3 research outputs found
Nutritional status of sub-Saharans residing in the city of El Jadida - Morocco: weight in relation to socio-economic status
Background. Onset of overweight and obesity has been previously reported as a result of population migration to western
countries.
Objective. To determine the nutritional status, weight status and their association with socioeconomic status in sub-
Saharan settled in El Jadida city in a Mediterranean country Morocco.
Materials and methods. A descriptive study was carried out in 2018 on 256 sub-Saharans migrants living in the city of
El Jadida in Morocco. Information on socio-economic and socio-demographic characteristics as well as anthropometric
measurements was collected. The body mass index (BMI) and abdominal obesity by measuring waist circumference
(WC) and waist circumference to hip ratio (WHR) and the distribution of body fat by calculating the sum of skin folds
are determined.
Results. Analysis results indicate that height, waist circumference, hip circumference, sum of trunk skinfolds, total sum
of skinfolds, and BMI increase with age. The prevalence of underweight decreases with age, overweight was 38.7% in
the youngest age group (18-25 years) and reached higher values after 35 years (44.10%). In addition, the prevalence of
general obesity (based on BMI) increased with age and abdominal obesity (based on WHR and WC) was more marked
in sub-Saharan people aged 26 to 35 years. These results also reveal the coexistence of underweight, overweight and
obesity in all age groups. The analysis revealed a significant association between several variables and obesity. Significant
associations were found between age and BMI (P=0.04), between level of education (university) and WHR (p=0.02),
between sex and WHR, and between sex and WC (p=0.049). The study revealed also that the majority of the study sample
gained weight after their settling in the host country.
Conclusions. The study data show that obesity including overweight and abdominal obesity were prevalent among sub-
Saharan migrants residing in the city of El Jadida. This prevalence is associated with socio-demographic and socio-
economic factors
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
Gfi1 loss protects against two models of induced diabetes.
Background: Although several approaches have revealed much about individual factors that regulate pancreatic development, we have yet to fully understand their complicated interplay during pancreas morphogenesis. Gfi1 is transcription factor specifically expressed in pancreatic acinar cells, whose role in pancreas cells fate identity and specification is still elusive. Methods: In order to gain further insight into the function of this factor in the pancreas, we generated animals deficient for Gfi1 specifically in the pancreas. Gfi1 conditional knockout animals were phenotypically characterized by immunohistochemistry, RT-qPCR, and RNA scope. To assess the role of Gfi1 in the pathogenesis of diabetes, we challenged Gfi1-deficient mice with two models of induced hyperglycemia: long-term high-fat/high-sugar feeding and streptozotocin injections. Results: Interestingly, mutant mice did not show any obvious deleterious phenotype. However, in depth analyses demonstrated a significant decrease in pancreatic amylase expression, leading to a diminution in intestinal carbohydrates pro-cessing and thus glucose absorption. In fact, Gfi1-deficient mice were found resistant to diet-induced hyperglycemia, appearing normoglycemic even after long-term high-fat/high-sugar diet. Another feature observed in mutant acinar cells was the misexpression of ghrelin, a hormone previously sug-gested to exhibit anti-apoptotic effects on β-cells in vitro. Impressively, Gfi1 mutant mice were found to be resistant to the cytotoxic and diabetogenic effects of high-dose streptozotocin administrations, displaying a negligible loss of β-cells and an imperturbable normoglycemia. Conclusions: Together, these results demonstrate that Gfi1 could turn to be extremely valuable for the development of new therapies and could thus open new research avenues in the context of diabetes research