Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve Analysis of BMI in Assessing Obesity among Adult Bengalee Males in India

The present study attempted to understand the appropriateness of different body mass index (BMI) cut-off points in assessing obesity. Four hundred thirty adult Bengalee males with mean age 36.48±12.23 years (mean ± SD) from West Bengal, India were studied. Height, weight and percent body fat were measured and BMI was derived following standard equation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated low sensitivity and high specificity of international (³30 kg/m²) and proposed (³25 kg/m²) BMI cut-off points in identifying individuals with obesity. Furthermore, these international and proposed BMI cut-off points also found to be in substantial misclassification to assess obesity as much as 32.09% and 17.44% respectively. However, based on ROC curve analysis, a BMI cut-off point of ³24 kg/m² revealed optimal sensitivity (83.66%) and specificity (90.61%) and as well as less misclassification (11.86%) in assessing obesity among the adult Bengalee males. The present study accentuated that the international and proposed BMI cut-off points so far might not be appropriate in assessing obesity and on the other hand, lower BMI cut-off point (³24 kg/m²) has relatively high sensitivity and specificity in assessing obesity as well. Therefore, the present study envisages the requirement of further lowering down of BMI cut-off point in assessing excess body fat in adult Bengalee males

A Study on Cormic Index among Semi-Urban Bengalee Boys of West Bengal, India

Since stature is an additive measurement, it would be useful to examine the pattern of its constituent segments in terms of sitting height and subischial leg length for the evaluation and insight of various growth related issues as well. The aim of the present study was to understand the growth patterns with respect to height (HT), sitting height (SH), subischial leg length (SLL), Cormic Index (CRI) and their relationship with age. The present cross-sectional study includes 162 Bengalee boys aged 6–12 years. Age effect displayed significant positive correlation with HT (r=0.734), SLL (r=0.731) and SH (r=0.637). However, CRI revealed significant negative correlation (r=–0.433) with age. This may be due to the fact that in these ages tempo of growth in SLL was higher than SH. Age-wise correlation between SH and SLL changes dramatically and varies from 0.474 to 0.750 due to the variation in the tempo of growth

Income, Birth Order, Siblings, and Anthropometry

The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship and effect of monthly household income, birth order, and number of siblings on adult body dimensions, adiposity index, and body composition among adult Bengali females. One hundred seventy-one adult Bengali females, age 20.35 ± 1.51 years (mean ± SD; range: 18–21 years) from Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) were studied. Anthropometric measures (weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, and triceps, biceps, subscapular, suprailiac, and medial calf skinfold thicknesses) were taken from all participants using standard protocols. BMI and log10 of the sum of the five skinfold thicknesses were computed subsequently. Percentage of body fat was estimated from the triceps skinfold thickness following the equation of Durnin and Womersley (1974), and fat mass was then calculated. Results of the correlation analysis revealed that monthly household income had significant ( p \u3c 0.05) positive association with all anthropometric variables. Birth order and number of siblings showed significant ( p \u3c 0.05) inverse association. The correlation of monthly household income with anthropometric variables was much stronger for number of siblings and birth order. The results of the analysis of variance showed that monthly household income, birth order, and number of siblings (tertiles used to categorize all variables) had significant effects ( p \u3c 0.05) on anthropometric variables, indicating differences in adult body dimensions, the adiposity index, and body composition in relation to income, birth order, and number of siblings

Effect of MTHFR (rs1801133) and FTO (rs9939609) genetic polymorphisms and obesity in T2DM: a study among Bengalee Hindu caste population of West Bengal, India

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) susceptibility has increased due to the independent risks of genetic polymorphism and obesity as well as combinations of these. Despite recent advancements in T2DM management and diagnosis, the challenges of susceptibility and prognosis still remain. The present work is attempted to understand the association of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) (rs1801133) and FTO (rs9939609) genetic polymorphisms and obesity with T2DM among the Bengalee Hindu caste population of West Bengal, India. One hundred and four clinically diagnosed T2DM male patients and 176 healthy males, without family history of T2DM, (control group) of the endogamous linguistic group (Bengalee Hindu caste) participated. Genotyping was performed using the PCR-RFLP method following the isolation of genomic DNA. MTHFR (rs1801133) genetic polymorphism with CT genotype revealed significantly higher risk (OR = 3.44; p = .01) of T2DM compared to the CC genotype. The attenuation of MTHFR-T2DM risk after adjustment for age and waist circumference revealed obesity and age effects in progression of T2DM. T2DM patients also had significantly (p < .05) higher overall obesity, central obesity, and SBP compared to the controls. However, FTO (rs9939609) genetic polymorphism demonstrated no significant (p= .854) effect on T2DM and obesity. The present study identified that MTHFR genetic polymorphism and obesity might be used as screening tools for early prognosis of T2DM

Socio-economic status, iron deficiency anemia and COVID-19 disease burden – an appraisal

Introduction. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-2, possesses varying degrees of susceptibility and lethality worldwide and WHO declared this as a pandemic of this century. Aim. In this background, the aim of this present narrative is to provide a complementary overview of how low iron stores and mild anemia offers protection from infectious diseases like COVID-19 by restricting the viral replication and also to suggest some potential adjuvant therapeutic interventions. Material and methods. Therefore, we performed a literature search reviewing pertinent articles and documents. PubMed, Google Scholar, Chemrxiv, MedRxiv, BioRxiv, Preprints and ResearchGate were investigated. Analysis of the literature. Recent studies reported drastic systemic events taking place that contribute to the severe clinical outcomes such as decreased hemoglobin indicating anemia, hypoxia, altered iron metabolism, hypercoagulability, oxidative stress, cytokine storm, hyper-ferritinemia and thus Multi Organ Failure, reportedly hailed as the hallmark of the COVID-19 hyper-inflammatory state. Interestingly it is globally observed that, countries with higher Socio-economic status (SES) have considerably lower prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) but higher Case Fatality Rate (CFR) rate due to COVID-19 while, low SES countries characterized by the higher prevalence of IDA, are less affected to COVID-19 infection and found to have less CFR, which is almost half to that of the higher SES counterpart. Conclusion. Present review presumed that,low iron stores and mild anemia may play a beneficial role in some cases by offering protection from infectious diseases as low iron restricts the viral replication.Thus, suggested iron chelation or iron sequestration as an alternative beneficial adjuvant in treating COVID-19 infection

Association of fat patterning, type 2 diabetes mellitus and MTHFR gene polymorphism: a study among the two ethnic groups of Tripura, North-East India

Introduction. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a group of metabolic disorders resulting from insufficient action of insulin. The etiology of T2DM is multi-factorial that includes genetic factors, obesity and lifestyles. Recent reviews of overall and stratified meta-analyses demonstrated the association between MTHFR polymorphism (C677T) including fat distribution and risk of T2DM. Publications of Indian context regarding fat patterning and MTFHR genetic polymorphism of the North East Indian population are insufficient and scant among the ethnic population of Tripura. Aim. In this backdrop, the present study is the first attempt to understand the relationship of fat patterning, MTHFR gene polymorphism and T2DM among two Tibeto-Burman speaker endogamous ethnic populations (Chakmas-the migrant group and Tripuris – the aboriginal group) of Tripura, North East India. Material and methods. The present study consists of age matched 280 males (Chakmas 147 and the Tripuris 133) from Tripura. Anthropometric and metabolic (Fasting Blood Glucose) variables and to discern obesity, blood glucose level and genotyping of MTHFR was performed following standard techniques. Results. The result revealed significant (p<0.05) association of obesity, TT genotypes and fasting blood glucose among the Chakmas with in comparison to the Tripuris. Conclusion. In this first attempt from North East India on the aspects of association of fat Patterning, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and MTHFR gene polymorphism suggests that the Chakmas are more diabetic, and this might be due to the concomitant effects of T alleles and higher central obesity and Percent Body Fat (PBF). More population screening from other under-represented indigenous populations of North East India is needed for prevention of metabolic disorders

Estimation of optimal obesity cut-offs among Tripuri and Halam women of Tripura, Northeast India

Obesity is one of the risk assessments for various non-communicable diseases (NCDs), while anthropometric measurements are one of the measures of obesity, which has been demonstrated as a time-tested important technique for risk assessment of NCDs. Due to variation of anthropometric measurements, it seems difficult to classify obesity using world cut-offs in different population groups. The objective of the present study is to discern the population-specific obesity cut-offs and the best obesity predictor among two indigenous ethnic groups (Tripuri and Halam women) of Tripura, North East India. The subjects of the present study were 88 Tripuri and 98 Halam adult women whose anthropometric measurements were obtained by using standard techniques. The area under curve (AUC) and Youden index (YI) were used to evaluate the performance of each anthropometric adiposity indicator as well as optimal obesity cut-offs. The age and waist-hip ratio (WHR) was significantly higher (p &lt; 0.05) in Tripuris compared to Halams. However, no significant (p &gt; 0.05) differences were observed in obesity categorized by body mass index (BMI) using the WHO 2004 cut-off between the populations. Waist stature ratio (WSR) (AUC = 0.959) and waist circumference (WC) (AUC = 0.804) were better obesity predictors for Halams and Tripuris respectively. The present study envisaged the optimal cut-off points, which were 84.95 cm for WC, 96.45 cm for hip circumference (HC), 29.95% for the percentage of body fat (PBF), 0.89 for WHR, 0.57 for WSR and 1.27 for conicity index (CI) in Halams, while for the Tripuris, the optimal cut-off points were 89.6 cm for WC, 97.5 cm for HC, 33.1% for PBF, 0.95 for WHR, 0.55 for WSR and 1.02 for CI. In conclusion, the present study indicated the optimal anthropometric cut-offs which could be the redefined the parameters for assessment of obesity in Halam and Tripuri women

Environment, social behavior, and growth

Twenty-four scientists met for the annual Auxological conference held at Krobielowice castle, Poland, to discuss the diverse influences of the environment and of social behavior on growth following last year’s focus on growth and public health concerns (Hermanussen et al., 2022b). Growth and final body size exhibit marked plastic responses to ecological conditions. Among the shortest are the pygmoid people of Rampasasa, Flores, Indonesia, who still live under most secluded insular conditions. Genetics and nutrition are usually considered responsible for the poor growth in many parts of this world, but evidence is accumulating on the prominent impact of social embedding on child growth. Secular trends not only in the growth of height, but also in body proportions, accompany the secular changes in the social, economic and political conditions, with major influences on the emotional and educational circumstances under which the children grow up (Bogin, 2021). Aspects of developmental tempo and aspects of sports were discussed, and the impact of migration by the example of women from Bangladesh who grew up in the UK. Child growth was considered in particular from the point of view of strategic adjustments of individual size within the network of its social group. Theoretical considerations on network characteristics were presented and related to the evolutionary conservation of growth regulating hypothalamic neuropeptides that have been shown to link behavior and physical growth in the vertebrate species. New statistical approaches were presented for the evaluation of short term growth measurements that permit monitoring child growth at intervals of a few days and weeks