Dietary patterns and its relation with overweight and obesity in Chilean girls of medium-high socioeconomic level

The aim of the present study was to identify dietary patterns in girls and to assess their association with obesity or overweight. A school-based sample of 108 girls between 8 and 11 years of medium-high socioeconomic level was selected in Santiago, Chile. The body mass index was calculated and a quantified food frequency and physical activity questionnaires (validated in the FAO/MINEDUC/INTA Project Nutritional Education in primary schools) were applied. Four distinct dietary factors or patterns were obtained explaining 54% of the total variation using factorial analysis. The first factor was characterized by an energy-dense diet (high consumption of fat foods, ice creams, chocolates, French fries, snacks). The second factor represented a healthy diet (dairy products, fruits and salads). The third factor represented intake of soft drinks (either with or without sugar). The fourth factor represented a diet rich in calories and sugars (bread, sausages, sweets). The association between the four dietary factors and overweight/obesity was assessed through logistic regression models. The first factor, energy-dense foods, was the only one significantly associated with the presence of obesity (OR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.12 - 3.09). The results of this research about dietary patterns are consistent with studies carried out in other countries.     

Dietary patterns of adults living in Ouagadougou and their association with overweight

Background  

Urbanization in developing countries comes along with changes in food habits and living conditions and with an increase in overweight and associated health risks. The objective of the study was to describe dietary patterns of adults in Ouagadougou and to study their relationship with anthropometric status of the subjects.     

Television viewing and sleep are associated with overweight among urban and semi-urban South Indian children

Background  

Childhood obesity is an emerging problem in urban Indian children and increases in childhood overweight and obesity may be major contributors to the adult obesity epidemic. Thus, identifying potential risk factors for childhood obesity and formulating early interventions is crucial in the management of the obesity epidemic. The present study was aimed at evaluating dietary and physical activity patterns as determinants of overweight in a sample of children.     

Caloric beverage consumption patterns in Mexican children

Background  

Mexico has seen a very steep increase in child obesity level. Little is known about caloric beverage intake in this country as well as all other countries outside a few high income countries. This study examines overall patterns and trends in all caloric beverages from two nationally representative surveys from Mexico.     

Dietary patterns are associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus among middle-aged adults in Zhejiang Province,China

Background

Although some studies have shown the associations between dietary patterns and the risk T2DM in a general population, the associations in middle-aged Chinese have been rarely studied to date. In this study, we aimed to characterize dietary patterns in Chinese adults aged 45-59y (n?=?1918) and to evaluate the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of T2DM.

Methods

The study population was a part of the population-based the Nutrition and Health Study conducted in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Dietary intake was assessed by using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of T2DM, adjusting for potential confounders.

Results

Three major dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis, including the traditional southern Chinese, the Western, and the grains-vegetables patterns. After adjusting for the potential confounders, subjects in the highest quartile of the Western dietary pattern scores had greater odds ratio(OR) for T2DM(OR?=?1.28; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.103–1.697; P?=?0.02) than did those in the lowest quartile. Compared with those in the lowest quartile, subjects in the highest quartile of the grains-vegetables dietary pattern scores had a lower OR for T2DM (OR?=?0.72; 95% CI:0.596–0.952; P?=?0.04). Moreover, no significant association was found between the traditional southern Chinese dietary pattern and risk of developing T2DM.

Conclusions

Our findings indicated that the Western dietary pattern was associated with an elevated risk, whereas the grains-vegetables dietary pattern was associated with a reduced risk of T2DM. Further researches are needed to confirm these findings.

     

Dietary factors associated with obesity indicators and level of sports participation in Flemish adults: a cross-sectional study

Background  

Obesity develops when energy intake continuously exceeds energy expenditure, causing a fundamental chronic energy imbalance. Societal and behavioural changes over the last decades are held responsible for the considerable increase in sedentary lifestyles and inappropriate dietary patterns. The role of dietary fat and other dietary factors in the aetiology and maintenance of excess weight is controversial. The purposes of the present study were to investigate the dietary factors associated with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), and to analyse whether dietary intake varies between subjects with different levels of sports participation.     

The impact of overweight and obesity on public health

The global prevalence of obesity and overweight is increasing, bringing with it increases in mortality and morbidity from a constellation of diseases or comorbidities. In addition major increases in health care costs can be anticipated. At first sight many of the obesity and overweight comorbidities do not seem to have any common mechanism but the metabolic syndrome or the insulin resistance syndrome may provide a unifying mechanism for at least some of them. The public health case for addressing this progressive epidemic of overweight and obesity is unanswerable but this will require a solution to the seemingly intractable problem of persuading people to change their lifestyle.     

Serum insulin, leptin and growth hormone levels are associated with body mass index and obesity index in adolescents

Leptin, insulin and growth hormone levels seem to regulate body composition, fat distribution and fat mass. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship among insulin, leptin and growth hormone levels in a group of adolescents. Ninety five adolescents (31 boys and 64 girls) between 13 and 18 y. of age were studied. A medical and nutritional history was made which included body mass index (BMI) and subcutaneous skinfolds measurements. Basal levels of glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, VLDL-C, leptin, insulin and growth hormone were determined. The leptin and insulin levels were positively associated with body mass index (BMI) and obesity index (OBI). Insulin, leptin and obesity markers were negatively associated with growth hormone level. Fifty two percent of the adolescents with BMI = 21.09 kg/m2 were considered metabolically obese because they had elevated levels of insulin (18.68 +/- 1.52 vs. 10.08 +/- 0.38 microU/ml), HOMA IR (3.34 +/- 0.24 vs. 1.76 +/- 0.07), leptin (16.30 +/- 1.24 vs. 8.11 +/- 1.32 ng./dl) and triglycerides (78.56 +/- 4.38 vs. 64.39 +/- 5.48 mg/dl) and lower levels of HDL-C (39.09 +/- 1.27 vs. 43.30 +/- 2.38 mg/dl), compared with normal group. The same alterations were observed in the obese group, in which significative decrease in growth hormone level was added. We conclude that hyperinsulinemia, hyperleptinemia and low growth hormone levels, may be established as risk factors related to obesity markers, lipid alterations and insulin resistance that can lead to an early development of Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.     

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Ecuadorian adolescent students in the urban area

This is the first study to establish the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Ecuadorian adolescent students. The population studied was made up of 2.829 students, 1.461 females and 1.368 males between 12 and <19 years of age. One thousand four hundred and thirty five students were registered in 60 schools, public and private, in the six main cities of the Coastal Region; the remaining 1.394 students were registered in 60 schools, public and private, in the six main cities in the Andean Region. Height and weight were measured in all participants and the body mass index (BMI) of each individual was calculated. Overweight was diagnosed in those adolescents whose BMI was between percentiles 85 and < 95, and obesity was diagnosed in the subjects whose BMI was > 95. Results indicate that 21.2% of adolescents had excess weight: 13.7% were overweight and 7.5% had obesity. Excess weight was higher in the Coast (24.7%) than in the Andean Region (17.7%; P < 0.0001). In the same way, excess weight was higher among students attending private schools (25,3%) than in those attending public schools (18.9%; P < 0.0001). Data also indicate that excess weight was more common in women than in men, 21.5% versus 20.8%, respectively (P < 0.02). The study also indicated that 16.8% of adolescents were underweight. Taken together, these data indicate that 38% of the studied population was malnourished. It is necessary to take measures to prevent and treat these important public health problems in Ecuador.     

Dietary patterns and quality in West-African immigrants in Madrid

Background  

Eating patterns of immigrants deserve to be better documented because they may reflect the extent of acculturation and associated health risks. The study assessed dietary patterns and quality in Bubi immigrants (from Equatorial Guinea) using cluster analysis and comparing different diet quality indexes.     

Obesity in Mexican school age children is associated with out of-home food consumption: in the journey from home to school

The objective of our study was to evaluate the association between consumption of food during the journey from home to school and back, with overweight and obesity, in a nationwide representative sample of school children. We assessed consumption outside the home in 9537 children, with information on availability and consumption of selected groups of food and beverages. Height, weight, total energy consumption, and sociodemographic variables were also obtained. We developed logistic regression models, and tested interactions with sociodemographic variables. The results of our study show that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was positively associated with dairy consumption in girls (OR:1.70; p = 0.01), as well as fried snacks consumption in school children living in Mexico City (OR: 1.68; p = 0.06). Consumption of fruits and vegetables in medium and high socioeconomic levels was negatively associated with the prevalence of overweight and obesity (OR: 0.54; p = 0.01 and 0.59; p = 0.07, respectively). We concluded that children during their stay away from home have a high availability of energy dense foods, which can influence their consumption and contribute to the development of overweight and obesity, so it is important to investigate this association in prospective studies.     

Serum leptin in eutrophic and overweight Venezuelan children and adolescents

Leptin is closely related to obesity and its complications. In order to determine serum levels of this hormone in children and adolescents, and its associations to age, gender, socioeconomic status, nutritional anthropometrical status and dietary intake, 166 children and adolescents (91 normal and 75 obese, aged 2 to 15 years), from low socioeconomic status were assessed. A socioeconomic evaluation (Grafffar-Mendez C method), dietary intake (24 hour recalls), anthropometrical assessment and leptin by ELISA were performed. Normal or eutrophic was defined as weight for height (W/H) or Body mass index (BMI) and fatty area between 10th and 90th percentile. Obesity when indicators were over 90th percentile. Leptin was significantly higher in obese than in normal, without differences by gender or age. Leptin percentile distribution showed 11.53 microg/L and 24.29 microg/L as 90th percentile for normal and obese children, respectively. There was a tendency to inverse correlation among leptin, fat dietary intake and waist-thigh ratio. Excessive fat intake was associated to lower serum leptin. Results suggest that obese children had leptin resistance, independently of age and gender. It is recommended to develop nutritional education programs regarding obesity and dietary intake in order to prevent and control infantile obesity.     

Factors associated with nutritional supplement consumption in Mexican women aged 12 to 49 years

The objectives of this analysis are to identify the types of nutritional supplements (NS) commonly used and explore the associations between NS consumption and socio-demographic characteristics, nutritional status, measured as BMI, and anemia in a nationally representative sample Mexican women aged 12 to 49 years (n = 15,936) who participated in the Mexican National Nutrition Survey in 1999. Data on NS consumption and the other characteristics of interest were collected. We calculated the probability (P) of supplement consumption using logistic regression. For the statistical analysis characteristics at the individual and household level were included in the statistical models, and adjusted for the study design. Interaction effects were also explored. Multiple mixed vitamin and mineral supplements were the most commonly consumed (36.7%) followed by vitamins only (34.3%). Married women were significantly (p < 0.05) more likely (P = 0.16; p < 0.001) to consume NS compared to unmarried women, as were those with more access to public and private health care (P = 0.18; p = 0.010), with higher education level (P = 0.20; p = 0.004) and living in the South region (P = 0.20; p = 0.003). Anemia modified the association between supplement consumption and socioeconomic status (SES) (p = 0.016), non anemic women having greater probabilities of NS consumption. These results suggest that NS use among Mexican women is associated with better living conditions. On the other hand, we also found that women living in the South region, the poorest region of the country, had higher probability of NS consumption compared to the North region. This could be related to participation in food assistance programs; however we were unable to explore this potential explanation. This information will be used to further study trends, risks and health benefits in this population of the use of nutritional supplements.     

Psychological, nutritional, socioeconomic aspects and family relations of Mexican children with low school performance

Two groups of children (aged 4-6 years) living in poor urban areas of Hermosillo (Sonora) and having "low" and "adequate" school achievements, were studied with the objective of determining their psychological, social, economic and nutritional characteristics. They were evaluated by means of standardized psychological tests. Their nutritional condition was assessed by dietary anthropometric and biochemical indicators. The socioeconomic characteristics of their micro-environment were also determined including the degree of home stimulation. It was found that school performance does not depend solely from their execution in psychological tests (Intelligence Quotient and visuomotor and linguistic performance) but also from other micro-environmental factors. The children with "low"school performance were characterized by sub-optimal energy intakes, mild-to-moderate undernutrition, belonged to large families, lived under more crowded conditions, and had a low level of home stimulation. It is concluded that poor nutrition and a disadvantageous micro-environment particularly home stimulation) are important factors related to the poor school performance of the children studied.     

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in northwest Mexico by three references of body mass index: differences in classification

The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children from northwest of Mexico based on BMI/age and three criteria of growth reference standards. Six hundred and four children, 6 to 10 years of age, from 17 municipalities of the state of Sonora were measured for weight and height and age established from birth certificate school records. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was determined by the new version of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC/NCHS), the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and the values proposed by The World Health Organization (WHO) that was utilized in the National Nutrition Survey of 1999 in Mexico (ENN). Using the WHO reference, prevalence of overweight and obesity was 39%. This was higher than the CDC/NCHS (20%) and IOTF (17%) references, respectively. Prevalence of overweight and obesity by CDC/NCHS and IOTF criteria, showed the best agreement (Kappa >80); this was not the case when prevalence from CDC/NCHS and IOTF were compared to the WHO criteria (Kappa <40). For overweight and obesity frequencies, no sex or urban-rural differences were observed (p>0.05). In conclusion, the use of these 3 reference values systems using BMI/ age did not show the same prevalence estimates of overweight and obesity. The use of the WHO method can overestimate the prevalence of obesity in children, therefore the use of these 3 references should be considered for future comparisons.     

Dietary patterns in clinical subtypes of multiple sclerosis: an exploratory study

Backround  

Multiple sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disorder with a wide range in disease course severity. Many factors seem to be implicated in multiple sclerosis disease course, and diet has been suggested to play a role. Because limited data is present in the literature it was investigated whether variations in dietary intake may be related to the severity of the disease course in multiple sclerosis.     

Relation of total cholesterol in serum tocopherols, probabilistic study in Mexican children

Epidemiological studies have shown the effect of nutritional status of tocopherols and development of cardiovascular diseases that now are more frequent during early years of life. In this work we evaluated the association between the total cholesterol and serum levels of tocopherols in a population of Mexican children in whom we measured the oxidant status and antioxidant capacity (December 2003). In 1155 children (12-59 months) residents of urban and rural locations we quantified in serum alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol and total cholesterol; the antioxidant capacity and oxidative status were evaluated with the production of TBARS. Children with serum cholesterol < 170 mg/dL had an average of 472.5 +/- 179.6 microg/dL tocopherol in serum and > or = 240 mg/dL cholesterol recorded an average of 577.3 +/- 200.8 microg/dL. However, when tocopherols were expressed in relation to total cholesterol (micromol/mmol) found that children with < 170 mg/dL had the highest ratios (3.06 +/-1.19) which places them in an adequate nutritional status of tocopherol, unlike the group with > or = 240 mg/dL of cholesterol in whom the relationship was low (1.93 +/- 0.69). There were no differences in serum antioxidant capacity, but if in the production of TBARS for children with > or = 200 mg/dL cholesterol. In preschools the increases in total cholesterol limits the availability of serum tocopherol for circulating lipids, this condition over time could determine the early development of vascular injury mediated by oxidative stress.     

Blood pressure and obesity of children and adolescents association with body mass index and waist circumference

The objective of this work was to evaluate the association between the average levels of blood pressure of 706 children in Porto Alegre with their nutritional state--body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, waist circumference--and with their social-economic state. A prevalence of 12.3% (n=87) of high blood pressure was found. According to the BMI, 11% of the sample was obese. 47.7% belonged to the social class with an income less than two monthly minimum salaries. All of the correlations of the SBP (systolic blood pressure) and DBP (diastolic blood pressure) with variables in the nutritional state showed to be significant (p < 0.001). What ended up having a stronger association was the BMI and waist circumference with SBP (R = 0.27). This study made it possible to notice that the anthropometric indicator that best is related to the existence of high BP is the BMI along with the waist circumference. This seems to be an easy method that is noninvasive and of low cost to detect the risk of high BP in children and adolescents.