Childhood obesity in Asia : current status and future trend

The prevalence of overweight among all children and adolescents, from infancy to the age of 19, is on the increase worldwide. This figure for children under five years old is almost 6%, and for children 5 to 19 years, it is estimated at 18%. This results from individual factors and the creation and progression of an obesogenic environment in human societies

Covid-19, nutrition and pseudoscientific claims

The COVID‐19 infodemic is full of false claims, half backed conspiracy theories and pseudoscientific therapies, regarding the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, origin and spread of the virus.  Correcting misrepresentations should be viewed as a professional responsibilit

Nutrition support in critically ill COVID-19 patients

Diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition should be considered in the management of COVID-19 patients to improve both short- and long-term prognosis. Patients at risk for poor outcomes and higher mortality following infection with COVID-19, namely older adults and polymorbid individuals, should be checked for malnutrition through screening and assessment

Vitamin D supplementation in critically ill patients: pros and cons

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death in patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Vitamin D or calciferol is a steroidal compound made of cholesterol with healing properties due to its specific receptors (vitamin D receptors) in the nucleus of brain cells and its protective properties against nervous tissue in addition to its anti-inflammatory effects. This study is a double-blind randomized clinical trial that was performed on 72 patients with severe brain injury with a mean age of 34-50 years. They were randomly assigned to the study, thus intervention and control groups received vitamin D with a dose of 100,000 units and a dose of 1000 units for 5 days, respectively

Low-Glycemic-Index Foods Can Decrease Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure in the Short Term

Background. We aimed to compare the effects of low- and high-GI foods on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure. Methods. This longitudinal study was performed on 30 women, aged 18 to 40 years, during 24 hours. In the first leg of study all recruited subjects were assigned to LGI period for 24 hours and, after a 2-week washout period, all subjects were assigned to HGI period. BP was measured every hour during the 24-hour monitoring. Results. After the intervention, there were significant decreases in SBP and DBP in the LGI period (102.26±14.18 mmHg versus 112.86±9.33 mmHg for SBP and 66.96±10.39 mmHg versus 74.46±7.61 mmHg for DBP) (P=0.00 and P=0.002, resp.). However, in the HGI period, there was no significant change in SBP or DBP (110.66±9.85 versus 111.80±9.57 for SBP and 71.16±9.16 versus 74.26±10.09 for DBP) (P=0.6 and P=0.06, resp.). Conclusion. The results suggest that LGI foods may be beneficial in reducing 24-hour BP

Microbial Evaluation of Neutropenic Diet in Bone Marrow Transplant Department in Iran

Background: The use of a neutropenic diet after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was instituted more than 30 years ago. This diet was targeted toward preventing from infection with organisms colonizing the gastrointestinal tract and the food-borne pathogens, which are the most important cause of illness and death in developing countries. Regarding this, the present study aimed to evaluate neutropenic diet in patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation in a selected hospital. This study also sought to investigate the role of hospital foods in the transmission of clinically important bacteria to the hospitalized patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the specimens of the foods served in the Bone Marrow Transplant Department of Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The samples were evaluated in terms of bacterial contamination using the standard method ‎of American Public Health Association and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Results: According to total bacteria and coliform counts, No contamination was detected in any of the tested specimens. Conclusion: As the findings indicated, the neutropenic diet, was found to be fully in line with the standards of the Ministry of Health and FDA both in terms of guidelines and food analysis

Investigation of the Volume of Food Waste in Qaem and Imam Reza Hospitals in Mashhad, Iran

Objective: Food waste is a progressive concern and is contributed to reduce energy and protein intake. The aim of this study is to investigate the amount of food waste in different wards of Qaem and Imam Reza hospitals of Mashhad. Design and subjects: This cross-sectional study was performed during one week in the Imam Reza and Qaem hospitals. The study population consisted  of 425 patients in some wards of two hospitals. We selected participants non-randomly from patients who are hospitalized in two hospitals. The rate of food waste was measured just in lunch meal by using the food residual observational check list. All statistical analyses were done through SPSS version 16. Descriptive statistic was used to define baseline characteristics. Independent sample T-test was used for comparison of food waste between main course and appetizer, crosstab and chi-square test for comparing the main course and appetizer waste based on sex, hospitals and wards and ANOVA used for comparison of age between different degrees of food waste. Results: In this study 13.9% of the patients left their food in plate entirely. Food wastage in appetizer was significantly higher than main course (P < 0.001). Also less patients in Qaem hospital than Imam Reza left all of their food (27.84 vs 22%) (p=0.003). Food wastage in the Heart ward was significantly higher than other wards (P=0.006). Conclusion: Food waste vary by the different hospitals and wards, so in order to decrease the food waste, serving meals based on the wards and patient requirements is a good solution

Results of Screening for Neonatal Metabolic Diseases in Mashhad City, Iran (2015)

Background: Neonatal screening is a preventive medical measure to screen infants shortly after birth for treatable metabolic disorders and endocrinopathies. The present study aimed to evaluate and compare the accuracy of laboratory samples in the screening programs for metabolic diseases in Mashhad city, Iran with international guidelines.Methods: This observational study was conducted on all the patients referring to the health centers of Mashhad, Iran during two weeks. In total, 220 infants were enrolled in the study and divided into three groups of health center 1, 2, and 3. A checklist was prepared based on the international guidelines to evaluate the neonatal screening procedures.Results: In total, 220 neonates aged 3-14 days (90 girls and 130 boys) were enrolled in this study. Mean weight and height of the neonates was 3215.90±485.12 grams and 49.85±2.04 centimeters, respectively. In all the cases, mode of nutrition was breastfeeding, and sampling was performed within 36 hours after birth. Neonates had no history of corticosteroid administration, catecholamine administration, parenteral nutrition, and blood transfusion. Heels of the neonates had no contact with the filter paper, and the samples were dried away from direct sunlight and heat. Two of the health centers used disinfectants and dried the heels of infants afterwards prior to drawing the samples. Conclusion: According to the results, the studied health centers followed the protocol properly. However, two of the health centers used disinfectants in such way that we were not sure whether the heels of the neonates were dried completel

Nutritional requirements and actual dietary intake of adult burn patients

Background: Nutritional support of the burn patient is essential to optimize, host immune defenses and to promote prompt wound healing. Furthermore, the increased needs in calorie requirement of burned patients, the composition of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in their diet is important. The purpose of this study was to evaluate energy, macronutrient and micronutrient intake and comparing with Reference Daily Intake (RDI) in adult burn patients. Methods: Sixty thermally injured patients who were hospitalized in a burn care Imam Reza hospital in Mashhad, Iran, were included in this cross-sectional study. Information about actual intake was collected by ‘nutrient intake analysis (NIA) through direct observation. Individual nutritional intakes were assessed with the use of nutritionist 4 software and Data was analyzed by SPSS version 18. Results: The mean of energy, carbohydrate and protein intake was significantly lower than the mean total energy requirement and carbohydrate and protein RDA (