Objective:Globally, grandparents are the main informal childcare providers with one-quarter of children aged ≤5 years regularly cared for by grandparents in Australia, the UK and USA. Research is conflicting; many studies claim grandparents provide excessive amounts of discretionary foods (e.g. high in fat/sugar/sodium) while others suggest grandparents can positively influence children’s diet behaviours. The present study aimed to explore the meaning and role of food treats among grandparents who provide regular informal care of young grandchildren.Design:Qualitative methodology utilising a grounded theory approach. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and focus groups, then thematically analysed.Setting:Participants were recruited through libraries, churches and playgroups in South Australia.Participants:Grandparents (n 12) caring for grandchild/ren aged 1–5 years for 10 h/week or more.Results:Three themes emerged: (i) the functional role of treats (e.g. to reward good behaviour); (ii) grandparent role, responsibility and identity (e.g. the belief that grandparent and parent roles differ); and (iii) the rules regarding food treats (e.g. negotiating differences between own and parental rules). Grandparents favoured core-food over discretionary-food treats. They considered the risks (e.g. dental caries) and rewards (e.g. pleasure) of food treats and balanced their wishes with those of their grandchildren and parents.Conclusions:Food treats play an important role in the grandparent–grandchild relationship and are used judiciously by grandparents to differentiate their identity and relationship from parents and other family members. This research offers an alternative narrative to the dominant discourse regarding grandparents spoiling grandchildren with excessive amounts of discretionary foods.

BackgroundParenting, Eating and Activity for Child Health (PEACH™) is a multicomponent treatment program delivered over ten group sessions to parents of overweight/obese primary school-aged children. It has been shown to be efficacious in an RCT and was recently translated to a large-scale community intervention funded by the Queensland (Australia) Government. Engagement (enrolment and attendance) was critical to achieving program outcomes and was challenging. The purpose of the present study was to examine sample characteristics and mediating factors that potentially influenced program attendance.MethodsData collected from parents who attended at least one PEACH™ Queensland session delivered between October 2013 and October 2015 (47 programs implemented in 29 discrete sites), was used in preliminary descriptive analyses of sample characteristics and multilevel single linear regression analyses. Mediation analysis examined associations between socio-demographic and parent characteristics and attendance at group sessions and potential mediation by child and parent factors.Results365/467 (78%) enrolled families (92% mothers) including 411/519 (79%) children (55% girls, mean age 9 ± 2 years) attended at least one session (mean 5.6 ± 3.2). A majority of families (69%) self-referred to the program. Program attendance was greater in: advantaged (5.9 ± 3.1 sessions) vs disadvantaged families (5.4 ± 3.4 sessions) (p < 0.05); partnered (6.1 ± 3.1 sessions) vs un-partnered parents (5.0 ± 3.1 sessions) (p < 0.01); higher educated (6.1 ± 3.0 sessions) vs lower educated parents (5.1 ± 3.3 sessions) (p = 0.02); and self-referral (6.1 ± 3.1) vs professional referral (4.7 ± 3.3) (p < 0.001). Child (age, gender, pre-program healthy eating) and parent (perceptions of child weight, self-efficacy) factors did not mediate these relationships.ConclusionsTo promote reach and effectiveness of up-scaled programs, it is important to identify ways to engage less advantaged families who carry higher child obesity risk. Understanding differences in referral source and parent readiness for change may assist in tailoring program content. The influence of program-level factors (e.g. facilitator and setting characteristics) should be investigated as possible alternative mediators to program engagement.

An update of the systematic review of evidence on the association between amount of sugars intake and dental caries, as well as on the effect of restricting sugars intake to <10% and <5% energy (E) on caries, was conducted, almost 10 y since the review that informed the World Health Organization (WHO) Guideline on Sugars. The aim was to systematically review epidemiological data published from 2011 to 2020 on the amount of sugars consumption and levels of caries and to report the findings for adults and children. Data sources included MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Database, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Eligible studies reported the amount of sugars and caries, measured as prevalence, incidence, or severity. The review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Risk of bias was assessed using the Office of Health Assessment and Translation tool. Vote counting and harvest plots provided the basis for evidence synthesis. From 488 new papers identified, 23 studies were eligible: 4 cohort, 1 case-controlled, 12 cross-sectional, and 6 ecological. Eleven of 15 studies in children and 6 of 8 studies in adults reported at least 1 positive association between sugars and caries. Six of 7 studies in children and 4 of 4 studies in adults, with data enabling comparison of caries levels with sugars intakes >10%E and <10%E, showed lower caries when sugars intake was <10%E. Amalgamating with original studies yielded 64 of 78 studies showing at least 1 positive association, 20 of 78 a null association, and 3 of 78 a negative association between sugars and caries. GRADE profiles of new and original cohort data confirmed “moderate-quality” evidence that caries is lower when sugars intake is <10%E. Furthermore, new cohort data upgraded the quality of evidence (from “very low” to “low”) for lower caries when free sugars are <5%E. The findings support and strengthen original evidence underpinning the WHO recommendations for sugars.

Since the suggestion of their existence, a wealth of literature on telomere biology has emerged aimed at solving the DNA end-underreplication problem identified by Olovnikov in 1971. Telomere shortening/dysfunction is now recognized as increasing degenerative disease risk. Recent studies have suggested that both dietary patterns and individual micronutrients-including folate-can influence telomere length and function. Folate is an important dietary vitamin required for DNA synthesis, repair, and one-carbon metabolism within the cell. However, the potential mechanisms by which folate deficiency directly or indirectly affects telomere biology has not yet been reviewed comprehensively. The present review summarizes recent published knowledge and identifies the residual knowledge gaps. Specifically, this review addresses whether it is plausible that folate deficiency may (1) cause accelerated telomere shortening, (2) intrinsically affect telomere function, and/or (3) cause increased telomere-end fusions and subsequent breakage-fusion-bridge cycles in the cell.