F. Xavier Medina

Use of mobile phones as a tool for weight loss: a systematic review

We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the use of mobile phones for weight loss. A total of 43 studies were identified on obese or overweight adults, aged 18 years or over. After review, ten articles met the inclusion criteria. There were 19–534 participants per study. Participants were from European, Asian and North American regions. The mean body mass index (BMI) of the subjects varied from 22 to 36 kg/m2. Two studies used text messaging or multimedia messaging. All the other studies used mobile-phone apps or web-based programmes that could be accessed from mobile phones as a part of a weight-loss intervention or for evaluating their potential for use and their acceptance. Most studies lasted 2–4 months and the maximum duration was 1 year. All but two studies showed reductions in the participants’ bodyweight, BMI, waist circumference and body fat in the various interventions. There appeared to be a proportional relationship between weight loss and programme use. The programmes most benefited those who took a pro-active approach to everyday problems. Frequent self-recording of weight seemed to be important, as was the personalisation of the intervention (counselling and individualized feedback). Finally, a social support system acted as a motivational tool.

Mediterranean diet, culture and heritage: challenges for a new conception

The aim of the present article is to discuss the role of the Mediterranean diet as a part of Human Culture and Intangible Cultural Heritage. Until the present, Mediterranean diet has been observed as a healthy model of medical behaviour. After its proposal as a Cultural Heritage of the Humanity at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), Mediterranean diet is actually being observed as a part of Mediterranean culture and starting its concept as an equivalent of Mediterranean Cultural Food System or Mediterranean Culinary System. At the candidacy of Mediterranean diet as a World Cultural Intangible Heritage to be presented at UNESCO in 2008, this new conception is making sense. A new point of view that will be capital in the future discussions about the Mediterranean diet, their challenges and their future perspectives.The aim of the present article is to discuss the role of the Mediterranean diet as a part of Human Culture and Intangible Cultural Heritage. Until the present, Mediterranean diet has been observed as a healthy model of medical behaviour. After its proposal as a Cultural Heritage of the Humanity at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), Mediterranean diet is actually being observed as a part of Mediterranean culture and starting its concept as an equivalent of Mediterranean Cultural Food System or Mediterranean Culinary System. At the candidacy of Mediterranean diet as a World Cultural Intangible Heritage to be presented at UNESCO in 2008, this new conception is making sense. A new point of view that will be capital in the future discussions about the Mediterranean diet, their challenges and their future perspectives.

Food consumption and civil society: Mediterranean diet as a sustainable resource for the Mediterranean area

OBJECTIVE To define the Mediterranean diet model inside a Mediterranean social and cultural food framework and from the perspective of a local model of consumption. DESIGN Reflexion and review of literature available in relation to the Mediterranean diet, locality and proximity. SETTING AND SUBJECTS Mediterranean region and its populations. RESULTS The Mediterranean local food system under the term Mediterranean diet encourages local production and local consumption. From this perspective, this model takes part of every local Mediterranean lifestyles and encourages sustainability. CONCLUSIONS From a local Mediterranean point of view and as a proximity model of consumption, Mediterranean food and diet can be a sustainable resource for the Mediterranean area.

Posibilidades de las aplicaciones móviles para el abordaje de la obesidad según los profesionales

INTRODUCTION Given the increasing use and importance of mobile telephone applications (apps) in the health setting, this study aimed to ascertain the views of health professionals involved in the treatment of obesity about their current needs and gaps in their requirements, their willingness to use mobile apps, and the features these devices should have for the treatment of obesity. METHODS A qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with experts treating obesity. RESULTS The experts believed that apps could be useful to interact or deal with patients. However, their willingness to use apps contrasts with the current limited use of these devices. Practitioners felt that apps could partly compensate for the lack of daily contact between patients and professionals and could increase interaction with patients, achieving more favourable weight control results, especially with regard to improved adherence and motivation. In terms of the functionality and requirements of such apps, the main elements to be included were records of weight, physical activity and food consumption. CONCLUSIONS Adding apps to the existing treatment of overweight and obesity still requires further definition of its functions. Additionally, further investigation is needed into both the role and involvement of professionals in the design process and during treatment.

Saturdays of leisure and memories … : The Mexican market ‘La Pulga’ in the San Joaquin Valley (California)

This research note aims to explore the links between food, memory, nostalgia and leisure through a series of weekly visits to an itinerant Mexican market in the United States. Taking an ethnographic approach to the market of La Pulga held in the city of Merced in California’s San Joaquin Valley, we consider how, in the Mexican–American transnational context, this market provides an opportunity for Mexican migrants to interact with other Mexican people, recreating similar social dynamics displayed in traditional food markets in Mexico. We argue that as well as being a food supply centre, this market may be viewed as a space in which Mexican migrants seek to recreate their homeland and to enjoy an alternative leisure experience. Thus, the visit to the market may be observed as a complex activity in which the senses, the social interactions between Mexican migrants and the consumption of food in a festive setting play a central role in enabling these migrants to break with their everyday lives. Likewise, we suggest that the visit to the market every Saturday not only constitutes a leisure activity, but also serves to construct the ethnic and collective migratory identity that links Mexican migrants with their homeland.

The Mediterranean Diet as an Intangible and Sustainable Food Culture

The recent recognition in 2010 of the Mediterranean diet (MD) as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization was the result of an international process coordinated from Spain by the Mediterranean Diet Foundation. This recognition, with the consequent increased visibility and acceptance of the MD around the world, along with better and more scientific evidence regarding its benefits and effects on longevity, quality of life, and disease prevention, make this dietary pattern experience an unprecedented historical moment. This is a favorable situation that could possibly enable better knowledge of the MD worldwide, also translating into a reduced environmental impact by the production and transportation of food resources throughout the Mediterranean area. To this end, the MD should be seen for what it is: an extremely healthy and environmentally sustainable food model, as well as a cultural heritage that confers identity and belonging. This cultural heritage should be preserved and promoted from different areas of the health, agricultural, cultural, political, and economic agenda.

Entre el boom atlético y la cooperación social. Las carreras solidarias y el ejemplo de la Trailwalker España 2013

In recent years we have witnessed a boom in years in athletic events with an increase in number of participants. Within this framework, races organized to benefit social causes have also significantly increased in number and participation. The Oxfam-Intermon Trailwalker is a race that includes a cross-training challenge —100 km in less than 32 hours in teams of four members— and solidarity, because each team is committed to collect at least 1500 euros. This race presents a particular combination: passion for sport and responsibility for the common good. The aim of this article is to analyze the role of this sporting event in a particular social context: Spain, where the Trailwalker has already completed its third edition, during the ongoing economic crisis. Athletics and social solidarity are particularly related in a project like the Trailwalker, where people are not running only to compete but also to help others.

Challenges and Opportunities of 2.0 Tools for the Interdisciplinary Study of Nutrition: The Case of the Mediterranean Diet Wiki

This article analyses the possibility of integrating new learning practices into health-related postgraduate programmes to enable students to acquire specific competencies in their field of study while improving other cross-disciplinary competencies related to the use of elements inherent to the information and knowledge society. To that end, a decision was taken to develop a Mediterranean Diet Wiki experience; a collaborative activity on the different aspects of the Mediterranean diet, using Wikispaces. The activity had two objectives. First, to develop a holistic, transdisciplinary vision of the phenomenon of nutrition, in terms not only of its relationship to health, but also of its importance as a social, cultural and economic component. And second, to have a set of up-to-date, easy-to-access bibliographic resources available on the topic, which would prove useful throughout the students’ educational process. Students and lecturers on different educational programmes took part in the experience. While focusing on a field of study related to their respective subjects, the experience offered them the opportunity to work in a shared space towards a common goal, by providing them with access to a range of multidisciplinary information and a more holistic vision of the Mediterranean diet. On completion of the experience, activity assessment and wiki participation data were analysed, as were data obtained from the anonymous questionnaire. The results showed that the Mediterranean Diet Wiki was an effective tool for approaching the phenomenon of nutrition from different angles, as well as a useful system for working on cross-disciplinary competencies such as the mastery of ICTs, searching effectively for bibliographic references, and collaborative work.ResumenEn este trabajo se analiza la posibilidad de integrar en programas de formación de posgrado del Área de la Salud nuevas prácticas de aprendizaje que permitan a los estudiantes adquirir competencias específicas sobre su ámbito de estudio, al mismo tiempo que mejorar otras competencias transversales relacionadas con el uso de elementos propios de la sociedad de la información y del conocimiento. Con tal intención se desarrolló la experiencia Wiki DM, una actividad colaborativa en torno a diferentes aspectos de la dieta mediterránea (DM) usando wikispaces. Con esta actividad se pretendía, por un lado, desarrollar una visión holística y transdisciplinar del fenómeno de la alimentación, no solo en su relación con la salud, sino también resaltando la importancia de su componente social, cultural o económico; y, por otro, se buscaba generar y disponer de un conjunto de recursos bibliográficos actualizados y fácilmente accesibles sobre el tema, que fueran de utilidad a lo largo de todo su proceso formativo. En la experiencia participaron docentes y estudiantes de diferentes programas formativos, de manera que, aunque centrados en un ámbito relacionado con su asignatura pero trabajando en un espacio y con un objetivo común, pudieran acceder a una serie de información multidisciplinar y con una visión más holística de la DM. Tras la experiencia se analizaron los resultados mediante la evaluación de la actividad, la participación en la wiki y una encuesta anónima. Los resultados demostraron que la Wiki DM resulta una herramienta efectiva para abordar el fenómeno de la alimentación desde diferentes perspectivas, así como un sistema útil para trabajar en competencias transversales, tales como el dominio de las TIC, la búsqueda bibliográfica y el trabajo colaborativo.

From Ingredient to Dish: The Role of Supply in the Culinary Practices of Mexican Migrants in the United States

This chapter explores three models of supply and procurement of Mexican food in the United States. The first one explains the transportation of food stuffs by migrants themselves or other subjects who are socially linked to them. The second model illuminates the provision of prepared foods or artisan products that are made and sold in the place of residence, to clients who are predominantly compatriots of the producers. Finally, we present new strategies that are being adopted by the owners of family restaurants, examining the practices that arise from supply between compatriots of the same migratory status. In this chapter, we aim to illustrate how Mexican migrants set strategies to preserve their native food culture in order to maintain their links with Mexico.

Free Walking Tour Enterprises in Europe: An Evolutionary Economic Approach

The emergence of the collaborative economy has promoted the rise of numerous profit and non-profit businesses that are flourishing. Some of the business features within this alternative tourism industry are devoted to the support of a moral economy based on social responsibility, sustainable trade, fair labour practices, and social and environmental awareness. In this framework, new trends are appearing within the tourism/travel/leisure industries all over the world. This chapter outlines an exploratory approach to how firms within the collaborative economy operate. The empirical focus is on the “free” or “pay-what-you-want” tours in Europe, which appeal to the free exchange of local knowledge among travellers. It analyses business models and behaviours based on the evolutionary economics concepts of knowledge, innovation and path-dependency. Taking as the main case studies Barcelona and Berlin, this approach allows us to understand the collaborative market and how this affects the relationship between business and tourists by examining the moral affordances, controversies and risks in the context of collaborative economy practices.