Merve Nur Uçak

Food loss and waste are a major global problem as reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12. Households constitute the primary source of food waste worldwide. The development of effective solutions depends on a comprehensive understanding of consumer attitudes and behaviors. This cross-sectional study used the Value–Attitude–Behavior (VAB) hierarchy to examine consumers’ food waste reduction intentions. It was conducted on individuals in Turkiye via an online survey. The results showed that consumers’ hedonic value and attitudes were positively associated with food waste reduction intentions. The strongest associations with intentions were observed for anticipated guilt, attitude toward reducing food waste, and hedonic value. Furthermore, education level and household size showed significant effects on food waste reduction intentions. In conclusion, these findings based on the VAB model showed the central role of anticipated guilt in shaping food waste reduction intentions, suggesting that emotionally driven intervention strategies may be more effective than approaches focusing solely on attitudes.

Introduction: This study aimed to assess the diet quality of Turkish athletes and confirm the validity and reliability of the Athlete Diet Index (ADI), which is the only index designed to assess diet quality in athletes. The ADI assesses three primary domains: basic athlete nutrition, nutrition for exercise performance, and personal dietary practices. Methods: The final Turkish version of the ADI, developed through forward–backward translation ( n = 5 + 2), expert review ( n = 10), and a pilot study ( n = 15), was administered to 151 professional athletes. Construct validity was examined by assessing the association between ADI scores and 2-day food record scores. Test–retest reliability was evaluated by readministering the ADI to 44 athletes after 3 weeks Results: All assessments were conducted face-to-face. The ADI demonstrated strong validity (r = 0.798, p < 0.001) and good test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.79, 95% CI). Diet quality did not differ by age, sex, or individual versus team sport ( p > 0.05); however, athletes competing in weight-category sports had significantly lower diet quality than non-weight-category athletes ( p = 0.01). Conclusion: The ADI is valid and reliable tool for evaluating the diet quality of Turkish athletes and can be confidently used in both research and applied sports nutrition settings.

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neurological disease characterized by a disorder of nerve transmission at the neuromuscular junction. In this disease, antibodies attack acetylcholine receptors and their associated molecules, disrupting nerve transmission and impairing normal muscle contraction. Myasthenia gravis is diagnosed through physiological and neurological examinations, blood antibody tests, and electronic methods. Various approaches are used for symptom management, including immunosuppressive drugs, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, and thymectomy. Previous literature has focused primarily on symptoms and medical treatment. However, resources related to nutrition and Myasthenia gravis are limited. This study bridges this gap by examining the effects of different nutritional interventions on the disease and the importance of nutrition in the treatment process.

The consumption of insect-based foods has been widely studied in recent years due to their nutritional value and their contribution to sustainability. In this study, the integrated sustainable neophilic insect-based eating model (ISNIEM) was used to investigate the various parameters that influence the intention of members of Turkish society to consume insect-based foods. Structural equation modeling was used to test the ISNIEM. A total of 1194 participants were reached through an online survey. According to the study data, sustainability attitudes (biospheric values, new human interdependence paradigm, attitude toward sustainability, attention to insect welfare) influence individuals’ intentions to consume insect-based foods by interacting with each other; however, intentions do not influence behavior in the same direction. As expected, food neophobia reduced the number of chosen insect-based foods (NCIBF) (β: −0.121; p < 0.001), while social norms positively influenced the NCIBF (β: 0.176; p < 0.001) and reduced food neophobia (β: −0.307; p < 0.001). Meanwhile, social norms and food neophobia did not affect the intention to eat insect-based food (p > 0.05). The findings of this study suggest that the ISNIEM may be effective in predicting individuals’ intentions and behaviors toward eating insect-based foods in Turkey.