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A picture of food consumption (availability) trends and projections to 2050, both globally and for different regions of the world, along with the drivers largely responsible for these observed consumption trends are the subject of this review. Throughout the world, major shifts in dietary patterns are occurring, even in the consumption of basic staples towards more diversified diets. Accompanying these changes in food consumption at a global and regional level have been considerable health consequences. Populations in those countries undergoing rapid transition are experiencing nutritional transition. The diverse nature of this transition may be the result of differences in socio-demographic factors and other consumer characteristics. Among other factors including urbanization and food industry marketing, the policies of trade liberalization over the past two decades have implications for health by virtue of being a factor in facilitating the ‘nutrition transition’ that is associated with rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Future food policies must consider both agricultural and health sectors, thereby enabling the development of coherent and sustainable policies that will ultimately benefit agriculture, human health and the environment.

The current food system is unsustainable. It encourages unhealthy food choices, increasing the risk of non-communicable diseases, and has a substantial environmental impact, responsible for around a third of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Improving both public and planetary health will require dietary change. To promote this transition, it is crucial to understand how consumers conceptualise healthy and sustainable eating. The aim of this review was to examine how adults from high-income countries interpret healthy and sustainable eating, with a specific focus on Ireland and the UK. As healthy eating and sustainable eating are often conceptualised as distinctive constructs, we explored each of these separately before examining how consumers perceive them together. Most consumers have a reasonable understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet, with many echoing aspects consistent with dietary guidelines. However, consumers perceptions of healthy eating often extend beyond these health-centric recommendations, incorporating concepts such as the pleasure of eating and supporting mental well-being. Sustainable eating, on the other hand, is less well understood. Most consumers overemphasise the importance of eating local, organic food and reducing packaging and underestimate or are unaware of the environmental impact of red meat consumption. These findings provide a clear opportunity to improve public awareness of healthy and sustainable diets. Moreover, they emphasise the need to promote the synergies between healthy and sustainable dietary practices. However, knowledge alone will not be enough to change behaviour. Future interventions should also seek to overcome consumers competing dietary priorities and create system-wide changes.

Within the home environment, parents influence their children’s dietary intakes through their parenting and dietary practices, and the foods they make available/accessible. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the associations between home environmental characteristics and children’s dietary intakes. Three hundred and thirty-two children aged three–five years and their parents participated in the study. Home environmental characteristics, including parental control feeding practices, were explored using validated and standardized questionnaires such as the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ), the Physical and Nutritional Home Environment Inventory (PNHEI) and the Healthy Home Survey (HHS). Parent and child food consumption was also measured. Pressure to eat from parents was associated with lower fruit intake in children (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.47–0.96, p = 0.032). Greater variety of fruit available in the home increased the likelihood of fruit consumption in children (OR 1.35 95% CI 1.09–1.68, p = 0.005). Watching television for ≥1 h per day was associated with a decreased probability of children eating vegetables daily (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.20–0.72, p = 0.003) and doubled their likelihood of consuming confectionary/sugar-sweetened beverages more than once weekly (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.06–4.38, p = 0.034). Children whose parents had lower vegetable consumption were 59% less likely to eat vegetables daily. This study demonstrates that modifiable home environmental characteristics are significantly associated with children’s dietary intakes.

The aim of this review is to summarise the common barriers and motivations for healthy food choice among adolescents, with a specific focus on the Irish context where available. It will also discuss other concerns adolescents have, which may influence their food choices and eating habits. Adolescence represents a period of rapid physical, mental and social development, and many health-related habits developed during adolescence tend to persist into adulthood, making the teenage years an optimal time to encourage healthy eating and health-promoting behaviours. Adolescents are concerned about the health impact of their diet, but their understanding of health is often seen in the context of their physical appearance or body image. Body image concerns are prevalent in adolescents, and this can affect their food choices. Taste, price and convenience are commonly noted factors influencing adolescents' food choices, and as they grow, their level of independence increases and spending more time with their peers means that social desirability and social norms about food become increasingly important factors in adolescent food choice. However, their limited autonomy means their supporting food environment also plays an important role. When developing more targeted interventions in adolescent populations, information on adolescent nutrition needs, their concerns for health and body image, and the barriers and motivations for healthy eating and food choice should be considered. Such a holistic approach should help support healthy eating and the prevention of overweight and obesity in the population, whilst also supporting a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.

The childhood years represent a period of increased nutrient requirements during which a balanced diet is important to ensure optimal growth and development. The aim of this study was to examine food and nutrient intakes and compliance with recommendations in school-aged children in Ireland and to examine changes over time. Analyses were based on two National Children’s Food Surveys; NCFS (2003–2004) (n 594) and NCFS II (2017–2018) (n 600) which estimated food and nutrient intakes in nationally representative samples of children (5–12 years) using weighed food records (NCFS: 7-d; NCFS II: 4-d). This study found that nutrient intakes among school-aged children in Ireland are generally in compliance with recommendations; however, this population group have higher intakes of saturated fat, free sugars and salt, and lower intakes of dietary fibre than recommended. Furthermore, significant proportions have inadequate intakes of vitamin D, Ca, Fe and folate. Some of the key dietary changes that have occurred since the NCFS (2003–2004) include decreased intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juice, milk and potatoes, and increased intakes of wholemeal/brown bread, high-fibre ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, porridge, pasta and whole fruit. Future strategies to address the nutrient gaps identified among this population group could include the continued promotion of healthy food choices (including education around ‘healthy’ lifestyles and food marketing restrictions), improvements of the food supply through reformulation (fat, sugar, salt, dietary fibre), food fortification for micronutrients of concern (voluntary or mandatory) and/or nutritional supplement recommendations (for nutrients unlikely to be sufficient from food intake alone).

In Ireland, television (TV) screen time is a highly prevalent sedentary behavior among children aged less than five years. Little is known about the influence of parental rules and policies or screen time availability and accessibility within the home on children’s TV screen time behaviors. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the extent to which parents’ sociodemographic and sedentary behaviors are associated with children’s TV screen time; and to determine the associations between parents’ rules and practices, home physical environment and children’s daily TV viewing. Three hundred and thirty-two children aged 3–5 years and their parents participated in the study. Children’s TV screen time and home environmental characteristics (parents’ rules and practices and the physical environment) were assessed using questions from standardized and validated questionnaires. The data were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Within the different sedentary behaviors evaluated, parents’ TV viewing was positively associated with children’s TV screen time (OR 1.65, 95%CI 1.09–2.50, p = 0.018). Leaving the TV on, whether or not it was being watched, was associated with a 38% increased probability of children watching ≥ 1 h TV daily. Children whose parents restricted their outdoor activity were more likely to watch ≥ 1 h TV daily (OR 2.01, 95%CI 1.04–3.88, p = 0.036). Findings from the study demonstrated that parents’ own screen time behaviors, leaving the TV on whether it was being watched or not and restricting outdoor play were associated with higher children’s TV viewing in the home environment. This knowledge is essential to inform future interventions aimed to address the increase in screen time among young children.

This study aimed to examine factors associated with maternal wellbeing at four months post-partum in the Irish context. Socio-demographic, health behaviour and infant feeding data were collected in pregnancy, at birth and at 17 weeks post-partum. Maternal distress, body image and resilience were measured at 17 weeks post-partum. Binary logistic regression predicted maternal distress and statistical significance was taken at p < 0.05. One hundred and seventy-two women were followed-up in pregnancy, at birth and at 17 weeks post-partum. Three in five (61.6%, n106) initiated breastfeeding. At 17 weeks post-partum, 23.8% (n41) were exclusively or partially breastfeeding and over a third (36.0%, n62) of all mothers were at risk of distress. In multivariate analyses, independent predictors of distress included: low maternal resilience (p < 0.01, odds ratio (OR): 7.22 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.49–20.95)); unsatisfactory partner support (p = 0.02, OR: 3.89 (95% CI: 1.20–12.65)); older age (p = 0.02, OR: 1.11 (95% CI: 1.02–1.21)); and breastfeeding (p = 0.01, OR: 2.89 (95% CI: 1.29–6.47)). Routine assessment of emotional wellbeing and targeted interventions are needed to promote a more healthful transition to motherhood among women in Ireland.

Key Points Naive, long-lived B cells in rodents and humans are heterogeneous in phenotype, topography and functions. Follicular recirculating B cells populate follicles in the spleen and lymph nodes; static marginal-zone (MZ) B cells are enriched in the MZ of the spleen; and B1 cells recirculate between the blood and the body cavities. Different B-cell clones are enriched with various B-cell subsets by means of a mechanism of positive selection, maturation and maintenance. Selection of the MZ repertoire depends on the rate of clonal production and the specific molecular signals that are received, in part through the B-cell clonal receptor (BCR). Clonal signals through BCRs integrate with signals for survival (through the tumour-necrosis-factor receptor family) and movement (through G-protein-coupled receptors) in regulating the selection and function of MZ B cells. In vitro , MZ B cells present antigen to T cells faster and more efficiently than follicular B cells. Favoured by their location and easy triggering, MZ and B1 B cells are early participants in in vivo T-cell-independent antigen responses and generate a vigorous plasma-cell response. MZ alterations are associated with various autoimmune conditions in both mouse and human. Recent advances in genomics and proteomics, combined with the facilitated generation and analysis of transgenic and gene-knockout animals, have revealed new complexities in classical biological systems, including the B-cell compartment. Studies on an 'old', but poorly characterized, B-cell subset — the naive, marginal-zone (MZ) B-cell subset — over the past two years have spawned an avalanche of data that encompass the generation and function of these cells. Now that the initial 'infatuation' is over, it is time to reconsider these data and generate some conclusions that can be incorporated into a working model of the B-cell system.

To examine women's experience of professional support for breast-feeding and health-care professionals' experience of providing support. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews among women with experience of breast-feeding and health-care professionals with infant feeding roles. Interviews with women were designed to explore their experience of support for breast-feeding antenatally, in hospital and postnatally. Interviews with health-care professionals were designed to explore their views on their role and experience in providing breast-feeding support. Interview transcripts were analysed using content analysis and aspects of Grounded Theory. Overarching themes and categories within the two sets were identified. Urban and suburban areas of North Dublin, Ireland. Twenty-two women all of whom had experience of breast-feeding and fifty-eight health-care professionals. Two overarching themes emerged and in each of these a number of categories were developed: theme 1, facilitators to breast-feeding support, within which being facilitated to breast-feed, having the right person at the right time, being discerning and breast-feeding support groups were discussed; and theme 2, barriers to breast-feeding support, within which time, conflicting information, medicalisation of breast-feeding and the role of health-care professionals in providing support for breast-feeding were discussed. Breast-feeding is being placed within a medical model of care in Ireland which is dependent on health-care professionals. There is a need for training around breast-feeding for all health-care professionals; however, they are limited in their support due to external barriers such as lack of time. Alternative support such as peer support workers should be provided.

The thymus is a central lymphoid organ primarily responsible for the development of T cells. A small proportion of B cells, however, also reside in the thymus to assist negative selection of self-reactive T cells. Here we show that the thymus of human neonates contains a consistent contingent of CD138 + plasma cells, producing all classes and subclasses of immunoglobulins with the exception of IgD. These antibody-secreting cells are part of a larger subset of B cells that share the expression of signature genes defining mouse B1 cells, yet lack the expression of complement receptors CD21 and CD35. Data from single-cell transcriptomic, clonal correspondence and in vitro differentiation assays support the notion of intrathymic CD138 + plasma cell differentiation, alongside other B cell subsets with distinctive molecular phenotypes. Lastly, neonatal thymic plasma cells also include clones reactive to commensal and pathogenic bacteria that commonly infect children born with antibody deficiency. Thus, our findings point to the thymus as a source of innate humoral immunity in human neonates. The thymus is known as the organ of T lymphocyte development. Here authors show that terminal B cell differentiation also takes place in the thymus of human neonates, leading to antibody production against commensal and pathogenic bacteria.