Children’s and adolescents’ rising animal-source food intakes in 1990–2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity

Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents’ physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the world’s child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 15–19 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF consumption programmes.publishedVersio

Body Fat Percentages by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry Corresponding to Body Mass Index Cutoffs for Overweight and Obesity in Indian Children

Background Indians are suspected to have higher body fat percent at a given body mass index (BMI) than their western counterparts. Objective To estimate percent body fat in apparently healthy Indian children and adolescents by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and explore linkages of BMI with body fat percent for better health risk assessment. Methods Age, weight, height of 316 boys and 250 girls (6–17 years) were recorded. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). High adiposity was defined as body fat percent (BF%) > McCarthy's 85th percentile of body fat reference data. Receiver operating characteristic analysis (ROC) was carried out for CDC BMI Z score for it's ability to judge excess fatness. Results High BF% was seen in 38.5% boys and 54.0% girls (p < 0.05). Percentage of obese children as defined by the BMI cutoffs of International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) (2.1% for boys and 6.9% for girls) was lower than that using Indian (13.7% for boys and 20.9% for girls) and CDC (14.1% for boys and 20.9% for girls) cutoffs. The point closest to one on the ROC curves of CDC BMI Z-scores indicated high adiposity at BMI cutoff of 22 at the age of 17 yr in both the genders. Conclusions Higher body fat percentage is associated with lower BMI values in Indian children

Inter-regional differences in body proportions in Indian children and adolescents—a cross-sectional multicentric study

Background: Sitting height (SH) and leg length (LL) help in assessing disproportionate growth. Anthropometric dissimilarity has been observed in different ethnicities. Aim: To (1) study sitting height and body proportions in children from different regions of India; and (2) compare sitting height and body proportions with data from other countries. Subjects and methods: This was a cross-sectional multicentric observational study, where 7961 (4328 boys) 3–18 year old children from five regions (north, south, east, west and central) were measured (height, weight and SH). Results: Boys from north India and girls from central India were taller and heavier (mean height 153.2 ± 18, 146.4 ± 11), while western boys and girls were the shortest (131.1 ± 20.7, 129.8 ± 19.5) (p < 0.05 for all). The highest SH was observed in the north (79.2 ± 8.5) and the lowest in the west (68.8 ± 9.1). Mean SH:LL ratio was highest in children from the northeast (1.13) followed by those from western, northern and central India (1.12, 1.10 and 1.07, respectively) and the ratio was the least in children from south India (1.05) (p < 0.0.5 for all except northeast and west). Children from the north and west were similar to the Dutch, children from the south were similar to South (black) Africans and the north-eastern children were similar to Chinese children. Conclusion: There were inter-regional differences in body proportions; similarities in body proportions with children from other ethnicities may throw light on the migration history of Indian people

Prevalence of osteoporosis in apparently healthy adults above 40 years of age in Pune City, India

Purpose: The aim of study was to assess the prevalence of osteoporosis and changes in bone mass with increasing age and compare bone health status of apparently healthy men, premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Methods: Data were collected on anthropometric and sociodemographic factors in 421 apparently healthy Indian adults (women = 228), 40–75 years of age, in a cross-sectional study in Pune city, India. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at two sites-lumbar spine (LS) and left femur. Individuals were classified as having osteoporosis or osteopenia based on the World Health Organization criteria of T-scores. Results: Mean age of study population was 53.3 ± 8.4 years. Of the total women, 44.3% were postmenopausal with 49.2 ± 3.5 years as mean age at menopause. Postmenopausal women showed a rapid decline in BMD with age till 50 years while men showed a gradual decline. Premenopausal women showed no significant decline in BMD with age (P > 0.1). Significantly lower T-scores were observed at LS in men compared to premenopausal (P 0.1). The prevalence of osteoporosis in men at LS was lower than postmenopausal women but higher than premenopausal women. Conclusion: In Indian men, a low T-score compared to women indicates higher susceptibility to osteoporosis. In women, menopause causes a rapid decline in BMD. Therefore, both Indian men and postmenopausal women require adequate measures to prevent osteoporosis during later years in life