This study aimed to develop an amino acid composition table for Japanese foods and evaluate the relative validity of the Meal-based Diet History Questionnaire (MDHQ) in estimating total and meal-specific amino acid intake, using a 4-d weighed dietary record (DR) as the reference. A total of 111 Japanese women and 111 Japanese men completed both online and paper MDHQ, along with a 4-d non-consecutive DR. The amino acid composition table was constructed based on the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan 2020. Median amino acid intakes estimated by the online MDHQ were generally lower than those from the DR across all calculation methods (crude, residual, density and %protein) in both sexes, with significant differences observed for most of the eighteen amino acids. Median Spearman’s correlation coefficients between the online MDHQ and DR for total amino acid intake were 0·43–0·44 in women and 0·31–0·37 in men. Concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) were lower than the corresponding Spearman coefficients, and Bland–Altman analyses showed wide limits of agreement with proportional bias. Similar findings were observed for the paper MDHQ. In conclusion, the MDHQ showed limited relative validity for ranking total and individual amino acid intakes at main meals, with weaker performance for snacks and limited ability to estimate absolute individual intakes. Despite these limitations, the MDHQ provides a novel approach for examining meal-specific dietary patterns and may offer useful insights in epidemiological studies when its limitations are appropriately considered.

Understanding children’s diet quality is crucial for developing effective interventions to address dietary-related issues. Thus, this study examines the distribution of energy and nutrient intakes across meals and snacks among primary schoolchildren aged 6·0–12·9 years in Peninsular Malaysia and the implications of meal skipping on their nutritional status. Data from 1102 children in Peninsular Malaysia from the South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS) II were analysed. Children’s height, weight and waist circumference were measured. Questionnaires captured sociodemographic information and meal consumption patterns. Nutrient distribution across meals and snacks was assessed through a 1-d 24-h dietary recall approach. Logistic regression analysed the association between meal skipping and nutritional status. Breakfast contributed significantly to essential micronutrients but provided the least energy and macronutrients compared with lunch and dinner. Approximately one-third of daily nutrient intake came from snacking, with contributions ranging from 25 % for cobalamin to 36 % for both Ca and thiamine. Children who skipped main meals had higher odds of being overweight/obese (skipped one type of meal at least once weekly (1·59; 95 % CI (1·08, 2·33)); skipped > 1 type of meal (1·77; 95 % CI (1·12, 2·79)) and abdominal obese (skipped > 1 type of meal (1·91; 95 % CI (1·17, 3·12))). In conclusion, primary schoolchildren in Peninsular Malaysia tended to have higher micronutrient intakes at breakfast and higher energy and macronutrients in subsequent main meals. Meal skipping was linked to elevated body fat. This study underscores the need to prioritise continued education on the importance of healthy dietary habits among children.

This study examined the within- and between-day reliability of commonly employed laboratory-based body composition assessment methods. Eighteen healthy adults reported to the laboratory on two occasions, separated by 1–2 d, and were assessed with multiple methods under standardised conditions. These included two dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanners with manual or automated regions of interest, air displacement plethysmography (ADP) with measured or estimated thoracic gas volume (TGV), two multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysers (MFBIA), single-frequency BIA (SFBIA) and bioimpedance spectroscopy. Within-day reliability was established via immediate test–retest assessments at the first visit (technical error) and between-day reliability by repeating assessments at the second visit (technical plus biological error). Within- and between-day measures were evaluated using technical error of measurement (TEM) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). For body fat percentage, within-day TEM ranged from 0·03 to 0·70 %, with ICC of 0·993–1·000, while between-day ranged from 0·37 to 1·24 %, with ICC of 0·965–0·998. For fat and fat-free mass (FM and FFM), within-day TEM ranged from 0·02 to 0·53 kg, with ICC of 0·998–1·000 for FFM and 0·992–1·000 for FM. Between-day TEM ranged from 0·26 to 0·90 kg for FM and FFM, with ICC of 0·995–0·999 for FFM and 0·955–0·998 for FM. Across metrics, DXA demonstrated the best reliability, followed by one MFBIA and ADP with predicted TGV. Overall, laboratory-based body composition devices provide excellent within- and between-day reliability under standardised conditions, though observed differences in error may influence method selection when tracking small body composition changes.

Skinfold prediction equations (SF-PE) are used to estimate percent body fat (%BF), but it is unclear which SF-PE are most accurate among different age/sex groups. The purpose was to assess accuracy of estimating %BF from SF-PE in young, middle-age and older male and female adults and compare %BF from SF-PE to Inbody770 (IB770), a selected bioelectrical-impedance criterion reference. Two hundred two healthy males (n 96) and females (n 106) had %BF assessed from twelve SF-PE for females, thirteen SF-PE for males, and IB770. Repeated-measures 1-way ANOVA (P< 0·01) were employed for three age groups for males and females, and Bland–Altman plots were employed to evaluate the agreement between IB770 and SF-PE. Based on statistical assessment and Bland–Altman plots, similarity, agreement and accuracy observed in %BF between IB770 and SF-PE were determined. Consequently, based the following similar %BF comparisons between IB770 and SF-PE, the SF-PE recommended to use to estimate %BF in young males (YM), middle-age males (MM), older males (OM), young females (YF), middle-age females (MF) and older females (OF) are: (1) YM: IB770 = 16·2 %; Durnin 1974 (DW) = 16·3 %; Williams 1992 (W) = 16·2 %; Lean 1996 (L) = 16·6 %; (2) MM: IB770 = 19·7 %; W = 19·7 %; DW = 22·3 %; (3) OM: IB770 = 24·4 %; DW = 25·3 %; W = 22·4 %; (4) YF: IB770 = 24·9 %; Jackson 1985 (JP3b) = 23·8 %; (5) MF: IB770 = 25·2 %; Jackson 1980 = 25·0 %; JP3b = 26·1 % and (6) OF: IB770 = 36·6 %; Peterson 2003 = 36·2 %. Given that SF-PE underestimated, overestimated or accurately estimated %BF compared with IB770 emphasises the importance of using SF-PE that are appropriate for different age/sex groups and provide as accurate as possible estimates of %BF. Assessing %BF accurately is important given excessive %BF increases cardiometabolic disease risk.

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Comprehensive Emotional Eating Scale (CEES) and examined its associations with emotion regulation, cognitive control, cognitive flexibility and perceived stress in adults. A cross-sectional design was conducted with 1521 adults aged 18–74 years (68 % female). The CEES was adapted following standard cross-cultural guidelines, including translation, back-translation and approval by the original scale developer. Participants also completed the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Cognitive Control and Flexibility Questionnaire and Perceived Stress Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) assessed construct validity, while internal consistency, convergent validity and multiple linear regression analyses explored predictors of emotional eating. CFA supported a four-factor structure representing Undereating – Positive Emotions, Undereating – Negative Emotions, Overeating – Positive Emotions and Overeating – Negative Emotions, with item loadings of 0·48–0·77; one item was removed due to low loading. Internal consistency was high (α = 0·88–0·91), and convergent validity was confirmed via EMAQ correlations. Multiple regression analyses indicated that greater difficulties in emotion regulation, higher perceived stress, lower cognitive control and flexibility, smoking, higher BMI and chronic disease significantly increased emotional eating. Women showed higher Undereating – Negative Emotion and total emotional eating scores, while smoking, higher BMI and chronic disease elevated scores on specific subscales. The Turkish CEES demonstrates robust psychometric properties and reliably captures multidimensional emotional eating in adults. Psychological and demographic factors increase emotional eating subscales and total scores, supporting the scale’s use in research and clinical settings in Türkiye.