Anthocyanins are the largest group of water-soluble pigments in the plant kingdom, known collectively as fla- vonoids. More than 8000 flavonoids, and 500 anthocyanin structures had been reported by the year 2000 and more are continually being isolated. Anthocyanins are believed to display an array of beneficial actions on hu- man health and well-being. Due to our increasing understanding and awareness of the potential beneficial hu- man health effects, research on anthocyanins has recently intensified. During the past two decades an increasing number of studies have investigated the diverse protective effects elicited by polyphenolics present in various fruits and vegetables. These effects include antioxidant, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti- proliferative, anti-mutagenic, anti-microbial, anti-carcinogenic, protection from cardiovascular damage and al- lergy, microcirculation improvement, peripheral capillary fragility prevention, diabetes prevention, and vision improvement. Other physiological effects are continually being investigated. The aim of the present article is to summarise the known anti-diabetic and eye function properties of anthocyanins to help in our understanding of their functional mechanism.
Background: Periconceptional folic acid reduces neural tube defect (NTD) risk. Red blood cell folate concen- tration is inversely associated with NTD risk. In many countries there is a lack of information on NTD rates. Red cell folate status in women of childbearing age may be a surrogate for NTD rates and may be helpful in identify- ing countries or regions most likely to benefit from improved folate status.
Objective: To predict NTD rates using red cell folate concentrations in women of childbearing age living in three Asian cities
Design: Cross-sectional convenience samples of non-pregnant women living in Beijing (n=220), Kuala Lumpur (n=389), and Jakarta (n=129).
Results: Red cell folate concentrations were highest (p<0.001) in women from Jakarta at 872 nmol/L (95% CI; 833, 910) followed by Kuala Lumpur at 674 nmol/L (95% CI: 644, 704) and lowest in Beijing at 563 nmol/L (95% CI: 524, 601). Accordingly, predicted NTD rates were highest in Beijing at 30/10000 (95% CI: 27, 33), followed by Kuala Lumpur at 24/10000 (95% CI: 22, 25), and lowest in Jakarta at 15/10000 (95% CI: 14, 15). Conclusion: Our red blood cell folate data suggests that of the three cities improving the folate status of women in Beijing would have the greatest impact on NTD rates.
Reduction in childhood malnutrition in Vietnam between 1990 and 2004 was assessed using data from 5 national surveys. The prevalence of malnutrition, including stunting, declined significantly for underweight from 45% in 1990 to 26.6% in 2004. While the average reduction was 1.3% per year in the period from 1990 to 2000, it was 1.8% per year in the period from 2000 to 2004. The prevalence of stunting declined from 56.5% in 1990 to 30.7% in 2004, with an average reduction of 2% per year in the period from 1990 to 2000 and 1.5% per year in the period from 2000 to 2004. There were clear differences in the decrease in malnutrition prevalence between urban, rural and mountainous areas, the reduction being highest in the urban regions and lowest in the mountain- ous areas. Regression analysis showed that the nutrition status of the child is positively related to better house- hold living conditions and to the educational level of the father, but not the mother. Stunting is higher in children whose parents are farmers and higher in households with more children. Stunting prevalence is lower in house- holds with safe water access and hygienic toilets. In future , the dramatic reduction is childhood malnutrition as seen in the period 1990 to 2004 might not continue. More comprehensive apptoaches will be needed to lower childhood malnutrition in Vietnam further.
Introduction: In Thailand, according to the national nutrition survey of the Thai population who live in the cit- ies by the Ministry of Public Health, about 12% of preschool children aged 1-6 years were malnourished. The rate of malnutrition is much higher among mountain minority (‘hill tribe’) children than city children. This pa- per reports a study of malnutrition, body composition and health conditions of Karen hill tribe children aged 1-6 years in Thailand.
Methods: All children aged 1-6 years (N = 158; 83 boys, 75 girls) from the three Karen villages (Mae Hae Tai, Mae Yot, Mae Raek) of Mae Chaem district in the north of Thailand were studied. Anthropometric measure- ments of all children were obtained and body composition data were derived. All children were examined by a qualified medical doctor. A stool sample and blood smear for malaria from all children were examined by a well qualified medical technologist.
Results: All families of the study boys and girls had incomes lower than the Thailand poverty line (US $ 1,000/year). There were no significant differences in weight, height or body mass index of boys and girls from each of the three villages. Malnutrition in children were found 85.5% by using weight-for-age, 73% by height- for-age (stunting) and 48.4% by weight-for-height (wasting). Boys had more total body fat mass than girls. However, all of them had low lean body mass and fat mass. Nearly all children (98%) suffered from either up- per respiratory tract infection, skin infection, scabies and/or diarrhoea. Also, nearly all of them (97%) had scaly and dry skin over their chest walls and legs. About 10% of children had either angular stomatitis (5%) or bleed- ing per gums (3%) or bow legs (1%) or frontal bossing (1%) with their implications for micronutrient deficiency. None of the children from the three villages were infested with the malarial parasite. On average, 54% of chil- dren from Mae Hae Tai village and 85% of children from Mae Yot village but only 4% of the children from Mae Raek village were infested with parasites. Ascaris lumbricoides was the most common infestation in all children from three villages.
Conclusion: The prevalence of malnutrition was high among the Karen hill tribe children aged 1-6 years, Thai- land. Most of the children suffered from upper respiratory tract infection, skin infection, scabiasis and/or diar- rhrea. Nearly all of them had scaly and dry skin over their chest walls and legs which indicated essential fatty acid deficiencies. However, only 10% of them had vitamin deficiencies such as B2, C, and D.
This study was undertaken to determine the effect of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil supplementation on the duration and episodes of diarrhea attacks, and specifically its effect on the clinical manifestations of patients. Seventeen children aged 6 months to 47 months old with a mean age of 19.6 months, suffering from acute diar- rhea at the Pediatric Ward of the Philippine General Hospital Medical Center and other neighboring health cen- ters were studied. A double-blind randomized design was employed. Physical and clinical assessment was per- formed by a physician prior to enrolment in the study. Dietary, anthropometric, and biochemical assessment were undertaken by clinical investigators before and after the supplementation. The subjects were randomly as- signed to either the MCT oil- supplemented diet or the non-MCT oil diet. Daily monitoring of food intake and the frequency or episodes of diarrhea attacks was done. Subjects were closely monitored for any possible ad- verse reactions. The baseline characteristics of the subjects were not significantly different for any of age, height, weight, cholesterol or triglyceride concentrations between the two groups. Nutrient intakes at baseline and dur- ing intervention were also not significantly different. There were no differences in cholesterol and triglyceride between the two groups after supplementation. Stool frequencies of the MCT group and the non-MCT group at baseline, after the 6th hr, and at 12th hour, were not different. No subject developed fat malabsorption during the intervention, as assessed with Sudan Black stain. There was statistical significant difference in the rate of weight gain among subjects in the MCT group compared to subjects in the non-MCT group (0.22 ± 0.22 kg/day vs. -
.048 ± .26 kg/day, (p= .042). MCT oil may promote weight gain (although what this constitutes in body com- positional terms is uncertain) and shows a trend towards shorter duration of intervention among children with acute diarrhea. Limited sample size precludes conclusions on these possibilities. MCT oil did not cause vomit- ing, dehydration, or fat intolerance. MCT oil did not cause an elevation in cholesterol and triglyceride levels. More studies, with larger sample size, and longer duration will be worthwhile to assess the effect of MCT oil on childhood diarrhea.
A study on psychosocial care among Karo (patrilineal kinship) and Minangkabau (matrilineal kinship) house- holds who lived in Jakarta, Indonesia was aimed at investigating psychosocial care practices of mothers and the relation of psychosocial care to the nutritional status of children aged 6-36 months as indicated by Weight-for- Age (WFA), Weight-for-Height (WFH), and Height-for-Age (HFA) Z-scores. The study was a cross sectional study. The tool used to assess the psychosocial care was the Home Observation for Measurement of the Envi- ronment (HOME) inventory scale for infants and toddlers. Psychosocial care of 52 respondents from Karo and 87 from Minangkabau were generally good. Out of the total 45 items of the six sub-scales HOME inventory, 1 item in sub-scale I (Emotional and verbal responsiveness), 4 items in sub-scale II (Acceptance of child’s behav- ior), 1 item in sub-scale IV (Provision of play materials), 1 item in sub-scale V (Parental involvement with child), and 3 items in sub-scale VI (Opportunities for variety in daily stimulation) were statistically different between the two ethnic groups. More Minangkabau children were underweight and wasting compared to Karo children. Within the Karo group, well-nourished children in terms of WFA and WHA tended to have greater total HOME scores than their underweight and wasting counterparts. Among Minangkabau group, well-nourished children in terms of WFA, WHA, and HFA tended to have greater total HOME scores than their underweight, wasting, and stunting counterparts. The total HOME score of well-nourished Karo children in terms of WFA, WFH and HFA were greater than that of well-nourished Minangkabau children.
Zinc supplementation has been shown to benefit linear growth. However the effect may depend on whether zinc is the most limiting nutrient. This study aims to investigate the effect of supplementation with zinc-given alone or with iron and vitamin-A in improving infants’ micronutrient status and linear growth. The study was a dou- ble-blind-community-intervention study involving 800 infants aged 3-6months in rural East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. Syrup consisting of zinc-alone, Zn (10 mg/d), zinc+iron, Zn+Fe (10 mg/d of each), zinc+iron+vitamin-A, Zn+Fe+vit.A (10 mg/d of each zinc and iron plus 1,000 IU vitamin-A), or placebo were given daily for six months. Outcomes measured were length, weight, and micronutrient status (haemoglobin, se- rum zinc, ferritin and retinol). Zn+Fe and Zn+Fe+vit.A supplementations benefit zinc and iron status of the sub- jects, while Zn-alone supplementation disadvantaged haemoglobin and iron status. The highest increment in vi- tamin A and haemoglobin status was shown in Zn+Fe+vit.A group. An effect on linear growth was observed among initially-stunted subjects in Zn+Fe and Zn+Fe+vit.A groups who grew 1.1-1.5cm longer than placebo. On the other hand, in the Zn-alone group, mean height-for-age Z-score decreased to a greater extent than placebo. The between-group difference in HAZ among initially-stunted subjects was significant after four months sup- plementation. While the difference was not significant in follow-up after 6 months, the pattern remained the same where means height-for-age Z-score in Zn+Fe+vit.A and Zn+Fe groups were higher than placebo and Zn-alone groups. Given the low haemoglobin/iron status of the subjects, zinc supplementation would have positive effect on growth if the low haemoglobin/iron status is also addressed and corrected.
Objectives: To determine anaemia prevalence and related factors in pregnant women (PW), post partum women (PPW) and non pregnant women (NPW) in a remote mountainous district.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2001. All PW, all PPW within 6 months of delivery and a random number of NPW equivalents to the number of PW in each commune were selected. Hemoglobin (Hb) was measured using Hemocue method. Mild anaemia was defined as Hb=7g/dL-11g/dL in PW, and 8g/dL- 12g/dL in NPW and PPW. Severe anaemia was defined as Hb<7g/dL in PW, and<8g/dL in NPW and PPW. Pregnancy status was determined using urine pregnancy test and calculation of expected menstruum.
Results: There were 901 women surveyed: 281 PW, 348 PPW and 272 NPW. More than half (58%) were anae- mic: 54% mild and 4% severe. Mean Hb was 11.1g/dL. More PPW had anaemia (62%; OR=1.4; 95%CI=1.1-2.1 compared to NPW) than NPW (54%) and PW (53%). Other related factors were being BoY, Ede and Koho eth- nics (OR=2.7; 95%CI=1.4-5.0 compared to Kinh ethnic), having primary education or lower (OR=1.5; 95%CI=1.1-2.1 compared to secondary education or higher). Among PW, being pregnant during the third tri- mester increased anaemia (OR=2.2; 95%CI=1.3-3.8 compared to being pregnant during the second trimester). Among PPW, women aged 30 or older were more anaemic (OR=1.7, 95%CI=1.1-2.9 compared to women aged 20-29).
Conclusion: Anaemia prevalence was very high. Interventions should be focused on PPW, PW during the last trimester, minority ethnic women, low-educated and older women.
Objective: To document ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ duration and factors associated with duration in Xinjiang, PR China.
Methods: A cohort of 1219 mothers in Xinjiang, PR China was recruited to study their infant feeding practices. The mothers who delivered babies during 2003 and 2004 were contacted in hospital and again at 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 6 months postpartum, or until they ceased to breastfeed. Interviews were conducted using a struc- tured questionnaire. Survival analysis was used to calculate the mean of ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ and explore factors affecting ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ duration.
Results: The average ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ duration in Xinjiang was 1.8 months. Factors negatively associ- ated with ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ duration were mother’s going to work and using pacifier. Factors positively associated with ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ duration were ‘whether the maternal mother breastfed her children’ and deciding ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ before delivery.
Conclusions: ‘Exclusive breastfeeding’ duration in Xinjiang, PR China was short. The study identified some factors associated with ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ duration. The results suggested an education program aimed to correct traditional inappropriate breastfeeding perceptions and promote ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ in Xinjiang.
Objective: To document dietary intakes and food sources of fatty acids among older Australians.
Design: Population-based survivor cohort.
Setting: Two postcode areas in the Blue Mountains, West of Sydney, Australia.
Subjects: In 1997-9, 2334 people aged 55 years and over, participated in a 5-year follow-up of the cohort attend- ing the Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES). Dietary data were collected using a semi-quantitative food fre- quency questionnaire by 2005 persons (86% of those examined). Types of fats were classified as saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated (PUFA) and trans unsaturated fatty acids.
Results: Mean total fat intake contributed 31.3% of daily energy intake (12.2% SFA, 11.2% MUFA, 5.0% PUFA). Mean omega 3 (n-3) PUFA intake comprised 0.5% of energy intake (long chain n-3 PUFA provided mean intake of 260mg, consisting of eicosapentaenoic (EPA), docosapentaenoic (DPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) fatty acids) and the n-6: n-3 PUFA ratio was 9:1. The main fatty acids contributing to the diet were palmitic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid. Meat products were the highest contributors to total fat and MUFA in- takes; milk products were the highest contributor to SFA intakes; and fat spreads and oils, and breads and cereals were the main food groups contributing to PUFA intakes. Fish was the main source of long chain n-3 fatty acids. Conclusions: This population-based descriptive study documents fatty acid intakes in a population of older Aus- tralians. It will serve as a basis for investigations of associations between dietary fatty acid intakes and a number of eye diseases.
Background: There is increasing evidence that there are protective health effects from diets which are high in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, and which include fish, nuts, and low-fat dairy products. We sought to investigate the association of Mediterranean diet on clinical status of 150 elderly men and women. Methods: During 2004 - 2005, we studied 53 men and 97 women, aged 65 to 100 years, from various areas of Cyprus. A diet score that assesses the inherent characteristics of the Mediterranean diet was developed for each individual (range 0-55). Adoption of the Mediterranean diet was evaluated against the presence of cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and obesity.
Results: 26% of men and 18% of women had diabetes, 60% of men and 58% of women had hypertension, 60% of men and 68% of women had hypercholesterolemia, and 34% of men and 52% of women were obese. More than 90% of the participants reported consistency in their dietary habits for at least the past 3-4 decades. A sig- nificant inverse correlation was observed between diet score and the number of the investigated risk factors (rho = -0.26, p < 0.001). When we took into account age, sex, smoking habits, and physical activity status, we ob- served that a 10-unit increase in the diet score was associated with 21% lower odds of having one additional risk factor in women (p < 0.001) and with 14% lower odds in men (p = 0.05).
Conclusion: Adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced odds of having hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes and obesity among elderly people.
Fructose malabsorption has not been well-defined in Thai populations but there has been increasing consump- tion of fructose-fortified drinks
Objectives: To assess the incidence of fructose malabsorption and intolerance in Thai normal subjects as well as the facilitating effect of glucose on fructose absorption.
Methods: Twenty-five gram of fructose was ingested by 77 subjects (37 men, 40 women; mean age 26 and 31 y, range 20-50 y and 21-50 y for men and women, respectively). Measurement of breath-H2 levels after fructose ingestion in each subject up to 2 h was performed. Those who showed fructose malabsorption were later given 25 g of each glucose and fructose and second tests of breath-H2 tests were done.
Results: Fructose malabsorption was found in eleven females with a significant rise in average breath-H2 level at 30, 60, 90, and 120 min (p < 0.001), whereas none of the males had an abnormal breath-H2 test. Only 1 of the 11 females with increased breath H2 had gastrointestinal symptoms. In all the fructose malabsorbers, excess breath- H2 reverted to normal when the fructose solution was mixed and administered with 25 g glucose (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The incidence rate of fructose malabsorption was 11 of 77 subjects but these were female. One of the 11 had gastrointestinal symptoms. It was found that an equal amount of glucose would abolish fructose malabsorption.
The aim of the study was to assess the association of socioeconomic, anthropometric and lifestyle factors with self-reported hypertension in older adults in Taiwan. The data were part of the “1999 Survey of Health and Liv- ing Status of the Elderly in Taiwan”. The survey was conducted in-home, face-to-face, by interviews of 4440 men and women, 53 years or older, in a population-based cross-sectional study. The prevalence of self-reported hypertension was 31.1% for men and 38.0% for women. A logistic regression model showed a higher probability of self-reported hypertension for female gender, older age, and greater BMI, and lower probability for increased consumption of leguminous foods. No association was observed with cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption or physical activity. Current cigarette smokers and alcohol-drinkers underreported their hypertension status. Com- pared to the medically measured hypertension of a sub-sample study of the same cohort, only about 60% of medically-substantiated hypertensive patients self-reported their hypertensive status, indicating that the interview survey underestimated the prevalence of hypertension in this Taiwanese elderly population. The interview sur- vey appears to identify associations of hypertension with age, gender, BMI and some food patterns, but does not recognize the likely associations with the candidate risk factors of physical inactivity, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and limited education, at least in this Taiwanese population. Thus caution must be applied where interview alone categorises individual older Taiwanese as hypertensive or not. A survey which has validation or cross-checking questions about the medical diagnosis of hypertension and the likelihood of its memory and ap- preciation by the patient (such as method, definition, communication with patient, recall and follow-up, lifestyle advice or pharmaco-therapy, presence of cognitive impairment) may clarify the significance of the discrepancy between self-reporting and medical record. In turn, this would allow a more robust evaluation of blood pressure determinants in such populations. Nevertheless, there is a role for community-based surveys that utilise self- reporting in the identification, prioritization and surveillance of putative contributors to hypertension; this is the case where, as in the Taiwanese elderly, it assumes major importance in the burden of disease and premature mortality.
A multidimensional assessment of nutritional and health status comprised of subjective global assessment (SGA), anthropometry function, biochemistry, dietary intake, social and health aspects was carried out on 820 older people (52.8% men and 47.2% women) from four rural areas of Peninsular Malaysia. A proportion of the sub- jects had been classified as either overweight (25.7%) or chronic energy deficient (20.3%). Although 49% of subjects had normal body weight, 68.4% have been classified as having mild to moderate malnutrition according to the SGA. Only 1.1% and 2.3% had low serum albumin and ferritin, respectively. Almost 80% of subjects, es- pecially men, were at high risk of cardiovascular diseases on the basis of the assessment of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol. The majority of the subjects (87.2%) were fully independent in performing daily tasks, with men having a significantly higher score compared to women (p<0.001). However, men were less likely to be able to perform a flexibility test (50.7%) than were women (27.0%) (p<0.05). The mean energy intake for men (1412 ± 461 kcal/d) and women (1201 ± 392 kcal/d) were below the Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) for Malaysia, although this is a difficult assertion to make in an age-group which generally experiences declining energy expenditure. Moreover, 52.5% of men and 47.5% of women might have underreported their food intake. Dietary micronutrients most likely to be deficient were thiamin, riboflavin and calcium. It is concluded that a substantial proportion of rural elderly Malays had problems related to both undernutrition and overnutrition. An appropriate nutrition intervention program is needed to improve the nutritional status of rural elderly Malays.
Purpose: Most of the studies investigating prevalence and correlates of physical activity have been conducted in Western countries. To date, there are no internationally published data with nationally representative samples on physical activity prevalence among Taiwanese adolescents and little is known about the relevant factors associ- ated with activity and inactivity. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of physical activity in Taiwanese adolescents and to identify associated socio-demographic and behavioral variables.
Methods: Data were extracted from the 2001 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan. The sample was 2235 adolescents (1157 boys and 1078 girls) aged 12-18 years. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations of demographic and behavioral variables with physical activ- ity.
Results: Although 80% of adolescents reported engaging in some physical activity, only 28.4% of the sample met recommended guidelines. Boys and urban adolescents were more active than girls and rural adolescents; and the prevalence of physical activity declined with age. Mean sedentary time was 9.5 hours each day. Though the proportions of non-students, regular smokers or drinkers were small, around half of them were physically inac- tive.
Conclusions: The percentage of Taiwanese adolescents meeting recommended amounts of physical activity for health is low, particularly, girls in the 15-18-age range being the least active. Associated factors with physical activity include both demographic and health behavior variables (e.g. age, gender, smoking). These data provide a baseline for future comparisons and preliminary identification of groups at higher risk of low physical activity in Taiwan.
Background: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among a number of Asian populations as defined by several current criteria has been increasing rapidly and appears to resemble that among Western populations. Methods: We review 25 surveys of the metabolic syndrome in Asian populations (PR China, Hong Kong, Tai- wan, Japan, Philippines, Singapore) that report adequate information published during the last 5 years.
Results: Using Asian-adapted definitions of obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) and increased waist circumference (for male ≥ 90 cm; for female ≥ 80 cm) prevalence appears to be between 10 to 30%. Those with the syndrome are more likely to have a history of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The risk of developing Type 2 diabetes is 10 times higher among middle-aged Japanese men with the metabolic syndrome compared to healthy subjects. In Chinese and Japanese populations, people who have the metabolic syndrome are 3 to 10 times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease. Variance in prevalence estimates of the metabolic syndrome even within the same country result from differences in sampling and possibly from definitions.
Conclusions: The outstanding conclusion from recent surveys across the Asian-Pacific region is that of a con- sistent increase in the prevalence of the metabolic derangements associated with abdominal adiposity that lead to high risk of morbidity and mortality.
The food security assessment used by the United State’s Food Security/Hunger Survey Module (US- FSSM) was used in five studies: these were in two urban and four rural areas in Indonesia between February 2004- August 2005. The number of households assessed was 3,704 and consisted of 45% urban and 55% rural. All households had children below five years. This paper aims to assess the applicability of US-FSSM for measur- ing household food-insecurity in Indonesia. Common coping-strategies discussed are to borrow money from the family, get an additional job, to lessen portion size of food, and to sell small assets. Although households in ur- ban and rural areas were similar in size/number of children and male headed; the urban households were more income-secure, educated, and had better access to electrical appliances. A majority of the households was food-insecure (77% and 84% in urban and rural consecutively). More food-insecure households without and with hunger were found in rural areas. The number of affirmative responses to 17 out of 18 questions in the US- FSSM was more in the rural households, showing less fortunate cases of food-insecurity. For a given coping strategy, as food-security status becomes more severe, the higher the percentage of households employing it. For a given food-security status, percentage of households was higher among lower-degree and less among higher-degree coping. Combining food-security and coping-strategy indicators may help to identify transient- food-secure households. Observing both indicators throughout different time of the year continuously may fur- ther identify adaptive mechanism by chronic-food-insecure households. Information on household food diver- sity could enrich findings on dietary intake modification, hence moving from food-security to nutrition-security.
Conflicting arguments and partial truths on genetically modified (GM) foods have left confusion. Although studies of consumer acceptance of GM foods are numerous, the study of scientists is limited. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the attitudes of scientists towards GM foods. The study was a cross sectional study. A total of 400 scientists (involved in at least one of teaching, research and consultancy) in the Bogor Agricultural Institute, Indonesia were selected randomly from its faculties of agriculture, veterinary, fishery, animal husbandry, forestry, agricultural technology, mathematics and science, and the post graduate department. Data collection was done by face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire and self- administered questionnaire. The result showed that the majority (72.8%) of the respondents were favorably disposed towards GM foods, 14.8% were neutral, and only 12.5% were against them. The majority (78.3%) stated that they would try GM food if offered. Most (71%) reported that they were aware of the term “GM foods”. Only half of the respondents felt that they had a basic understanding about GM foods. However, based on a knowledge test, 69.8% had a good knowledge score. Nearly 50% indicated that they were more exposed to news which supported GM foods. Over 90% said that there should be some form of labeling to distinguish food containing GM ingredients from non-GM foods. Attitudes were significantly associated with willingness to try GM foods if offered, restrictions on GM foods, and exposure to media reports about the pros and cons of GM foods.
Purpose: To determine the relationship between preoperative serum albumin and postoperative bowel function as well as surgical outcomes in right-sided colon cancer patients.
Methods: This retrospective study in a university hospital included 84 patients who underwent elective right hemicolectomy for adenocarcinoma of the right-sided colon between January 2004 and December 2005. The pa- tients had a preoperative serum albumin assessment. Serum albumin less than 3.5 g/dL was regarded as hypoal- buminemia. Postoperative outcomes were classified into mortality, morbidity (infectious and noninfectious com- plications), time to first bowel movement, time to resume normal diet, and hospital stay.
Results: Forty males (48%) and forty-four females (52%) with a mean age of 64 (range, 27-89) years were in- cluded. Forty-eight patients (57%) had hypoalbuminemia. No 30-day postoperative mortality occurred. All 14 postoperative complications occurred in hypoalbuminemic cases. Therefore, 29% of the hypoalbuminemics had complications whereas none occurred in nonhypoalbuminemics (p=0.001). In univariate analysis, hypoalbu- minemia and postoperative complications were the risk factors for delayed postoperative recovery of bowel func- tion and prolonged length of hospital stay. In multivariate analysis, hypoalbuminemia was the significant risk fac- tor for postoperative complications (p<0.001) and delayed time to first bowel movement (p=0.018) whereas post- operative complications were the significant risk factor for delayed time to resume normal diet (p<0.001) and prolonged hospital stay (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Hypoalbuminemia is a potential predictor of delayed recovery of bowel function postoperatively and significantly associated with postoperative complications in right-sided colon cancer patients undergone right hemicolectomy.
Although several studies have dealt with the patterns of cytokine production in tuberculosis, little is known about the association between nutrient deficiencies and cytokines in tuberculosis. The objective of this study was to assess the concentration of cytokines related to nutritional status during tuberculosis. In 41 untreated tuberculosis patients and matched healthy controls in an urban hospital in Indonesia, we measured: height and weight, parameters of iron, vitamin A and zinc; and cytokines concentrations in the circulation and production in whole blood cultures. Plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) were sig- nificantly higher in patients than in controls. Patients with cavities (n=26) had higher concentrations of IL-6 than patients without cavities (n=15). Body mass index <18.5 kg/m2 was associated with high concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6. Anaemia was associated with high concentrations of IL-6 and IL-1ra. Zinc deficiency was associated with high LPS-stimulated production of TNF-α and IL-1ra. Marginal plasma retinol concentrations were associated with high concentrations of IL-6 after LPS stimulation. In con- clusion, low concentrations of micronutrients in tuberculosis were associated with increased cytokine produc- tion. An intervention study would allow causality to be examined.
The purpose of this study is to understand nutrition knowledge, attitude, and behavior in Taiwanese elementary school children, and the relationship of these various components. The results indicated that children’s knowledge was fair in nutrition basics, but poor in ‘the physiological function of nutrients’, ‘relationships between diet/nutrients and disease’, and ‘the daily serving requirement for different food groups’. Children in general val- ued the importance of nutrition, but they did not concern the health benefit of foods in food selections. Their die- tary quality was not satisfactory, and the diet of most children did not meet the recommended serving require- ments for milk, vegetable, fruit, and cereals and grains groups. Positive relationships were found among nutrition knowledge, attitude, caring- about-nutrition behavior and dietary quality score. The restraint or disinhibited eating behavior of 4th to 6th graders was not serious, but a large number of children already performed some self- controlling practices to avoid obesity, but not frequently. One fourth of the students skipped meals, especially breakfast, and one quarter of 4th to 6th graders prepared their own breakfast; which may have some impact on children’s diet quality. A gap was found between nutrition knowledge, attitude and eating behavior, especially vegetable and fruit consumption, indicating that the attitude toward eating for health was not strong in this age group. Future nutrition education for school children should not only include food serving requirements of food groups, but also apply appropriate theories to improve the motivation for healthy eating.
Individual cooked foods (104) and composite meals (92) were examined for agreement between nutritive value estimated by indirect analysis (E) (Indian National database of nutrient composition of raw foods, adjusted for observed moisture contents of cooked recipes), and by chemical analysis in our laboratory (M). The extent of er- ror incurred in using food table values with moisture correction for estimating macro as well as micronutrients at food level and daily intake level was quantified. Food samples were analyzed for contents of iron, zinc, copper, β-carotene, riboflavin, thiamine, ascorbic acid, folic acid and also for macronutrients, phytate and dietary fiber. Mean percent difference in energy content between E and M was 3.07±0.6%, that for protein was 5.3±2.0%, for fat was 2.6±1.8% and for carbohydrates was 5.1±0.9%. Mean percent difference in vitamin contents between E and M ranged from 32 (vitamin C) to 45.5% (β-carotene content); and that for minerals between 5.6 (copper) to 19.8% (zinc). Percent E/M were computed for daily nutrient intakes of 264 apparently healthy adults. These were observed to be 108, 112, 127 and 97 for energy, protein, fat and carbohydrates respectively. Percent E/M for their intakes of copper (102) and β-carotene (114) were closer to 100 but these were very high in the case of zinc (186), iron (202), and vitamins C (170), thiamine (190), riboflavin (181) and folic acid (165). Estimates based on food composition table values with moisture correction show macronutrients for cooked foods to be within ± 5% whereas at daily intake levels the error increased up to 27%. The lack of good agreement in the case of several micronutrients indicated that the use of Indian food tables for micronutrient intakes would be inappropriate.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the snack intake and snack availability of ele- mentary school children. Data analyzed were from 722 4th to 6th graders’ food availability and food intake ques- tionnaires collected in the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan Elementary School Children 2001-2002. The snacks commonly eaten were divided into two groups. Healthy snacks included dairy products, 100% fruit juice and fresh fruits. Unhealthy snacks included high fat/sugar snacks, cookies, candy, carbonated/sugared beverages and fast food. Structural equating modeling was used to test the models that describe the availability and intake of two snack groups. Results indicated that parents’ intake and children’s preference were major predictors of chil- dren intake of both healthy and unhealthy snacks. Other than that, the intake of unhealthy snacks was positively associated with “purchase by children themselves” but not the intake of healthy snacks, which was influenced predominantly by “present in home”. The results support the perception that a positive family food environment is important for improving children’s diet quality. To build a healthy family food environment, parents have to not only provide healthy snacks but also limit the unhealthy snacks in home. In addition to that, the role modeling of parents as eating healthy snacks instead of unhealthy snacks themselves may help children to develop similar behaviors.
Objectives: To examine the association between overweight, central obesity and cigarette smoking (total amount of cigarettes smoked [TACS] and status).
Design: Population-based cross-sectional study.
Setting: Administrative villages and neighborhoods (n=45) randomly selected from three urban districts and two rural counties in Nanjing City, China.
Subjects and methods: A representative sample (n=13,463) of permanent local male residents aged 35 years or older; 66.5% were urban residents. The response rate was 90.1%. Overweight (BMI>=24) and central obesity (waist circumference>=85 in men) were defined according to the new Chinese standard. The association be- tween smoking (amount and status) and obesity was examined using logistic and linear regression analysis. Results: The overall prevalence of overweight was 36.1% (29.7% with 24<=BMI<28 and 6.4% with BMI>=28). After adjusted for age, residence, education, occupation, family income, alcohol drinking, dietary intake, occu- pational and leisure-time physical activity, the prevalence was significantly lower among current smokers (33.0%) than in non-smokers (39.9%) and ex-smokers (39.2%), respectively (p<0.05). The amount of cigarette smoked was reversely associated with BMI (compared to non-smokers, ORs and 95%CIs for smokers with low-, medium- and high-TACS were 0.88 [0.79, 0.98], 0.77 [0.69, 0.86], and 0.77 [0.69, 0.86], respectively). The prevalence of central obesity was 35.9%. Compared to nonsmokers, only male ex-smokers were at increased risk of central obesity (OR=1.38, 95%CI=1.10, 1.74), while there was no significant association with cur- rent-smokers (OR=1.02 [0.92, 1.12]). The amount of cigarette smoked was not significantly associated with cen- tral obesity.
Conclusions: Cigarette smoking was negatively associated with body weight indicated by BMI but not with central obesity indexed by waist circumference in Chinese men. Cessation of smoking may increase the risk of gaining overall body weight and developing central obesity. Cigarette smoking prevention and cessation should be a public health priority in China.
Overweight and obesity are increasing problems in many countries and are related to multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Although imaging techniques can determine total body fat and its distribution reliably, anthro- pometric measurements remain important in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between some anthropometric measurements and dyslipidemia as an important cardiovascular risk factor in Iranian population. A total of 750 subjects (580 females and 170 males) were selected by multistage random sampling from residents of Arak (Iran) and related villages in 2005. None of them had any significant past medical history. Body mass index(BMI), waist circumference(WC), and waist to height ratio(W/Ht) of subjects were measured to identify their relationship with their lipid profile including total cholesterol(TC), triglyceride(TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), and the ratio of total cholesterol to high density lipoprotein cholesterol(TC/HDL-C). Fasting blood sugar (FBS) was also measured. WC and W/Ht showed greater correlation with TC, TG, LDL-C, TC/HDL-C level than did BMI. Among lipid profile, TG showed the closest correlation with W/Ht (r=0.309, p<0.001) and WC (r=0.308, p<0.001). HDL-C level did not show any statistical relationship with W/Ht, but it was weakly cor- related with WC (r=-0.088, p<0.05). None of the indices showed any association with FBS level. It can be concluded that W/Ht and WC can best predict dyslipidemia in an Iranian adult population. We suggest using both W/Ht and WC as inexpensive and easy methods in clinical and epidemiological fields.
This study investigated the relationships between measures of fatness and blood insulin and lipids in Taiwanese females living in Taiwan (n=97) or Australia (n=100), and examined the effect of length of residence in Austra- lia on these relationships. Fasting glucose and lipids were determined by Reflotron and fasting insulin using Mi- croparticle Enzyme Immunoassay; insulin resistance (IR) was identified by HOMA. There were no significant inter-country differences in crude plasma insulin or HOMA-IR between Taiwan and Australia (51.7±42.2 vs. 45.0±29.0 pmol/L and 1.43±1.21 vs. 1.29±1.00, respectively, all p> 0.05), but when insulin and HOMA-IR were adjusted for waist circumference, they were greater in Taiwan (45.7±1.6 vs. 38.0±1.6 pmol/L and 1.26±1.59 vs. 1.13±1.59, respectively, all p< 0.05). Subjects living in Australia greater than 5 years had higher insulin and HOMA-IR values than those with less than 5 years residence (50.0±32.3 vs. 32.4±10.5 pmol/L and 1.45±1.00 vs. 0.90±0.28, respectively, all p< 0.01), even after adjustment for all measures of fatness. Subjects in Australia > 5 years have 6 (CI, 1.3-27.9) times the risk of having insulin > 50 pmol/L; the increased risk being confined to generally and/or centrally obese women. Measures of central obesity and general obesity were positively associ- ated with HOMA-IR in both countries (r = 0.23, p< 0.05 and 0.27 p< 0.01, Taiwan, 0.43 and 0.43, both p< 0.01, Australia). Taiwanese females living in Australia initially appear to have a more favorable state of IR than those in Taiwan, but insulin resistance is associated with length of residence in Australia, particularly among the obese.
Serum CRP concentrations are elevated in subjects at risk of coronary events and in subjects with metabolic syndrome. Although dietary fat and antioxidants are known for their immune-modulating actions, their reported effects on CRP concentrations have been inconsistent. In the present study we have investigated whether dietary constituents are associated with serum CRP concentrations in healthy subjects and patients with dyslipidaemic. Dyslipidaemic subjects (n=238) were recruited from Hospital Outpatient Clinics in Guilford, UK. Apparently healthy subjects (n=188) were recruited from amongst adjacent University and Hospital employees. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate dietary intake. Dyslipidaemic patients had higher serum CRP [1.25 (0.42-3.26) mg/L] than control subjects 0.50 (0.17-1.42) mg/L. In the dyslipidaemic patients, approximately 4% of the variation in serum CRP could be explained by dietary cholesterol intake (p = 0.015, 2.8%), and weakly by dietary vitamin C intake (p = 0.06, 1.2%). No relationship between dietary constituents and serum CRP concentrations was found among the healthy subjects. Hence the present study shows that se- rum CRP concentrations are increased in patients with classical coronary risk factors, and that they may be modulated by dietary cholesterol.