Dietary Diversity Practice and Associated Factors Among Infants and Young Children in Haramaya Town, Ethiopia

Optimum child feeding is crucial for growth, development, and better health in later life. Dietary diversity is a critical part of the feeding practices. However, there is limited evidence on dietary diversity practice in low-income countries, like Ethiopia. This study assessed dietary diversity practice and associated factors among mothers of infants and young children aged 6-23 months in Haramaya Town, Eastern Ethiopia. Community based cross-sectional study design was used and study participants were selected by simple random sampling. Data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire by face-to-face interview. The collected data were entered to EpiData version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 22.0 for analysis. Characteristics of the study participants were described by using frequencies, percentages, summary measures, and tables. Bi-variable and multi-variable analyses were used to identify the associated factors. Statistical significance was declared at p-value < 0.05. The study included 635 participants yielding to a response rate of 98.1%. The prevalence of dietary diversity practice was 25.2%. Mothers learned up to secondary level or above [(AOR=2.97, 95% CI: (1.26, 6.99)], mothers who had job [(AOR=3.21, 95% CI: (1.41, 7.29)], older children [(AOR=2.51, 95% CI: (1.45, 4.34)], male children [(AOR= 2.08, 95% CI: (1.29, 3.33)], healthy children [(AOR=2.65, 95% CI: 1.36, 5.16)] and richest households [(AOR=4.45, 95% CI: 1.94, 10.22)] were associated with dietary diversity practice. Generally, the dietary diversity practice was low. Therefore, attention should be given to mothers with no formal education and efforts should be done to improve the socioeconomic status of the households

Correlation of calcium and magnesium intakes to frequency of muscle cramps in female college athletes

Muscle cramps are involuntary, painful, sudden contractions of skeletal muscles that can cause detrimental effects on athletic performance. Recent data suggest that low intakes of dietary calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) can enhance or cause muscle cramps. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between Ca and Mg intakes and muscle cramping in female college athletes. Athletes completed a 24-hour dietary recall and a survey on frequency and location of muscle cramps. Of those surveyed, 8 participated in basketball, 21 in softball, and 10 in gymnastics. Calcium and Mg intakes were calculated from dietary recall data using Food Processor® nutrient analysis software. Data are reported as means ± standard deviation (SD). T-tests were performed to determine significant differences between groups. The average daily intakes of Ca above and below the dietary reference intake (DRI) were 1516 ± 559 mg/day and 504 ± 296 mg/day, respectively, for the athletes that cramped and 1620 ± 299 mg/day and 645 ± 250 mg/day, respectively, for the athletes that did not experience cramping. The average daily intakes above and below the DRI for Mg in the cramping group were 423 ± 103 mg/day and 180 ± 65 mg/day, respectively. The average daily intakes for those consuming Mg above and below the DRI in the non-cramping group were 476 ± 80 mg/day and 190 ± 64 mg/day, respectively. No significant differences in the intakes of Ca and Mg were found between groups that cramped and those that did not report cramping. The results of this study suggest that a high intake of Ca coupled with a low intake of Mg is positively correlated to muscle cramping

Lifestyle Profile of Elderly Living with Non-communicable Disease in Bangkok and Surabaya

Lifestyle is one of the underlying risk factor of non-communicable disease (NCD). Dietary habit and exercise pattern are two indicators of lifestyle. Elderly are prone to NCD due to increased age which being independent risk factor. This study aimed to analyze and compare the lifestyle profile of elderly living with NCD between Bangkok and Surabaya, in term of dietary habit and exercise pattern, and to determine the best predictor of sedentary lifestyle among this population. This cross-sectional study involved 100 and 96 elderly with HT and/or DM in communities of Bangkok and Surabaya respectively (n=196). Self-developed instrument was used in data collection (r=0.178–0.715, Chronbach Alpha=0.644). Mann-Whitney U and regression tests were used in data analysis (α<0.05). There was a significant difference of lifestyle in elderly living with NCD between Bangkok and Surabaya (p=0.008), especially in term of eat variety food (p=0.002), oily food (p=0.015), and curry with coconut milk (p=0.026). Eat vegetable and fruit could not predict dietary habit in elderly living with NCD (p=0.064). Eat fermented food was came up as the best predictor of lifestyle (p=0.000). It was accounted for 52.1% variance in lifestyle score in this population

Within-guild dietary discrimination from 3-D textural analysis of tooth microwear in insectivorous mammals

Resource exploitation and competition for food are important selective pressures in animal evolution. A number of recent investigations have focused on linkages between diversification, trophic morphology and diet in bats, partly because their roosting habits mean that for many bat species diet can be quantified relatively easily through faecal analysis. Dietary analysis in mammals is otherwise invasive, complicated, time consuming and expensive. Here we present evidence from insectivorous bats that analysis of three-dimensional (3-D) textures of tooth microwear using International Organization for Standardization (ISO) roughness parameters derived from sub-micron surface data provides an additional, powerful tool for investigation of trophic resource exploitation in mammals. Our approach, like scale-sensitive fractal analysis, offers considerable advantages over twodimensional (2-D) methods of microwear analysis, including improvements in robustness, repeatability and comparability of studies. Our results constitute the first analysis of microwear textures in carnivorous mammals based on ISO roughness parameters. They demonstrate that the method is capable of dietary discrimination, even between cryptic species with subtly different diets within trophic guilds, and even when sample sizes are small. We find significant differences in microwear textures between insectivore species whose diet contains different proportions of ‘hard’ prey (such as beetles) and ‘soft’ prey (such as moths), and multivariate analyses are able to distinguish between species with different diets based solely on their tooth microwear textures. Our results show that, compared with previous 2-D analyses of microwear in bats, ISO roughness parameters provide a much more sophisticated characterization of the nature of microwear surfaces and can yield more robust and subtle dietary discrimination. ISO-based textural analysis of tooth microwear thus has a useful role to play, complementing existing approaches, in trophic analysis of mammals, both extant and extinct

Usual energy and macronutrient intakes in 2-9-year-old European children

OBJECTIVE: Valid estimates of population intakes are essential for monitoring trends as well as for nutritional interventions, but such data are rare in young children. In particular, the problem of misreporting in dietary data is usually not accounted for. Therefore, this study aims to provide accurate estimates of intake distributions in European children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional setting-based multi-centre study. SUBJECTS: A total of 9560 children aged 2-9 years from eight European countries with at least one 24-h dietary recall (24-HDR). METHODS: The 24-HDRs were classified in three reporting groups based on age- and sex-specific Goldberg cutoffs (underreports, plausible reports, overreports). Only plausible reports were considered in the final analysis (N=8611 children). The National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Method was applied to estimate population distributions of usual intakes correcting for the variance inflation in short-term dietary data. RESULTS: The prevalence of underreporting (9.5%) was higher compared with overreporting (3.4%). Exclusion of misreports resulted in a shift of the energy and absolute macronutrient intake distributions to the right, and further led to the exclusion of extreme values, that is, mean values and lower percentiles increased, whereas upper percentiles decreased. The distributions of relative macronutrient intakes (% energy intake from fat/carbohydrates/proteins) remained almost unchanged when excluding misreports. Application of the NCI-Method resulted in markedly narrower intake distributions compared with estimates based on single 24-HDRs. Mean percentages of usual energy intake from fat, carbohydrates and proteins were 32.2, 52.1 and 15.7%, respectively, suggesting the majority of European children are complying with common macronutrient intake recommendations. In contrast, total water intake (mean: 1216.7 ml per day) lay below the recommended value for >90% of the children. CONCLUSION: This study provides recent estimates of intake distributions of European children correcting for misreporting as well as for the daily variation in dietary data. These data may help to assess the adequacy of young children's diets in Europe

Impact of dietary manganese on intestinal barrier and inflammatory response in broilers challenged with Salmonella Typhimurium

Growing concern for public health and food safety has prompted a special interest in developing nutritional strategies for removing waterborne and foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella. Strong links between manganese (Mn) and intestinal barrier or immune function hint that dietary Mn supplementation is likely to be a promising approach to limit the loads of pathogens in broilers. Here, we provide evidence that Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium, 4 × 108 CFUs) challenge-induced intestinal injury along with systemic Mn redistribution in broilers. Further examining of the effect of dietary Mn treatments (a basal diet plus additional 0, 40, or 100 mg Mn/kg for corresponding to Mn-deficient, control, or Mn-surfeit diet, respectively) on intestinal barrier and inflammation status of broilers infected with S. Typhimurium revealed that birds fed the control and Mn-surfeit diets exhibited improved intestinal tight junctions and microbiota composition. Even without Salmonella infection, dietary Mn deficiency alone increased intestinal permeability by impairing intestinal tight junctions. In addition, when fed the control and Mn-surfeit diets, birds showed decreased Salmonella burdens in cecal content and spleen, with a concomitant increase in inflammatory cytokine levels in spleen. Furthermore, the dietary Mn-supplementation-mediated induction of cytokine production was probably associated with the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB)/hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) pathway, as judged by the enhanced manganese superoxide dismutase activity and the increased H2O2 level in mitochondria, together with the increased mRNA level of NF-κB in spleen. Ingenuity-pathway analysis indicated that acute-phase response pathways, T helper type 1 pathway, and dendritic cell maturation were significantly activated by the dietary Mn supplementation. Our data suggest that dietary Mn supplementation could enhance intestinal barrier and splenic inflammatory response to fight against Salmonella infection in broilers

Do dietary patterns in older men influence change in homocysteine through folate fortification? The Normative Aging Study

Objective We aimed to describe the difference in B-vitamin intake and in plasma B-vitamin and homocysteine concentrations before and after folic acid fortification, in relation to dietary patterns. Design The Normative Aging Study (NAS) is a longitudinal study on ageing. Between 1961 and 1970, 2280 male volunteers aged 21¿80 years (mean 42 years) were recruited. Dietary intake data have been collected since 1987 and assessment of plasma B vitamins and homocysteine was added in 1993. Setting Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Subjects In the present study, 354 men who had completed at least one FFQ and one measurement of homocysteine, both before and after the fortification period, were included. Results Three dietary patterns were identified by cluster analysis: (i) a prudent pattern, with relatively high intakes of fruit, vegetables, low-fat milk and breakfast cereals; (ii) an unhealthy pattern, with high intakes of baked products, sweets and added fats; and (iii) a low fruit and vegetable but relatively high alcohol intake pattern. Dietary intake and plasma concentrations of folate increased significantly (P <0·05) among all dietary patterns after the fortification period. Homocysteine tended to decrease in supplement non-users and in subjects in the high alcohol, low fruit and vegetable dietary pattern (both P = 0·08). Conclusions After fortification with folic acid, folate intake and plasma folate concentration increased significantly in all dietary patterns. There was a trend towards greatest homocysteine lowering in the high alcohol, low fruit and vegetable grou

The relationship between zinc intake and serum/plasma zinc concentration in adults: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis by the EURRECA Network

Dietary zinc recommendations vary widely across Europe due to the heterogeneity of pproaches used by expert panels. Under the EURRECA consortium a protocol was designed to systematically review and undertake meta-analyses of research data to create a database that includes “best practice” guidelines which can be used as a resource by future panels when setting micronutrient recommendations. As part of this process, the objective of the present study was to undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of previously published data describing the relationship between zinc intake and status in adults. Searches were performed of literature published up to February 2010 using MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Data extracted included population characteristics, dose of zinc, duration of study, dietary intake of zinc, and mean concentration of zinc in plasma or serum at the end of the intervention period. An intake-status regression coefficient was estimated for each individual study, and pooled meta-analysis undertaken. The overall pooled for zinc supplementation on serum/plasma zinc concentrations from RCTs and observational studies was 0.08 (95% CI 0.05, 0.11; p<0.0001; I2 84.5%). An overall of 0.08 means that for every doubling in zinc intake, the difference in zinc serum or plasma concentration is (20.08 = 1.06), which is 6%. Whether the dose-response relationship, as provided in this paper, could be used as either qualitative or quantitative evidence to substantiate the daily zinc intake dose necessary to achieve normal or optimal levels of biomarkers for zinc status, remains a matter of discussion

Evaluation of earlier versus later dietary management in long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase or mitochondrial trifunctional protein deficiency::a systematic review

Background: Mitochondrial trifunctional protein (MTP) and long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (LCHAD) deficiencies are rare fatty acid β-oxidation disorders. Without dietary management the conditions are life-threatening. We conducted a systematic review to investigate whether pre-symptomatic dietary management following newborn screening provides better outcomes than treatment following symptomatic detection. Methods: We searched Web of Science, Medline, Pre-Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library up to 23rd April 2018. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts and full texts for eligibility and quality appraised the studies. Data extraction was performed by one reviewer and checked by another. Results: We included 13 articles out of 7483 unique records. The 13 articles reported on 11 patient groups, including 174 people with LCHAD deficiency, 18 people with MTP deficiency and 12 people with undifferentiated LCHAD/MTP deficiency. Study quality was moderate to weak in all studies. Included studies suggested fewer heart and liver problems in screen-detected patients, but inconsistent results for mortality. Follow up analyses compared long-term outcomes of (1) pre-symptomatically versus symptomatically treated patients, (2) screened versus unscreened patients, and (3) asymptomatic screen-detected, symptomatic screen-detected, and clinically diagnosed patients in each study. For follow up analyses 1 and 2, we found few statistically significant differences in the long-term outcomes. For follow up analysis 3 we found a significant difference for only one comparison, in the incidence of cardiomyopathy between the three groups. Conclusions: There is some evidence that dietary management following screen-detection might be associated with a lower incidence of some LCHAD and MTP deficiency-related complications. However, the evidence base is limited by small study sizes, quality issues and risk of confounding. An internationally collaborative research effort is needed to fully examine the risks and the benefits to pre-emptive dietary management with particular attention paid to disease severity and treatment group.</p