Prevalence of overweight and obesity among students in private and public secondary schools in a peri-urban Nigerian town

Aims: To investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among secondary school students in Ekpoma.Study design: Cross sectional studyPlace and duration of the study: Private and public secondary schools in Ekpoma Edo state; from May to October,2011.Methodology: This is a school based analytical cross-sectional study of a sample of 417 students drawn from 4secondary schools in Ekpoma using the multistage sampling technique. Semi-structured interviewer-administeredquestionnaires were used to obtain qualitative information from the respondents; the weight of each respondent wasmeasured using a bathroom scale and the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculated and classified based on the AmericanMedical Association classification. The results obtained for students in private schools where then compared withthose of their peers in public secondary schools.Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be 8.6% and 1% respectively; the mean BMI was19.6±2.6. More (67.5%) of those found to be overweight and obese were students in private schools (95% CI = 1.03-4.39 OR=2.11; ?2= 4.85). Similarly, 11.59% and 1.45% of students in private schools were overweight and obeserespectively compared to 5.71% and 0.95% for those in public schools. Majority (68%) of respondents had poorknowledge of the risk factors for and problems associated with being overweight or obese. Students in the uppersocial class are more likely to be overweight/obese compared to their peers in the lower social class((X 2HM = 10.35;P <.01; common odds ratio = 3)CONCLUSION: Over nutrition and under nutrition are both occurring in adolescents in a predominantly ruralsetting which suggests that Policy makers and health professionals need to implement strategies that will preventover nutrition side by side current efforts to curb under- nutrition. Reactivation of the school health program inNigeria is considered a helpful initial step

Market Sanitation: A Case Study of Oregbeni Market Benin - City Edo State, Nigeria

Poor market sanitation is an intractable problem in Nigeria and has contributed to the spread of infectious diseases and environmental degradation. This study was undertaken to determine the awareness and practice of solid waste management in market places among market users. It involved 180 store owners and customers recruited from Oregbeni market in Benin City, Nigeria. They were administered questionnaires while an in depth interview was conducted with the waste managers in the market. Checklist was used to carry out observation of the market place sanitation status. The data obtained was then analyzed and compared using SPSS. The results showed that a high proportion of respondents were aware of improper waste management (133; 62.8%) and agreed (174; 96.7%) that it is associated with many risks. Despite this high level of awareness, the practice of open dumping of waste was prevalent (108; 60.0%). Interestingly, 96.1% expressed willingness to pay for an improved waste disposal system while 55.6% rated the existing system as poor. Our findings suggest therefore that there is an urgent needs to improve waste collection, and disposal at market places.Keywords: Market sanitation, Solid Waste Management, Health hazards, Environmental degradation

Housing features and household access to sanitation facilities in a rural Nigerian community

Good housing and adequate sanitation are linked as both are important in disease prevention and the overall promotion of health and well-being of man including residents in rural communities. This study was carried out to examine household access to sanitation facilities in Usugbenu, a rural community in Edo State, Nigeria, and to determine what relationship exist between household characteristics and use of such facilities in the study area.Cluster sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 399 households from the community, and interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS with statistical significance level set at P ≤ 0.05.The most common family type was the nuclear family (62.7%); the most common housing unit type was flat/bungalow (57.1%); and the owner-occupier status was 73%. Block/brick wall houses were 63.4% while the common sources of water for household use were sachet water (30.1%), rainwater (28.8%), and borehole (20.1%). Pit toilets were used in 71.7% of households while sharing of toilet facilities occurred in 29.1% of households. Significant factors associated with the use of non-shared toilet facilities in this study were higher (secondary/tertiary) level of education, inherited or self-owned house, and brick/blockhouse wall type.Factors that compromise sanitation such as poor access to domestic water supply and sharing of toilet facilities were prevalent in the community

Effect of alligator pepper (zingiberaceae aframomum melegueta) on first trimester pregnancy in Sprague dawley rats

Alligator pepper (Aframomum melegueta) is a spice that is widely used in many cultures for entertainment, religious rites, food flavor and as a part of many traditional doctors medications. Pregnant women are among those who ingest Alligator pepper in these activities. This experiment was carried out to determine the health risk or benefit of Alligator pepper to pregnant women if any. Fifteen male rats and fifteen female rats of proven fertility from a pilot study were randomly paired in fifteen cages in a well ventillated room. After three days of mating, the males were withdrawn from the females, which were allowed to stay in their separate maternity cages for 18-25 days. The females in the control group were fed with normal rat chow and clean drinking water ad libitum for the duration of the experiment. Each of the rats in the experimental group was served 20 g of rat chow mixed with 50mg of Alligator pepper for one day only and thereafter fed with normal rat chow and clean drinking water ad libitum for 18-25 days. The rats in the control group had a mean of 7 litters each, while the rats in the experimental group did not litter at all. It was concluded that ingestion of large quantities of Alligator pepper poses a health risk to women in their first trimester of pregnancy

Effect of aqueous extract of alligator pepper (zingiberaceae Aframomum melegueta) on gestational weight gain

Increased gestational weight gain is associated with higher rates of complications of pregnancy and delivery. Gestational weight gain of 9-12 Kg has been associated with the best outcome for both mothers and infants. However, weight gain in most pregnant women is not within this range, perhaps due to the difficulty of calculating the exact quantity, timing and duration of dietary restriction in individual patients that would bring their weight gain within the normal range. There is therefore a need to develop a drug or food supplement that would reduce weight gain without causing adverse effects on the fetus. Aframomum melegueta is widely used in Nigeria by most people including pregnant women for various purposes. It is against this background that the present investigation examines the possibility of its beneficial effects on pregnancy, using Sprague Dawley rat as the animal model. Twenty female and ten male Sprague-Dawley rats of proven fertility from a pilot study were randomly mated in groups of two females and one male. Three days later, female rats in the experimental groups were given intra-peritoneal injections of 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.5 mg and 2 mg of aqueous extract of alligator pepper respectively while the control had 2 ml of distilled water.. All rats were observed for 18-25 days. There was a significant (P<0.05) reduction in gestational weight gain of the experimental rats. The litters were not adversely affected. It is suggested that the active component of aqueous extract of alligator pepper be determined because of its beneficial effect of gestational weight gain reduction

Cyanide Content of Parts of Pride of Barbados (Caesalpina pulcherima) Grown in Nigeria

Cyanide contents of some parts of Pride of Barbados (Caesalpina pulcherima), grown in Nigeria, were studied. Analyses were conducted on intact seed, extra –cotyledonous deposit, cotyledon, flower, pod (with seeds removed), apical and pre-apical leaves and stalks, basal and apical stems, root and testa of Pride of Barbados. Alkaline picrate method was used in cyanide determination. Results obtained showed that mean cyanide contents of parts of Pride of Barbados were in the following ranges: 0.6 – 3.3; 0.4 – 3.1; 0.4 – 4.0 and 0.8 – 4.1mgkg-1 dry weight for samples from west (Ekpoma), east (Enugu), south (Port Harcourt) and north (Jos) of Nigeria respectively. The amount of cyanide determined in the edible extra-cotyledonous deposit of this legume was minimal and equally very low in all other parts studied (p>0.05). Pride of Barbados is presumably among the legumes with the lowest cyanide content. Keywords: Cyanide content, Pride of Barbados. Journal of Medical Laboratory Science Vol. 13 (2) 2004: pp. 29-3

Effects of Triphasic Exercise on Blood Rheology and Pathophysiology

The aim of this work is to study the relevance of physiology and pathophysiology in blood rheology as effects of triphasic exercise. Regular exercise which has been established as life prolonging has led to decrease in both peripheral vascular and coronary morbidity that has been associated with certain improvements in cardiovascular disease (VCD) risk factors. Haemorheology is affected by exercise, which has a possible connection between beneficial haemodynamics and metabolism. This is affected by exercise of any type. A possible link between the beneficial metabolic and haemodynamic effects of exercise could be blood rheology, which is markedly affected by exercise. It was proposed here a description of the haemorheological effects of exercise as a triphasic phenomenon. Short-term effects of exercise are an increase in blood viscosity resulting from both fluid shifts and alterations of erythrocyte rheological properties (rigidity and aggregability). Increased blood lactate, stress and acute phase play a role in this process. Middle-term effects of regular exercise are a reversal of these acute effects with an increase in blood fluidity, explained by plasma volume expansion (autohaemodilution) that lowers both plasma viscosity and haematocrit. Long term effects further improve blood fluidity in parallel with the classical training-induced hormonal and metabolic alterations. While body composition, blood lipid pattern, and fibrinogen improve (thus decreasing plasma viscosity), erythrocyte metabolic and rheologic properties are modified, with a reduction in aggregability and rigidity. On the whole, these improvements reflect on reversal of the so-called “insulin-resistance syndrome” induced by a sedentary life-style. Since impaired blood rheology has been demonstrated to be a risk for vascular diseases, the haemorheologic effects of exercise can be hypothesized to be a mechanism (or at least a marker) of risk reversal. The latter point requires further investigation. The physiological meaning of the triphasic pattern of exercise-fluidity may improve several steps of oxygen transfer to the muscle, as clearly demonstrated in hypoxic conditions. Increasing evidence emerges from the literature, that blood fluidity is a physiological determinant of fitness. Keywords: Triphasic exercise, blood rheology, aggregation, physiology. Journal of Medical Laboratory Sciences Vol. 14 (2) 2005: pp. 13-2