Factores con mayor influencia sobre la elección de alimentos en la población española

Fundamentos: Encuesta poblacional dirigida a conocer los factores que influyen en la elección de los alimentos de la población española. Métodos: Análisis de una muestra de todo el territorio español compuesta por 1009 individuos y seleccionada por un procedimiento aleatorio multietápico. Este estudio corresponde a la participación española en un estudio europeo sobre las actitudes de la población frente a la alimentación, nutrición y salud dirigido por el Instituto Europeo de Estudios Nutricionales de Dublín. Se determinó el porcentaje de individuos que situó a alguno de los cinco factores mencionados con más frecuencia (calidad, precio, dieta sana, condicionantes españoles, sabor) entre las tres primeras influencias en la elección de alimentos. Se ajustó un modelo multivariante para identificar los factores asociados a la elección de una dieta sana como una de las tres primeras influencias en la alimentación.Resultados: El precio influía más en los individuos de mayor edad, en niveles socioeconómicos más bajos y en individuos con menor nivel educativo. Fue mayor el impacto del precio en las mujeres de la zona Norte, Noreste y Noroeste. El sexo, la distribución geográfica, la edad y el nivel educativo presentaron un efecto independiente y significativo sobre la importancia concedida por la población a la elección de una dieta sana. Conclusiones: Los resultados sugieren la necesidad de una mayor educación sobre dieta y salud especialmente en hombre jóvenes, personas con menor nivel educativo y mujeres del Noroeste del país

Distribution and determinants of sedentary lifestyles in the European Union

Background Many studies have shown the health burden of a sedentary lifestyle. The main goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of sedentary lifestyles in the 15 Member States of the European Union (EU) and to identify the main correlates of a sedentary lifestyle. Methods Nationally representative samples (n ≈ 1000 subjects in each country; >15 years) completed a questionnaire concerning attitudes to physical activity, body weight, and health; in total 15 239 subjects. Sedentary people were defined in two ways: (1) those expending less than 10% of their leisure time expenditure in activities involving ≥4 metabolic equivalents (MET). (2) Those who did not practice any leisure-time physical activity and who also were above the median in the number of hours spent sitting down during leisure time. Logistic regression models were fitted to analyse the association between sedentary lifestyles and gender, age, body mass index (BMI), educational level, weight change in the last 6 months, and marital and smoking status. Results Percentages of sedentary lifestyles across European countries ranged between 43.3% (Sweden) and 87.8% (Portugal) according to the first definition. According to both definitions, a lower prevalence of sedentary lifestyle was found in Northern countries (especially Scandinavian countries) as compared with Mediterranean countries, whereas the prevalence was higher among older, obese, less educated, widowed/divorced individuals, and current smokers. Similar relative differences between countries and socio-demographic groups were found independently of the method used to define a sedentary lifestyle. Conclusion Prevalence of sedentary lifestyle in the EU is high, especially among inhabitants of some Mediterranean countries, obese subjects, less-educated people, and current smokers. This high prevalence involves important public health burdens and preventive strategies are urgently needed

Perception of body image as indicator of weight status in the European union

Objective To identify the factors associated with an adequate perception of body image in relation to body weight. Material and methods An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in a representative sample of the European Union (7155 men and 8077 women). Body Mass Index (BMI) was grouped into four categories, perceived body image was assessed using the nine silhouettes drawing scheme. A multivariable logistic regression model for each sex was used to adjust for potentially confounding variables. Results Underweight men and women classi®ed themselves better than other groups (92.9% of correct answers among men and 79.3% among women). Overall, women classi®ed themselves better than men (57.6% vs. 32.7%). Discussion Perceived body image as a method of assessment for body weight has different validity depending on sociodemographic or attitudinal categories. Perceived body image as an estimate of the nutritional status has a limited individualized application. Thus, perhaps it could be applied as a proxy measure of adiposity among slim males and among slim and overweight females, but not among the other groups

Prevalence of physical activity during leisure time in the European Union

PURPOSE: To estimate the prevalence of physical activity during leisure time in adults from the 15 member states of the European Union and the relationship with sociodemographic variables. METHODS: A representative sample, with approximately 1000 adults, aged 15 and upward, was selected from each member state to complete a questionnaire on attitudes to physical activity, body weight, and health by a face-to-face interview, summing a total of 15,239 subjects. The amount of leisure-time physical activity was quantified by assigning metabolic equivalents (METs) to each activity. Multiple linear regression models with MET-h.wk(-1) as the dependent variable were fitted. RESULTS: Northern European countries showed higher levels of physical activity than southern ones. The highest prevalence (91.9%) was found in Finland, and the lowest (40.7%) in Portugal. A higher percentage of men practiced any leisure-time physical activity and also showed higher mean of MET-h.wk(-1). In both genders, the multivariate models showed a significant trend to higher leisure time activity in participants with higher educational levels and in nonsmokers. Also, an inverse association between body mass index and leisure-time physical activity was found. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of any physical activity during leisure time in the adult European population was similar to the U.S. estimates. Nevertheless, the amount of activity is low, and a wide disparity between countries exists. To our knowledge, this is the first study determining the prevalence and amount of leisure-time physical activity, which is the first step to define strategies to persuade populations to increase their physical activity

Upholding the unified model for Active Galactic Nuclei: VLT/FORS2 spectropolarimetry of Seyfert 2 galaxies

The origin of the unification model for Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) was the detection of broad hydrogen recombination lines in the optical polarized spectrum of the Seyfert 2 galaxy (Sy2) NGC 1068. Since then, a search for the hidden broad-line region (HBLR) of nearby Sy2s started, but polarized broad lines have only been detected in ?30–40% of the nearby Sy2s observed to date. Here we present new VLT/FORS2 optical spectropolarimetry of a sample of 15 Sy2s, including Compton-thin and Compton-thick sources. The sample includes six galaxies without previously published spectropolarimetry, some of them normally treated as non-hidden BLR (NHBLR) objects in the literature, four classified as NHBLR, and five as HBLR based on previous data. We report ?4? detections of a HBLR in 11 of these galaxies (73% of the sample) and a tentative detection in NGC 5793, which is Compton-thick according to the analysis of X-ray data performed here. Our results confirm that at least some NHBLRs are misclassified, bringing previous publications reporting differences between HBLR and NHBLR objects into question. We detect broad H? and H? components in polarized light for 10 targets, and just broad H? for NGC 5793 and NGC 6300, with line widths ranging between 2100 and 9600 km s?1. High bolometric luminosities and low column densities are associated with higher polarization degrees, but not necessarily with the detection of the scattered broad components

Baryon Resonances

In this talk I show recent results on how many excited baryon resonances appear as systems of one meson and one baryon, or two mesons and one baryon, with the mesons being either pseudoscalar or vectors. Connection with experiment is made including a discussion on old predictions and recent results for the photoproduction of the $\Lambda(1405)$ resonance, as well as the prediction of one $1/2^+$ baryon state around 1920 MeV which might have been seen in the $\gamma p \to K^+ \Lambda$ reaction.Comment: Talk given at the 10th International Conference on Hypernuclear and Strange Particle Physics, Tokai, Japan, Sptember 200

Percepción de la imagen corporal como aproximación cualitativa al estado de nutrición

Objetivo. Comparar la percepción de la imagen corporal con el índice de masa corporal (IMC) calculado a partir del peso y la talla declarados por los sujetos y valorar su capacidad para clasificar el estado de nutrición. Material y métodos. Se eligió una muestra representativa de la población de España, integrada por 517 hombres y 483 mujeres mayores de 15 años. Las variables fueron sexo, edad, nivel educativo, IMC e imagen corporal percibida. Las diferencias entre grupos se estimaron con la prueba de c2. La capacidad de clasificación de la imagen corporal se comparó con el IMC empleando la sensibilidad y la especificidad. Resultados. El estado nutricional para ambos indicadores mostró mayor sobrepeso en hombres y mayor obesidad en mujeres. Se observó que el sobrepeso y la obesidad se incrementan conforme aumenta la edad, y con mayor educación disminuyen. La percepción de la imagen corporal fue distinta entre sexos, así como por edad y nivel educativo (p<0.01). La comparación entre el IMC y la imagen corporal notificó valores superiores a 0.90 para sensibilidad y especificidad, así como para los valores predictivos positivos y negativos en sujetos que presentaron un estado nutricional que alcanzaba los rangos extremos. La precisión fue mayor para la sensibilidad que para la especificidad. La capacidad de clasificación fue mejor en mujeres que en hombres. La correlación de Spearman fue mayor en mujeres que en hombres (p<0.001) y la concordancia W de Kendall notificó valores altos para ambos sexos. Conclusiones. La percepción de la imagen corporal permitió identificar a los sujetos que presentaban nutrición normal y deficiente o excesiva; por tal motivo, este indicador puede resultar útil en estudios epidemiológicos, aunque tiene algunas limitaciones para diagnósticos individuales

Sources of information on healthy eating in a mediterranean country and the level of trust in them: a national sample in a pan-european survey

Objetivos: Determinar las fuentes de información y el nivel de confianza en las fuentes de información sobre dieta sana en la población española, para facilitar la promoción de hábitos dietéticos sanos. Pacientes y métodos: Análisis de una muestra representativa española de adultos mayores de 15 años compuesta por 1009 individuos y seleccionada por un procedimiento aleatorio multietápico. Este estudio corresponde a la participación española en un estudio europeo multicéntrico coordinado por el Instituto Europeo de Estudios Nutricionales (IEFS) de Dublín. Se preguntó a cada individuo por las fuentes de las que procedía su información sobre dieta sana y su nivel de confianza en ellas. Se analizaron las cinco fuentes más frecuentemente mencionadas. Resultados: La fuente de información más citada y de mayor confianza fueron los "profesionales sanitarios". Aproximadamente, el 26% de los encuestados mencionaron a los "profesionales sanitarios" como su fuente de información acerca de la dieta sana. Sin embargo, la "radio/TV" (25,7%) fue casi tan seleccionada como los "profesionales sanitarios". Alrededor del 17,4% de los individuos declaró que no obtenía información sobre dieta sana. Los individuos con nivel de estudios universitarios citó con mayor frecuencia a los "profesionales sanitarios", mientras que los sujetos de nivel socio-económico elevado prefirieron la "radio/TV". El grado de confianza fue mayor para los mensajes obtenidos de los "profesionales sanitarios" (89,9%) y del "Departamento de Sanidad" (78,7%) y menor en el caso de la información obtenida de los "periódicos" (34,2%) y de los "anuncios publicitarios" (17,6%). Conclusión: Los profesionales sanitarios deben promover las guías dietéticas a través de los canales adecuados para lograr que lleguen a los diferentes grupos de individuos.Objeclive: To know the sources of information and the level of trust in these sources in a population to facilitate the promotion of healthy dietary habits. Palienls and methods: A national survey was carried out according to an established protocol on a representative sample of 1009 Spanish subjects over 15 years of age selected by a random multietapic procedure. This study belongs to the Spanish partnership in a pan-European Survey about sources of information on healthy eating and their level of trust The analysis was focussed on the evaluation of the 5 most frequently chosen sources. Results: There was a trend towards a greater use and trust in "Health professionals" !han other sources. Thus, about 26% of the respondents mentioning "health professionals" as the source of information on healthy eating_ However, "TV/radio" (25.7%) was almos! so often selected as "Health professionals". About 17.4% of subjects declared that they obtained no information at all on healthy eating. Subjects with university level of studies exhibited a greater mention of "Health professionals", while individuals belonging to higher socio-economic levels preferred "TV/radio". The degree of trust was higher for messages obtained from "Health professionals" (89.9%) and the "Department of Health" (78.7%) and lower for information obtained from "newspaper" (34.2%) and "advertising" (17.6%). Conclusion: Nutrition and health educators must pro-J mote dietary guidelines through the appropriate channels for communicating messages to difieren! targets groups

Altered cardiac expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-isoforms in patients with hypertensive heart disease

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether cardiac expression of the nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) is altered in patients with hypertensive heart disease (HHD). METHODS: We studied endomyocardial septal biopsies from 24 patients with essential hypertension divided into three groups: 6 without left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (HT group), 10 with LVH (LVH group), and 8 with LVH and heart failure (HF) (HF group). The expression of two PPARalpha isoforms (the native active and the truncated inhibitory) was analyzed by Western blot and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and two PPARalpha target genes were evaluated by RT-PCR. Histomorphological features were evaluated in a second myocardial sample from LVH and HF groups. RESULTS: Whereas the expression of native PPARalpha protein was lower (p<0.05) in LVH and HF groups than in the HT group, truncated PPARalpha protein was overexpressed (p<0.001) in the HF group as compared with LVH and HT groups. The mRNA expression of native and truncated PPARalpha was similar in the three groups of hypertensives. In addition, a progressive decrease (p for trend<0.05) in the two PPARalpha target genes mRNA expression was observed among HT, LVH and HF groups. The amount of truncated PPARalpha protein correlates directly with cardiomyocytes apoptosis and inversely with cardiomyocytes density in patients with HHD. In addition, the expression of truncated PPARalpha protein was directly correlated with left ventricular volumes, and inversely with ejection fraction in all hypertensives. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that post-transcriptional regulation of PPARalpha isoforms is altered in patients with HHD, namely in those developing HF. An excess of the truncated inhibitory isoform may be involved in hypertensive left ventricular failure and remodeling

Evaluation of the Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Clinical Course of Migraine

Objective: Previous studies have demonstrated that emotional stress, changes in lifestyle habits and infections can worsen the clinical course of migraine. We hypothesize that changes in habits and medical care during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown might have worsened the clinical course of migraine. Design: Retrospective survey study collecting online responses from migraine patients followed-up by neurologists at three tertiary hospitals between June and July 2020. Methods: We used a web-based survey that included demographic data, clinical variables related with any headache (frequency) and migraine (subjective worsening, frequency, and intensity), lockdown, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Results: The response rate of the survey was 239/324 (73.8%). The final analysis included 222 subjects. Among them, 201/222 (90.5%) were women, aged 42.5 ± 12.0 (mean±SD). Subjective improvement of migraine during lockdown was reported in 31/222 participants (14.0%), while worsening in 105/222 (47.3%) and was associated with changes in migraine triggers such as stress related to going outdoors and intake of specific foods or drinks. Intensity of attacks increased in 67/222 patients (30.2%), and it was associated with the subjective worsening, female sex, recent insomnia, and use of acute medication during a headache. An increase in monthly days with any headache was observed in 105/222 patients (47.3%) and was related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress, older age and living with five or more people. Conclusions: Approximately half the migraine patients reported worsening of their usual pain during the lockdown. Worse clinical course in migraine patients was related to changes in triggers and the emotional impact of the lockdown. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine