BackgroundMany small studies have been done in Honduras estimating soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) prevalence but a country-wide study was last done in 2005. The country has the highest burden of malaria among all Central American countries. The present study was done to estimate country-wide STH prevalence and intensity, malaria prevalence and nutritional status in school going children.Methods and FindingsA cross-sectional study was conducted following PAHO/WHO guidelines to select a sample of school going children of 3rd to 5th grades, representative of ecological regions in the country. A survey questionnaire was filled; anthropometric measurements, stool sample for STH and blood sample for malaria were taken. Kato-Katz method was used for STH prevalence and intensity and rapid diagnostic tests, microscopy, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used for malaria parasite detection. A total of 2554 students were studied of which 43.5% had one or more STH. Trichuriasis was the most prevalent (34%) followed by ascariasis (22.3%) and hookworm (0.9%). Ecological regions II (59.7%) and VI (55.6%) in the north had the highest STH prevalence rates while IV had the lowest (10.6%). Prevalence of one or more high intensity STH was low (1.6%). Plasmodium vivax was detected by PCR in only 5 students (0.2%), all of which belonged to the same municipality; no P. falciparum infection was detected. The majority of children (83%) had normal body mass index for their respective age but a significant proportion were overweight (10.42%) and obese (4.35%).ConclusionsBiannual deworming campaigns would be necessary in ecological regions II and VI, where STH prevalence is >50%. High prevalence of obesity in school going children is a worrying trend and portends of future increase in obesity related diseases. Malaria prevalence, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, was low and provides evidence for Honduras to embark on elimination of the disease.

Obesity is considered a global pandemic. Different countries have worked to implement front-of-package (FOP) labeling systems that define thresholds for critical nutrients (CN) as part of their public health policies. The objective of this study is to identify the proportion of Processed (PF) and Ultra-Processed (UPF) Foods marketed in Honduras, which meet or fall short of the criteria of three Nutrient Profile Models (NPM): PAHO (2016), Chile (2017) and the Central American Technical Regulation Proposal-Nutritional Warning Front Labeling (CATRP-NWFL 2017). This study is descriptive; 1009 products from 206 brands were collected nationwide. Descriptive statistics were performed. The mean CN compliance with the three models was 49.3% for sodium, 30.6% for sugars, 63.1% and 96% for saturated and trans fats. The PAHO and Chilean (NPM) similarly concentrated on the lower compliance with the established criteria, unlike the CATRP, which has less stringent criteria. This is the first assessment of CN content in PF and UPF in Honduras under three different NPMs. We highlight the importance of defining or adopting criteria for the implementation of NWFL as information for the consumer and thereby contribute to reducing the risks of obesity and related diseases.

Background: Functional foods have been proposed as vehicles to prevent diseases in response to disease increase throughout the world. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study. The nutritional labeling of processed functional foods (PFF) commercially available in Honduras was examined to consider health benefits based on functionality according to the Central American Technical Regulation (CATR) and critical nutrient content according to the profile of the Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO). Results: Out of a national sample of 631 commercial processed foods (CPF), 144 were defined as functional; sweetened and flavored yogurts and cereal bars reached the highest proportions (70% and 66%) of products available in their respective categories. None of the categories was on average "low in calories" according to criteria of CATR; sweetened breakfast cereals were the most caloric (180 kcal) and only sweetened juices had "calorie free" products (15%). Prepared meat did not meet the criterion of "low cholesterol" even though all the products in this category were the reduced fat version of the original CPF. All categories of cereal-based products met the "source of dietary fiber" criteria and 64% of baked products were "high in dietary fiber". More than 70% of PFF exceeded the sugar recommendation of the PAHO profile, mainly sweetened breakfast cereals (100%) and sweetened juices (93%). 49% of the products exceeded the sodium recommendation, particularly baked products (100%) and cheeses (86%); 100% of the later exceeded the recommendation of total fats. More than 60% of products simultaneously exceeded between 2 and 3 of PAHO profile criteria; 5% exceeded all the criteria and 4% met all the PAHO profile criteria.

The global food system, currently, fails to meet the need of the population, classifying it as being unsustainable [1,2], generating challenges in public health, environment, food safety, nutrition, and health [3]. On the other hand, mortality levels increase concerning all forms of malnutrition [4][5][6]. The most current statistics show that 2 billion adults are overweight or obese [1], while 820 million are undernourished or hungry [7]. It has been shown that the economy, culture, and social resources contribute to uneven development in health outcomes [8] such as weight gain and the development of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) [9][10][11] with repercussions on the diet of the population. The mass commercialization of processed foods and the rapid distribution into low and middleincome markets [12][13][14] has resulted in the abandonment of traditional diets and the adoption of highly processed diets, which lack in nutritional quality [15]. In terms of a healthy and sustainable diet, the Mediterranean Diet (MD) meets all established standards.It is recognized as a healthy, affordable, and environmentally sustainable eating model [16][17][18] being a Healthy and Sustainable Diet (HSD). It is widely documented that its adherence is linked to multiple health benefits in humans [19]. Recent meta-analyses have associated high adherence to MD and a reduction in general ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACTThe poor eating habits in the first year of college could trigger health problems and academic performance in students. The change of environment when moving from their home or country to the university could contribute to the adoption of those inadequate habits, where nutritional educational interventions can improve the student's habits. There was evaluate the association of eating behaviors with adherence to a healthy and sustainable diet in multinational university students, establishing a foundational framework to create interventions that promote healthy eating habits. A cross-sectional study was conducted using print questionnaires to adherence to the Mediterranean diet and eating behaviors. The participants consist of three hundred university students from sixteen countries who voluntarily completed the surveys. The only eligibility criterion was to be a first-year student. The analysis was made by a descriptive statistic, correlational, ANOVA, and regression. The mean adherence for 300 students was 7.68 (low adherence). A total of 172 first-year students showed unhealthy and very unhealthy eating behaviors (57.3%). High adherence was observed only in four countries: Ecuador (n = 2; 3.1%), Guatemala (n = 1; 2.7%), Honduras (n = 3; 2.6%), and other countries (n = 1; 9.1%). Eating behaviors were the only predictor variable. These variables accounted for 15.3% of the variance in adherence to Mediterranean diet scores. In conclusion, Interventions and regulatory standards are needed, including policies supporting the development of healthful dietary behaviors using sustainable principles.

Todos los seres humanos tenemos una percepción intuitiva hacia la nutrición. De hecho, es posible sentir cómo una dieta “saludable” o “no saludable” puede tener efectos en diferentes aspectos de nuestras vidas. Adicionalmente, las redes sociales (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc.) desencadenan una gran cantidad de opiniones y muchas veces logran dar forma a las actitudes de sus usuarios. La Organización Mundial de la Salud refiere que una alimentación saludable es una preocupación constante a nivel mundial. El comportamiento alimentario de cada persona está relacionado con el estilo de vida que lleva, siendo este último un pilar esencial para la salud humana. Los estilos de vida son influenciados por la difusión de información y la interacción con los usuarios y a partir del uso de redes sociales se ha vuelto más sencillo y directo. Hoy en día la difusión de información de alimentación y nutrición está al alcance de un clic y su uso puede llegar a abarcar una gran parte de la población mundial. Realmente, la mayoría de las personas que usan internet pueden acceder y difundir información alimenticia y nutricional de manera casi inmediata. El problema radica en que estas acciones atraen a los usuarios sin tomar en cuenta las consecuencias positivas o negativas para la salud, al ámbito social e incluso el económico o el ambiental.

La seguridad alimentaria y nutricional es un problema y reto mundial condicionado por el aumento de la población mundial, el cambio climático y la degradación de los recursos naturales. Otros factores, como la actual pandemia de COVID-19, han revelado la urgente necesidad de mejorar la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional de las comunidades. El hambre y la desnutrición son factores de riesgo para la población en Honduras. De acuerdo al informe sobre el Costo de la Doble Carga de la Malnutrición Impacto Social y Económico en Honduras (WFP & CEPAL, 2020), el costo total por la desnutrición al 2017 alcanzó un poco más de dos mil millones de dólares, equivalentes al 8.8% del Producto Interno Bruto (PIB). La prevalencia de desnutrición crónica en escolares de Ocotepeque fue de 21.4%, con 17.1% de retardo moderado en talla y 4.3% de retardo severo en talla, según estimaciones del Censo de Talla en ese departamento al Occidente del país en 2017. El análisis de datos por edades mostró que la prevalencia de desnutrición crónica es mayor para los niños y niñas de ocho y nueve años, con prevalencias de 36.2% y 60.0%, respectivamente (Secretaría de Educación & Secretaría de Salud, 2017). La situación de la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional es alarmante en Honduras, sobre todo en la región occidental. No obstante, el país tiene los recursos y el potencial para producir alimentos que permitan cubrir la demanda de gran parte de su población.

Poner fin al hambre, lograr la seguridad alimentaria, la mejora de la nutrición y promover la agricultura sostenible es la meta del Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) 2: Hambre cero para el año 2030. La realidad es que cuando más nos acercamos al 2030, más nos alejamos de cumplir la meta. A pesar de los esfuerzos realizados, los diferentes acontecimientos actuales en el mundo (pandemia por COVID-19, conflictos armados, variabilidad del clima y debilitamientos de la economía), han contribuido a uno de los mayores incrementos de hambre mundial registrada en años. Una de cada diez personas en el mundo tiene desnutrición, una de cada cuatro tiene sobrepeso, más de un tercio de la población mundial no puede acceder a una dieta saludable, un 20% más de mujeres que de hombres viven en la pobreza extrema y más del 18% de las mujeres indígenas viven con menos de 1.90 USD al día. Debido a la pandemia del COVID-19, principalmente, el número de personas que sufrieron hambre en 2020 fue 15% más alto que en 2019, y a este número se le podrían sumar 132 millones o más a los 690 millones de personas que ya padecen hambre.

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