Types of fruits and vegetables used in commercial baby foods and their contribution to sugar content

Fruits and vegetables (F&V) are often featured in names of commercial baby foods (CBFs). We aimed to survey all available CBFs in the UK market with F&V included in the food name in order to describe the amount and types of F&V used in CBF and their contribution to total sugar content. Food labels were used to identify F&V and total sugar content. Fruits were more common than vegetables in names of the 329 CBFs identified. The six most common F&V in the names were all relatively sweet: apple, banana, tomato, mango, carrot and sweet potato. The percentage of F&V in the foods ranged from a median of 94% for sweet-spoonable to 13% for dry-savoury products. Fruit content of sweet foods (n = 177) was higher than vegetable content of savoury foods (n = 152) with a median (IQR) of 64.0 g/100 g (33.0–100.0) vs. 46.0 g/100 g (33–56.7). Fruit juice was added to 18% of products. The proportion of F&V in CBF correlated significantly with sugar content for all the food types except dry-savoury food (sweet-spoonable r = 0.24, P = 0.006; savoury-spoonable r = 0.65, P < 0.001; sweet-dry r = 0.81, P < 0.001; savoury-dry r = 0.51, P = 0.06) and explained up to two-thirds of the variation in sugar content. The F&V content of CBFs mainly consists of fruits and relatively sweet vegetables which are unlikely to encourage preferences for bitter-tasting vegetables or other non-sweet foods. F&V contribute significantly to the total sugar content, particularly of savoury foods

Poor infant feeding practices and high prevalence of malnutrition in urban slum child care centres in nairobi: a pilot study

Little is known about the style and quality of feeding and care provided in child day-care centres in slum areas. This study purposively sampled five day-care centres in Nairobi, Kenya, where anthropometric measurements were collected among 33 children aged 6–24 months. Mealtime interactions were further observed in 11 children from four centres, using a standardized data collection sheet. We recorded the child actions, such as mood, interest in food, distraction level, as well as caregiver actions, such as encouragement to eat, level of distraction and presence of neutral actions. Of the 33 children assessed, with a mean age of 15.9 ± 4.9 months, 14 (42%) were female. Undernutrition was found in 13 (39%) children with at least one Z score <−2 or oedema (2): height for age <−2 (11), weight for age <−2 (11), body mass index for age <−2 (4). Rates of undernutrition were highest (9 of 13; 69%) in children aged 18–24 months. Hand-washing before the meal was lacking in all centres. Caregivers were often distracted and rarely encouraged children to feed, with most children eating less than half of their served meal. Poor hygiene coupled with non-responsive care practices observed in the centres is a threat to child health, growth and development

Child undernutrition in affluent societies: what are we talking about?

In this paper we set out to explore the prevalence of child undernutrition found in community studies in affluent societies, but a preliminary literature review revealed that, in the absence of a gold standard method of diagnosis, the prevalence largely depends on the measure, threshold and the growth reference used, as well as age. We thus go on to explore describe the common clinical ‘syndromes’ of child undernutrition: wasting, stunting and failure to thrive (weight faltering) and how we have used data from two population-based cohort studies, this paper to explore how much these different ‘syndromes’ overlap and the extent to which they reflect true undernutrition. This analysis revealed that when more than one definition is applied to the same children, a majority are below the lower threshold for only one measure. However, those with both weight faltering and low BMI in infancy, go on in later childhood to show growth and body composition patterns suggestive of previous undernutrition. In older children there is even less overlap and most children with either wasting or low fat seem to be simply growing at one extreme of the normal range. We conclude that in affluent societies the diagnosis of undernutrition is only robust when it relies on a combination of both, that is decline in weight or BMI centile and wasting

A review about lycopene-induced nuclear hormone receptor signalling in inflammation and lipid metabolism via still unknown endogenous apo-10´-lycopenoids

Lycopene is the red pigment in tomatoes and tomato products and is an important dietary carotenoid found in the human organism. Lycopene-isomers, oxidative lycopene metabolites and apo-lycopenoids are found in the food matrix. Lycopene intake derived from tomato consumption is associated with alteration of lipid metabolism and a lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Lycopene is mainly described as a potent antioxidant but novel studies are shifting towards its metabolites and their capacity to mediate nuclear receptor signalling. Di-/tetra-hydro-derivatives of apo-10´-lycopenoic acid and apo-15´-lycopenoic acids are potential novel endogenous mammalian lycopene metabolites which may act as ligands for nuclear hormone mediated activation and signalling. In this review, we postulate that complex lycopene metabolism results in various lycopene metabolites which have the ability to mediate transactivation of various nuclear hormone receptors like RARs, RXRs and PPARs. A new mechanistic explanation of how tomato consumption could positively modulate inflammation and lipid metabolism is discussed

Factores de riesgo asociados a preeclampsia en gestantes adolescentes del Hospital de Apoyo II-2 Sullana, Periodo 2018

Objetivo: Determinar los factores de riesgo asociados a Preeclampsia en gestantes adolescentes del Hospital de Apoyo II-2 Sullana, periodo 2018. Métodos: Se llevo a cabo un estudio retrospectivo, analítico y de corte transversal. En este estudio se incluyó a 108 gestantes que presentaron preeclampsia con o sin signos de severidad entre 10 a 19 años, se excluyo a aquellas que presentaran eclampsia, hipertensión crónica, hipertensión tardía o transitoria. Para identificar los factores de riesgo se realizó análisis de regresión multivariado (modelo de Poisson) en el programa estadístico Stata v15. Resultados: La edad promedio de las adolescentes con preeclampsia y signos de severidad fue de 15,79 años, procedentes en su mayoría de áreas urbanas (58,3%) y siendo aun estudiantes (67.9%). Se identifico como factores de riesgo para preeclampsia con signo de severidad la presencia de edemas (OR:5,50, IC95%: 2,43-12,42), mientras que el tener grado de instrucción primario (OR:0,45, IC95%: 0,23-0,88) y un inicio de relaciones sexuales más tardío (OR: 0,90; IC95%: 0,81-0,99; p=0.029) fueron factores protectores. Conclusiones: Se identifico como principales factores de riesgo el haber presentado edemas durante el embarazo.Objective: To determine the risk factors associated with Preeclampsia in adolescent pregnant women at the Hospital de Apoyo II-2 Sullana, period 2018. Methods: A retrospective, analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted. This study included 108 pregnant women who presented preeclampsia with or without signs of severity between 10 and 19 years, excluding those who presented eclampsia, chronic hypertension, late or transient hypertension. Multivariate regression analyses (Poisson model) were performed in the Stata v15 statistical program to identify risk factors. Results: The average age of adolescent girls with preeclampsia and signs of severity was 15.79 years, mostly from urban areas (58.3%) and still students (67.9%). The presence of edema (OR:5.50, IC95%: 2.43-12.42) was identified as a risk factor for preeclampsia with signs of severity, while the third grade of primary schooling (OR:0.45, IC95%: 0.23-0.88) and later sexual debut (OR: 0.90, IC95%: 0.81-0.99, p=0.029) were protective factors. Conclusions: Edema during pregnancy was identified as the main risk factor.Tesi

Criteria for undernutrition screening in hospitalised infants under 6 months: a diagnostic accuracy study in a resource poor setting

Purpose: We aimed to describe the prevalence of undernutrition in hospitalised infants aged under 6 months and test the utility of simple index measures to detect undernutrition. Design: Diagnostic accuracy study: weight, length, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), triceps and subscapular skinfolds were measured in infants aged 2 weeks to 6 months admitted to a Teaching Hospital in Enugu, Nigeria. Index criteria: low (<−2SD) weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ), weight-for-length Z-scores (WLZ); MUAC <11 cm. Reference definition: weight faltering (conditional weight gain below fifth percentile for healthy Nigerian infants) or sum of skinfolds (SSF) <10 mm. Results: Of 125 hospitalised infants, only 5% (6) were admitted specifically for undernutrition, but low SSF were found in 33% (41) and, 24% (25) with known birth weight had weight faltering, giving an undernutrition prevalence of 36%. Low WAZ was the most discriminating predictor of undernutrition (sensitivity 69%, positive predictive value 86%, likelihood ratio 5.5; area under receiver operator curves 0.90) followed by MUAC (73%, 73%, 4.9; 0.86), while WLZ performed least well (49%, 67%, 2.9; 0.84). Where both MUAC and WAZ were low, there was sensitivity 90%, positive predictive value 82% and likelihood ratio 8.7. Conclusions: Infants aged under 6 months admitted to hospital in Nigeria had a high prevalence of undernutrition. In young, high-risk population, a low WAZ alone was a valuable screening criterion, while combining weight with MUAC gave even higher discrimination. Measurement of length to calculate WLZ was a less useful predictor in this population