Weight status and its determinants among Moroccan adolescents in the province of El Jadida

Despite the efforts of health systems, the prevalence of malnutrition reflected by weight status still poses challenges for many countries around the world. In fact, with the decrease in undernutrition, excess weight and obesity are gradually increasing in parallel with that of chronic diseases. Among school-going adolescents, however, weight status is less studied, particularly in developing countries. Objective. The objective of this research is to examine the situation and the determinants of the weight status of adolescents in the province of El Jadida in Morocco. Material and methods. The study was carried out on a sample of 463 students from the province of El Jadida of which 58.1% are boys and 41.9% girls, ages 9 and 17. Nutritional status was assessed by anthropometric measurements including height, weight and waist and hip circumference. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated to determine underweight, overweight and general obesity and waist circumference and the waist circumference to hip circumference ratio were used to determine abdominal obesity. Results. The results indicate that only 59.6% of students had normal weight status, 40.4% had abnormal BMI values corresponding to thinness in 18.8% and overweight (overweight and obesity) in 21.6%. A significant difference in the prevalence of abnormal weight status by sex and level of physical activity was found. The results of the present study reveal an abnormal weight status in a large proportion of adolescents linked in addition to the peculiarities of the puberty phase to the sedentary lifestyle in the study population. Conclusions. The results obtained revealed the coexistence of over-nutrition and undernutrition which require a prevention policy based on regular monitoring of weight status as well as on nutritional education and the promotion of physical activity for children and parents

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of extracts from Moroccan fresh fava beans pods (Vicia Faba L.).

Background. In Morocco, fava beans are widely used as a main meal or as an ingredient in various traditional recipes, in the form of fresh ripe seeds or dry seeds. In the past, the tender skin of bean pods was also used in certain specific dishes, thus diversifying the diet. However, the peels of the tender bean pods are currently less or not used and considered waste. In Moroccan, fava bean pods peels, traditionally used in food in the past, are today considered as waste. The valorization of fresh fava bean pods could revitalize the use of the specific dishes and diversify the diet. For this reason, the research aimed to assess the nutritional values and biological compounds of the whole fresh fava bean pods (Vicia faba L.). Objective. Evaluate the content of nutrients, total phenolic, flavonoids and tannin contents and antioxidant activity in different extracts of the tender pods of the fava bean (Vicia faba L.). Material and methods. The proximate composition and minerals were determined using AOAC methods. The total phenolic compounds by the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, the total flavonoids were analyzed using aluminum chloride colorimetric method, the tannins by method of vanillin in an acidic medium and the antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH method. Results. The results show that the fresh fava bean pods have a moisture content of 87.31 ± 0.25%, ash 4.67 ± 1.03, and protein 29.11 ± 3.20 g/100 g. The legume samples also contain potassium (1946.8±4.61), phosphorus (483.8 ± 3.14), and calcium (399.6 ±2.25) mg/100 g of dry matter representing at last 40-50% of the RDI. The content of the different extracts of (Vicia faba L) varied from 49.5 to 594.4 mg GAE/ g for the total phenols, from 0.7 mg to 3.4 mg QE/g for flavonoids, and from 4.9 mg to 73.91 mg TAE/g dry weight for tannins. The evaluation of the antioxidant activity in the various extracts revealed a better activity in the methanolic extract (IC50=491.2 μg/mL) compared to others extracts: the MeOH/water extract (IC50=606.61 μg/mL), DCM/ MeOH extract (IC50 = 642.67 μg/mL) and DCM extract below of 50%. Conclusions. This study shows that fava bean pods, traditionally used in food, are rich in macro and micronutrients and bioactive substances, which demonstrates their potential contribution to human food and nutritional security