How healthy is it to consume soft and energy drinks? – primary school pupils’ opinions from Hungary

Abstract Background The consumption of soft drinks and energy drinks (SaED) in EU27 has hardly changed over the past decade. In contrast, it grows massively in Hungary, mainly among youths. In 2021, our research group studied the causes of the growing SaED consumption of primary school pupils. Now, we deliver our key findings on how pupils consider the health impacts of SaED consumption. Methods The study took place in a primary school in Komló, Hungary, in a mixed methods design: 157 pupils aged 10 to 15 filled out a survey, which we analyzed using descriptive statistical methods and independency tests. Besides, focus groups were conducted involving three stakeholder groups: a) school pupils; b) pupils’ parents; c) school teachers (39 respondents in total). Results Every fifth pupil consumes soft drinks daily and every third more than once a week. 28.1% of pupils consume energy drinks with some regularity, the majority more than once a week. Of those who think that soft drinks are rather unhealthy, 37.2% consume them daily or several times a week. Of those who believe that energy drinks are rather unhealthy, 24.6% consume them with some regularity. The focus groups confirmed that pupils perceive SaED consumption as accepted and “normal” behavior, and for the majority, the health consequences of the consumption are not a point. Conclusions Although many pupils are aware of the health risk of SaED, they still drink them regularly. The general social acceptance of SaED consumption and the influential marketing of these products both support this attitude. To affect consumers’ behavior, messages on how “unhealthy” SaED are does not seem adequate: a change in community acceptance is needed. Key messages • The knowledge of adverse health effects of soft and energy drinks itself won’t reduce consumption as long as its social acceptance is high. • Preventive interventions should apply similar tools that have made soft and energy drink consumption popular and accepted to reverse recent trends.


Background:
Excessive caffeine intake combined with increasing numbers and availability of caffeine-containing products in modern societies are causes for concern.University students may be at increased risk of excessive caffeine consumption due to seeking caffeinated products with well-known wakefulness effects and cognitive benefits.This study aimed to highlight the characteristics of caffeine consumption among Croatian university students.

Methods:
This cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted from May 2020 to April 2021 period.A validated, anonymous questionnaire that contained questions regarding demographic data, data about caffeine consumption habits, and its sources was self-administered via an online link to a cross-faculty representative student sample of the University of Osijek in Eastern Croatia.

Results:
The study sample included 1197 subjects with, median age of 22 years (interquartile range 21-24), 24.1% males, and 75.9% females.The median caffeine intake was 512.0 mg/day (interquartile range 228.0-972.0).The higher caffeine intake was observed in part-time students (p = 0.026), students who were preparing for exams during the participation in this study (p = 0.010), and students who smoked cigarettes (p < 0.001).There was a poor positive correlation between the amount of caffeine intake and academic success connected with caffeine consumption (rs = 0.225; p < 0.001).There were fair positive correlations between the amount of caffeine intake and caffeine consumption because of the avoidance of the withdrawal symptoms (rs = 0.490; p < 0.001) and between the amount of caffeine intake and knowledge of the impact of caffeine consumption on the occurrence of social conflicts (rs = 0.349; p < 0.001).

Conclusions:
The study revealed high caffeine intake among Croatian university students.The implementation of specific preventive measures directed toward the protection of students' health from adverse health effects related to caffeine is needed.

Key messages:
Croatian university students have displayed high caffeine intake in their everyday life.
There is a need for the implementation of specific preventive measures directed toward the protection of students' health from adverse health effects related to caffeine consumption.
grows massively in Hungary, mainly among youths.In 2021, our research group studied the causes of the growing SaED consumption of primary school pupils.Now, we deliver our key findings on how pupils consider the health impacts of SaED consumption.

Methods:
The study took place in a primary school in Komlo ´, Hungary, in a mixed methods design: 157 pupils aged 10 to 15 filled out a survey, which we analyzed using descriptive statistical methods and independency tests.Besides, focus groups were conducted involving three stakeholder groups: a) school pupils; b) pupils' parents; c) school teachers (39 respondents in total).

Results:
Every fifth pupil consumes soft drinks daily and every third more than once a week.28.1% of pupils consume energy drinks with some regularity, the majority more than once a week.Of those who think that soft drinks are rather unhealthy, 37.2% consume them daily or several times a week.Of those who believe that energy drinks are rather unhealthy, 24.6% consume them with some regularity.The focus groups confirmed that pupils perceive SaED consumption as accepted and ''normal'' behavior, and for the majority, the health consequences of the consumption are not a point.

Conclusions:
Although many pupils are aware of the health risk of SaED, they still drink them regularly.The general social acceptance of SaED consumption and the influential marketing of these products both support this attitude.

Background:
Substitutes for meats and sausages are growing both in demand and supply in Germany.Monitoring their nutritional composition helps characterise this novel product group in terms of its dietary contribution.

Methods:
Data on substitutes for meats and sausages were collected in a baseline survey in 2016 and an in-depth follow-up survey in 2021.In both surveys, mandatory nutrition declaration (''Big 7'') and other packaging information were collected via online research and supermarket visits.Products were categorised according to the substituted animal products and their contents of energy, fat, saturated fatty acids, and salt investigated.Changes in energy and nutrient contents between baseline and follow-up survey were assessed statistically using Welch's t-test.

Results:
The follow-up survey included 421 meat substitutes and 292 sausage substitutes, split into 27 subgroups.Substitutes for meat products like meat strips and schnitzel show widely varying energy contents.Sausage substitutes show higher medians for fat, saturated fatty acids and salt than meat substitutes; spans of salt content (0,1-4,0 g per 100 g product) and saturated fatty acids (0,1 g -23,0 g per 100 g product) are particularly wide.Relative to the baseline survey, which included 69 meat substitutes and 61 sausage substitutes, the follow-up revealed significantly higher contents of energy and saturated fatty acids overall and in some subgroups (e.g.nuggets and burger patties).The sole significant reduction was seen for energy in substitutes of precooked sausages.

Conclusions:
The observed wide spans of energy and nutrient content imply 1) the potential to reformulate substitutes for meats and sausages at the top end of the spectrum 2) the availability of healthier choices within the various subgroups.The increases shown in energy and saturated fatty acids content warrant further monitoring.

Key messages:
Wide spans of energy and nutrient contents reveal the potential for the development of more nutritionally favourable substitutes for meats and sausages.
As substitutes for meats and sausages are perceived to have nutritional advantages the observed increases in energy and saturated fatty acids contents over time should be further monitored.
15th European Public Health Conference 2022 Ginger constituents suppress the growth and induce apoptosis of variety of cancer types including colon, gastric, pancreatic and other GI cancers.It is mainly the 6gingerol and 6-shogaol, of the major compounds in ginger rhizomes, among hundreds of molecules.It is reported that antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of ginger support its preventive role against the gastrointestinal malignancies.
To affect consumers' behavior, messages on how ''unhealthy'' SaED are does not seem adequate: a change in community acceptance is needed.Key messages:The knowledge of adverse health effects of soft and energy drinks itself won't reduce consumption as long as its social acceptance is high.Preventive interventions should apply similar tools that have made soft and energy drink consumption popular and accepted to reverse recent trends.itsanti-cancer effects that possesses promising potential for inhibiting the proliferation of multiple cancer cells.The aim of this review is to provide a summarized report of clinical trials on ginger constituents and its effects on gastrointestinal malignancies.A systematic search was conducted by two independent authors on the databases of Scopus, Clinical Trials, PubMed and Science with the search term of the key words.This review article supported that ginger is an important plant with several constituents and gastrointestinal medicinal effects.2Presidential Office, Max Rubner-Institut, Karlsruhe, Germany Contact: corinna.grea@mri.bund.de