Recommendations to develop an intervention for Japanese youth on weight management

In the last 20 years the average change in BMI among Japanese youth is minimal, but significant changes appear when the categories of overweight/obesity and underweight are investigated within gender. Now intervention programs for Japanese youth on weight management need to be developed. To address the issue, there are a series of steps that could be undertaken utilizing theory of behavior change. Using the Transtheoretical Model-Stages of Change as the health promotion theory an intervention could be developed that would tailor messages to the level of the stage of readiness to weight change that exists among youth. Different aspects of the intervention could be developed and targeted to groups of youth by their needs. To assist with planning and development of the intervention principles of Intervention Mapping could be used to guide development using data from a needs assessment survey to : a) determine youths’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about body size, b) determine youth’s barriers to change in body size, c) determine parental knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about body size, d) determine parental barriers to change in youth body size, e)determine the prevalence of health problems from low and high BMI of young females and males, f) determine which youth are at risk-rural/urban areas, socioeconomic status

Daily calcium intake and physical activity status in urban women living on low incomes in Davao, Philippines : a primary study for osteoporosis prevention

Low calcium intake and physical inactivity are modifiable risk factors of osteoporosis ; however, little information is available about the prevalence of these risk factors among urban Filipino women living on low-incomes. The present study, therefore, investigated daily calcium intake, main calcium sources, and physical activity status in this population. The study group comprised healthy women aged in their 30 s who had participated in our previous survey using heel speed of sound (SOS) measurement in Davao, Philippines. The women were stratified into three groups based on SOS score and 20 were randomly selected from each, giving 60 in total. Calcium intake was measured by direct analysis of the food samples collected from 3-days 24 hour-food duplicate method. Physical activity was estimated based on pedometer determined walking steps over 5 days. The median [25%, 75%] calcium intake per day was 289 [225, 434] mg. Traditional foods derived from local small fish and plants were the main calcium sources. The median walking steps per day was 8750 [6920, 10836]. Although three groups did not show significantly different calcium intakes and walking steps, consumption of low-cost small fish and plant foods could be encouraged along with walking in urban Filipino women living on low-incomes

Oolong tea increases energy metabolism in Japanese females

Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea that has long been believed to be beneficial to health such as decreasing body fat. We were interested in this assertion and tried to evaluate the effect of oolong tea on energy expenditure (EE) in comparison with green tea. The subjects were eleven healthy Japanese females (age 20±1 y body mass index(BMI) 21.2±2.5kg/m2)who each consumed of three treatments in a crossover design : 1) water, 2) oolong tea, 3) green tea. Resting energy expenditure (REE) and EE after the consumption of the test beverage for 120 min were measured using an indirect calorimeter. The cumulative increases of EE for 120 min were significantly increased 10% and 4% after the consumption of oolong tea and green tea, respectively. EE at 60 and 90 min were significantly higher after the consumption of oolong tea than that of water (Plt0.05). In comparison with green tea, oolong tea contained approximately half the caffeine and epigallocatechin galate, while polymerized polyphenols were double. These results suggest that oolong tea increases EE by its polymerized polyphenols

Nutritional status, feeding practice and incidence of infectious diseases among children aged 6 to 18 months in northern mountainous Vietnam

To assess the prevalence of undernutrition, incidence of infectious diseases and the situation of feeding practices to determine the risk factors for undernutrition among children aged 6 to 18 months in rural Vietnam. Design : A cross-sectional study was conducted among one hundred eighty-eight mother-child pairs in Bac Giang, Vietnam. Weight and height of the children were measured and referred to data from the WHO/CDC/NCHS. Incidence of infectious diseases was diagnosed based on the WHO Recommended Surveillance Standards. Data on socio-demographic variables and feeding practices were obtained through a structured questionnaire. Result : The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting was 19.7%, 23.4% and 5.3%, respectively. The incidence of diarrhea and acute respiratory infections (ARIs) during the last 14 days of the interview was 12.2% and 20.2%, respectively. Although 99% of the children were breastfed, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 4 mo was 21.3%. Non-exclusive breastfeeding in the first 4 month (OR 3.95, p=0.025) and low birth weight (OR 4.38, p=0.009) were associated with underweight in the children, while incidence of infectious disease was not (OR 1.16, p=0.734). Conclusion : Undernutrition is highly prevalent in the study site and non-exclusive breast feeding is one of the risk factors

Vitamin A deficiency during pregnancy of HIV infected and non-infected women in tropical settings of Northwest Ethiopia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is known to be a major public health problem among women of reproductive age in South East Asia and Africa. In Ethiopia, there are no studies conducted on serum vitamin A status of HIV-infected pregnant women. Therefore, the present study was aimed at determining the level of serum vitamin A and VAD among pregnant women with and without HIV infection in tropical settings of Northwest Ethiopia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this cross-sectional study, blood samples were collected from 423 pregnant women and from 55 healthy volunteers who visited the University of Gondar Hospital. Serum concentration of vitamin A was measured by high performance liquid chromatography.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After controlling for total serum protein, albumin and demographic variables, the mean ± SD serum vitamin A in HIV seropositive pregnant women (0.96 ± 0.42 μmol/L) was significantly lower than that in pregnant women without HIV infection (1.10 ± 0.45 μmol/L, P < 0.05). Likewise, the level of serum vitamin A in HIV seropositive non-pregnant women (0.74 ± 0.39) was significantly lower than that in HIV negative non-pregnant women (1.18 ± 0.59 μmol/L, P < 0.004). VAD (serum retinol < 0.7 μmol/L) was observed in 18.4% and 17.7% of HIV infected and uninfected pregnant women, respectively. Forty six percent of non-pregnant women with HIV infection had VAD while only 28% controls were deficient for vitamin A (P = 0.002).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study shows that VAD is a major public health problem among pregnant women in the tropical settings of Northwest Ethiopia. Considering the possible implications of VAD during pregnancy, we recommend multivitamin (which has a lower level of vitamin A) supplementation in the care and management of pregnant women with or without HIV infection.</p