Carlos Hermosa-Bosano

Background: Individuals' perceptions of their cooking skills have been associated with healthier eating patterns. This study examines the socioecological factors associated with adolescents' cooking skills perceptions within a Spanish context. Key factors analyzed included sex, age, immigrant status, socioeconomic status, parental education, family structure, household size, schooling type, and area of residence.Methods: This research used data from adolescents aged 12–17 who took part of the Eating Healthy and Daily Life Activities (EHDLA) study (Region of Murcia, Spain). A chi-squared test and generalized linear models with binomial distribution were used to examine associations.Results: Perceptions of cooking skills varied among adolescents; 16.3% rated their cooking skills as very adequate. Perceived cooking skills were significantly associated with sex, socioeconomic status (SES), and type of schooling. Female adolescents had over twice the odds of perceiving their cooking skills as very adequate compared to males [odds ratio (OR) = 2.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.40–3.03, p < 0.001]. Adolescents from medium and high SES backgrounds were significantly more likely to report very adequate cooking skills compared to those from low SES backgrounds (OR = 2.17, 95% CI: 1.20–4.13, p = 0.013; and OR = 3.57, 95% CI: 1.88–7.08, p < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, attending a private school (with public funds) was associated with lower odds of perceiving cooking skills as very adequate compared to attending a public school (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.24–0.76, p = 0.005).Conclusions: The findings from this study suggest the importance of attending the needs of specific groups such as male adolescents, those from lower SES backgrounds and those in publicly funded private schools. In addition, our results suggest the need to question the gender norms traditionally associated to cooking. Our results can help design interventions that enhance cooking skills among adolescents. These interventions can foster healthier eating habits and ultimately reduce diet-related conditions in adolescence and later in adulthood.

Introduction: Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are widely consumed despite their established associations with obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and other metabolic disorders. One potential factor contributing to high UPF consumption is the decline in cooking skills, particularly among younger generations. This study aimed to describe the cooking skill perceptions of a sample of Spanish adolescents to examine the relationship between perceived cooking skills and UPF consumption, and to identify the specific UPF subcategories most associated with perceived cooking skills. Methods: This study is a secondary cross-sectional analysis using data from the Eating Healthy and Daily Life Activities (EHDLA) study, which was conducted among 847 Spanish adolescents (12–17 years) from three secondary schools in Valle de Ricote (Region of Murcia, Spain). The participants’ perceptions of their cooking skills were assessed through the following question: “How would you rate your cooking skills?”. The response options included (a) very adequate, (b) adequate, (c) inadequate, and (d) very inadequate. UPF consumption was evaluated via a self-administered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) previously validated for the Spanish population. UPFs were classified according to the NOVA system, which distinguishes four groups: (1) unprocessed or minimally processed foods; (2) processed culinary ingredients, such as salt, sugar, and oils, used to enhance the preparation of fresh foods; (3) processed foods; and (4) UPF and drink products. To examine the associations between perceived cooking skills and UPF consumption, marginal means and 95% confidence intervals for servings of individual UPF groups were calculated via generalized linear models. These models were adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep duration, and body mass index to control for potential confounders. Post hoc comparisons between cooking skill categories were conducted via false discovery rate correction following the Benjamini–Hochberg procedure, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Most participants (47%) rated their cooking skills as adequate (47%) or very adequate (18%). Overall UPF intake showed a decreasing trend across skill levels, with the “very adequate” group consuming significantly fewer servings than the “very inadequate” group did (p = 0.015). Among the specific UPF categories, adolescents in the “very adequate” category consumed significantly fewer sweets than those in the “very inadequate” and “inadequate” categories did (p < 0.05 for all). Conclusions: This study revealed evidence of a relationship between cooking skills and overall UPF intake. These results support the importance of interventions that promote cooking competencies among adolescents. School-based culinary programs and community initiatives that teach adolescents simple, time-efficient, and cost-effective cooking techniques could help reduce the overall intake of UPFs.

Blunted cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) is associated with adverse health outcomes such as depression, obesity, and increased carotid intima‐media thickness. Research indicates that significant negative life events (NLE) contribute to reduced CVR and related health issues, with individual perceptions and coping mechanisms playing a crucial role. Optimism, which is linked to fewer reported NLEs and better cardiovascular health, may improve coping processes, thereby reducing NLE's impact on CVR. This study investigated how NLEs mediate the relationship between optimism and CVR. The sample consisted of 199 adults recruited from universities in Ecuador. Participants completed psychological assessments prior to a controlled 45‐min experimental session, which included baseline cardiac activity measurements followed by the PASAT task. The findings indicated that the number of NLEs mediates the relationship between optimism and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reactivity, while optimism also exerts a direct effect on CVR beyond this mediation. Specifically, a significant inverse relationship was observed between the number of NLEs and DBP reactivity, alongside a positive relationship between optimism and DBP reactivity. Additionally, pessimism was associated with reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity, though neither pessimism nor NLEs showed any effect on heart rate. These results highlight the protective role of optimism in modulating stress‐related impacts on CVR and align with previous research suggesting that low CVR might be a result of maladaptive stress responses.

Negative attitudes toward Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) individuals leads to a perceived inability of LGB individuals to foster ‘appropriate’ family relationships, inciting negative attitudes specifically toward same-sex parenting. Intergroup and interpersonal relationships play a critical role in fostering attitudes toward others wherein type of contact, frequency, degree of closeness in the relationship, and the positivity/negativity of interactions are potential mediator of these relations, Moreover, the mechanism behind co-constructing positive relationships with sexual and gender minorities is comfort with contact with LGB individuals. The present study explored the effects of interpersonal contact and the mediator role of comfort with LGB people in explaining attitudes toward same-sex parenting in Spanish-speaking countries in North, Central, and South America. These countries are of particular interest given the dearth of research in the region on attitudes toward same-sex parenting as well as the varying degrees of acceptance of and protections for same-sex parented families. A non-probabilistic sample of 1955 heterosexual cisgender participants from 14 countries was asked to complete a series of sociodemographic questions, a questionnaire about their interpersonal contact/comfort experiences with LGB people, and the Attitudes Toward Gay and Lesbian Parenting Scale. Results showed that comfort was vital in fostering accepting attitudes toward Same-Sex Parenting across countries. Findings also suggested that comfort with LGB people has a particularly powerful influence in regions with less legal and cultural acceptance of LGB individuals. Policies are not enough to instill widespread change: we must encourage, facilitate, and supervise the formation of relationships with LGB people.

Introducción: El estudio de las actitudes hacia la homosexualidad y homoparentalidad ha empleado múltiples mecanismos para recolectar y analizar datos cuantitativos y cualitativos. En este artículo, se analizan los comentarios en redes sociales públicas que se suscitaron ante el estreno y la polémica alrededor de la escena de un beso entre dos mujeres en la película ‘Lightyear’ estrenada en 2022. El objetivo de este artículo fue identificar las actitudes y argumentos que las personas proveen para estar a favor o en contra de la homosexualidad y la homoparentalidad. Metodología: Se identificaron los medios de comunicación digitales y escritos en Ecuador que publicaron noticias alrededor de la película. Una vez identificadas las noticias, se extrajo una muestra de 707 comentarios y se procedió a realizar un análisis de contenido. Resultados: 335 comentarios fueron en contra, 23 a favor. Se identificaron 7 temas: resguardo a la infancia, aspectos sociales, imposición y adoctrinamiento, doble moral, argumentos religiosos, ambigüedad actitudinal, y reproducción biológica y naturaleza. Los argumentos revelan una alta preocupación por el bienestar de los niños que se relacionan con creencias relativas al origen de la orientación sexual, el rol de los adultos de cuidar a los niños contra lo que se considera anormal, así como el papel de las familias de filtrar el contenido que sus hijos deben ver. Discusión y conclusiones: Existe rechazo hacia la homosexualidad y la homoparentalidad que se fundamenta en visiones negativas de la diversidad sexual y familiar, teorías socialmente difundidas sobre la orientación sexual, el rol de la familia y el desarrollo de los niños.

In less than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic obliged the international community of academics and researchers to modify their ways of doing research. Affected by the same international health emergency, academia turned its efforts into obtaining as much knowledge as possible about COVID-19, its causes, its prevention, its treatment, and its consequences. This common ground sparked a series of international research projects to identify ways to face the pandemic. This article seeks to describe the experience of three early-career researchers in Quito, Ecuador, who participated in three international collaborations. In this manuscript, we will explain how these projects were born, and address the series of challenges and opportunities that arise from collaborating with different teams, the benefits of connecting through technology, and the limitations of collecting data amid mobility restrictions. We believe our experiences highlight what can be accomplished through effective communication and will also provide insight on how to overcome some of the barriers that international collaborative research poses.

The massive adoption of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic brought an opportunity to investigate teachers’ conceptions of excellent teaching in the context of emergency remote education. From June to August 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire to (1) analyze teachers’ perceptions of the quality of their teaching in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) identify teachers’ perceptions of the qualities of excellent online teachers, and (3) examine differences based on gender, age, previous online learning training, and work experiences. The sample consisted of 341 university teachers who worked in private and public institutions in Ecuador. Results indicate that most participants perceived online teaching was easy for them, as well as personally satisfying. However, less than half of the participants felt that the quality of their teaching and their relationships with their students had improved since the adoption of online learning. Regarding the qualities of excellent online teachers, participants indicated that being respectful, enthusiastic about their teaching and their topics, striving to become a better teacher, being humble, and being knowledgeable about their subject matter were the top five qualities excellent online teachers should have. Comparison analysis indicated gender differences in some of the items. Women tended to feel more strongly that their relationship with their students had improved since online teaching was adopted; also, they gave higher scores to qualities such as being humble, establishing rapport, being sensitive and persistent, and being understanding compared to men. There were not differences based on age. Regarding online teaching training and work experiences, we found statistical differences in the perceptions on the quality of their teaching and some of the traits of excellent online educators. We found that participants with previous training and work experiences rated more strongly qualities such as being an effective communicator, being prepared and technologically competent. We discuss the implications of these findings considering the challenges that online learning imposes on educators in many parts of the world.