ANTHROPOMETRIC TECHNIQUES

This tutorial of Anthropometry is designed to give an overview of various anthropometric traits and indices providing indication of the general health and nutritional status of a person or a population. The main anthropometric procedures are briefly presented along with explanatory figures and tables, when necessary

Body image perception and body composition: assessment of perception inconsistency by a new index

BACKGROUND: A correct perception of the body image, as defined by comparison with actual anthropometric analyses, is crucial to ensure the best possible nutritional status of each individual. Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) represents a leading technique to assess body composition parameters and, in particular, the fat mass. This study examined the self-perception of body image at various levels of adiposity proposing a new index. METHODS: We investigated 487 young Italian adults (mean age of males: 21.9 ± 2.4 years; mean age of females: 21.0 ± 2.2 years). Each subject could choose, on the Contour Drawing Rating Scale, the silhouette that he/she considered most resembling his/her perceived body image as well as his/her ideal body image. On each subject, we performed anthropometric measurements and determined the values of Fat mass and  út with BIA. A new index, FAIFAT (Feel fat status minus Actual fat status Inconsistency), was developed to evaluate possible fat status perception inconsistencies by BIA. RESULTS: Based on ideal and feel body image comparison, women showed higher dissatisfaction than men and preferred slimmer silhouettes. FAIFAT values indicated that the fat status perception was correct in the majority of the examined individuals and only three subjects showed a serious misperception. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that FAIFAT is an appropriate index for assessing the perceived fat status from the body image when compared with data obtained by BIA. In a population, the use of this index will allow the correct identification of groups at risk for eating disorders

Anthropometric parameters in relation to glycaemic status and lipid profile in a multi-ethnic sample in Italy.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the health status of ethnic minorities in Italy. Furthermore, we aimed to assess the association between anthropometric and blood parameters connected with health status. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. Anthropometric data were collected by direct measurements and blood glucose, total cholesterol and TAG were analysed. SETTING: Bologna, northern Italy. SUBJECTS: A multi-ethnic sample of adult immigrants and Roma. RESULTS: Significant correlations between anthropometric and blood parameters were found. Among the ethnic groups, Roma males had the highest values of glucose, total cholesterol and TAG. In the females the situation was more balanced among ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: The data from this survey indicate that poor health status is a very common problem among ethnic groups living in Italy, especially the Roma. The use of anthropometric parameters as rapid indicators of health status in screenings of a large number of subjects could be an effective and cheap method to provide preliminary indications on individuals or ethnic groups at greater risk of poor health

Psychosocial health among immigrants in central and southern Europe.

Migration exposes people to a number of risks that threaten their health, including those related to psychosocial health. Self-perceived health is usually the main indicator used to assess psychosocial health. Electronic databases were used to examine the literature on the psychosocial health of immigrants in Europe and of North Africans living in their own countries. Immigrants of various ethnic groups show a similar risk of psychosocial disorders but generally present a higher risk than the local population. This risk is related to gender (being higher in women), poor socio-economic status and acculturation, discrimination, time elapsed since migration and age on arrival in the new country. Although the stressors and situations the different ethnic groups experience in the host country may be shared, the way they deal with them may differ according to cultural factors. There is a need to collect detailed data on psychosocial health among the various immigrant groups in Europe, as well as to monitor this aspect in North African residents who lack access to specific services

Tooth Cementum Thickness as a Method of Age Estimation in the Forensic Context

Estimating age at death is a key element in the process of human identification of skeletal remains. The interest in dental cementum stems from its increase in thickness throughout life and, at the same time, from the fact it should not be affected by remodeling processes. Since the age assessment is particularly difficult in adults when using traditional anthropological methods on the skeleton, we tested a dental method based on maximum cementum thickness and developed new regression equations. We microscopically analyzed the histological sections of dental roots from a sample of 108 permanent teeth with known age and sex. Age at the time of dental extraction was in the range of 18–84 years. Our findings show that there were no differences in thickness between sexes, dental arch, and mono-and pluriradicular teeth. Separate regression equations were developed for individuals in the whole age range and individuals under 45 years. The equations were then tested on a hold-out sample from the same Mediterranean population demonstrating higher reliability for the equation developed for those under 45. Conversely, due to the increased error in age estimation in individuals over 45, this method should be used with caution in the forensic con-text when skeletal remains presumably belong to elderly individuals

Obesity and physical activity in children of immigrants.

Childhood overweight and obesity have increased in recent decades, reaching alarming proportions. Children with a migrant background seem to be particularly at risk of developing overweight and obesity. This article provides an overview of the prevalence of overweight or obesity among North African (NA) children living in their own countries or as immigrants in Europe. The aim is to show the effect of the migration process on this trend and to discuss its possible contributing factors. Publications were identified by a systematic search of PubMed and the existing literature. Original longitudinal or cross-sectional studies on the prevalence of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity and of physical activity among ethnic groups from North Africa compared with the native population were reviewed. The results confirmed that children of NA origin in Europe have higher levels of overweight and obesity than the native ones, especially girls. However, this trend can also be detected in urban areas of NA countries. Important factors contributing to the increase of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents are discussed, in particular the westernization of eating habits, the level of physical activity and body image perception. The review shows that factors linked to acculturation in the host society and others maintained from the country of origin come into play in determining childhood overweight and obesity among NA immigrants in Europe. The importance of health promotion targeting the groups most at risk of childhood overweight and obesity, i.e. aspects of a healthy diet and the benefits of physical activity, is underlined

Age estimation using tooth cementum annulations: bias and sources of inaccuracy

Background: Counting the tooth cementum annulations (TCA) is a method for estimating the age at death of adults by sections of their tooth root. The objective of this study was to assess the precision of counting the cementum incremental lines and the congruence between known age and age estimates. Possible factors affecting the accuracy of the estimate were also analyzed. Methods: A sample of 67 permanent teeth extracted from individuals with known age (18 84 years) and sex was analyzed to calculate the dental age. Results: Results demonstrate an excellent inter- and intra-observer reliability of annuli counting, with dissimilarities within the limits of agreement. A moderate positive correlation was found between chronological age and TCA. Our results showed that age congruence rates differed across age groups (85% congruence in individuals <= 30 years; 75% in individuals aged 31-60 years; 60% in the over 60s). Considering the bias, this method showed a clear tendency to underestimate age in specimens from old people. After age 43, the TCA estimate is highly inaccurate exceeding the underestimation of 10 years, on average, in comparison to the chronological age. Both chronological age and dental arch seem to influence the accuracy of estimates, unlike sex and the tooth root number. Conclusions: TCA analysis is characterized by high precision and low accuracy, decreasing with age. Therefore, its applicability is limited in elderly subjects. The choice of methods for age estimation in adult skeletal remains should take into account the particular age range of individuals. We recommend using different age estimation methods to verify the reliability of the performed assessments

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults from North Africa.

The share of North African immigrants in Europe is growing continuously. In this review, we aimed to systematically analyse and describe the literature on weight status and physical activity in North African adults, both in their home country and after immigration to Europe. Existing data on North African residents and on North African immigrants in Europe were analysed by a systematic search on PUBMED. There is a wide variation among countries in the prevalence of overweight/obesity, with immigrants showing higher values. The overall results revealed a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity in females than in males in North African residents. Females also show higher levels of obesity among immigrants. In particular, literature reports indicate that 1.3-47.8% of North African residents and 3.6-49.4% of North African immigrants in adult age are overweight or obese. Physical inactivity is higher than 20% in males and 40% in females in North African residents. The highest frequency of physically inactive or lightly active people among immigrants was observed in first-generation Sudanese and Moroccans in Amsterdam (males: 57.1%; females: 74.2%), with increasing rates in second-generation females. The results underline a higher health risk in North African immigrants than in residents. Specific public health strategies should be adopted in various populations of North African origin to control the obesity epidemic