The reality of an Obesity Surgical Treatment Center in Portugal

Introduction: Obesity surgery is used as the most effective treatment for morbid obesity, with better cost-benefit, less morbidity and mortality. The present study aimed to analyze the results of a surgical center for obesity treatment and integrate them with the most recent scientific evidence. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional observational study involving 270 patients aged 18 years or older, who underwent bariatric surgery between July 2008 and February 2020 in a private hospital in Portugal. Results: The sample presented an average age of 44 ± 12 years, being mostly female (83.7%). The average pre-surgery Body Mass Index was 41.1 ± 4.9 kg/m2 . The most performed surgery was Gastric Bypass (80.4%), followed by Gastric Banding (14.8%) and Gastric Sleeve (4.8%). One month after surgery, there was a percentage of excess weight lost (% EWL) of 25.2 ± 9.6%. After 6 months, there was an average % EWL of 67.2 ± 23.2%. One year after surgery, the average % EWL was 75.7 ± 25.7%, the average Body Mass Index was 29.3 ± 4.6 kg/m2 and the average weight loss percentage was 29.5 ± 9.4%. Conclusion: Gastric Bypass is the mostly performed surgery, because it is the Gold Standard method for surgical treatment of obesity in this center. On average, all surgeries performed have extremely positive results of excess weight lost. After 1 year, patients maintained an average weight loss percentage of 29.5 ± 9.4%, in line with data presented in a study that estimated an average recorded weight loss percentage of 28.9%. Data like those presented by the American Society for Nutrition (ASN), the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO), the International Society for the Perioperative Care of the Obese Patient (ISPCOP) and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) (2019), indicate a target weight loss percentage between 20 and 45%.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Food Intake in Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Rationale: The aim of the present study was to verify the fulfillment of the nutritional requirements of macronutrients of pregnant women diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) at Lusíadas Lisboa Hospital. Inadequate glycemic control in GDM increases the risk of maternal, fetal and neonatal consequences, in this sense, nutritional therapy is essential during the follow-up of these pregnant women. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study. The study sample included 20 pregnant women diagnosed with GDM. Participants were asked to answer a questionnaire that included relevant data and to complete a three-day food record, for which they gave consent. A statistical analysis was performed with IBM® SPSS® 25. Results: The mean age measured was 35±4 years and 75% of the sample were in the 3º trimester. In the pre-gestational period, the sample had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 26,2±5,3kg/m2 . The mean fasting capillary blood glucose was 89±9mg/dL and the postprandial was 119±19mg/dL. 75% reached the fasting glycemic objective and 95% the postprandial. It was also found that pregnant women who didn´t meet the goal set for fasting blood glucose, had higher pre-gestational BMI. In terms of macronutrients, it was found that 75% of the sample didn´t reach Total Energy Requirements (TER), 50% didn´t reach protein (1,1g/kg of current weight/day and 15-20% TER), 10% lipid (30% TER) and all carbohydrates (50-55% TER), with only 35% reaching the daily minimum of carbohydrates (175g). It was also found that sample didn´t reach 28g/day of fiber. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated the importance of an individualized nutritional intervention by a nutritionist with pregnant women diagnosed with GDM. The importance of this intervention is based on adherence to an adequate dietary pattern that prevents nutritional deficits, enhances clinical outcomes and contributes to the prevention of the incidence of GDM.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antipredator behaviours of a spider mite in response to cues of dangerous and harmless predators

Prey are known to invest in costly antipredator behaviour when perceiving cues of dangerous, but not of relatively harmless predators. Whereas most studies investigate one type of antipredator behaviour, we studied several types (changes in oviposition, in escape and avoidance behaviour) in the spider mite Tetranychus evansi in response to cues from two predatory mites. The predator Phytoseiulus longipes is considered a dangerous predator for T. evansi, whereas Phytoseiulus macropilis has a low predation rate on this prey, thus is a much less dangerous predator. Spider mite females oviposited less on leaf disc halves with predator cues than on clean disc halves, independent of the predator species. On entire leaf discs, they laid fewer eggs in the presence of cues of the dangerous predator than on clean discs, but not in the presence of cues of the harmless predator. Furthermore, the spider mites escaped more often from discs with cues of the dangerous predator than from discs without predator cues, but they did not escape more from discs with cues of the harmless predator. The spider mites did not avoid plants with conspecifics and predators. We conclude that the spider mites displayed several different antipredator responses to the same predator species, and that some of these antipredator responses were stronger with cues of dangerous predators than with cues of harmless predators