Journal articles on the topic 'Adult Education - Restaurant'

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate: (i) the percentage of the New Zealand (NZ) population reporting fast food/takeaway food and restaurant/café food per day; (ii) examine demographic factors associated with their use; (iii) quantify their contribution to energy intake; and (iv) describe the specific types of foods reported from both sources.DesignTwenty-four hour diet recalls from the cross-sectional 2008/09 NZ Adult Nutrition Survey were used to identify fast-food and restaurant-food consumers.SettingNZ households.SubjectsAdults aged 15 years and older (n 4721).ResultsOverall 28 % reported consuming at least one fast food and 14 % a restaurant food within the 24 h diet recall. Fast-food consumption was not associated with level of education or an area-based measure of socio-economic status, but a higher education was positively associated with restaurant-food consumption. Individual factors such as ethnicity, household size, age, sex and marital status were found to be important influences on the use of fast food and restaurant food. Fast-food consumption was more prevalent among participants living in urban areas, young adults (19–30 years) and Māori compared with NZ European and Others. The most frequently reported fast foods were bread-based dishes, potatoes (including fries) and non-alcoholic beverages.ConclusionsGiven the high reported consumption of fast food by young adults, health promotion initiatives both to improve the nutritional quality of fast-food menus and to encourage healthier food choices would likely make a large impact on the overall diet quality of this group.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of pricing (incentive and deterrent) to shift the purchase decision intent of parents when they order food for their child in a fast food restaurant. Design/methodology/approach A financial incentive and a deterrent pricing tactic was tested using an online quantitative approach with a sample of 400 Canadian parents, representative of the Canadian population based on geography, household income and education level. Findings The financial incentive tactic demonstrated that a strong and clearly articulated monetary discount can shift the stated purchase intent of parents into an increased number choosing a healthier side dish for a child’s fast food meal. A deterrent pricing approach was shown to also shift stated purchase intent, and had a higher consumer impact on a per dollar basis. Younger parents (<35 years old) were more likely to select healthier side dishes for their child; however, parents of all ages could potentially be influenced through motivational pricing approaches. Research limitations/implications This was an exploratory study using online surveys and stated purchase intent among Canadian respondents. Examining “stated” purchase intent only through the use of a questionnaire, and without a consequence of the choice, may not reflect a consumer’s real purchase behaviour. A future study should be conducted on pricing approaches in a restaurant setting, where the parents then have the consequences of interacting with the child and the response of the child to the food decision made on their behalf. Practical implications The use of pricing to shift parental food purchase decisions into ordering healthier food items for their children is a promising option, which with further exploration may lead to easily implementable restaurant-level recommendations that achieve the desired results of children eating healthier. Social implications As the frequency of fast food consumption continues to rise, encouraging healthier fast food choices for children could help to combat the troubling rise of obesity in young children. Originality/value While most historical research has focussed on teen or adult consumers, this paper offers insights to academics, marketers and restaurant industry influencers into the previously unexplored area of using pricing to encourage parents to make healthier food choices for children in a fast food restaurant environment.

The definition of neighborhoods as areas of exposure to the food environment is a challenge in food environment research. We aimed to test the association of density of restaurants with home cooking using four different definitions of residential neighborhoods. We also tested effect modification by age, length of residency, education, and income. This innovative cross-sectional study was conducted in the Netherlands (N = 1245 adults). We calculated geographic information system-based measures of restaurant density using residential administrative neighborhood boundaries, 800 m and 1600 m buffers around the home and respondents’ self-defined boundaries (drawn by the respondents on a map of their residential area). We used adjusted Poisson regression to test associations of restaurant density (tertiles) and the outcome ”weekly consumption of home-cooked meals” (six to seven as compared to five days per week (day/week) or fewer). Most respondents reported eating home-cooked meals for at least 6 day/week (74.2%). Regardless of the neighborhood definition used, no association between food environment and home cooking was observed. No effect modification was found. Although exposure in terms of density of restaurants was different according to the four different neighborhood definitions, we found no evidence that the area under study influences the association between density of restaurants and home cooking among Dutch adults.

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate nutrition literacy among adult grocery buyers regarding energy-related labelling terms on food packaging.DesignQualitative interviews and quantitative surveys to determine shoppers’ understanding of energy terms (‘energy’, ‘calories’ and ‘kilojoules’) and how energy terms affect perceptions of healthiness and intentions to purchase breakfast cereals, muesli bars and frozen meals.SettingIndividual in-depth interviews and surveys in two metropolitan supermarkets, Sydney, Australia.SubjectsAustralian adults (interview n 40, survey n 405) aged 18–79 years.ResultsThe relationship between energy and perceived healthiness of food varied by product type: higher energy breakfast cereals were perceived to be healthier, while lower energy frozen meals were seen as healthier choices. Likewise, intentions to purchase the higher energy product varied according to product type. The primary reason stated for purchasing higher energy products was for sustained energy. Participants from households of lower socio-economic status were significantly more likely to perceive higher energy products as healthier. From the qualitative interviews, participants expressed uncertainty about their understanding of kilojoules, while only 40 % of participants in intercept surveys correctly answered that kilojoules and calories measured the same thing.ConclusionsAustralian consumers have a poor understanding of energy and kilojoules and tend to perceive higher energy products as healthier and providing sustained energy. This has implications regarding the usefulness of industry front-of-pack labelling initiatives and quick service restaurant menu labelling that provides information on energy content only. Comprehensive and widely communicated education campaigns will be essential to guide consumers towards healthier choices.

The obesity pandemic is associated with increased consumption of restaurant food. Labeling of menus is an intervention used to provide consumers with kilocalorie (calorie) information in hopes of them making healthier food choices. This study evaluated the relationship between young adults’ calorie choices on restaurant menus and menu design, dietary behaviors, and demographic characteristics. A 3 (fast-casual restaurants) × 4 (menu-designs based on menu engineering theories) between-subjects (n = 480, 18–24-year olds) experimental design was used. The relationship between the participants’ calorie choices (high versus low) and menu design, stage of change, gender, race, educational level and weight status was evaluated using logistic regression. All independent variables had at least one category that had greater odds (CI 95% ± 5%) of subjects choosing a lower calorie entree, except education level and race/ethnic group. Normal weight and overweight subjects had greater odds of choosing lower calorie entrees than those that were obese. In addition, subjects that had started to control their calorie intake for less than six months or had sustained this change for at least six months, had greater odds of choosing lower calorie entrees compared to others. Including a green symbol and calories on fast casual restaurant menus may influence some young adults to choose lower calorie entrees.

Obesity remains a prevalent public health epidemic, and African American (AA) adults are disproportionately affected by obesity more than any other ethnic group, particularly in the Southern region of the United States. Addressing poor dietary habits is important for improving obesity rates among AAs, but there has been limited research that has focused on specifically developing culturally tailored interventions. With a recent number of soul food restaurants serving exclusively vegan meals opening up across the country to appeal to AAs and others interested in eating healthier soul foods, there is a unique opportunity to explore how these restaurants might impact AA dietary habits. The purpose of this study was to assess how owners of vegan soul food restaurants located in states within the Black Belt region view their roles as promoters of health in their community and to identify strategies that they use to make plant-based diets (PBDs) more culturally appealing in the AA community. In-depth interviews were conducted with owners ( N = 12) of vegan soul food restaurants from seven states. Five themes emerged from the interviews related to (a) the restaurants providing access to vegan meals, (b) restaurant owners educating their customers about vegan diets and healthy eating, (c) using fresh ingredients to make vegan soul foods taste good, (d) addressing limited cooking skills among AAs, and (e) discussing nonhealth reasons to become vegan. The findings indicate there may be future opportunities for health educators to partner with these restaurant owners to improve healthy eating among AAs.

ABSTRACT Background Meals from full-service restaurants (FS) and fast-food restaurants (FF) are an integral part of US diets, but current levels and trends in consumption, healthfulness, and related sociodemographic disparities are not well characterized. Objectives We aimed to assess patterns and nutritional quality (using validated American Heart Association [AHA] diet scores) of FS and FF meals consumed by US adults. Methods Serial cross-sectional investigation utilizing 24-h dietary recalls in survey-weighted, nationally representative samples of 35,015 adults aged ≥20 y from 7 NHANES cycles, 2003–2016. Results Between 2003 and 2016, American adults consumed ∼21 percent of energyfrom restaurants (FS: 8.5% in 2003–2004, 9.5% in 2015–2016, P-trend = 0.38; FF: 10.5%; 13.4%, P-trend = 0.31). Over this period, more FF meals were eaten for breakfast (from 4.4% to 7.6% of all breakfasts, P-trend &lt;0.001), with no changes for lunch (15.2% to 15.3%) or dinner (14.6% to 14.4%). In 2015–2016, diet quality of both FS and FF were low, with mean AHA diet scores of 31.6 and 27.6 (out of 80). Between 2003 and 2016, diet quality of FF meals improved slightly, (the percentage with poor quality went from 74.6% to 69.8%; and with intermediate quality, from 25.4% to 30.2%; P-trend &lt;0.001 each). Proportions of FS meals of poor (∼50%) and intermediate (∼50%) quality were stable over time, with &lt;0.1% of consumed FS or FF meals meeting ideal quality. Disparities in FS meal quality persisted by race/ethnicity, obesity status, and education and worsened by income; whereas disparities in FF meal quality persisted by age, sex, and obesity status and worsened by race/ethnicity, education, and income. Conclusions Between 2003 and 2016, FF and FS meals provided 1 in 5 calories for US adults. Modest improvements occurred in nutritional quality of FF, but not FS, meals consumed, and the average quality for both remained low with persistent or widening disparities. These findings highlight the need for strategies to improve the nutritional quality of US restaurant meals.

Purpose: We investigated the associations between frequency of eating at fast-food, fast-casual, all-you-can-eat, and sit-down restaurants and the body mass index (BMI) in non-large metro Wisconsin communities. To inform prevention efforts, we also analyzed the socioeconomic/environmental and nutrition attitudes/behavior variables that may drive the frequent eating away from home. Design: Cross-sectional analysis of an ancillary data set from the Survey of Health of Wisconsin collected between October 2012 and February 2013. Setting: Six Wisconsin counties: 1 classified as rural, 1 as large fringe metro, and 4 as small metro. Subjects: Adults ≥18 years (N = 1418). Measures: Field staff measured height and weight and administered a survey on the frequency of eating away from home, and socioeconomic and nutritional behavior variables. Analysis: Multivariable regression. Results: The BMI of respondents averaged 29.4 kg/m2 (39% obese). Every 1-meal/week increase in fast-food and sit-down restaurant consumption was associated with an increase in BMI by 0.8 and 0.6 kg/m2, respectively. Unavailability of healthy foods at shopping and eating venues and lack of cooking skills were both positively associated with consumption of fast-food and sit-down meals. Individuals who described their diet as healthy, who avoided high-fat foods, and who believed their diet was keeping their weight controlled did not visit these restaurants frequently. Conclusion: Obesity prevention efforts in non-large metro Wisconsin communities should consider socioeconomic/environmental and nutritional attitudes/behavior of residents when designing restaurant-based or community education interventions.

Background Salt intake in China is over twice the maximum recommendation of the World Health Organization. Unlike most developed countries where salt intake is mainly derived from prepackaged foods, around 80% of the salt consumed in China is added during cooking. Objective Action on Salt China (ASC), initiated in 2017, aims to develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive and tailored salt reduction program for national scaling-up. Methods ASC consists of six programs working in synergy to increase salt awareness and to reduce the amount of salt used during cooking at home and in restaurants, as well as in processed foods. Since September 2018, two health campaigns on health education and processed foods have respectively started, in parallel with four open-label cluster randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in six provinces across China: (1) app-based intervention study (AIS), in which a mobile app is used to achieve and sustain salt reduction in school children and their families; (2) home cook-based intervention study (HIS), in which family cooks receive support in using less salt; (3) restaurant-based intervention study (RIS) targeting restaurant consumers, cooks, and managers; and (4) comprehensive intervention study (CIS), which is a real-world implementation and evaluation of all available interventions in the three other RCTs. To explore the barriers, facilitators, and effectiveness of delivering a comprehensive salt reduction intervention, these RCTs will last for 1 year (stage 1), followed by nationwide implementation (stage 2). In AIS, HIS, and CIS, the primary outcome of salt reduction will be evaluated by 24-hour urinary sodium excretion in 6030 participants, including 5436 adults and 594 school children around 8-9 years old. In RIS, the salt content of meals will be measured by laboratory food analysis of the 5 best-selling dishes from 192 restaurants. Secondary outcomes will include process evaluation; changes in knowledge, attitude, and practice on salt intake; and economic evaluation. Results All RCTs have been approved by Queen Mary Research Ethics Committee and the Institutional Review Boards of leading institutes in China. The research started in June 2017 and is expected to be completed around March 2021. The baseline investigations of the four RCTs were completed in May 2019. Conclusions The ASC project is progressing smoothly. The intervention packages and tailored components will be promoted for salt reduction in China, and could be adopted by other countries. Trial Registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. AIS: ChiCTR1800017553; https://tinyurl.com/vdr8rpr. HIS: ChiCTR1800016804; https://tinyurl.com/w8c7x3w. RIS: ChiCTR1800019694; https://tinyurl.com/uqkjgfw. CIS: ChiCTR1800018119; https://tinyurl.com/s3ajldw. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/15933

<p class="Pa7"><strong>Objective: </strong>In the search of solutions to the rising rates of obesity, community perspec­tives are important because they highlight areas of need and help determine the level of community support for potential interventions. This study aimed to identify community perceptions of factors associated with obesity in two urban municipalities – one racially mixed and one predomi­nantly African American – and to explore community-driven solutions to the problem of obesity.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Methods: </strong>The study used Photovoice meth­odology to understand what community members perceived as obesity-promoting factors in their residential environments.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 96 photographs of factors relevant to obesity were discussed. Most commonly depicted were restaurants, gro­cery stores, fast food, and fitness centers. In 10 race-stratified focus groups, participants made 592 comments on 12 themes, the most common being restaurants, physical activity, food stores, and proposed solutions. The top three themes – restaurants, physical activity, and food stores – accounted for 58% of all barriers to healthy weight. Pro­posed solutions ranged from personal efforts and peer support, to educating adults and children, to community action.</p><p class="Default"><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Interventions addressing the immediate food and physical activity environment – restaurants, grocery stores, and resources for physical activity – may have high likelihood of success as they align with community needs and understanding of priorities. Health education and promo­tion programs that increase food-related knowledge and skills are also needed and likely to receive strong community support.</p><p class="Default"><em>Ethn Dis. </em>2018;28(1):33-42; doi:10.18865/ ed.28.1.33.</p>

Abstract Introduction Little is known about the relationship between smoke-free laws and persistent disparities in secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among nonsmoking adults in the United States. Aims and Methods We constructed time-varying smoke-free law measures representing whether or not at least 50% of each US county’s population was covered by smoke-free laws in workplaces and hospitality venues (restaurants/bars). We merged these data with restricted data on cotinine-derived SHS exposure among nonsmokers from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2014 (N = 25 444). Using logistic regression, we estimated associations between smoke-free law coverage and SHS exposure among all nonsmokers, and within age strata (25–39, 40–59, 60+). We explored differential associations by gender, race/ethnicity, education, and poverty–income ratio (PIR) by testing the significance of interactions terms for the full sample and within age strata. Results In adjusted models, hospitality coverage was associated with lower odds of SHS exposure in the full sample (odds ratio [OR] = 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.51–0.76), and within each age group, with ORs ranging from 0.58 (ages 25–39) to 0.67 (ages 60+). Workplace coverage was associated with lower SHS exposure only among younger adults (OR = 0.81; 95% CI = 0.65–0.99). Within the full sample and among adults ages 40–59, hospitality laws were associated with narrowing SHS exposure differentials between males and females. Among adults ages 40–59, workplace laws were associated with narrowing exposure differentials between males and females, but worsening exposure disparities by PIR. Conclusions Smoke-free laws may reduce SHS exposure among adult nonsmokers, but may be insufficient to improve disparities in SHS exposure. Implications In a repeated cross-sectional sample of adult nonsmokers, smoke-free laws in hospitality venues were consistently associated with lower odds of SHS exposure and appeared to narrow exposure differentials between males and females. Associations between workplace smoke-free laws and SHS exposure were variable by age. Among adults ages 40–59, workplace laws were associated with narrowing exposure differentials between males and females while exacerbating exposure differentials by PIR. Differential patterns of association highlight the need to examine the impacts of tobacco control policies on downstream health equity.

ObjectivesTo assess the levels of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure before and after the implementation of the Tobacco Free Cities (TFC) initiative.DesignCity-wide representative, cross-sectional surveys (Tobacco Questions for Surveys, TQS) were conducted in each participating city before and after the implementation of TFC.SettingFive large Chinese cities (Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Xiamen and Xi’an) participated in the TFC initiative.ParticipantsA total of 10 184 adults participated in the 2015 TQS survey, and 10 233 adults participated in the 2018 TQS survey, respectively.InterventionsThe TFC initiative, which included targeted media campaigns, educational programmes, implementing city-wide smoke-free policies and providing cessation interventions, was implemented in these five cities between 2015 and 2018.Main outcomeSelf-reported past 30-day (P30D) SHS exposure in indoor workplaces, restaurants and homes.Data analysisThe pre-TFC and post-TFC SHS exposure levels were compared among all residents and among certain population subgroups. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to estimate the adjusted associations between P30D SHS exposure and individual characteristics.ResultsAcross all five cities, the overall rate of self-reported P30D SHS exposure declined in indoor workplaces (from 49.6% (95% CI: 46.4% to 52.8%) to 41.2% (95% CI: 37.7% to 44.7%)), restaurants (from 72.4% (95% CI: 69.8% to 74.9%) to 61.7% (95% CI: 58.7% to 64.7%)) and homes (from 39.8% (95% CI: 36.9% to 42.7%) to 34.7% (95% CI: 31.5% to 37.8%)) from 2015 to 2018. These declines were statistically significant after controlling for individual characteristics. The P30D SHS exposure was associated with sex, age, education level, occupation and current smoking status. The associations varied by venues.ConclusionsOur analysis showed that compared with the nationwide SHS exposure levels reported in concurrent national surveys, the declines in P30D SHS exposure in five Chinese cities that implemented the TFC initiative were larger in indoor workplaces and restaurants. Our findings suggest that the TFC initiative was effective in reducing SHS exposure in Chinese cities.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of community restaurants (CRs), managed by the Government of the State of Bahia/Brazil, for the dimension of access to food. The study used secondary data obtained from the public opinion survey Profile of users of community restaurants in Salvador. The nutritional information was accessed through the analysis of CRs’ menus. Adequate effectiveness of access to food was considered when the CR served meals to 50% to 70% of the users considered the target audience (individuals served by the two CRs located in the city of Salvador/Bahia/Brazil). The participants (n = 1464; 778 as low-income individuals) were adult CR users from Salvador/Brazil. Most of the respondents were male, 40 to 54 years old, not white, had up to 9 years of formal education, without a partner, and living in the municipality of Salvador. The evaluated CRs are effective in serving 53.1% of the target population in their total service capacity. Meal provision only reached an estimated 0.7% of the socially vulnerable community in the district. The average energy value of the meal served by the CR units was 853.05 kcal/meal, with a mean energy density composition classified as average (1.15 kcal/g). The effectiveness of the evaluated community restaurants showed that these instruments were minimally effective in promoting access to food for the low-income population within their total daily service capacity, and the current quantity of these facilities was insufficient. However, these instruments stand out in the fundamental role of promoting the daily distribution of meals to the Brazilian population with the highest social vulnerability levels.

Increases in the number of food outlets have been proposed as a key factor driving obesity. This study aimed to investigate the association between the densities of food establishments serving meals (excluding supermarkets and grocery stores), with body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR) and percentage of body fat among middle-aged adults in the UK. BMIs, WHR, %fat and socioeconomic factors were obtained from 456,079 individuals from the UK Biobank and averaged across 923 postcode districts (PD). The number of Fast-Food Restaurants (FFRs), Full-Service Restaurants (FSRs), delivery shops, takeaways, fish and chip shops, pubs and cafes were also obtained for each PD. We adjusted the obesity measures for deprivation level, education, employment, ethnicity, household size, household income and age. After adjustment, the density of fish and chip shops (per 1000 population) was positively associated with BMI and %fat for both sexes (males: BMI converted (exponentiated coefficient) β = 0.5, R2 = 4.14%, p < 0.0001; %fat converted β = 0.8, R2 = 3.32%, p < 0.0001; females: BMI converted β = 0.9, R2 = 5.31%, p < 0.0001; %fat converted β = 1.4 R2 = 4.65%, p < 0.0001). The densities of FFRs and delivery shops (per 1000 population) were not related to the adjusted obesity measures among males and females, except BMI in males where FFRs were significantly negatively associated. The densities (per 1000 population) of FSRs, pubs, cafes and total food outlets were all significantly inversely related to the obesity measures for both sexes. The number of fish and chip shops per 1000 individuals was significantly positively associated with obesity in middle-aged adults in the UK. A negative association between the other types of food outlet densities and the measures of obesity suggests access to such establishments is not a major driver of obesity. This is potentially because the food supplied at such establishments is not significantly less healthy than what is eaten elsewhere including at home (and may even be better). Paying attention only to fast food and/or full-service restaurants in intervention policy will likely not be effective. Policy intervention should potentially focus on the numbers of fish and chip shops and the deep-fried food served in such restaurants.

Objective: Explore community participation between adults with disabilities ⩽50 and >50 years and between early-(⩽40) and late-(>40) onset disability. Method: A survey examining participation was conducted with a national convenience sample of 692 community-dwelling adults with disabilities. Results: Participants ⩽50 reported presence of more ( p < .05) environmental supports for work/volunteer/education and use of transportation. Participants >50 had higher ( p < .01) visits to pharmacies; higher ( p < .05) evaluative quality of participation (EQOP) at gas stations, exercise facilities, beauty salons/barbers, and use of transportation ( p < .01); and more difficulty participating without assistance at grocery stores ( p < .05) and gas stations ( p < .01). The early-onset group reported higher ( p < .05) EQOP at work/volunteer/education and homes of family/friends. The late-onset group reported higher ( p < .01) EQOP at exercise facilities; more ( p < .05) environmental supports at pharmacies, restaurants, grocery stores ( p < .01), doctors’ offices ( p ⩽ .01), and beauty salons/barbers ( p < .01); greater ( p < .01) influence of pain/fatigue; and more difficulty without assistance at grocery stores ( p < .05) and gas stations ( p < .01). Discussion: Understanding these differences can improve interventions to support community participation of individuals aging with disabilities.

Abstract The geography of ageing is addressed in this article by providing new empirical evidence about the significant role of daily activities on the perceptions of isolation and loneliness. The developed model of socio-spatial isolation is based on data from time-space diaries and questionnaires completed by older adults living in three cities in the Czech Republic. The study suggests that socio-spatial isolation is a multicomponent (consisting of passivity, isolation and loneliness components), place-dependent and gendered issue. The passivity is significantly associated with the income and leisure sport activities. The isolation can be well predicted by the age, gender and education, and the frequency of work and specific leisure activities, which are constrained by health conditions, financial opportunities and spatial mobility. Particularly trips to nature, sport activities, cultural events, get together with friends, and visits to restaurants have a positive effect on reducing isolation. Women, particularly those who raised more children, more likely feel lonely in old age when family contacts are reduced. Visits to restaurants, shopping malls and cultural events have a positive effect on reducing loneliness. A constrained mobility and higher time consumption for necessary activities also proved to be an age-related and gendered problem. In this respect, policy interventions should seek to improve flexible work opportunities, the digital skills of older people, and the accessibility and safety of public transport with regard to perceived constraints, which is gaining in importance in the Covid-19 era.

ABSTRACT Background Trends in junk food consumption, a risk for obesity, are not well established. Objectives We examined national trends in types of junk food (excluding beverages) and their sources (grocery, restaurants, schools, etc.), overall and in population subgroups. Methods We assessed 29,970 children (aged 2–19 y) and 44,501 adults (aged ≥20 y) with 24-h dietary recall data from 9 NHANES cycles (2001–2002 to 2017–2018). Trends in junk food were assessed over time using 1-d values for individuals with single recalls and 2-d means for others. Results From 2001 to 2018, percent energy (%E) from junk food remained stable for children (from 18.1% to 17.5%, P-trend = 0.25) and decreased for adults (14.1% to 13.0%, P-trend = 0.002). Among children, increases occurred in %E from crackers (1.19% to 1.35%) and snack/meal bars (0.38% to 0.69%) and decreases in candy (2.58% to 1.96%) and other desserts (3.11% to 2.48%) (all P-trends &lt; 0.01). Among adults, increases occurred in snack/meal bars (0.31% to 0.78%, P-trend &lt; 0.001) and decreases in candy (1.97% to 1.55%; P-trend &lt; 0.001), sweet bakery products (5.52% to 4.98%; P-trend = 0.04), and other desserts (2.19% to 1.86%; P-trend = 0.001). In 2017–2018, grocery stores provided the largest proportion of junk food (72.7% for children, 77.1% for adults), followed by other sources (13.1%, 12.1%), restaurants (8.05%, 9.11%), schools (4.86%), and worksites (1.99%). In both children and adults, junk food intake was higher among non-Hispanic white and black Americans compared with Mexican Americans, among those with higher compared with lower education, among women compared with men, and among older compared with younger adults. In sensitivity analyses using only 1-d recalls, mean junk food intake each cycle was ∼0.8–1.0 and 0.3–0.4%E units higher in children and adults, respectively, with otherwise similar trends and subgroup differences over time. Conclusions From 2001 to 2018, %E from junk food represented nearly 1 in 5 calories among children, without change, and nearly 1 in 7 calories, with modest decrease, among adults, with disparities in subgroups.

Abstract Objectives To determine which curricula are being used with high schoolers participating in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and their impacts. Methods EFNEP Coordinators from each program were asked if their program targeted high schoolers, and if so, which curricula they were using. Fiscal year 2018 EFNEP national high school survey data were then aggregated by program from those that exclusively used 1 of the 3 most popular curricula and analyzed using SAS 9.4. Results Of the 63 EFNEP programs (N = 75) that responded, 29 programs (46%) did not, or rarely, worked with high schoolers. Of those that did work with these teens (n = 34), 19 (56%) reported exclusively using 1 of 3 curricula: Eating Smart • Being Active (ESBA, n = 8); Families Eating Smart, Moving More (FESMM, n = 3); or Teen Cuisine (TC, n = 8). Notably, 2 of these curricula (ESBA and FESMM) were created for use with adults. Evaluation data was analyzed for 2098 participants in 9th-12th grade (ESBA n = 1232, FESMM n = 236, and TC n = 630). Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests showed significant improvements in 13 nutrition, physical activity, and food safety behaviors for ESBA and TC pre-to-posttest, and improvements in 7 of those behaviors for FESMM (all P &lt; 0.05). Chi-square analysis revealed that ESBA participants were more likely than FESMM participants to increase fruit (P &lt; 0.01), vegetable (P &lt; 0.001), and low-fat milk (P &lt; 0.01) consumption, decrease sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption (P &lt; 0.001) and screen time (P &lt; 0.01), and make healthier choices at restaurants (P &lt; 0.01), while TC participants were more likely than FESMM participants to increase vegetable consumption (P &lt; 0.001), decrease SSB consumption (P &lt; 0.01) and screen time (P &lt; 0.001), and make healthier choices at restaurants (P &lt; 0.01). When comparing ESBA and TC, ESBA was more likely to have participants decrease screen time (P = 0.03), with no other significant differences. Conclusions There is a dearth of evidence-based high school nutrition education curricula for use with low-income teens. TC and ESBA both show promise for this purpose; however, since these curricula require 1 + hours for implementation, additional curricula that can be used with shorter classes may need to be developed and evaluated. Also, additional testing is needed using more robust evaluation tools. Funding Sources None.

Abstract Perceived discrimination related to one’s racial/ethnic membership has been linked to negative impact on the health and wellbeing of minority populations. While the anti-Chinese sentiment in the US dates to the 19th century, discrimination experienced by this population and its impact has been poorly understood. Self-mastery is a protective psychological resource reflecting one’s ability to cope with stressors. This study examines the interaction between discrimination and self-mastery among 3,157 US Chinese older adults. Data were obtained from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE) collected between 2011 and 2013. Self-mastery was measured using the Pearlin Mastery Scale. Discrimination was measured using the Experiences of Discrimination instrument. Linear regression was used. Discrimination experiences were found common (21.3%) among the US Chinese older adults. Younger age, male gender, higher levels of education, higher income, being married, more children, and fewer medical comorbidities were associated with a higher sense of self-mastery. After controlling for these potential confounders, discrimination experiences appeared to be significantly associated with lower self-mastery. Specifically, people who have experienced discrimination when getting hired (Beta [B]=-4.47,Standard Error [SE]=1.04, p&lt;0.01), in working environment (B=-1.13,SE=0.52, p&lt;0.05), getting health care (B=-3.45,SE=0.85, p&lt;0.01), getting services in a store or restaurant (B=-2.12,SE=0.78, p&lt;0.01), getting credit, bank loans, or a mortgage (B=-6.86,SE=2.83, p&lt;0.05) and interacting with police or in the courts (B=-4.15,SE=1.48, p&lt;0.01) were associated with lower levels of self-mastery. The findings suggested that discrimination experiences might be harmful by diminishing one’s protective coping mechanism, which warrants longitudinal studies among minority aging populations to clarify.

AbstractObjectiveThe current study characterizes associations between physical and social contexts of self-reported primary episodes of eating/drinking and sociodemographic and obesity-related variables in US adults.DesignMultinomial logistic regression was used to analyse a nationally representative sample of adults from the 2006–2008 American Time Use Survey. Models identifying physical (where) and social (whom) contexts of primary eating/drinking episodes at the population level, controlling for demographic characteristics, weight status and time of eating, were conducted.SettingUSA.SubjectsA nationally representative sample of US adults (n21 315).ResultsEating/drinking with immediate family was positively associated with age (OR = 1·15 (95 % CI 1·04, 1·27) to 1·23 (95 % CI 1·09, 1·39)), education level (OR = 1·16 (95 % CI 1·03, 1·30) to 1·36 (95 % CI 1·21, 1·54)), obesity (OR = 1·13 (95 % CI 1·04, 1·22)), children in the household (OR = 3·39 (95 % CI 3·14, 3·66)) and time of day (OR = 1·70 (95 % CI 1·39, 2·07) to 5·73 (95 % CI 4·70, 6·99)). Eating in the workplace was negatively associated with female gender (OR = 0·65 (95 % CI 0·60, 0·70)) and children in the household (OR = 0·90 (95 % CI 0·83, 0·98)), while positively associated with non-white status (OR = 1·14 (95 % CI 1·01, 1·29) to 1·47 (95 % CI 1·32, 1·65)) and time of day (OR = 0·25 (95 % CI 0·28, 0·30) to 5·65 (95 % CI 4·66, 6·85)). Women (OR = 0·80 (95 % CI 0·74, 0·86)), those aged >34 years (OR = 0·48 (95 % CI 0·43, 0·54) to 0·83 (95 % CI 0·74, 0·93)) and respondents with children (OR = 0·69 (95 % CI 0·63, 0·75)) were less likely to eat in a restaurant/bar/retail than at home. Overweight and obese respondents had a greater odds of reporting an episode of eating in social situationsv. alone (e.g. immediate family and extended family; OR = 1·13 (95 % CI 1·04, 1·22)) and episodes occurring in restaurant/bar/retail locations (OR = 1·12 (95 % CI 1·03, 1·23) to 1·14 (95 % CI 1·05, 1·24)).ConclusionsFindings underscore the multidimensional nature of describing eating/drinking episodes. Social and physical contexts for eating/drinking and their demographic correlates suggest opportunities for tailoring interventions related to diet and may inform intervention targeting and scope.

Abstract In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a call to combat ageism, labeling it “pervasive” and having “profound consequences on older adults’ health and well being.” This study explored generational differences in understanding the WHO’s definition of ageism, between baby boomers (ages 65-72) and silent generation members (ages 78-85), as well as the perceived impact on personal and public health outcomes. A focus group protocol built around the WHO framing of ageism was administered to boomer (n=18) and silent generation members (n=11). Discussion was transcribed, reviewed in depth by each research team member, and themes were extracted by consensus. Members of both cohorts initially denied effects of ageism, stating that they reject discriminatory behavior; later sharing explicit examples of ageism’s negative impact on their lives. Boomers conflated the words “ageism” and “aging”, perhaps implying a lack of awareness of the terms and the issues as presented by WHO. A central finding was that older adults in both groups experienced economic and health care disparities due to their age. In both groups, perceived perpetrators of discriminatory behavior were found in various environments including places of employment, healthcare sites, restaurants, public transportation, retirement communities, and at home among family and care services. Our results are critical to understanding what environments to target for public health intervention efforts, which will include establishing future education and training for people of all ages to help society learn about ageism, and to advocate for inclusive and equitable treatment of older adults in the community.

Abstract Environmental factors may significantly increase the risk of, or buffer against, age-related cognitive decline, yet policies and practices to improve cognitive health outcomes to date largely overlook the role of neighborhoods and socio-physical environmental contexts. Residence in socioeconomically advantaged neighborhoods may promote cognitive function through greater density of physical and social resources (e.g., libraries, parks, coffee shops, air conditioning, community centers) that promote physical activity, facilitate mental stimulation, and encourage social engagement. This symposium will identify natural, built, and social environmental factors linked to changes in cognitive function over time (assessed by animal naming and world list learning tests) based on secondary data analyses of a national, racially diverse (42% Black), population-based sample of over 30,000 Americans aged 45+ in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study followed annually since 2003. The first two papers investigate the roles of racial residential segregation and education on cognitive function disparities at the neighborhood and city scale. The third paper explores fast-food restaurants as socially interactive community spaces for older adults that may help buffer against cognitive decline. The fourth paper investigates effects of local air temperature on cognitive testing performance, and discusses how regional differences and seasonality may buffer or exacerbate temperature-cognition associations. Altogether, the symposium elucidates how cognitive health is impacted by a complex interplay of individual and geographic factors. The papers inform policy-making efforts to improve physical neighborhood environments and social community contexts, which are critical to the well-being of older adults aging in place.

This study investigates the effects of demographics and land uses on pedestrian crash frequency by integrating the contextual geo-location data. To address the issue of heterogeneity, three negative binomial models (with fixed parameters, with observed heterogeneity, and with both observed and unobserved heterogeneities) were examined. The best fit with the data was obtained by explicitly incorporating the observed and unobserved heterogeneity into the model. This highlights the need to accommodate both observed heterogeneity across neighborhood characteristics and unobserved heterogeneity in pedestrian crash frequency modeling. The marginal effect results imply that some land-use types (e.g., discount department stores and fast-food restaurants) could be candidate locations for the education campaigns to improve pedestrian safety. The observed heterogeneity of the area indicator suggests that priority should be given to more populated low-income areas for pedestrian safety, but attention is also needed for the higher-income areas with larger densities of bus stops and hotels. Moreover, three normally distributed random parameters (proportion of older adults, proportion of lower-speed roads, and density of convenience stores in the area) were identified as having random effects on the probability of pedestrian crash occurrences. Finally, the identification of pedestrian crash hot zone provides practitioners with prioritized neighborhoods (e.g., a list of areas) for developing effective pedestrian safety countermeasures.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of the physical and social surroundings of the neighborhood, which are presented as facilitators or barriers for the social participation of Brazilian older adults. METHODS: The study was conducted in a probabilistic representative sample of the Brazilian population aged 50 years and older and who lived in urban areas (n = 7,935). The response variable was social participation, which was defined from two questions about activities performed with other persons: visited friends or relatives in their homes in the last 12 months (yes, no); went out with other persons to public places, such as restaurant, movies, club, park, in the last 12 months (yes, no). The explanatory variables included fear of falling because of defects in sidewalks, concern about the difficulty to get on a bus, subway, or train, difficulty to cross streets, and perception of violence in the neighborhood. Potential confounding variables included age, marital status, education level, self-rated health, living in an asphalted or paved street, time living in the municipality, and socioeconomic position score. Prevalence ratios and respective confidence intervals were estimated using Poisson regression. RESULT: Difficulty to cross streets presented an independent association with restricted social participation (PR = 0.95; 95%CI 0.93–0.98) among both women (PR = 0.96; 95%CI 0.92–0.99) and men (PR = 0.94; 95%CI 0.90–0.99). Concern about the difficulty to get on a bus, subway, or train was associated with the outcome only among men (PR = 0.95; 95%CI 0.91–0.99). The fear of falling because of defects in sidewalks and the perception of violence in the neighborhood were not associated with social participation. CONCLUSIONS: Urban characteristics that hinder the crossing of streets and accessibility to public transport can be inferred as important barriers for the social participation of Brazilian older adults.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to develop and test the feasibility of a culturally tailored Diabetes Prevention Programme (DPP) for US South Asians, a large population with high diabetes risk.DesignThe South Asian Health and Prevention Education (SHAPE) study included: (1) focus group discussions with South Asian adults to understand views of lifestyle behaviours and diabetes prevention; (2) modification of the US DPP for South Asians and (3) a pilot, pre–post study to test the feasibility and impact of delivering the culturally tailored programme.SettingThe study was conducted in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Focus group discussions and intervention classes were held at locations within the community (eg, South Asian restaurants, a public library, university classrooms, a South Asian owned physical therapy studio).ParticipantsThe focus group discussions (n=17 with 109 individuals) included adults aged 25 years of older who self-identified as South Asian. Groups were stratified by age (25–40 years or older than 40 years) and sex. The SHAPE pilot study included 17 (76.5% male with a mean age of 46.9±12 years) South Asian adults aged 25 years or older with pre-diabetes and body mass index (BMI) >22 kg/m2.ResultsFormative data from 17 focus group discussions and a community board guided the modification of the DPP curriculum to reflect cultural food preferences and include tools to leverage social support, create a stronger foundation in exercise and overcome culturally specific barriers. The SHAPE pilot study included 17 South Asian adults with pre-diabetes and BMI >22 kg/m2. There were positive changes in participants’ weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, plasma lipids, HbA1c and other cardiometabolic markers postintervention and 55% of participants regressed to normoglycaemia.ConclusionThese results provide important information on the barriers faced by US South Asians in participating in ‘standard’ lifestyle change programs, indicate the feasibility of culturally tailored programmes and show positive impact of a culturally tailored programme for diabetes prevention in the South Asian population.

Recently, environmental swabs from kitchen and bathroom surfaces have been described as an additional tool for the detection of norovirus in outbreak settings. This article describes an outbreak investigation in response to the reporting of gastroenteritis in three unrelated groups of 6, 12, and 13 adults approximately 30 h after having meals in the same restaurant. Fecal samples were collected from 13 patients and six food handlers, and environmental swabs were taken from the soap dispenser, working bench, doorknobs of cupboards, and the grip of a knife in the kitchen and in bathrooms as well as from the hands of each of three employees on the day of inspection. Clinical and environmental samples were analyzed separately in time and location for the presence of norovirus by real-time reverse transcription PCR. Structured interviews revealed that all staff members had suffered from gastroenteritis, one after the other. Norovirus RNA (GGI.6) was detected in 17 of 19 fecal samples as well as in 4 environmental samples, including a swab sample from the hands of a staff member who was preparing ready-to-eat food. Sequences obtained from clinical and environmental samples showed an identity of 100% (235 nucleotides). To our knowledge, this is the first case study to directly demonstrate the presence of norovirus RNA on a food handler's hands in an outbreak setting. This finding provides direct evidence for the feasibility of transmission of norovirus by a food handler to food. Education of food handlers on the infectivity of norovirus and updating of hygienic codes are strongly recommended.

Coffee, obtained from various sources, is consumed by most United States adults. The present analyses of one and two 24-h dietary recalls for 14,865 persons aged ≥20 years in the 2011–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2011–2016) aimed to identify socio-demographic predictors of coffee consumption and to examine whether coffee purchase locations differed by population sub-group. Given the emphasis on food and beverage consumption patterns, the relation between coffee consumption and compliance with the Dietary Guidelines of Americans was also examined. Coffee was consumed by 59% of the sample (n = 8551). Survey-adjusted mean intake among consumers was 544.7 g/day. Percent consumers and mean amounts consumed were highest among adults aged 51–70 years (p < 0.001), higher income groups (p < 0.001), and non-Hispanic Whites (p < 0.001). About 74% of coffee consumers obtained their coffee from stores, 9.8% from fast food restaurants, 4.3% from convenience stores, and 4.2% from someone else. Coffee source locations also varied by age, education, income, and race/ethnicity. Coffee consumers had significantly higher Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015) and higher Nutrient-Rich Foods (NRF9.3) scores in energy-adjusted models and significantly higher HEI 2015 scores in multivariable models. In multivariable models, coffee consumers had diets with less added sugar (p < 0.001) but slightly more fat (of all types, including monounsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated (PUFA), saturated and solid fats), cholesterol, and alcohol. Their diets had more potassium and magnesium (p < 0.001) but less vitamin C (p < 0.001). Mean caffeine consumption was 233 mg/day for consumers and 72.3 mg/day for non-consumers. Coffee consumption patterns in the US vary across socio-demographic groups.

Abstract Objectives Virtual reality (VR) potentially provides an innovative tool for nutrition education/counselling. The objective of this study was to determine the a) sense of ‘presence’ (the feeling of being in a scene) experienced in two food related VR scenes b) capture information regarding the participants experiences in VR. Methods Two 3D, food-related scenes were created for this study: supermarket or fast food restaurant. The scenes were displayed using a VR head mounted display or on a standard PC monitor. The participants were able to move around each scene and could interact with various elements to obtain nutrition information about a food. Thirty-one adults were recruited for this study and reported to the laboratory on 4 occasions separated by at least 48 hours. Participants were randomized to a treatment order. On reporting to the laboratory, the participants had surface electrodes attached to determine heart rate and electrodermal activity. The participant was then required to sit quietly for 10 minutes for baseline measures to be collected. Then, in the VR treatments, a VR headset was placed on the participants head and the relevant scene displayed. For the PC treatments, the same scenes were displayed on a PC monitor. The participants were required to remain in the different scenes for at least 5 minutes. Then, the headset was removed and the participant completed questionnaires regarding their experiences in the VR and PC scenes. Results Participants ranged in age from &lt;25 years to over 65 years. All participants used computers in their daily life but generally had no or little experience in VR. Participants reported a higher sense of presence in the VR treatments compared to the PC treatments (P &lt; 0.05). The VR scenes also created a greater sense of the scene being the ‘dominant reality’ and elicited a greater sense that the participant were actually in the scene (P &lt; 0.05). There was no difference in the participant's ability to complete tasks in the VR and PC scenes. Moreover, feelings of nausea were not different between the VR and PC scenes. The participant's heart rate was significantly higher in the VR treatments (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusions This study provides data that supports the development of VR as a nutrition education/counselling tool. Further research is required to develop VR as an effective education tool. Funding Sources None.

Background Given the extensive time needed to conduct a nationally representative household survey and the commonly low response rate of phone surveys, rapid online surveys may be a promising method to assess and track knowledge and perceptions among the general public during fast-moving infectious disease outbreaks. Objective This study aimed to apply rapid online surveying to determine knowledge and perceptions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among the general public in the United States and the United Kingdom. Methods An online questionnaire was administered to 3000 adults residing in the United States and 3000 adults residing in the United Kingdom who had registered with Prolific Academic to participate in online research. Prolific Academic established strata by age (18-27, 28-37, 38-47, 48-57, or ≥58 years), sex (male or female), and ethnicity (white, black or African American, Asian or Asian Indian, mixed, or “other”), as well as all permutations of these strata. The number of participants who could enroll in each of these strata was calculated to reflect the distribution in the US and UK general population. Enrollment into the survey within each stratum was on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants completed the questionnaire between February 23 and March 2, 2020. Results A total of 2986 and 2988 adults residing in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, completed the questionnaire. Of those, 64.4% (1924/2986) of US participants and 51.5% (1540/2988) of UK participants had a tertiary education degree, 67.5% (2015/2986) of US participants had a total household income between US $20,000 and US $99,999, and 74.4% (2223/2988) of UK participants had a total household income between £15,000 and £74,999. US and UK participants’ median estimate for the probability of a fatal disease course among those infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was 5.0% (IQR 2.0%-15.0%) and 3.0% (IQR 2.0%-10.0%), respectively. Participants generally had good knowledge of the main mode of disease transmission and common symptoms of COVID-19. However, a substantial proportion of participants had misconceptions about how to prevent an infection and the recommended care-seeking behavior. For instance, 37.8% (95% CI 36.1%-39.6%) of US participants and 29.7% (95% CI 28.1%-31.4%) of UK participants thought that wearing a common surgical mask was “highly effective” in protecting them from acquiring COVID-19, and 25.6% (95% CI 24.1%-27.2%) of US participants and 29.6% (95% CI 28.0%-31.3%) of UK participants thought it was prudent to refrain from eating at Chinese restaurants. Around half (53.8%, 95% CI 52.1%-55.6%) of US participants and 39.1% (95% CI 37.4%-40.9%) of UK participants thought that children were at an especially high risk of death when infected with SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions The distribution of participants by total household income and education followed approximately that of the US and UK general population. The findings from this online survey could guide information campaigns by public health authorities, clinicians, and the media. More broadly, rapid online surveys could be an important tool in tracking the public’s knowledge and misperceptions during rapidly moving infectious disease outbreaks.

Smokers lose, on average, about ten years of life, while smokers who quit before age of 35 years have mortality rates similar to those who never smoked. There is lack of support for smokers in their quitting attempt as well as empirical data to design support strategies. This cross sectional study was conducted in 2012 in rural Tangail, to identify the smoking quitting attempts and its correlates in Bangladeshi population. A total of 505 adult rural smokers were enlisted, and interviewed using a pretested questionnaire in Bangla. Pearson’s chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis were done to find out the association before and after controlling for the effects of other variables. The recruited samples were between the ages of 18 and 80 years with a mean (SD) of 42.62 (13.10) years. About three-fourth of the participants (72.5%) did not have any plan to quit smoking. Only 8.4% tried to quit smoking within last 12 months and 13.6% ever in their smoking life, and 5.2% stopped smoking at least for a month. Intention to quit smoking associated with education (p=0.025), age at starting smoking (p <0.001), type of smokers (p <0.001) and number of smoker friends (p <0.001). Type of smokers (p=0.001) and number of smoker friends (p=0.002) showed influence on quitting attempt. Quit attempt was least common at homes (p <0.001) and workplaces (p <0.001) were there was no smoking restrictions. Only 5% tea stalls and 6% restaurants had partial smoking restrictions. About 60% respondent’s family and 70% colleagues never tried to influence smokers to smoking. Those who were more frequently told more commonly tried to quit smoking (p<0.001). The study revealed that smoking quitting intention and attempt both are at very low level in rural Bangladeshi males, and social attributes significantly correlated to intention and attempting smoking quit. Family and social support in quitting and restrictions at home and workplace might have role in motivating the smokers to quit smoking. To encourage smoking cessation, counseling service needs to be established and quitting aids should be made available at an affordable cost.

In order to identify the status of salt-related knowledge and behavior of the residents who were active in WeChat software between 2019 and 2020, 10-day salt-related surveys were conducted in 2019 and 2020 based on the WeChat public platform of China Healthy Lifestyle for All Campaign. Distribution and scores of salt-related knowledge, salt reduction behavior and high-salt intake behavior between 2019 and 2020 were compared. Data of 2109 participants in 2019 and 12,732 participants in 2020 were left for analysis. Overall, 88.2% of participants in 2019 had a willingness to reduce the amount of cooking salt in their households, significantly lower than 90.2% in 2020 (p-value < 0.05). In 2019 and 2020, over 80% of the participants knew fine dried noodles contain salt, but less than 30% knew ice cream contains salt. Over 78% of participants chose 5 g or 6 g for the maximum daily salt intake of healthy adults, and about 98% of participants knew that excessive salt intake would increase the risk of hypertension in both years. The percentage of participants who used salt measuring spoons asked restaurants to use less salt, read the sodium content on the nutrition facts table, chose foods with low sodium content and regularly used low-sodium salt, were 36.1%, 45.0%, 44.1%, 40.3% and 35.8% in 2019, and the percentage increased significantly to 46.4%, 49.2%, 50.8%, 47.1% and 43.4% in 2020 (all p-value < 0.05). The percentage of people regularly eating pickled mustard tubers, salted vegetables and sauce foods or using high-salt condiments also increased from 2019 to 2020. The median of salt-related knowledge scores, salt reduction behavior scores and high-salt intake behavior scores were 11, 2, 5 points in 2019, and 10, 3, 5 points in 2020, respectively. Compared to 2019, the salt-related knowledge score was relatively lower, while the salt reduction behavior score and high-salt intake behavior score were relatively higher in 2020. Besides, the score of salt-related knowledge and behaviors differed in different gender, age and hypertension groups. The COVID-19 epidemic may have influenced the salt-related knowledge and behaviors status of WeChat users in China. Promotion and education of salt-related knowledge and online behavior intervention are still needed, particularly for male and hypertension patients in the future.

Este trabalho apresenta parte da pesquisa História, Memória e Vivências: A EJA no Norte de Minas Gerais 1940-1960, investigando a historiografia local, reconstituindo a história e memória dos saberes e práticas de professoras. Procurou-se compreender como procediam na alfabetização dos adultos, considerando as dificuldades daquela realidade para o saber sobre sua profissão. Situado no campo da Educação de Jovens e Adultos, focado na história oral temática. Os resultados da pesquisa apontam o modo como as trajetórias dessas educadoras foram construídas, marcadas pela coibição política e pedagógica em uma época em que o sertão do Norte de Minas Gerais era considerado uma região de “resistência habitual ao analfabetismo”. A presente pesquisa conduziu à percepção de que as professoras alfabetizadoras não somente criaram alternativas de trabalho ou mesmo aprenderam com suas próprias experiências, mas, se inscreveram em uma tradição, resgatando laços com a EJA, como tributárias, continuadoras e recriadoras de uma tradição.Palavras-Chave: História. Memória. Saberes e Práticas. EJA no Norte de Minas Gerais. ResumenEste artículo presenta parte de la investigación Historia, Memoria y Experiencias: la educación de adultos en el Norte de Minas Gerais 1940-1960, la investigación de la historia local, que describe la historia y Memoria de conocimientos y prácticas de los profesores. Se buscó entender cómo sucedió la alfabetización de adultos, teniendo en cuenta las dificultades de aquella realidad para el saber acerca de tu profesion. Situado en el campo de la educación de jóvenes y adultos, se centró en la historia del tema oral. Los resultados de la investigación muestran cómo las trayectorias de estos educadores fueron construidas, marcadas por la moderación política y pedagógica en un momento en el que el la región "sertão" del Norte de Minas Gerais era considerada una región de "resistencia habitual a el analfabetismo. Esta investigación dio lugar a la percepción de que los maestros alfabetizadores no sólo crearon alternativas de trabajo o incluso aprendieron de su propias experiencias, pero se inscribieron en una tradición, restaurando los lazos con la EJA, como contribuidoras de impuestos, continuadoras y recriadoras de una tradición.Palabras clave: Historia. Memoria. Conocimientos y prácticas. EJA en el norte de Minas Gerais. Abstract This work presents part of the History research, Memory and Experiences: The “EJA” in the North of Minas Gerais 1940-1960, investigating local historiography, retracing the history and memory of the knowledge and practices of teachers. It sought to understand how they preceded in the adult literacy, considering the difficulty of that reality to the knowledge about their profession. Situated in the Field of Youth and Adult Education, focused on thematic oral history. The research results point to the way such educator’s trajectories were built, marked by the policy and teaching restraint in a time when the “Sertão” of northern Minas Gerais was considered a region of "habitual illiteracy resistance". The present research led to the perception that literacy teachers not only created working alternatives or even learned from their own experiences, but enrolled in a tradition, restoring ties with the “EJA”, as tributaries, continuers and recreatives of a tradition.Keywords: History. Memory. Knowledge and practices. “EJA” in the North of Minas Gerais.

CHICAGO CENTER FOR FILM STUDY: ORIGIN AND HISTORY One day in August, I was sitting in a restaurant during the Montreal World Film Festival when Jim Wall, the long-time editor, now retired, of the Christian Century, asked me about the origin and history of the Chicago Center for Film Study. And would I put down my recollections of how it all began. "Ask me an easier question" - was my immediate response. After all, the story of the Center for Film Study (CFS) goes back forty years or more. To unravel all the salient facts and many colourful details would require access to the archives of the Adult Education Centers (AEC) in Chicago, the Catholic umbrella organization that nourished the growth of the CFS. And I am not sure those archives even exist. Still, this is the place to start. Back in the August of 1962, three years after my...

Introduction: Laws banning smoking in indoor public places have been associated with reductions in second-hand smoke exposure and cardiovascular disease among non-smokers. Second-hand smoke exposure has been associated with hypertension in prior studies. However, it is unknown whether smoke-free policies are associated with changes in blood pressure. Hypothesis: We tested the hypothesis that living in an area with a smoke-free policy banning smoking in restaurants, bars, and/or other workplaces is associated with reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure among non-smokers. Methods: Longitudinal data from 2,896 non-smoking participants of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study (aged 18-30 at enrollment, 1985-2011, 14,193 person-exam-years) were linked to state, county, and local 100% smoke-free policies in bars, restaurants, and/or non-hospitality workplaces based on participants’ census tract of residence at each exam. Fixed-effects linear regression estimated associations of each type of smoke-free policy (restaurant, bar, workplace) with within-person changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP). Models adjusted for time-varying covariates: exam year (categorical), socio-demographic (education, income, marital status), health-related (body mass index, total physical activity, alcohol use), and policy (state cigarette tax, self-reported ban on smoking in their workplace) covariates, and interactions of baseline covariates (age, sex, race, field center) with exam year to account for differences in blood pressure patterns that were associated with these characteristics (p<0.05 for all interactions). Blood pressure values were adjusted to reflect antihypertensive medication use (+10 mmHg for SBP, +5 mmHg for DBP for those on medication). Results: At baseline, mean SBP was 110.5 mmHg and mean DBP was 69.3 mmHg. By year 25, a majority of participants were exposed to smoke-free policies in restaurants (1,759 of 2,264, 78%), bars (1,536 of 2,264, 68%), and other workplaces (1,518 of 2,264, 67%). Smoke-free policies were associated with within-person reductions in SBP and DBP in fully adjusted models (expressed as average change between exams in mmHg). Mean reductions in SBP were -0.77 (95% CI: -1.51, -0.02) for restaurant policies, -0.73 (95% CI: -1.54, 0.08) for bar policies, and -0.79 (95% CI: -1.51, -0.08) for workplace policies. Mean reductions in DBP were -0.67 (95% CI: -1.27, -0.06) for restaurant policies, -0.54 (95% CI: -1.20, 0.11) for bar policies, and -0.86 (95% CI: -1.44, -0.28) for workplace policies. Conclusions: Smoke-free policies in restaurants and other workplace are associated with within-person reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure among non-smokers. These results suggest an additional health benefit of these policies beyond those previously described in the literature.

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE This study aims to describe the places of purchase of food consumed outside the home, characterize consumers according to the places of consumption, and identify the food purchased by place of consumption in Brazil. METHODS We have used data from the Pesquisa de Orçamento Familiar (Household Budget Survey) of 2008-2009 with a sample of 152,895 subjects over 10 years of age. The purchase of food outside the home was collected from the records of all expenditures made in seven days. The places of purchase were grouped according to their characteristics: supermarket, bakery, street food, restaurant, snack bar, fruit shop, and other places. The types of food were grouped into nine categories, considering the nutritional aspects and the marketing characteristics of the item. We have estimated the frequency of purchase in the seven groups of places in Brazil and according to gender and type of food purchased per place. We have calculated the average age, income and years of education, as well as the per capita expenditure according to places of purchase of food consumed outside the home. RESULTS The purchase of food outside the home was reported by 41.2% of the subjects, being it greater among men than women (44% versus 38.5%). Adults had a higher frequency (46%) than teenagers (37.7%) and older adults (24.2%). The highest frequency of places of purchase were snack bar (16.9%) and restaurant (16.4%), while the fruit shop (1.2%) presented the lowest frequency. Sweets, snack chips and soft drinks were the most purchased items in most places. Average expenditure was higher for restaurant (R$33.20) and lower for fruit shop (R$4.10) and street food (R$5.00). CONCLUSIONS The highest percentage of food consumed outside the home comes from snack bars and restaurants, pointing to important places for the development of public policies focused on promoting healthy eating.

Background: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) assesses individuals’ current experiences, location and social context in which behaviors occur. During a 12-mo behavioral weight loss intervention and using an EMA app, we asked participants to report any instances of temptations or a lapse from their weight management diet. Objective: Estimate the rate of temptations per unit time and the probability that a lapse will follow based on the location (restaurant, home, work) and the social context ( with others who are eating, completely alone ). Methods: Using a smartphone, participants initiated a report when they experienced a temptation and reported if this led to a lapse. Their location and the social context were recorded during the 5,211 self-reported temptations as well as during 106,960 random assessments over 12 mos. Analyses: A frailty model was used to estimate the rate at which temptations occurred per unit of time and a logistic regression model was used to estimate the probability that a temptation led to a lapse both as a function of location and social context. Results: The sample (N = 150) was predominantly female (90.7%) and White (80.7%), 56.4% were married with 16.4 (2.8) years of education and a mean BMI of 34.0 kg/m 2 (4.6). Temptations occurred most often in a restaurant and the person was with others who were eating or in sight of others who were eating (Fig 1). While temptations occurred infrequently in another person’s home, there was nearly a 65% probability that a lapse would occur there. When with others who are eating , the temptation rate and probability of a lapse were high. Conclusions: Temptations to eat in a manner that is inconsistent with a weight loss plan occur more frequently in certain locations, e.g., restaurants; however, the probability a temptation leads to a lapse is high in a variety of locations and social contexts, e.g., with others who are eating . Interventions need to focus on empowering individuals trying to manage their weight to resist temptations in these at risk locations and social contexts.

Abstract Objectives Meals from full-service restaurants (FS) and fast-food restaurants (FF) are major contributors to US diets. Yet, their overall healthfulness, trends, and disparities are unknown. We sought to evaluate trends in FS and FF diet quality in US adults, and disparities by key subgroups. Methods We used data from 7 NHANES cycles 2003–2016, totaling 35,015 adults aged 20 + y. Percent of energy (%E) and meal settings (breakfast, etc.) from FS and FF were examined. Diet quality was based on the validated American Heart Association (AHA) 2020 primary diet score (components: fruits/vegetables, whole grains, fish/shellfish, sugar-sweetened beverages, sodium; range 0–50) and secondary score (adding nuts/seeds/legumes (NSL), processed meat, saturated fat; range 0–80). Analyses utilized survey-weight with energy adjusted to 2000 kcal/d. Results Between 2003–16, US adults consumed ∼9%E from FS (8.5% in 2003–04; 9.5% in 2015–16, p trend = 0.38) and ∼12%E from FF (10.5%; 13.4%; p trend = 0.31). Over this period, increasing FF meals were eaten for breakfast (4.4% to 7.6%) (p trend < 0.001). In 2015–16, diet quality of both FS and FF were low: mean primary AHA score of 17.3 and 14.7 (out of 50), respectively; and secondary AHA score of 31.6 and 27.6 (out of 80). Between 2003–16, diet quality of FS was unchanged; while FF quality was unchanged per the primary score and modestly improved per the secondary score (improvement of 4.2%; p trend < 0.001), largely due to changes in NSL and saturated fat. The % of FF meals with poor quality (<40% adherence to the AHA secondary score) declined from 74.6% to 69.8%, while the % with intermediate quality (40–79.9% adherence) increased from 25.4% to 30.2% (both p trend < 0.001) (Figure). FS meals with poor (∼50%) and intermediate (∼50%) quality were stable over time. Notably, < 0.1% of consumed FS or FF meals met ideal quality ( > 80% adherence). Disparities in FS and FF meal quality were observed by race/ethnicity, income, and education, which generally worsened over time. Conclusions FF and FS meals provide 1 in 5 calories in US adults. Modest improvements in quality were observed in FF, but not FS; average quality for both remained low, with growing disparities. These findings highlight specific challenges and opportunities for improving quality of restaurant meals in the US. Funding Sources AHA, NIH/NHLBI. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs

Abstract Purpose To describe the patterns of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) consumption in the Netherlands; to test if exposure to the food environment is associated with UPFs consumption; and if this association differed across educational levels and neighbourhood urbanisation. Methods Cross-sectional study using 2015-data of 8104 older adults from the Dutch EPIC cohort. Proportion of UPFs consumption was calculated from a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Exposure to the food environment was defined as proximity and availability of supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, full-service restaurants, convenience stores, candy stores and cafés. Consumption of UPFs was expressed as both percentage of total grams and total kilocalories. Results The study population was aged 70(± 10 SD) years and 80.5% was female. Average UPFs consumption was 17.8% of total food intake in grams and 37% of total energy intake. Those who consumed greater amounts of UPFs had a poorer overall diet quality. Adjusted linear regression models showed that closer proximity and larger availability to any type of food retailer was associated with lower UPFs consumption (both in grams and kilocalories). Somewhat stronger significant associations were found for proximity to restaurants (β = − 1.6%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = − 2.6; − 0.6), and supermarkets (β = − 2.2%, 95%CI = − 3.3; − 1.1); i.e., Individuals living within 500 m from the closest supermarket, as compared to 1500 m, had 2.6% less calories from UPFs. No differences were found on analyses stratified for urbanisation and education. Conclusions Using various measures of exposure to the food environment, we found that exposure to restaurants and supermarkets was associated with somewhat lower consumption of UPFs.

***Access the interview with author Lana Button by clicking here.*** Dear Readers, The definition of children’s literature is expanding, with digital options opening up whole new worlds of possibility. As I write these words, I have just learned from a report to British MPs, conveyed by the Telegraph of London, that in the United Kingdom, one child in four under the age of two owns their own tablet computer. Young children in the UK are apparently more likely to own a tablet than those in any other EU country. In that country, the average pre-school child, including the under-twos, spends more than an hour a day online. I don’t know the equivalent figures for Canadian children, but I do know that even infants are aware of the potential for interesting material on their parents’ phones. Very young children indeed are able to swipe through the family photograph album and pick out the videos as offering the most bang for the viewing buck. I once watched a 17-month-old child in a restaurant as he inspected the mobile phones of his father and a group of his father’s friends, four or five phones in total. They were all different but this toddler, working without assistance as the adults chatted to each other, successfully deduced how to manage a number of the basics on each phone: the on/off switch, the volume control, the access point for apps. I was riveted by his sense of the basic rules: be mindful of the conventions, be alert for feedback, be careful, and don’t miss a thing! It’s important that these digitally savvy babies and children continue to be exposed to picture books on paper, that they learn to master the refinements of page turning and how to hold the book right way up and proceed from left to right, top to bottom. It’s important that they learn about the magnificent world of the literature for the very young that is conveyed on the paper page with all its affordances and restrictions; their lives will forever be the richer for such exposure. But it’s also important that those who work with these digitally aware children be exposed to the many possibilities and opportunities offered by digital materials. And that’s why it’s vital for the Deakin Review to pursue reviews of multimodal and digital titles as well as those involving print on paper. Sometimes we experience a kind of “either/or” panic, worrying that the digital will drive out the analogue. All our previous experience with assorted new media suggests that “both/and” is a more productive stance. Any material that makes the best possible use of its possibilities and affordances will be a compelling text: a paper book that capitalizes on the vast potential of words and pictures dancing together and that utilizes the page turn for moments of surprise and delight will appeal to children. A digital text – app, website, even database – that maximizes the potential of words, images, sounds, films, links, and more, will also call to readers. I am delighted to see the Deakin Review go down the “both/and” road, opening its virtual doors to multimodal as well as print reviews. Today’s children can only benefit from access not just to all kinds of materials but also to informed and sympathetic adult helpers. Learning to make critical assessments of multimedia materials will help everyone be a better reader. Margaret Mackey Faculty of Education - School of Library and Information Studies

ABSTRACT Objective To identify the main determinants of food consumption among adult users of a public market in a capital of Northeastern Brazil. Methods A total of 198 diners in a public market, constituting a sample comprising 149 males and 49 females over 19 years of age, was interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaires from August 2018 to January 2019. Sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, place of origin, education and income, in addition to the determinants of food choices were evaluated. The analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon test (nonparametric) that compared the means of the dimensions involved in these choices according to gender and income. Results Sensory appeal, price and health were the main determinants of food choices. When compared by gender and income, there were significant differences regarding the attributes reviewed. Conclusion The factors that influenced food choice were: sensory appeal, price and health. Ethical issues were the ones that least interfered with food choice. Thus, such aspects must be taken into account for the development of public policies in the area of collective eating and environmental education. The factors that influenced food choice were: sensory appeal, price and health. Ethical issues were the ones that least interfered with food choice. Thus, such aspects must be taken into account for the development of public policies in the area of collective eating and environmental education.

Background: Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are reference values established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine and are intended for purposes of planning and assessing diets for healthy populations. As consumption of fast food has continued to increase, the question of nutrient adequacy is of growing concern. Purpose: The purpose of this investigation is to quantify the association between frequency of fast food consumption and likelihood of meeting DRIs in a middle age adult population. Methods: Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) is a multi-center longitudinal study among black and white men and women who, at year 20 of follow up, were ages 38-50 years (n=3,089). Dietary intake was assessed by trained, certified interviewers using the validated CARDIA Diet History questionnaire. Fast food frequency was quantified based on responses to a dietary behavior questionnaire and categorized according to 0, >0-<1, 1-<3, and 3+ times/wk. Logistic regression was used to quantify associations between fast food frequency and the likelihood of meeting DRIs accounting for age, sex, race, study center, education, smoking status, and energy intake. Results: More frequent consumption of fast food was associated with lower likelihood of meeting recommended levels of several essential nutrients and greater likelihood of exceeding recommended intakes of sodium and sugar (Table1). Conclusions: These findings raise awareness of the need for targeting public health messages aimed at improving diets of fast food consumers, for example, by improving foods served at fast food restaurants to help meet nutrient needs in the US diet.

Abstract Objective: Online meal ordering services are increasing in popularity in Australia and globally. Meals ordered online for home delivery are typically less healthy than home-made meals, potentially contributing to weight gain. The aim of the present study was to identify the types of consumers who are most likely to engage in online meal ordering. Design: A cross-sectional survey including items relating to demographic and lifestyle factors was disseminated via a web panel provider. Setting: Australia. Participants: A total of 2010 Australian adults aged 18+ years. Results: More than a quarter of respondents (28 %) engaged in online meal ordering at least once in the previous month. Younger respondents, those with a higher BMI, and those with higher education and income levels were more likely to have done so. Consuming higher levels of sugary drinks and fast-food restaurant patronage were significantly associated with ordering meals online for home delivery. Conclusions: The outcomes of this study suggest that the use of online meal ordering services is becoming a common practice in Australia, and it is therefore important to implement evidence-based strategies and policies to encourage individuals to make healthy food choices when using these services.

Background : Social determinants of health (SDOH) may limit the practice of COVID-19 risk mitigation guidelines with health implications for individuals with underlying cardiovascular disease (CVD). Population-based evidence of the association between SDOH and practicing such mitigation strategies in adults with CVD is lacking. We used the National Opinion Research Center's COVID-19 Household Impact Survey conducted between April and June 2020 to evaluate sociodemographic disparities in adherence to COVID-19 risk mitigation measures in a sample of respondents with underlying CVD representing 18 geographic areas of the United States (US). Methods : CVD status was ascertained by self-reported history of receiving heart disease, heart attack, or stroke diagnosis. We built de novo, a cumulative index of SDOH burden using education, insurance, economic stability, 30-day food security, urbanicity, neighborhood quality, and integration. We described the practice of measures under the broad strategies of personal protection (mask, hand hygiene, physical distancing), social distancing (avoiding crowds, restaurants, social activities, and high-risk contact), and work flexibility (work-from-home, canceling/postponing work). We reported prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between SDOH burden (quartiles of cumulative indices) and practicing these measures adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, comorbidity, and interview wave. Results : 2036/25269 (7.0%) adults, representing 8.69 million in 18 geographic areas of the US, reported underlying CVD. Compared to the least SDOH burden, fewer individuals with the greatest SDOH burden practiced all personal protection (75.6% vs 89.0%) and social distancing measures (41.9% vs 58.9%) and had any flexible work schedule (26.2% vs 41.4%). These associations remained statistically significant after full adjustment: personal protection, (PR = 0.83; 95% CI [0.73-0.96]; P = 0.009); social distancing (PR = 0.69; 95% CI [0.51-0.94]; P = 0.018); and work flexibility (PR = 0.53; 95% CI [0.36-0.79]; P = 0.002). Conclusions : SDOH burden is associated with lower COVID-19 risk mitigation practices in the CVD population. Identifying and prioritizing individuals whose medical vulnerability is compounded by social adversity may optimize emerging preventive efforts, including vaccination guidelines.

Abstract Background Early adulthood is a period of rapid personal development when individuals experience major life transitions (e.g. leaving the parental home, leaving education, beginning employment, cohabitation and parenthood). Changes in social and physical environments associated with these transitions may influence development of health-related behaviours. Consumption of fast food is one behaviour associated with poor diet and long-term health outcomes. In this study we assess how frequency of fast food consumption changes across early adulthood, and how major life transitions are associated with changes in fast food intake. Methods Data were collected across four waves of the Project EAT study, from mean age 14.9 (SD = 1.6) to mean age 31.1 (SD = 1.6) years. Participants reporting data at two or more waves were included (n = 2902). Participants reported past week frequency of eating food from a fast food restaurant and responded to questions on living arrangements, education and employment participation, and having children. To assess changes in fast food we developed a latent growth model incorporating an underlying trajectory of fast food intake, five life transitions, and time-invariant covariates. Results Mean fast food intake followed an underlying quadratic trajectory, increasing through adolescence to a maximum of 1.88 (SE 0.94) times/week and then decreasing again through early adulthood to 0.76 (SE 2.06) times/week at wave 4. Beginning full-time employment and becoming a parent both contributed to increases in fast food intake, each resulting in an average increase in weekly fast food intake of 0.16 (p < 0.01) times/week. Analysis of changes between pairs of waves revealed stronger associations for these two transitions between waves 1–2 (mean age 14.9–19.4 years) than seen in later waves. Leaving the parental home and beginning cohabitation were associated with decreases in fast food intake of − 0.17 (p = 0.004) and − 0.16 (p = 0.007) times/week respectively, while leaving full-time education was not associated with any change. Conclusions The transitions of beginning full-time employment and becoming a parent were associated with increases in fast food intake. Public health policy or interventions designed to reduce fast food intake in young adults may benefit from particular focus on populations experiencing these transitions, to ameliorate their impact.

Background: Meals eaten away from home, particularly at fast-food restaurants, tend to have more calories, saturated and trans fats, and sodium and fewer fruits, vegetables, and whole grains than meals prepared at home. This contributes to higher body mass indexes in children and adults. Objective: The objective of the American Heart Association’s Simple Cooking with Heart program is to test whether increased consumption of home-prepared meals improves the diet quality of Americans. The theoretical framework for this program is based upon the Socioecological Model and Social Cognitive Theory of behavior change, both proven to be successful in diet and lifestyle interventions. Methods: Culinary skill-building based nutrition education that provides tools, recipes, instruction for preparing low-cost, heart healthy meals was administered to low-income families, specifically women (moms) ages 29-54. The program includes experiential skill acquisition through “live” cooking demonstrations and a robust program website which includes tools, low cost recipes and instructional skill videos. A third party 2-year program evaluation measured program impact on skill acquisition, attitudinal change, change in intent, and consumption pattern change. Results: Participation in “live” cooking demonstrations was associated with positive attitudinal change and was effective in improving knowledge and skills. The program website and materials are effective interventions to improve culinary skill, attitudinal change and efficacy/confidence, and increase frequency of home prepared meals. An increase in fruits, vegetables and whole grains consumption was also observed. This presentation will include new data regarding participants’ positive gains for social cognitive measures following a 30-day online focus group. Participants experienced positive gains regarding: raised awareness of the health and economic benefits of preparing meals at home, and outcome expectations. Participants also experienced an increase in efficacy and skill aquisition: increased confidence, skills and techniques to prepare meals at home (evaluation study participants identified higher at 30 days for statements reflecting healthful behavior and attitudes, including behavioral capacity, self-efficacy, intentions, outcome expectations and future/continued engagement.) An average of 4 new skills/techniques learned, respondents’ confidence in their ability to prepare healthful meals is near universal (94%) as is their willingness to do so (94%). Conclusions: Using a culinary skill development programs is associated with improving diet quality and improving nutrition literacy.

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Approximately 2.5% of adults in the United States and 4% of adults in Canada follow vegetarian diets. A vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat, fish, or fowl. Interest in vegetarianism appears to be increasing, with many restaurants and college foodservices offering vegetarian meals routinely. Substantial growth in sales of foods attractive to vegetarians has occurred and these foods appear in many supermarkets. This position paper reviews the current scientific data related to key nutrients for vegetarians including protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B-12, vitamin A, n-3 fatty acids, and iodine. A vegetarian, including vegan, diet can meet current recommendations for all of these nutrients. In some cases, use of fortified foods or supplements can be helpful in meeting recommendations for individual nutrients. Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folate, antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than non-vegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer. While a number of federally funded and institutional feeding programs can accommodate vegetarians, few have foods suitable for vegans at this time. Because of the variability of dietary practices among vegetarians, individual assessment of dietary intakes of vegetarians is required. Dietetics professionals have a responsibility to support and encourage those who express an interest in consuming a vegetarian diet. They can play key roles in educating vegetarian clients about food sources of specific nutrients, food purchase and preparation, and any dietary modifications that may be necessary to meet individual needs. Menu planning for vegetarians can be simplified by use of a food guide that specifies food groups and serving sizes.

Responsibility frames in media coverage describe the mediated attribution of responsibility for causes and remedies (treatments, solutions) for health issues, mostly differentiating between individual and societal responsibility. Field of application/theoretical foundation: Media coverage of health topics, public opinion formation, attribution of responsibility, framing studies, social media on health issues Example studies: Gollust & Lantz (2009); Kim & Willis (2007); O’Hara & Smith (2007); Stefanik-Sidener (2013); Yoo & Kim (2012); Zhang & Jin (2015) Information on Kim & Willis, 2007 Authors: Sei-Hill Kim, Leigh Anne Willis Health topic: Obesity Research questions: How have the media presented the causes and solutions for obesity? Have certain causes and solutions appeared more often than others? How has media coverage of causal and solution responsibility changed over the years? Have mentions of certain causes and solutions increased or decreased? Object of analysis: Newspaper and television news data containing “obesity” or “obese” appearing in the headline, lead paragraphs, or index terms; articles published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Houston Chronicle, and USA Today; news transcripts on obesity from three television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC); after conducting a systematic sampling, n = 300 articles and n = 200 transcripts were analyzed Time frame of analysis: January 1995 to August 2004 Info about variables Variables: Variables included attributions of causal and treatment responsibility, cause or treatment option was coded as ‘‘not present’’ (0) or ‘‘present’’ (1). Level of analysis: News article respectively tv transcript Causal responsibility Solution responsibility Personal causes (Scott’s pi= .81) Unhealthy diet: Consuming too much food, consuming too much unhealthy food, addictive or emotional eating. Sedentary lifestyle: Lack of exercise, Lack of physical activities. Genetic conditions: Genetic=biological factors that may produce obesity (e.g., imbalance of hunger hormones that may stimulate appetite). Others: E.g., poor adult role models. Personal solutions (Scott’s pi= .74) Healthy diet: Consuming less food, consuming healthy food. Physically activities: More exercise and physical activities. Medical treatments: Medications (e.g., diet pills), surgical treatments of obesity (e.g., gastric bypass, gastric stapling). Others: E.g., working with a support group, talking to a counselor, parents as role models. Societal causes (Scott’s pi= .86) The food industry: Obesity-promoting foods (fast=junk food), super-sizing, large increase in fast=junk food restaurants, other aggressive marketing promotions. Schools & education: Unhealthy foods in school cafeterias, lack of physical activity programs at schools, lack of public education about healthy eating and lifestyle. Socioeconomic factors: Low-income families may not be able to afford healthy food, exercise equipment, or a gym membership. They may be too busy to prepare their own healthy food. Others: E.g., automobile-oriented society (e.g., drive-thru stores and restaurants, big-box stores), unsafe community (crime, traffic, accident), and limited opportunities for outdoor activities. Societal solutions (Scott’s pi= .81) Regulations of the food industry: Regulating obesity-promoting foods, super-sizing, vending machines, and other aggressive marketing promotions, taxing unhealthy food. Changes in schools & education: Healthier food in school cafeteria, more physical activity programs at schools, more public education. Socioeconomic changes: Narrowing income gap, healthy food should be more affordable and available, more affordable exercise. Others: E.g., less automobile-oriented and more walking-oriented society (less drive-thru stores and restaurants, less big-box stores), safer community, and more opportunities for outdoor activities. Information on Stefanik-Sidener, 2013 Author: Kelsey Stefanik-Sidener Health topic: Diabetes Research questions: What was the dominant frame used in news stories about diabetes? What were the most common cause and solution frames used for each type of diabetes? Object of analysis: Diabetes coverage in the New York Times (N = 239) Time frame of analysis: 2000 to 2010 Info about variables Variables: The articles were coded for the presence of three types of frames for both causes of and solutions to diabetes, respectively: behavioral, societal, or medical, frames were not mutually exclusive Level of analysis: News article General cause frame (Krippendorff’s Alpha= .96) General solution frame (Krippendorff’s Alpha= .64) Behavioral causal frame Poor diet, lack of physical activity, or other individual-level issues Personal solutions Improving one’s diet or increasing activity levels Societal cause frames Poor food environments, car-centered culture, poor nutrition in schools, or other broad problems Societal solution frames Improving access to healthy foods, increasing nutrition education, or other public policy/societal-level solutions Medical cause frames Family history, genetics, age Medical solution frames Blood sugar control, medication, or surgery Information on Yoo & Kim, 2012 Authors: Jina H. Yoo, Junghyun Kim Health topic: obesity Research questions: What typifications (i.e., causal claims and solution claims) have been made in videos on YouTube with regard to the obesity issue? How do these typifications vary among different types of media formats on YouTube? Object of analysis: YouTube was searched with the keywords “obesity” and “obese” on 5 March 2010 and owing to capacity limits, the number of available videos was limited to 1,000 per each keyword; after a systematic random sampling and excluding irrelevant videos, total sample of N = 417 YouTube videos was analyzed Time frame of analysis: 2000 to 2010 Info about variables Variables: articles were coded for the presence of causal claims and solution typifications, behavioral, biological, and systematic causal factors on obesity being causal claims and behavioral solution, medical or pharmacological solution and systematic solution Reliability: Intercoder reliability was calculated for each category, and average intercoder reliability coefficient was .89. The Cohen’s kappa coefficient for each variable ranged between .77 and 1.00 Level of analysis: each whole video, including all of the video’s visual, audio, and text presentation Causal claims for obesity Solution typifications for obesity Behavioral causal claim Obesity is due to the individual’s lifestyle choices, including lack of exercise, wrong diet, lack of willpower and self-control, etc. Behavioral solution Improving one’s diet or increasing activity levels Biological causal claim Obesity is due to genetic or hormonal problems Medical or pharmacological solution To use diet pills or have a gastric bypass surgery as a means of treating obesity. Systematic causal claim Obesity is based on environmental influences and policy choices, including detrimental practices of corporations and government, such as the fast food industry’s marketing practices, school cafeterias’ unhealthy foods, inadequate or inaccurate information about food and nutrition, etc. Systematic solution A societal level of obesity treatment, such as implementing obesity-related policies, banning fast food marketing, removing vending machines from school, etc. Information on Zhang & Jin, 2015 Authors: Yuan Zhang, Yan Jin Health topic: Depression Research question: Do cultural values and organizational restraints shape the responsibility frames for health issues? Object of analysis: US (n = 228) and Chinese (n = 224) newspaper coverage on depression, including New York Times and USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Houston Chronicle, Star Tribune and Denver Post; Chinese newspapers were not further specified, except for People’s Daily and Beijing Daily Time frame of analysis: 2000 to 2012 Info about variables Variables: News framing of causal and problem-solving responsibilities was measured at individual and societal levels, with individual-level and society-level causes and solutions. Each cause and solution included four subcategories which were measured nominally as 0 (absent) or 1 (present). Reliability: For the US data, a pretest in which two coders both coded a randomly selected 10% of the sample yielded Pearson’s r of 0.737 (p < 0.001) for individual causes, 0.862 (p < 0.001) for societal causes, 0.790 (p < 0.001) for individual solutions, and 0.907 (p < 0.001) for societal solutions. For the Chinese data, a pretest in which two bilingual coders both coded a randomly selected 10% of the sample yielded Pearson’s r of 0.861 (p < 0.001) for individual causes, 0.893 (p < 0.001) for societal causes, 0.807 (p < 0.001) for individual solutions, and 0.899 (p < 0.001) Level of analysis: Article Variables & operational definitions: In the appendix References Gollust, S. E., & Lantz, P. M. (2009). Communicating population health: Print news media coverage of type 2 diabetes. Social Science & Medicine (1982), 69(7), 1091–1098. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.07.009 Kim, S.?H., & Willis, A. (2007). Talking about obesity: News framing of who is responsible for causing and fixing the problem. Journal of Health Communication, 12(4), 359–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730701326051 O’Hara, S. K., & Smith, K. C. (2007). Presentation of eating disorders in the news media: What are the implications for patient diagnosis and treatment? Patient Education and Counseling, 68(1), 43–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2007.04.006 Stefanik-Sidener, K. (2013). Nature, nurture, or that fast food hamburger: Media framing of diabetes in the New York Times from 2000 to 2010. Health Communication, 28(4), 351–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2012.688187 Yoo, J. H., & Kim, J. (2012). Obesity in the new media: a content analysis of obesity videos on YouTube. Health Communication, 27(1), 86–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2011.569003 Zhang, Y., & Jin, Y. (2015). Who's responsible for depression? The Journal of International Communication, 21(2), 204–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/13216597.2015.1052532 Zhang, Y., & Jin, Y. (2015). Who's responsible for depression? Journal of International Communication, 21(2), 204–225.

India has one of the world’s highest proportions of plant-based consumers relative to its total population (Sawe). However, the view that India is a predominantly vegetarian nation is likely inaccurate, as recent findings from the 2014 Indian Census indicate that only three in ten Indians self-identity as vegetarian (Census of India). Other studies similarly estimate the prevalence of vegetarianism to range from about 25% (Mintel Global) to about 40% (Euromonitor International; Statista, “Share”), and many Indians are shifting from strict plant-based diets to more flexible versions of plant-based eating (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). When it comes to meat eating, poultry is the most widely consumed (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Some claim that the changing consumer landscape is also eroding traditional taboos associated with beef and buffalo meat consumption (Kala; Bansal), with many tending to underreport their meat consumption due to religious and cultural stigmas (Bansal).This change in food choices is driven by several factors, such as increasing urbanisation (Devi et al.), rising disposable incomes (Devi et al.; Rukhmini), globalisation, and cross-cultural influences (Majumdar; Sinha). Today, the urban middle-class is one of India’s fastest growing consumer segments (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania), and the rise in the consumption of animal products is primarily occurring in urban India (National Sample Survey Office), making this an important market to investigate.From a global perspective, while many Western nations are increasingly adopting plant-based diets (Eswaran), the growth in meat consumption is predicted to mainly come from emerging markets (OECD/FAO) like India. With these points in mind, the purpose of this study was to explore contemporary eating practices in urban India and to understand how social structures, cultures, and traditions influence these practices. The findings indicate that the key reasons why many are transitioning away from plant-based diets are the rise of new and diverse meat-based foods in urban India, emerging tastes for meat-based cuisines, and meat becoming to be viewed as a status symbol. These factors are further elaborated upon in this article.MethodA key question of this research was “What are eating practices like in urban India today?” The question itself is a challenge, given India’s varied cultures and traditions, along with its myriad eating practices. Given this diversity, the study used an exploratory qualitative approach, where the main mode of data gathering was twenty-five unstructured individual face-to-face interviews, each approximately sixty minutes in duration. The discussions were left largely open to allow participants to share their unique eating practices and reflect on how their practices are shaped by other socio-cultural practices. The research used an iterative study design, which entailed cycles of simultaneous data collection, analysis, and subsequent adaptations made to some questions to refine the emerging theory. Within the defined parameters of the research objectives, saturation was adequately reached upon completion of twenty-five interviews.The sample comprised Mumbai residents aged 23 to 45 years, which is fairly representative given about a third of India’s population is aged under 40 (Central Intelligence Agency). Mumbai was selected as it is one of India’s largest cities (Central Intelligence Agency) and is considered the country’s commercial capital (Raghavan) and multicultural hub (Gulliver). The interviews were conducted at a popular restaurant in downtown Mumbai. The interviews were conducted predominantly in English, as it is India’s subsidiary official language (Central Intelligence Agency) and the participants were comfortable conversing in English. The sample included participants from two of India’s largest religions—Hindus (80%) and Muslims (13%) (Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India), and comprised an even split of males and females.The Market Research Society of India has developed a socio-economic classification (SEC) grid that segments urban households into twelve groups (Market Research Society of India). This segmentation is based on two questions: level of education—from illiteracy to a postgraduate degree—and the ownership of eleven items that range from fairly basic (e.g., electricity connection, gas stove) to relatively sophisticated (e.g., refrigerator, personal computer). As previous qualitative work has found that education levels and disposable incomes can significantly impact one’s ability to make informed and deliberate food choices (Khara), and given meat is a relatively expensive commodity in India (Puskar-Pasewicz), the study focused on the most affluent segments—i.e., SEC A1 and some of SEC A2.It is said that researcher values and predispositions are to some extent inseparable from the research process, and therefore that potential researcher bias must be managed by being self-aware, looking for contradictory data, and being open to different interpretations of the data (Ogden). As the interviewer is a vegan of Indian ethnicity, she attempted to manage researcher bias in several ways. Triangulation of data sources (e.g., interviews, observations, product analysis) helped provide a multi-faceted understanding of the topic (Patton). The discussion guide and findings were also discussed with researchers from different cultural and dietary backgrounds. It is also argued that when a researcher shares the same background as the participants—as was the case in this study—participants may remain silent on certain issues, as they may assume the researcher knows the context and nuances in relation to these issues (McGinn). This arose in some instances as some participants said, “it’s standard stuff you know?” The interviewer hence took an “outsider” role, stating “I’ll need to know what standard stuff is”, so as to reduce any expectation that she ought to understand the social norms, conventions, and cultural practices related to the issue (Leckie). This helped yield more elaborate discussions and greater insight into the topic from the participant’s own unique perspective.The Rise of New and Diverse Meat-based Foods in Urban India Since the early 1990s, which marked the beginning of globalisation in India, urban Indian food culture has undergone a significant change as food imports have been liberalised and international food brands have made their way into the domestic market (Vepa). As a result, India’s major urban centres appear to be witnessing a food revolution:Bombay has become so metropolitan, I mean it always was but it’s so much more in terms of food now … and it’s so tempting. (Female, age 32)The changing food culture has also seen an increase in new dishes, such as a lamb burger stuffed with blue cheese, and the desire to try out exotic meats such as octopus, camel, rabbit, and emu. Many participants described themselves as “food obsessed” and living in a “present and continuous state of food”, where “we finish a meal and we’ve already started discussing our next meal”.In comparison, traditional plant-based foods were seen to have not undergone the same transformation and were described as “boring” and “standard” in comparison to the more interesting and diverse meat-based dishes:a standard restaurant menu, you don’t have all the different leafy vegetables…It’s mostly a few paneer and this or that—and upon that they don’t do much justice to the vegetable itself. It’s the same masala which they mix in it so everything tastes the same to me. So that’s a big difference when you consider meats. If I eat chicken in different preparations it has a different taste, if I have fish each has a different taste. (Male, age 29)If I’m going out and I’m spending, then I’m not going to eat the same thing which I eat at home every day which is veg food ... I will always pick the non-vegetarian option. (Male, age 32)Liberalisation and the transformation of the local media landscape also appears to have encouraged a new form of consumerism (Sinha). One participant described how an array of new TV channels and programmes have opened up new horizons for food:The whole visual attraction of food, getting it into your living room or into your bedroom and showing you all this great stuff … [There are now] kiddie birthdays which are MasterChef birthdays. There are MasterChef team building activities … So food is very big and I think media has had a very, very large role to play in that. (Female, age 40+)In a similar vein, digital media has also helped shape the food revolution. India has the world’s second largest number of Internet users (Statista, Internet) and new technology seems to have changed the way urban Indians interact with food:We are using social sites. We see all the cooking tips and all the recipes. I have a wife and she’s like, “Oh, let’s cook it!” (Male, age 25)I see everything on YouTube and food channels and all that. I really like the presentation, how they just a little they cook the chicken breast. (Female, age 42)Smartphones and apps have also made access to new cuisines easier, and some participants have become accustomed to instant gratification, givendelivery boys who can satisfy your craving by delivering it to you … You order food from “Zomato” at twelve o’clock, one o’clock also. And order from “Sigree” in the morning also nowadays … more delivery options are there in India. (Male, age 30)This may also partially explain the growing popularity of fusion foods, which include meat-based variations of traditional plant-based dishes, such as meat-filled dosas and parathas.Emerging Tastes for Meat-based Cuisines Many highlighted the sensory pleasure derived from meat eating itself, focusing on a broad range of sensory qualities:There’s the texture, there’s the smell, there’s aroma, there’s the taste itself … Now imagine if chicken or beef was as soft as paneer, we probably wouldn’t enjoy it as much. There’s a bit of that pull. (Female, age 32)Some discussed adopting a plant-based diet for health-related reasons but also highlighted that the experience, overall, was short of satisfactory:I was doing one week of GM Diet … one day it was full of fruits, then one day it was full of vegetables. And then in the third day, when it was actually the chicken part, frankly speaking even I enjoyed … you just cannot have veggies everyday. (Female, age 35)Only eating veg, I think my whole mouth was, I think gone bad. Because I really wanted to have something … keema [minced meat]. (Female, age 38)Plant-based foods, in comparison to meat-based dishes, were described as “bland”, “boring”, and lacking in the “umami zing”. Even if cooked in the same spices, plant-based foods were still seen to be wanting:you have chicken curry and soya bean curry made from the same masala … but if you replace meat with some other substitutes, you’re gonna be able to tell the difference ... the taste of meat, I feel, is better than the taste of a vegetable. (Male, age 32)The thing is, vegetarian dishes are bland … They don’t get the feeling of the spices in the vegetarian dish ... So when you are eating something juicy, having a bite, it’s a mouthful thing. Vegetarian dishes are not mouthful. (Male, age 25)At the end of a vegetarian meal … I think that maybe [it is] a lack of fullness … I’m eating less because you get bored after a while. (Female, age 32)Tasting the Forbidden FruitIn India, chicken is considered to be widely acceptable, as pork is forbidden to Muslims and beef is prohibited for Hindus (Devi et al.; Jishnu). However, the desire for new flavours seems to be pushing the boundaries of what is deemed acceptable, as highlighted in the discussion below with a 25-year-old male Muslim participant:Participant: When I go out with my friends then I try new things like bacon.Moderator: Bacon?Participant: Yeah... when I went with my colleagues to this restaurant in Bandra—it’s called Saltwater Cafe. And they had this chicken burger with bacon wrapped on it.Moderator: Okay.Participant: And I didn’t know at the time that it’s bacon … They didn’t tell me what we are having … When I had it, I told them that it’s tasting like different, totally different, like I haven’t had this in my life.Moderator: Yeah.Participant: And when they told me that it’s bacon then, I thought, okay fine. Something new I can have. Now I’m old enough to make my own choices.Similarly, several Hindu participants expressed similar sentiments about beef consumption:One of our friends, he used to have beef. He said this tastes better than chicken so I tried it. (Male, age 30)I ended up ordering beef which I actually would never eat ... But then everyone was like, it’s a must try ... So I start off with eating the gravy and then it entices me. That’s when I go and try the meat. (Female, aged 23)Although studies on meat eating in India are limited, it seems that many prefer to consume meats outside the home (Suresh; Devi et al.), away from the watchful eyes of parents, partners and, in some instances, the neighbours:My dad would say if you want to eat beef or anything have it outside but don’t bring it home. (Male, age 29)One of my friends … he keeps secret from his girlfriend … he come with us and eat [meat] and tell us not to tell her. (Male, age 26)People around have a little bit of a different view towards people eating non-veg in that area—so we wouldn’t openly talk about eating non-veg when somebody from the locality is around. (Female, age 32)Further to this point, some discussed a certain thrill that arose from pushing social boundaries by eating these forbidden meats:feel excited ... it gave me confidence also. I didn’t know ... my own decision. Something that is riskier in my life, which I hadn’t done before. (Male, age 25)Meat as a Status SymbolIn urban India, meat is increasingly considered a status symbol (Roy; Esselborn; Goswami). Similarly, several participants highlighted that meat-based dishes tend to be cooked for special occasions:non-vegetarian meals [at home] were perceived as being more elaborate and more lavish probably as compared to vegetarian meals. (Male, age 34)Dal [a lentil dish] is one of the basic things which we don’t make in the house when you have guests, or when you have an occasion … We usually make biryani…gravies of chicken or mutton. (Female, age 38)Success in urban India tends to be measured through one’s engagement with commodities that hold status-enhancing appeal (Mathur), and this also appears to apply to eating practices. Among meat-eating communities, it was found that serving only plant-based foods on special occasions was potentially seen as “low grade” and not quite socially acceptable:It’s just considered not something special. In fact, you would be judged…they would be like, “Oh my God, they only served us vegetables.” (Female, age 32)If you are basically from a Gujarati family, you are helpless. You have to serve that thing [vegetarian food] ... But if you are a non-vegetarian … if you serve them veg, it looks too low grade. (Female, age 38)In fact, among some families, serving “simple vegetarian food” tended to be associated with sombre occasions such as funerals, where one tends to avoid eating certain foods that give rise to desires, such as meat. This is elaborated upon in the below discussion with a Hindu participant (female, aged 40+):Participant: So an aunt of mine passed away a little over a year ago … traditionally we have this 13 day thing where you eat—We call it “Oshoge”… the khaana [food] is supposed to be neutral.Moderator: The khaana is supposed to be vegetarian?Participant: Yeah, it’s not just vegetarian … You’re supposed to have very simple vegetarian food like boiled food or you know dahi [plain yoghurt] and puffed rice … after a day of that, we were all looking at each other and then my cousin said, “Let me teach you how to fillet fish.” Similarly, a Muslim participant mentioned how serving certain dishes—such as dal, a common vegetarian dish—tends to be reserved for funeral occasions and is therefore considered socially unacceptable for other occasions:I’m calling a guest and I make dal chawal [lentils and rice] okay? They will think, arrey yeh kya yeh mayat ka khaana hai kya? [oh what is this, is the food for a corpse or what]? ... I can make it on that particular day when somebody has died in the family ... but then whenever guest is at home, or there is an occasion, we cannot make dal. (Female, age 38)ConclusionUrban India is experiencing a shift in norms around food choices, as meat-based dishes appear to have become symbolic of the broader changing landscape. Meat is not only eaten for its sensory properties but also because of its sociocultural associations. In comparison, many plant-based foods are perceived as relatively bland and uninteresting. This raises the question of how to make plant-based eating more appealing, both in terms of social significance and sensory enjoyment. In view of the attachment to familiar customs against the backdrop of a rapidly changing urban culture (Sinha; Venkatesh), perhaps plant-based foods could be re-introduced to the urban Indian as a blend of Western novelty and traditional familiarity (Majumdar), thereby representing the “the new along with the old” (Sinha 18), and hence enhancing their status. Given the growing body of research calling for a global shift to a heavily plant-based diet for reasons of health and sustainability (Hertwich et al.; Willett et al.), it is clearly important for future research to examine how to best encourage sustainable consumption via an emphasis on plant-based eating in both the developed world, where meat consumption is currently high, and in the developing world, where meat consumption is rising slowly in some countries—such as India—and more rapidly in others, such as China, Brazil and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa (FAOSTAT).ReferencesBansal, Samarth. “More Indians Eating Beef, Buffalo Meat.” The Hindu 29 Oct. 2016. 29 Mar. 2019 <http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/’More-Indians-eating-beef-buffalo-meat’/article16085248.ece>.Census of India. Sample Registration System Baseline Survey 2014. 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Background “The sense of taste,” write Nelson and colleagues in a 2002 issue of Nature, “provides animals with valuable information about the nature and quality of food. Mammals can recognize and respond to a diverse repertoire of chemical entities, including sugars, salts, acids and a wide range of toxic substances” (199). The authors go on to argue that several amino acids—the building blocks of proteins—taste delicious to humans and that “having a taste pathway dedicated to their detection probably had significant evolutionary implications”. They imply, but do not specify, that the evolutionary implications are positive. This may be the case with some amino acids, but contemporary tastes, and changes in them, are far from universally beneficial. Indeed, this article argues that modern food production shapes and distorts human taste with significant implications for health and wellbeing. Take the western taste for fried chipped potatoes, for example. According to Schlosser in Fast Food Nation, “In 1960, the typical American ate eighty-one pounds of fresh potatoes and about four pounds of frozen french fries. Today [2002] the typical American eats about forty-nine pounds of fresh potatoes every year—and more than thirty pounds of frozen french fries” (115). Nine-tenths of these chips are consumed in fast food restaurants which use mass-manufactured potato-based frozen products to provide this major “foodservice item” more quickly and cheaply than the equivalent dish prepared from raw ingredients. These choices, informed by human taste buds, have negative evolutionary implications, as does the apparently long-lasting consumer preference for fried goods cooked in trans-fats. “Numerous foods acquire their elastic properties (i.e., snap, mouth-feel, and hardness) from the colloidal fat crystal network comprised primarily of trans- and saturated fats. These hardstock fats contribute, along with numerous other factors, to the global epidemics related to metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease,” argues Michael A. Rogers (747). Policy makers and public health organisations continue to compare notes internationally about the best ways in which to persuade manufacturers and fast food purveyors to reduce the use of these trans-fats in their products (L’Abbé et al.), however, most manufacturers resist. Hank Cardello, a former fast food executive, argues that “many products are designed for ‘high hedonic value’, with carefully balanced combinations of salt, sugar and fat that, experience has shown, induce people to eat more” (quoted, Trivedi 41). Fortunately for the manufactured food industry, salt and sugar also help to preserve food, effectively prolonging the shelf life of pre-prepared and packaged goods. Physiological Factors As Glanz et al. discovered when surveying 2,967 adult Americans, “taste is the most important influence on their food choices, followed by cost” (1118). A person’s taste is to some extent an individual response to food stimuli, but the tongue’s taste buds respond to five basic categories of food: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami. ‘Umami’ is a Japanese word indicating “delicious savoury taste” (Coughlan 11) and it is triggered by the amino acid glutamate. Japanese professor Kikunae Ikeda identified glutamate while investigating the taste of a particular seaweed which he believed was neither sweet, sour, bitter, or salty. When Ikeda combined the glutamate taste essence with sodium he formed the food additive sodium glutamate, which was patented in 1908 and subsequently went into commercial production (Japan Patent Office). Although individual, a person’s taste preferences are by no means fixed. There is ample evidence that people’s tastes are being distorted by modern food marketing practices that process foods to make them increasingly appealing to the average palate. In particular, this industrialisation of food promotes the growth of a snack market driven by salty and sugary foods, popularly constructed as posing a threat to health and wellbeing. “[E]xpanding waistlines [are] fuelled by a boom in fast food and a decline in physical activity” writes Stark, who reports upon the 2008 launch of a study into Australia’s future ‘fat bomb’. As Deborah Lupton notes, such reports were a particular feature of the mid 2000s when: intense concern about the ‘obesity epidemic’ intensified and peaked. Time magazine named 2004 ‘The Year of Obesity’. That year the World Health Organization’s Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health was released and the [US] Centers for Disease Control predicted that a poor diet and lack of exercise would soon claim more lives than tobacco-related disease in the United States. (4) The American Heart Association recommends eating no more than 1500mg of salt per day (Hamzelou 11) but salt consumption in the USA averages more than twice this quantity, at 3500mg per day (Bernstein and Willett 1178). In the UK, a sustained campaign and public health-driven engagement with food manufacturers by CASH—Consensus Action on Salt and Health—resulted in a reduction of between 30 and 40 percent of added salt in processed foods between 2001 and 2011, with a knock-on 15 percent decline in the UK population’s salt intake overall. This is the largest reduction achieved by any developed nation (Brinsden et al.). “According to the [UK’s] National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), this will have reduced [UK] stroke and heart attack deaths by a minimum of 9,000 per year, with a saving in health care costs of at least £1.5bn a year” (MacGregor and Pombo). Whereas there has been some success over the past decade in reducing the amount of salt consumed, in the Western world the consumption of sugar continues to rise, as a graph cited in the New Scientist indicates (O’Callaghan). Regular warnings that sugar is associated with a range of health threats and delivers empty calories devoid of nutrition have failed to halt the increase in sugar consumption. Further, although some sugar is a natural product, processed foods tend to use a form invented in 1957: high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). “HFCS is a gloopy solution of glucose and fructose” writes O’Callaghan, adding that it is “as sweet as table sugar but has typically been about 30% cheaper”. She cites Serge Ahmed, a French neuroscientist, as arguing that in a world of food sufficiency people do not need to consume more, so they need to be enticed to overeat by making food more pleasurable. Ahmed was part of a team that ran an experiment with cocaine-addicted rats, offering them a mutually exclusive choice between highly-sweetened water and cocaine: Our findings clearly indicate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. We speculate that the addictive potential of intense sweetness results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants. In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to high concentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of these receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus lead to addiction. (Lenoir et al.) The Tongue and the Brain One of the implications of this research about the mammalian desire for sugar is that our taste for food is about more than how these foods actually taste in the mouth on our tongues. It is also about the neural response to the food we eat. The taste of French fries thus also includes that “snap, mouth-feel, and hardness” and the “colloidal fat crystal network” (Rogers, “Novel Structuring” 747). While there is no taste receptor for fats, these nutrients have important effects upon the brain. Wang et al. offered rats a highly fatty, but palatable, diet and allowed them to eat freely. 33 percent of the calories in the food were delivered via fat, compared with 21 percent in a normal diet. The animals almost doubled their usual calorific intake, both because the food had a 37 percent increased calorific content and also because the rats ate 47 percent more than was standard (2786). The research team discovered that in as little as three days the rats “had already lost almost all of their ability to respond to leptin” (Martindale 27). Leptin is a hormone that acts on the brain to communicate feelings of fullness, and is thus important in assisting animals to maintain a healthy body weight. The rats had also become insulin resistant. “Severe resistance to the metabolic effects of both leptin and insulin ensued after just 3 days of overfeeding” (Wang et al. 2786). Fast food restaurants typically offer highly palatable, high fat, high sugar, high salt, calorific foods which can deliver 130 percent of a day’s recommended fat intake, and almost a day’s worth of an adult man’s calories, in one meal. The impacts of maintaining such a diet over a comparatively short time-frame have been recorded in documentaries such as Super Size Me (Spurlock). The after effects of what we widely call “junk food” are also evident in rat studies. Neuroscientist Paul Kenny, who like Ahmed was investigating possible similarities between food- and cocaine-addicted rats, allowed his animals unlimited access to both rat ‘junk food’ and healthy food for rats. He then changed their diets. “The rats with unlimited access to junk food essentially went on a hunger strike. ‘It was as if they had become averse to healthy food’, says Kenny. It took two weeks before the animals began eating as much [healthy food] as those in the control group” (quoted, Trivedi 40). Developing a taste for certain food is consequently about much more than how they taste in the mouth; it constitutes an individual’s response to a mixture of taste, hormonal reactions and physiological changes. Choosing Health Glanz et al. conclude their study by commenting that “campaigns attempting to change people’s perception of the importance of nutrition will be interpreted in terms of existing values and beliefs. A more promising strategy might be to stress the good taste of healthful foods” (1126). Interestingly, this is the strategy already adopted by some health-focused cookbooks. I have 66 cookery books in my kitchen. None of ten books sampled from the five spaces in which these books are kept had ‘taste’ as an index entry, but three books had ‘taste’ in their titles: The Higher Taste, Taste of Life, and The Taste of Health. All three books seek to promote healthy eating, and they all date from the mid-1980s. It might be that taste is not mentioned in cookbook indexes because it is a sine qua non: a focus upon taste is so necessary and fundamental to a cookbook that it goes without saying. Yet, as the physiological evidence makes clear, what we find palatable is highly mutable, varying between people, and capable of changing significantly in comparatively short periods of time. The good news from the research studies is that the changes wrought by high salt, high sugar, high fat diets need not be permanent. Luciano Rossetti, one of the authors on Wang et al’s paper, told Martindale that the physiological changes are reversible, but added a note of caution: “the fatter a person becomes the more resistant they will be to the effects of leptin and the harder it is to reverse those effects” (27). Morgan Spurlock’s experience also indicates this. In his case it took the actor/director 14 months to lose the 11.1 kg (13 percent of his body mass) that he gained in the 30 days of his fast-food-only experiment. Trivedi was more fortunate, stating that, “After two weeks of going cold turkey, I can report I have successfully kicked my ice cream habit” (41). A reader’s letter in response to Trivedi’s article echoes this observation. She writes that “the best way to stop the craving was to switch to a diet of vegetables, seeds, nuts and fruits with a small amount of fish”, adding that “cravings stopped in just a week or two, and the diet was so effective that I no longer crave junk food even when it is in front of me” (Mackeown). Popular culture indicates a range of alternative ways to resist food manufacturers. In the West, there is a growing emphasis on organic farming methods and produce (Guthman), on sl called Urban Agriculture in the inner cities (Mason and Knowd), on farmers’ markets, where consumers can meet the producers of the food they eat (Guthrie et al.), and on the work of advocates of ‘real’ food, such as Jamie Oliver (Warrin). Food and wine festivals promote gourmet tourism along with an emphasis upon the quality of the food consumed, and consumption as a peak experience (Hall and Sharples), while environmental perspectives prompt awareness of ‘food miles’ (Weber and Matthews), fair trade (Getz and Shreck) and of land degradation, animal suffering, and the inequitable use of resources in the creation of the everyday Western diet (Dare, Costello and Green). The burgeoning of these different approaches has helped to stimulate a commensurate growth in relevant disciplinary fields such as Food Studies (Wessell and Brien). One thing that all these new ways of looking at food and taste have in common is that they are options for people who feel they have the right to choose what and when to eat; and to consume the tastes they prefer. This is not true of all groups of people in all countries. Hiding behind the public health campaigns that encourage people to exercise and eat fresh fruit and vegetables are the hidden “social determinants of health: The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system” (WHO 45). As the definitions explain, it is the “social determinants of health [that] are mostly responsible for health iniquities” with evidence from all countries around the world demonstrating that “in general, the lower an individual’s socioeconomic position, the worse his or her health” (WHO 45). For the comparatively disadvantaged, it may not be the taste of fast food that attracts them but the combination of price and convenience. If there is no ready access to cooking facilities, or safe food storage, or if a caregiver is simply too time-poor to plan and prepare meals for a family, junk food becomes a sensible choice and its palatability an added bonus. For those with the education, desire, and opportunity to break free of the taste for salty and sugary fats, however, there are a range of strategies to achieve this. There is a persuasive array of evidence that embracing a plant-based diet confers a multitude of health benefits for the individual, for the planet and for the animals whose lives and welfare would otherwise be sacrificed to feed us (Green, Costello and Dare). Such a choice does involve losing the taste for foods which make up the lion’s share of the Western diet, but any sense of deprivation only lasts for a short time. The fact is that our sense of taste responds to the stimuli offered. It may be that, notwithstanding the desires of Jamie Oliver and the like, a particular child never will never get to like broccoli, but it is also the case that broccoli tastes differently to me, seven years after becoming a vegan, than it ever did in the years in which I was omnivorous. When people tell me that they would love to adopt a plant-based diet but could not possibly give up cheese, it is difficult to reassure them that the pleasure they get now from that specific cocktail of salty fats will be more than compensated for by the sheer exhilaration of eating crisp, fresh fruits and vegetables in the future. Conclusion For decades, the mass market food industry has tweaked their products to make them hyper-palatable and difficult to resist. They do this through marketing experiments and consumer behaviour research, schooling taste buds and brains to anticipate and relish specific cocktails of sweet fats (cakes, biscuits, chocolate, ice cream) and salty fats (chips, hamburgers, cheese, salted nuts). They add ingredients to make these products stimulate taste buds more effectively, while also producing cheaper items with longer life on the shelves, reducing spoilage and the complexity of storage for retailers. Consumers are trained to like the tastes of these foods. Bitter, sour, and umami receptors are comparatively under-stimulated, with sweet, salty, and fat-based tastes favoured in their place. Western societies pay the price for this learned preference in high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity. Public health advocate Bruce Neal and colleagues, working to reduce added salt in processed foods, note that the food and manufacturing industries can now provide most of the calories that the world needs to survive. “The challenge now”, they argue, “is to have these same industries provide foods that support long and healthy adult lives. And in this regard there remains a very considerable way to go”. If the public were to believe that their sense of taste is mutable and has been distorted for corporate and industrial gain, and if they were to demand greater access to natural foods in their unprocessed state, then that journey towards a healthier future might be far less protracted than these and many other researchers seem to believe. References Bernstein, Adam, and Walter Willett. “Trends in 24-Hr Sodium Excretion in the United States, 1957–2003: A Systematic Review.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 92 (2010): 1172–1180. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. 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Each year, The Economist magazine’s “Economist Intelligence Unit” ranks cities based on “healthcare, education, stability, culture, environment and infrastructure”, giving the highest-ranking locale the title of most ‘liveable’ (Wright). For the past six years, The Economist has named Melbourne “the world’s most liveable city” (Carmody et al.). A curious portmanteau, the concept of liveability is problematic: what may feel stable and safe to some members of the community may marginalise others due to several factors such as gender, disability, ethnicity or class.The subjective nature of this term is referred to in the Australian Government’s 2013 State of Cities report, in the chapter titled ‘Liveability’:In the same way that the Cronulla riots are the poster story for cultural conflict, the attack on Jillian Meagher in Melbourne’s Brunswick has resonated strongly with Australians in many capital cities. It seemed to be emblematic of their concern about violent crime. Some women in our research reported responding to this fear by arming themselves. (274)Twenty-nine-year-old Jill Meagher’s abduction, rape, and murder in the inner northern suburb of Brunswick in 2012 disturbs the perception of Melbourne’s liveability. As news of the crime disseminated, it revived dormant cultural narratives that reinforce a gendered public/private binary, suggesting women are more vulnerable to attack than men in public spaces and consequently hindering their mobility. I investigate here how texts written by women writers based in Melbourne’s inner north can latently serve as counter narratives to this discourse, demonstrating how urban public space can be benign, even joyful, rather than foreboding for women. Cultural narratives that promote the vulnerability of women oppress urban freedoms; this paper will use these narratives solely as a catalyst to explore literary texts by women that enact contrary narratives that map a city not by vicarious trauma, but instead by the rich complexity of women’s lives in their twenties and thirties.I examine two memoirs set primarily in Melbourne’s inner north: Michele Lee’s Banana Girl (2013) and Lorelai Vashti’s Dress, Memory: A memoir of my twenties in dresses (2014). In these texts, the inner north serves as ‘true north’, a magnetic destination for this stage of life, an opening into an experiential, exciting adult world, rather than a place haunted. Indeed, while Lee and Vashti occupy the same geographical space that Meagher did, these texts do not speak to the crime.The connection is made by me, as I am interested in the affective shift that follows a signal crime such as the Meagher case, and how we can employ literary texts to gauge a psychic landscape, refuting the discourse of fear that is circulated by the media following the event. I wish to look at Melbourne’s inner north as a female literary milieu, a site of boldness despite the public breaking that was Meagher’s murder: a site of female self-determination rather than community trauma.I borrow the terms “boldness”, “bold walk” and “breaking” from Finnish geographer Hille Koskela (and note the thematic resonances in scholarship from a city as far north as Helsinki). Her paper “Bold Walks and Breakings: Women’s spatial confidence versus fear of violence” challenges the idea that “fearfulness is an essentially female quality”, rather advocating for “boldness”, seeking to “emphasise the emancipatory content of … [women’s] stories” (302). Koskela uses the term “breaking” in her research (primarily focussed on experiences of Helsinki women) to describe “situations … that had transformed … attitudes towards their environment”, referring to the “spatial consequences” that were the result of violent crimes, or threats thereof. While Melbourne women obviously did not experience the Meagher case personally, it nevertheless resulted in what Koskela has dubbed elsewhere as “increased feelings of vulnerability” (“Gendered Exclusions” 111).After the Meagher case, media reportage suggested that Melbourne had been irreversibly changed, made vulnerable, and a site of trauma. As a signal crime, the attack and murder was vicariously experienced and mediated. Like many crimes committed against women in public space, Meagher’s death was transformed into a cautionary tale, and this storying was more pronounced due to the way the case played out episodically in the media, particularly online, allowing the public to follow the case as it unfolded. The coverage was visually hyperintensive, and particular attention was paid to Sydney Road, where Meagher had last been seen and where she had met her assailant, Adrian Bayley, who was subsequently convicted of her murder.Articles from media outlets were frequently accompanied by cartographic images that superimposed details of the case onto images of the local area—the mind map and the physical locality both marred by the crime. Yet Koskela writes, “the map of everyday experiences is in sharp contrast to the maps of the media. If a picture of a place is made by one’s own experiences it is more likely to be perceived as a safe ordinary place” (“Bold Walks” 309). How might this picture—this map—be made through genre? I am interested in how memoir might facilitate space for narratives that contest those from the media. Here I prefer the word memoir rather than use the term life-writing due to the former’s etymological adherence to memory. In Vashti and Lee’s texts, memory is closely linked to place and space, and for each of them, Melbourne is a destination, a city that they have come to alone from elsewhere. Lee came to the city after growing up in Canberra, and Vashti from Brisbane. In Dress, Memory, Vashti writes that the move to Melbourne “… makes you feel like a pioneer, one of those dusty and determined characters out of an American history novel trudging west to seek a land of gold and dreams” (83).Deeply engaging with Melbourne, the text eschews the ‘taken for granted’ backdrop idea of the city that scholar Jane Darke observes in fiction. She writes thatmodern women novelists virtually take the city as backdrop for granted as a place where a central female figure can be or becomes self-determining, with like-minded female friends as indispensable support and undependable men in walk-on roles. (97)Instead, Vashti uses memoir to self-consciously examine her relationship with her city, elaborating on the notion of moving from elsewhere as an act of self-determination, building the self through geographical relocation:You’re told you can find treasure – the secret bars hidden down the alleyways, the tiny shops filled with precious curios, the art openings overflowing onto the street. But the true gold that paves Melbourne’s footpaths is the promise that you can be a writer, an artist, a musician, a performer there. People who move there want to be discovered, they want to make a mark. (84)The paths are important here, as Vashti embeds herself on the street, walking through the text, generating an affective cartography as her life is played out in what is depicted as a benign, yet vibrant, urban space. She writes of “walking, following the grid of the city, taking in its grey blocks” (100), engendering a sense of what geographer Yi-Fu Tuan calls ‘topophilia’: “the affective bond between people and place or setting” (4). There is a deep bond between Vashti and Melbourne that is evident in her work that is demonstrated in her discussion of public space. Like her, friends from Brisbane trickle down South, and she lives with them in a series of share houses in the inner North—first Fitzroy, then Carlton, then North Melbourne, where she lives with two female friends and together they “roamed the streets during the day in a pack” (129).Vashti’s boldness not only lies in her willingness to take bodily to the streets, without fear, but also in her fastidious attention to her physical appearance. Her memoir is framed sartorially: chronologically arranged, from age twenty to thirty, each chapter featuring equally detailed reports of the events of that year as well as the corresponding outfits worn. A dress, transformative, is spotlighted in each of these chapters, and the author is photographed in each of these ‘feature’ dresses in a glossy section in the middle of the book. Koskela writes that, “if women dress up to be part of the urban spectacle, like 19th-century flâneurs, and also to mediate their confidence, they oppose their erasure and reclaim urban space”. For Koskela, the appearance of the body in public is an act of boldness:dressing can be seen as a means of reproducing power relations; in Foucaultian terms, it is a way of being one’s own overseer, and regulating even the most intimate spheres … on the other hand, interpreted in another way, dressing up can be seen as a form of resistance against the male gaze, as an opposition to the visual mastery over women, achieved by not being invisible or absent, but by dressing up proudly. (“Bold Walks” 309)Koskela’s affirmation that clothing can enact urban boldness contradicts reportage on the Meagher case that suggested otherwise. Some news outlets focussed on the high heels Meagher was wearing the night she was raped and murdered, as if to imply that she may have been able to elude her fate had she donned flats. The Age quotes witnesses who saw her on Sydney Road the night she was killed; one says she was “a little unsteady on her feet but not too bad”, another that she “seemed to be struggling to walk up the hill in her high heels” (Russell). But Vashti is well aware of the spatial confidence that the right clothing provides. In the chapter “Twenty-three”, she writes of being housebound by heartbreak, that “just leaving the house seemed like an epic undertaking”, so she “picked a dress a dress that would make me feel good … the woman in me emerged when I slid it on. In it, I instantly had shape, form. A purpose” (99). She and her friends don vocational costumes to outplay the competitive inner Melbourne rental market, eventually netting their North Melbourne terrace house by dressing like “young professionals”: “dressed up in smart op-shop blouses and pencil skirts to walk to the real estate office” (129).Michele Lee’s text Banana Girl also delves into the relationship between personal aesthetics and urban space, describing Melbourne as “a town of costumes, after all” (117), but her own style as “indifferently hip to the outside world without being slavish about it” (6). Lee’s world is East Brunswick for much of the book, and she establishes this connection early, introducing herself in the first chapter, as one of the “subversive and ironic people living in the hipster boroughs of the inner North of Melbourne” (6). She describes the women in her local area – “Brunswick Girls”, she dubs them: “no one wears visible make up, or if they do it’s not lathered on in visible layers; the haircuts are feminine without being too stylish, the clothing too; there’s an overall practical appearance” (89).Lee displays more of a knowingness than Vashti regarding the inner North’s reputation as the more progressive and creative side of the Yarra, confirmed by the Sydney Morning Herald:The ‘northside’ comprises North Melbourne, Carlton, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Abbotsford, Thornbury, Brunswick and Coburg. Bell Street is the boundary for northsiders. It stands for artists, warehouse parties, bicycles, underground music, lightless terrace houses, postmodernity and ‘awareness’. (Craig)As evidenced in late scholar John Maclaren’s book Melbourne: City of Words, the area has long enjoyed this reputation: “After the war, these neighbourhoods were colonized by migrants from Europe, and in the 1960s by the artists, musicians, writers, actors, junkies and layabouts whose stories Helen Garner was to tell” (146). As a young playwright, Lee sees herself reflected in this milieu, writing that she’s “an imaginative person, I’m university educated, I vote the way you’d expect me to vote and I’m a member of the CPSU. On principle I remain a union member” (7), toeing that line of “awareness” pithily mentioned by the SMH.Like Vashti, there are constant references to Lee’s exact geographical location in Melbourne. She ‘drops pins’ throughout, cultivating a connection to place that blurs home and the street, fostering a sense of belonging beyond one’s birthplace, belonging to a place chosen rather than raised in. She plants herself in this local geography. Returning to the first chapter, she includes “jogger by the Merri Creek” in her introduction (7), and later jokingly likens a friendship with an ex as “no longer on stage at the Telstra Dome but still on tour” (15), employing Melbourne landmarks as explanatory shorthand. She refers to places by name: one could physically tour inner North and CBD hotspots based on Lee’s text, as it is littered with mentions of bars, restaurants, galleries and theatre venues. She frequents the Alderman in East Brunswick and Troika in the city, as well as a bar that Jill Meagher spent time in on the night she went missing – the Brunswick Green.While offering the text a topographical authenticity, this can sometimes prove distracting: rather than simply stating that she goes to the library, she writes that she visits “the City of Melbourne library” (128), and rather than just going to a pizza parlour, they visit “Bimbo’s” (129) or “Pizza Meine Liebe” (101). Yet when Lee visits family in Canberra, or Laos on an arts grant, business names are forsaken. One could argue that the cultural capital offered by namedropping trendy Melburnian bars, restaurants and nightclubs translates awkwardly on the page, and risks dating the text considerably, but elevates the spatiality of Lee’s work. And these landmarks are important within the text, as Lee’s world is divided spatially. She refers to “Theatre Land” when discussing her work in the arts, and her share house not as ‘home’ but consistently as “Albert Street”. She partitions her life into these zones: zones of emotion, zones of intellect/career, zones of family/heritage – the text offers close insight into Lee’s personal cartography, with her traversing the map “stubbornly on foot, still resisting becoming part of Melbourne’s bike culture” (88).While not always walking alone – often accompanied by an ex-boyfriend she nicknames “Husband” – Lee is independently-minded, stating, “I operate solo, I pay my own way” (34), meeting up with various romantic and sexual interests through the text for daytime trysts in empty office buildings or late nights out in the CBD. She is adventurous, yet reminds that she was not always so. She recalls a time when she was still residing in Canberra and visited a boyfriend who was living in Melbourne and felt intimidated by the “alien city”, standing in stark contrast to the familiarity she demonstrates otherwise.Lee and Vashti’s texts both chronicle women who freely occupy public space, comfortable in their surroundings, not engaging on the page with cultural narratives and media reportage that suggest they would be safer off the streets. Both demonstrate what Koskela calls the “pleasure to be able to take possession of space” (“Bold Walks” 308) – yet it could be argued that the writer’s possession of space is so routine, so unremarkable that it transcends pleasure: it is comfortable. They walk the streets alone and catch public transport alone without incident. They contravene advice such as that given by Victorian Police Homicide Squad chief Mick Hughes’s comments that women shouldn’t be “alone in parks” following the fatal stabbing of teenager Masa Vukotic in a Doncaster park in 2015.Like Meagher’s death, Vukotic’s murder was also mobilised by the media – and one could argue, by authorities – to contain women, to further a narrative that reinforces the public/private gender binary. However, as Koskela reminds, the fact that some women are bold and confident shows that women are not only passively experiencing space but actively take part in producing it. They reclaim space for themselves, not only through single occasions such as ‘take back the night’ marches, but through everyday practices and routinized uses of space. (“Bold Walks” 316)These memoirs act as resistance, actively producing space through representation: to assert the right to the city, one must be bold, and reclaim space that is so often overlaid with stories of violence against women. As Koskela emphasises, this is only done through use of the space, “a way of de-mystifying it. If one does not use the space, … ‘the mental map’ of the place is filled with indirect descriptions, the image of it is constructed through media and the stories heard” (“Bold Walks” 308). Memoir can take back this image through stories told, demonstrating the personal connection to public space. Koskela writes that, “walking on the street can be seen as a political act: women ‘write themselves onto the street’” (“Urban Space in Plural” 263). ReferencesAustralian Government. Department of Infrastructure and Transport. State of Australian Cities 2013. 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