Browsing by Subject "diet"

Diets of wild owls have been studied by pellets, when the nutritional value of owl prey remains unclear. Fatty acids are an essential part of animal nutrition, acting as energy reserve, building blocks of membranes and precursors for signaling molecules. I studied whether Finnish owl species have species-specific characteristics in the fatty acid profiles of adipose tissue due to different diets and feeding habits. I also compared fatty acid profiles between wild and captive owls to elucidate if the diet of captive owls resembles the diet in the wild. Fatty acids from visceral adipose tissue and a liver were transesterified to fatty acid methyl esters, which were identified and quantified by gas-chromatographs linked to either a mass spectrometry or flame ionisation detector. The fatty acid compositions were compared with Principal Component Analysis and statistical significance of the separations between species, origins and tissues were studied by Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogies. Differences in the relative concentrations of individual fatty acids and their structural category sums were evaluated by the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Compared to wild owls, captive owl (snowy owl Bubo scandiacus and Eurasian eagle-owl Bubo bubo) adipose tissues had lower relative concentrations of many long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), such as arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid. The captive owls also had lower n-3 PUFA/n-6 PUFA ratio than the wild owls. I suggest that these differences arise from anthropogenic food given to the prey of the captive owls. In the future, the feeding and breeding of captive owls could be improved and potential health hazards prevented by giving the owls a diet rich in long-chain PUFAs, either by giving the prey more versatile diet or adding supplements to the owl’s diet. The adipose tissues of wild Eurasian eagle-owls contained higher total relative concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids than the species belonging to the Strix genus. On the other hand, long-chain PUFAs were more prominent in the Strix owls. I suggest that these differences in the fatty acid composition are due to the disparities in feeding behaviour: the Eurasian eagle-owls eat carrions and large prey that cannot be swallowed whole, which may lead to consuming more the body outer parts of the prey. The fatty acid composition of the eagle-owls can also be affected by urban prey that have consumed anthropogenic food. In the future, the fatty acid composition of wild prey should be examined to be able to evaluate the prey composition of owls and its effect on the owl fatty acid profile with physiological consequences, the knowledge that could be used in the future decision-making that supports the conservation of owls.

Background: Preschoolers suffer frequently from infections. Large group sizes and varying hygiene practices may enhance pathogen transmission within preschool settings. Preschool-attributable infections cause economic consequences for society, which is why identifying the related risk factors is of importance. One such may be diet. Appropriate immune defence requires sufficient intakes of energy, protein, polyunsaturated fat, dietary fibre, and numerous micronutrients, whereas excess sugar and saturated fat may be harmful. However, previous nutritional research examining preschoolers’ infections has mainly focused on probiotics. Little research has been done on the role of whole-diet in preschoolers’ susceptibility to infections. Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the associations of dietary patterns with common colds, gastroenteritis, and antibiotic courses among Finnish preschoolers. Methods: The study sample included 721 children aged 3-6 years attending the cross-sectional DAGIS survey. The parents reported retrospectively how many common colds, gastroenteritis, and antibiotic courses their children had experienced during the past year. Children’s food consumption was recorded using a 47-item food frequency questionnaire filled in by the parents. The parents also reported background factors of their children and family. The following three dietary patterns were identified based on the food consumption frequencies using principal component analysis: 1) sweets-and-treats pattern (high loadings of e.g. biscuits, chocolate, and ice cream); 2) health-conscious pattern (high loadings of e.g. nuts, natural yoghurt, and berries); and 3) vegetables-and-processed meats pattern (high loadings of e.g. vegetables, colds cuts, and fruits). Dietary pattern scores were calculated for each child to describe the strength of adherence to each identified dietary pattern. The distributions of the dietary pattern scores were divided into thirds that were labelled low, moderate, and high adherence groups. Negative binomial regression analysis was used to examine the associations between thirds of the dietary pattern scores and the prevalence of common colds and antibiotic courses. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the associations between thirds of the dietary pattern scores and a chance of experiencing at least one gastroenteritis. Results: Prevalence of common colds was lower in moderate and high adherences to the sweets-and-treats pattern compared to low adherence (PR=0.89, 95% CI=0.80-1.00; and PR=0.88, 95% CI=0.79-0.99, respectively) and higher in high adherence to the health-conscious pattern compared to low adherence (PR=1.13, 95% CI=1.01-1.27) after adjusting for age, sex, number of children living in the same household, frequency of preschool attendance, probiotic use, and the highest educational level in the family. Moderate adherence to the sweets-and-treats pattern was associated with a lower chance of at least one gastroenteritis (OR=0.63, 95% CI=0.44-0.92) and lower prevalence of antibiotic courses (PR=0.77, 95% CI= 0.59-1.00) compared to low adherence. No significant associations were observed between the vegetables-and-processed meats pattern and the infectious outcomes. Adjustments for the background factors did not modify the associations. Conclusion: The results were unexpected. The associations observed would suggest that favouring unhealthier foods but avoiding healthier foods was linked to better immunity, which is difficult to accept as true. Parents who were most health-conscious of their children’s diet might also have been more conscious of their children’s illness conditions than less health-conscious parents, which may explain the results. Further research with longitudinal designs is needed to determine whether dietary habits play a role in preschoolers’ susceptibility to infections.

Food literacy is a noteworthy topic to be studied due to food’s considerable environmental and health effects. When food literacy and its characteristics are known, food literacy can be used as a tool to improve people’s health and the condition of the environment. Thus, this thesis aims to reveal the extent of food literacy among Finnish upper secondary school students. In this context, food literacy emphasises food-related environmental and health knowledge. Environmental knowledge is understanding of the global environmental impact of food. Health knowledge, on the other hand, is the familiarity with the relationship between excessive meat consumption and Finnish common diseases along with beliefs regarding diets and food products as a source of protein. This thesis also aims to identify to what extent does the food literacy differ based on gender, study year and living area. This study was performed as a quantitative sample survey and the data was collected using an online Typeform -questionnaire. The questionnaire reached respondents from many different Finnish localities, mainly from cities. The final data consisted of 1320 individuals and it was analysed using IMB SPSS Statistics 24 software. The following methods were used to analyse data: frequency analysis, an Independent Samples t Test, a One-way ANOVA, and a Post-hoc LSD test. Gender, study year and living area were used as grouping variables to examine the differences between groups. The results show that the students named school as the main source of food literacy. Moreover, the results indicate that awareness regarding food production, dietary health and proteins increase significantly from the first to the third study year. The students acknowledged food production causing environmental problems and that the share of food in the consumer’s climatic impact is considerable. Nevertheless, the students underestimated the climatic impact of cheese and they were unaware of the more specific characteristics of food’s environmental impacts. They also had food-related environmental misconceptions considering packaging, transportation and meat consumption. Moreover, approximately half or more of the students were aware of the connection between excessive meat consumption and the increased risk of distinct common diseases. Most of the students acknowledged a versatile vegetarian diet as being a healthy choice. The study also reveals that female students had notably higher dietary health knowledge than male students. This Master’s thesis study mainly supports the findings of previous studies on food-related knowledge. The results elucidate the extent, characteristics, gaps and misconceptions of students’ food literacy. These findings may be utilized to improve school education on food literacy, alter misconceptions and fill the gaps of knowledge in pursuit of improving the health of people and the condition of the environment.

Raw meat-based diets have gained popularity in recent years amongst dog owners and there is a lot of debate about the effects of raw food on dogs' health. The purpose of this thesis was to study serum mineral concentrations in dogs eating raw meat-based diet or dry diet. The minerals analyzed were copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. My hypothesis is that when dogs are fed industrial balanced raw or dry food there are no significant differences in the serum mineral concentrations between the two diet groups. In this study there were 41 adult Staffordshire bull terriers of which 25 ate raw food and 16 dry food. 26 of the dogs were atopic, 13 were control dogs and 2 dogs could not be placed to either of the groups. The dogs came to three visits. The first blood sample was taken on either the first or the baseline visit. During the next three to five months the dogs were either on dry food or raw food diet, based on allotment. Itching, skin symptoms, and diet were taken into consideration in the allotment. After the feeding study the dogs came to the end visit where the second blood sample was taken. Based on the results both diets had an effect on some mineral concentrations. Also the health status had an effect on some mineral concentrations and in the atopic dogs the diet had a more pronounced effect on the serum mineral concentrations than in the control dogs. On the basis of these results the hypothesis was incorrect because there were significant differences in the serum mineral concentrations between the two diets. As we do not know the optimal serum concentrations of these minerals in the canine species the clinical significance of these results is somewhat limited but this study lays the foundation for further studies.

Background: Majority of studies on the association of diet and physical activity are conducted in high-income countries and to date, none have been conducted in Kenya although unhealthy lifestyle behaviours are on the rise and may pose more severe risk in low-to-middle-income than in high-income countries. Methods: Study consists of 9-14-year old pre-adolescents (N=104) living in a middle- or low-income area in Nairobi. Dietary data was collected using 7-day FFQ and physical activity data by accelerometer. Dietary patterns were formed through principal component analysis and Dietary Diversity Score created by counting the number of food groups that were used daily. Statistical analysis was conducted using linear regression analysis with wealth index, area, age, gender and BMI as confounding variables. Results: Time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was weakly and negatively associated with the Snacks, fast food and meat dietary pattern alone and in combination with age and gender and significantly in combination with BMI (p=0.041), while time spent in sedentary behaviour showed no relation. Time spent in MVPA could not explain the variation in adherence to the Traditional Kenyan pattern while time spent in sedentary behaviour showed weak, negative association with adherence to this diet pattern, although it did not reach significance. Neither time spent in sedentary behaviour nor time spent in MVPA could explain variation in Dietary Diversity Score or adherence to the Dairy and plant protein pattern. Conclusions: Physical activity showed some association with diet, but the connections were mostly weak, and the socio-economic position and environment are possibly stronger determinants of lifestyle behaviour in urban Kenya.

Feeding raw food has increased in popularity and many advocate the good effects of it. Only few studies on raw food has been done, mainly on negative effects such as the risk of infection when handling raw meat. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether different diets, especially raw food, has an impact on blood parameters. The hypothesis was that raw food will have an impact on the blood parameters. A total of 101 dogs were included in the analysis. Both hematologic and serum biochemical analyses were made. The owners were asked to fill in a questionnaire with information about their dog and the percent of each food they give to their dogs. Diets were defined as raw food, dry food, canned food and homemade food. Based on the questionnaire, the dogs were divided into different diet groups. Staffordshire bull terriers were also analysed individually since they consisted the majority of the population (n =80). The diet groups were as follows; 100 % raw food, 100% dry food and mixed diet. The population was also divided into 5 groups according to a set percent of either raw or dry food (1 = 0%, 2 = 1–30 %, 3 = 31–60 %, 4= 61–99 %, and 5 = 100 %). The mean values of the blood parameters in all groups were compared statistically (Kruskal-Wallis test). Differences were found between raw and dry and raw and mixed diets. The blood values that most often differed were erythrocytes, haemoglobin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatinine, cholesterol, sodium and protein. Erythrocytes, haemoglobin, protein and creatinine increased with increased amount of raw food. ALP and cholesterol showed the opposite. Sodium showed high values in groups with high amounts of raw food and low values in mixed diets. This study gave evidence that diet is affecting blood parameters. In which extent it can affect remains unclear since no exact information about the diets were collected. Further studies need to be done to evaluate the real effect of a raw diet on blood parameters and whether it should be incorporated in clinical work.

Tiivistelmä Referat – Abstract One of the major fundamental ecological questions is the composition of a species diet. The diet of a species is crucially linked to finding out its environmental requirements, and information about the possible changes in the diet is needed when studying the impact of environmental changes such as climate change on species. Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans), classified as endangered in Finland, is a species living in coniferous and mixed forests. More precise information about the dietary habits of the species is needed to support conservation. The aim of my thesis was to investigate the diet composition and diet diversity of adult flying squirrels using DNA barcoding of their excrement pellets, a technique that provides highly accurate information quickly and effectively. The main research questions were whether the diet varies between sexes and seasons, whether diet has an influence on body condition and breeding success of the females, and whether diet diversity is related to the amount of suitable forest habitat near the nests. We collected faecal samples from 51 different flying squirrel individuals from two different study areas near the cities of Vaasa and Pietarsaari in June of 2020. Another set of samples from 8 individuals was collected in November 2020 in Vaasa. The collected samples were sent to a laboratory in Turku, where the DNA barcoding was conducted. I then made further statistical analyses from the laboratory results using general linear models to test my study questions. Although the sample size was too small to obtain statistically significant results for all the research questions, my results indicated that the diet of the Siberian flying squirrel differs between males and females just like its other living habits. Male flying squirrels have more diverse diet than female flying squirrels which have more specific and narrow diet, as they also have smaller home ranges during the breeding season and are more linked to their nesting forest patch compared to males. The aspect that female flying squirrels are more specialists during breeding time is crucial for the species conservation planning. DNA barcoding studies with bigger sample sizes should be done to further investigate the relationship between diet diversity and individual’s body condition and to ascertain the statistical significance to the results of this study.