Overweight, Obesity and Socio-economic Change among Tangkhul Naga Tribal Women of Manipur, North East India

Background: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing worldwide at an alarming rate. Although in countries like India, which is multi-ethnic having multi socio-economic levels, is typically known for high prevalence of under nutrition, significant proportions of overweight and obese now coexist with the undernourished. 

Objectives: The study aims to find the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and its association with socio-economic change among Tangkhul Naga women of Manipur, North East India and also to compare with other female populations of India.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 346 Tangkhul Naga tribal women of Manipur, age ranging from 20 to 70 years, divided into five different age groups with ten years interval each. 

Results and conclusions: Mean BMI was found to be lowest among the youngest age group and it increased with age till fifty nine years and then declined. BMI was assessed using recommended cut-off points for Asians and the prevalence of overweight and obesity among the Tangkhul Naga women was found to be 27.1%. When BMI was assessed using the WHO International Classification of adult overweight and obesity, the prevalence percentage was 9.8. Though the prevalence of obesity among Tangkhul females (2.0%) was low when compared to Indian non-tribal female populations the prevalence of overweight (25.1%) was not far behind. Tangkhul Naga is a population where majority of them were believed to be thin traditionally owing to difficult hilly terrain habitation and physically active lifestyle. With urbanization and economic development, a nutritional transition characterized by improved dietary habits, improvement in socio-economic status and increasingly sedentary lifestyle has been observed which has contributed to the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity among the Tangkhul Naga tribal women

Relationship between nutritional status, respiratory performance and age : study among Tangkhul Naga females of Northeast India

The study aims to examine relationship between nutritional status, respiratory performance and age. Cross-sectional study was carried out among 346 Tangkhul Naga females of Northeast India, ranging in age from 20-70 years. Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), breath holding time, chest expansivity and dynamic lung function tests like forced expiratory volume in one second, force vital capacity, forced expiratory ratio and peak expiratory flow rate were studied. The results showed that both low and high BMI were associated with poor lung functions, and showed inverse relationship. Subjects with normal BMI had better respiratory efficiency as compared to underweight, overweight/obese subjects. Age plays an important role in structural and functional change. BMI and lung functions were also associated with age. BMI increased with advancing age till middle age. Values of FEV 1.0, FVC, FER, PEFR, BHT and CE declined with advancing age indicating negative association of respiratory performance with age. BMI was also independently associated with lung functions and age. Age and BMI were positively correlated, but both age and BMI has negative associations with respiratory performances. Nutritional disorder had negative impact on lung functions. Evaluating the effect of age and BMI on lung functions showed that ageing had greater impact on respiratory performance

Clinical use and efficacy of biphasic insulin lispro 50/50 in people with insulin treated diabetes-A nationwide evaluation of clinical practice

© 2015 Informa UK Ltd. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the metabolic effects of biphasic insulin lispro 50/50 in routine clinical practice. A total of 229 patients who were 18 years old with diabetes, newly treated with biphasic insulin lispro 50/50, were sourced from six secondary care services in England. Methods: Detailed clinical parameters were compared at baseline, and 3 and 6 months post-initiation. Responders was defined as those with HbA1c 1% (11mmol/mol) at 6 months. Results: HbA1c showed significant reduction:-0.93% (-10mmol/mol) and-1.2% (-13mmol/mol) at 3 and 6 months respectively, while no significant change was noted for all the other parameters. When analyzed according to frequencies of injections/day, the greatest reduction was observed with the three times a day regimen (-1.0% [-11.0mmol/mol] and-1.3% [-14.6mmol/mol] at 3 and 6 months respectively). HbA1c reduction was greatest in the group who previously received a basal-bolus insulin regimen: (-0.8% [-9.0mmol/mol] and-1.5% [-16.2mmol/mol] at 3 and 6 months respectively). Reduction in weight was observed at 3 months (-1.8kg±4.3) only for those who were previously on a basal-bolus insulin regimen. Insulin doses increased following conversion to biphasic insulin lispro 50/50, irrespective of the types of insulin used prior to biphasic insulin lispro 50/50, but this was not associated with weight gain. The independent predictors of response to biphasic insulin lispro 50/50 were baseline HbA1c, Caucasian, presence of nephropathy, prior use of basal-bolus insulin and prior use of other premixed combination. Conclusion: Biphasic insulin lispro 50/50 is therefore an effective therapeutic option for achieving glycemic control in patients with suboptimal HbA1c levels, especially among those who were previously on a basal-bolus insulin regimen and those who received it three times daily, with a neutral effect on weight parameters. Limitations: This was a retrospective study of routine clinical practice and is therefore limited by allocation bias and some missing data. Information on rates of hypoglycemia and quality of life are not available