vergelyk. Ten slotte is die wetenskaplike bewyse wat die absolute uitsluitingskriteria gebruik deur die nutriëntprofielmodelle ondersteun, geëvalueer vir insluiting al dan nie in die voorgestelde raamwerk.
Resultate :
Die persentasie voedsels vir bemarking gerig op kinders toegelaat volgens die verskillende modelle het van 6% tot 45% gewissel. Die meerderheid van die gepaarde vergelykings tussen die modelle het kappa-statistiek groter as 0.4 gelewer, wat op ʼn matige ooreenstemming tussen die modelle dui. ʼn Feitlik perfekte gepaarde ooreenstemming (kappa = 0.948) het bestaan tussen die SANPM en ʼn model wat ekstensief getoets en gevalideer is vir sulke regulasies, die ‘United Kingdom Food Standards Agency’ model (Ofcom).
Vier van die ingeslote nutriëntprofielmodelle het ʼn medium korrelasie met die opinies van dieetkundiges getoon (Spearman korrelasie = 0.38-0.68, p = 0.001). Die SANPM was die enigste model wat ʼn sterk korrelasie met die opinies van dieetkundiges vertoon het (Spearman korrelasie = 0.71, p = 0.001).
Die SANPM is as die eerste stap in die voorgestelde raamwerk ingesluit en die insluiting van ʼn absolute uitsluitingskriterium vir die teenwoordigheid van nie-nutriënt versoeters in ʼn voedselproduk is wetenskaplik begrond gevind.
Gevolgtrekking :
Hierdie studie het waardevolle inligting verskaf wat betref die gebruik van ʼn nutriëntprofielmodel vir voedselbemarkingsregulasies gerig op kinders. Die geskiktheid en geldigheid van die SANPM vir regulering van die bemarking van voedsels aan kinders in Suid-Afrika is vasgestel. ʼn Voorgestelde raamwerk vir die regulering van die bemarking van voedsels aan kinders in Suid-Afrika is ontwikkel deur die insluiting van ʼn nie-nutriënt versoeter absolute uitsluitingskriterium. Ons beveel aan dat hierdie raamwerk in wetgewing opgeneem word om die bemarking van voedsels aan kinders in Suid-Afrika te reguleer om die Strategie vir die Voorkoming en Beheer van Obesiteit in Suid-Afrika te ondersteun.Doctora
The extent and nature of food marketing to children in South African supermarkets
Full text linkMSc (Dietetics), North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusBackground: Childhood overweight and obesity is on the rise in South Africa. If no obesity prevention strategies are implemented, South Africa could experience an overwhelming burden of obesity-related morbidities. Research shows that the food environment significantly affects the diet of children and that food marketing, specifically the packaging of foods, can influence children’s food preferences and consumption of foods, leading to overweight and obesity. In response to this, the South African National Department of Health (SANDoH) published draft regulations (R.429 of 2014) that aim to regulate the marketing of unhealthy foods to children. However, limited information exists regarding the marketing of packaged foods to children in South African supermarkets. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the extent and nature of marketing techniques on the packaging of child-orientated foods in South African supermarkets and to determine the healthiness of these foods.
Methods: Child-orientated packaged food and non-alcoholic beverages available in four South African supermarkets were identified, using a pre-defined criterion, and photographed. Photographs were then analysed and data regarding promotional characters, premium offers, claims, and nutritional information per 100 g were extracted. The foods were categorised according to the food group classification system of the Global Food Monitoring Group. The South African nutrient profiling model (SANPM) was used to classify foods to determine their healthiness. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the amount and type of marketing techniques on foods and to describe the use of these techniques on healthy versus unhealthy foods.
Results: A total of 477 foods were included in the study with most foods (61%) classified as unhealthy by the SANPM. The most common child-orientated foods were confectionaries (33%), cereal and cereal products (16%), dairy (13%) and non-alcoholic beverages (11%). There was a smaller proportion of foods from the fruit and vegetables category (2%) marketed to children. All three marketing techniques (promotional characters, premium offers, and claims) were used to market predominantly unhealthy foods to children. Promotional characters were present on 453 (95%) of foods with the majority being cartoon characters/company-owned characters (59.3%) and ‘for kids’/child-associated promotional characters (34.5%). Claims were also present on 63.3% of the included foods of which 56.3% of all foods carrying a claim, were classified as unhealthy.
Conclusion:
Most of the foods marketed to children in the included South African supermarkets were unhealthy and promotional characters and claims were the marketing techniques most often used to promote these foods. Our results suggest that the marketing of unhealthy foods in South African supermarkets do not support children to make healthy food choices. Therefore, the findings of this study support the need for marketing regulations in South Africa that will reduce the possible negative impact of unhealthy food marketing on children. Such regulations will support children by making healthy food choices easier.Master
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Sodium content of processed foods frequently consumed by children in early childhood development centres in the North-West Province
Full text linkMSc (Nutrition), North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusIntroduction: Childhood obesity is a major public health concern for South Africa (SA). Children who are obese often suffer from cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, which can continue later in their lives. Evidence is emerging regarding the crucial role of sodium in regulating the blood pressure of children. While many factors contribute to childhood obesity and its related diseases, processed foods which are high in fat, sugar and/or sodium have been identified as a key contributing factor. The setting of the study was early childhood development centres (ECDs) situated in the Tlokwe municipality of SA. Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the true sodium content of processed foods frequently consumed by children aged two to five years and living in the Tlokwe municipality. Specific objectives included (i) identifying processed foods frequently consumed by children aged two to five years attending ECDs (ii) determining whether processed foods frequently consumed by children aged two to five years, with identified high sodium content, is included in the sodium regulation (R.214), (iii) determining the true sodium content of foods frequently consumed by children aged two to five years and lastly (iv) comparing the declared sodium value of the most frequently consumed processed food, against the true sodium value. Methods: A list of ECDs were collected from the Department of Social Development (DSD) in North West Province. From this list, a random sample of 40 ECDs was selected. A non-probability sample of the parents were included in the study. Eight ECDs were specifically targeted to conduct 24-Hour Dietary Recall (24HDR) interviews with. The 32 remaining ECDs were targeted for the Unquantified Food Frequency Questionnaire (UFFQ) interviews. The data from the 24HDR were used to compile the UFFQ. This cross-sectional study used an UFFQ specifically developed to determine the processed foods frequently consumed by children aged two to five years in the Tlokwe region, SA. Furthermore, the sodium content of the top 75th percentile of the most frequently consumed processed foods, contributing to sodium intake, was analysed by means of the atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Results: In total, 15 processed food categories were identified as frequently consumed, three food products per food category were analysed by means of AAS sequential to microwave digestion to determine the true sodium content. The majority of the identified food products were included in the sodium regulation (R.214); only 13.33% were not included. The sodium measured in the different food categories varied from 4.1% to 40.7%, when comparing the nutrition information panel with the true sodium value. The findings provide valuable information to support future studies on larger varieties of processed foods frequently consumed by children. Conclusion: The valuable data collected here can support future studies on larger varieties of processed foods that children frequently consume, to establish whether the R.214 should be adjusted accordingly. Our findings showed however that the majority of the food product consumed by children is included in the regulationMaster
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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