Globalization, Urbanization and Nutritional Change in the Developing World

Urbanization and globalization may enhance access to non traditional foods as a result of changing prices and production practices, as well as trade and marketing practices. These forces have influenced dietary patterns throughout the developing world. Longitudinal case study data from China indicate that consumption patterns closely reflect changes in availability, and that potentially obesogenic dietary patterns are emerging, with especially large changes in rural areas with high levels of urban infrastructure and resources. Recent data on women from 36 developing countries illustrate that these dietary shifts may have implications for overweight/obesity in urban and rural settings. These data emphasize the importance of developing country policies that include preventive measures to minimize further adverse shifts in diet and activity, and risk of continued rises in overweight.dietary patterns, developing countries, overweight, food policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Security and Poverty,

Global and Local Youth Unemployment: Dislocation and Pathways

The impact of economic recessions is not felt uniformly across demographic groups, and the detrimental effects of the one-time dislocations can significantly shift the long-term prospects of human development for many years to come. The current recession has been hard on young people in the United States between the ages of 16 and 24, especially minorities (Latino or African American). Labor force participation rates have dropped dramatically and unemployment has reached as high as 30% in some states. Long spells of unemployment and adverse conditions for labor market incorporation further increase the likelihood of other poor life outcomes, such as problems with the legal system, low-wage employment, and little socioeconomic mobility. Preventing such eroding effects requires legislative and programmatic interventions to help youths into positive labor market and education pathways, among them workforce development, enhanced vocational training, and reduction of education costs. The article outlines some of such interventions and programs in Massachusetts and in other countries

Controversies surrounding diet and breast cancer

What we know about prevention of breast cancer is related to lifetime oestrogen exposure and exposures to specific oestrogens at vulnerable periods of life. This can be influenced by diet. The strongest indicator of a diet-related effect to date is the fairly consistent increase in breast cancer among women who are tall or obese (Hunter & Willett, 1993). The other dietary factors summarized in Table 1 are less strongly associated with breast-cancer risk in epidemiological studies. The relationship between fat and breast-cancer risk has been extensively studied but remains somewhat uncertain. Fat, as a contributor to energy intakes and energy imbalance, is probably a factor in the higher breast-cancer rates in Western countries. Beyond its role as an energy source, the evidence for an independent effect of dietary fat on breast-cancer risk is weak. More focused analyses of the role of individual fatty acids, and on lipid-related pesticide exposures, may reveal strong effects which are currently masked by the use of inadequate exposure measures, as well as by measurement error. Currently, there is substantial evidence of a weak relationship with alcohol consumption, even at frequencies of drinking of less than once daily. The evidence of a protective role for antioxidants is weaker for breast cancer than for other cancers. This might by expected in a cancer which is not strongly associated with cigarette smoking. Specific foods are being studied for other potentially-active ingredients which may be involved in hormone metabolism, but conclusive results for soyabean or cruciferous vegetables are not yet available. Studying these relationships will continue to be a challenge for researchers because of the difficulties in measuring dietary exposures, which is complicated by the uncertainty of the relevant time frame for exposure assessment. While substantial attention has been focused on studying diet in relation to incidence, the potential for diet to reduce recurrence of breast cancer is thoroughly under-studied. There is little reason to believe that the factors which influence the incidence of breast cancer, perhaps during childhood and puberty, are the same as those which affect recurrence in adulthood. In this area, the very limited evidence available suggests that study of biologically-active fatty acids is promising

Highly Processed and Ready-to-Eat Packaged Food and Beverage Purchases Differ by Race/Ethnicity among US Households

Background: Racial/ethnic disparities in dietary quality persist among Americans, but it is unclear whether highly processed foods or convenience foods contribute to these inequalities

Urinary bisphenol A and obesity in adults: results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey

Introduction Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) has been shown to affect lipid metabolismand promote weight gain in animal studies. Recent epidemiological studies alsosupport a link between BPA and obesity in human populations, although many werelimited to a single adiposity measure or have not considered potential confounding bydietary factors. The purpose of this study is to examine associations between urinaryBPA and adiposity measures in a nationally representative sample of Canadian adults. Methods We performed analyses using biomonitoring and directly measured anthropometricdata from 4733 adults aged 18 to 79 years in the Canadian Health MeasuresSurvey (2007–2011). We used multinomial and binary logistic regression models to estimateassociations of urinary BPA with body mass index (BMI) categories (overweightvs. under/normal weight; obesity vs. under/normal weight) and elevated waist circumference(males: ≥ 102 cm; females: ≥ 88 cm), respectively, while controlling for potentialconfounders. Linear regression analyses were also performed to assess associationsbetween urinary BPA and continuous BMI and waist circumference measures. Results Urinary BPA was positively associated with BMI-defined obesity, with an oddsratio of 1.54 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.002–2.37) in the highest (vs. lowest) BPAquartile (test for trend, p = .041). Urinary BPA was not associated with elevated waistcircumference defined using standard cut-offs. Additionally, each natural-log unitincrease in urinary BPA concentration was associated with a 0.33 kg/m2 (95% CI: 0.10–0.57) increase in BMI and a 1.00 cm (95% CI: 0.34–1.65) increase in waistcircumference. Conclusion Our study contributes to the growing body of evidence that BPA is positivelyassociated with obesity. Prospective studies with repeated measures are neededto address temporality and improve exposure classification

Retrospective Study of Healthcare Resources Developed for Patients by Interprofessional Teams

Wayne State University (WSU) emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary education by having students participate in an Interprofessional Team Visit (IPTV) program. A 60-minute virtual visit is conducted to assess adults aged over 50 years within the Detroit Metropolitan Area (Metro Detroit) community. This project was designed to prepare healthcare students in evaluating the mental, physical, and social health aspects of assigned patients based on specific disciplinary assessments. Upon completion of assessments, the interdisciplinary team provided the patient with resources based on the team and the patient\u27s agreed-upon area of concern. Twenty-eight IPTV teams, consisting of a medical and occupational therapy student and a healthcare professional student from another discipline studying at WSU, were randomly created. The IPTV resource guides created by each team were reviewed and sorted into two categories based on the health or social need of the individual patient. The data identified three main areas of interest, which included medication management, diet and exercise plans, and the use of technology to stay connected to medical professionals, friends, and family. The purpose of this report is to assess the IPTV program’s findings and analyze patients’ concerns based on health or social needs and the resources presented to them

Overweight exceeds underweight among women in most developing countries

Background: It is generally believed that overweight is less prevalent than undernutrition in the developing world, particularly in rural areas, and that it is concentrated in higher socioeconomic status (SES) groups. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of adult female overweight and underweight in the developing world by using categories of urban or rural status and SES strata. Design: Body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) data collected in 36 countries from 1992 to 2000 by nationally representative cross-sectional surveys of women aged 20–49 y (n = 148579) were classified as indicating underweight (BMI less than 18.5) and overweight (BMI ≥ 25). Associations between the nutritional status of urban and rural women and each country’s per capita gross national income (GNI) and level of urbanization were explored in the overall sample and among different SES groups. Results: Overweight exceeded underweight in well over half of the countries: the median ratio of overweight to underweight was 5.8 in urban and 2.1 in rural areas. Countries with high GNIs and high levels of urbanization had not only high absolute prevalences of overweight but also small urban-rural differences in overweight and very high ratios of overweight to underweight. In the more-developed countries, overweight among low-SES women was high in both rural (38%) and urban (51%) settings. Even many poor countries, countries in which underweight persists as a significant problem, had fairly high prevalences of rural overweight. Conclusions: In most developing economies, prevalences of overweight in young women residing in both urban and rural areas are higher than those in underweight women, especially in countries at higher levels of socioeconomic development. Research is needed to assess male and child overweight to understand the dynamics facing these groups as well

Using both principal component analysis and reduced rank regression to study dietary patterns and diabetes in Chinese adults

Abstract Objective We examined the association between dietary patterns and diabetes using the strengths of two methods: principal component analysis (PCA) to identify the eating patterns of the population and reduced rank regression (RRR) to derive a pattern that explains the variation in glycated Hb (HbA1c), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and fasting glucose. Design We measured diet over a 3 d period with 24 h recalls and a household food inventory in 2006 and used it to derive PCA and RRR dietary patterns. The outcomes were measured in 2009. Setting Adults ( n 4316) from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Results The adjusted odds ratio for diabetes prevalence (HbA1c≥6·5 %), comparing the highest dietary pattern score quartile with the lowest, was 1·26 (95 % CI 0·76, 2·08) for a modern high-wheat pattern (PCA; wheat products, fruits, eggs, milk, instant noodles and frozen dumplings), 0·76 (95 % CI 0·49, 1·17) for a traditional southern pattern (PCA; rice, meat, poultry and fish) and 2·37 (95 % CI 1·56, 3·60) for the pattern derived with RRR. By comparing the dietary pattern structures of RRR and PCA, we found that the RRR pattern was also behaviourally meaningful. It combined the deleterious effects of the modern high-wheat pattern (high intakes of wheat buns and breads, deep-fried wheat and soya milk) with the deleterious effects of consuming the opposite of the traditional southern pattern (low intakes of rice, poultry and game, fish and seafood). Conclusions Our findings suggest that using both PCA and RRR provided useful insights when studying the association of dietary patterns with diabetes

Recirculation as the form of destination of the Concentrate originated from the Treatment of leachate in landfills by Membrane Processes

The different methodologies of leachate treatment are widely debated in the literature, promoting a great discussion among the scientific and academic community on the most efficient and propitious methods. Membrane treatment processes, especially Reverse Osmosis (RO), stand out as the best solution. The RO has pollutant removal rates higher than 99%, with operational cost and complexity competitive with other technologies. Its main disadvantage is the concentrated residue generated in the process that covers about 30% of the volume of leachate entering the system. Its recirculation in the body of the landfill arises as an alternative of low destination cost. Its effectiveness is directly related to the method of recirculation along the geological, climatological, technical and operational conditions of the landfills. Although already widespread, the treatment or destination of the concentrate requires a greater technological assertion. Further research is needed on the recirculation methods of the concentrate and its medium and long-term effects on leachate, settlement and landfills after care period. It is important to make a comparative analysis of landfills with similar characteristics, one with and another without recirculation of the concentrate. Alternatives to treat the concentrate are also of great interest whether they are economically viable in real scale.