Birthweight, physical inactivity and nutritional pattern as predictors of adiposity in an adolescence population in Uyo, South – South Nigeria

Adolescent Obesity is an important public health crisis with varying prevalence rates in several parts of Nigeria. A study in South-West Nigeria reported a prevalence of 4.2%, while another in South-South Nigeria reported a prevalence of 4.3%. The present study determined the prevalence of Obesity and its association with birth weight, physical inactivity and eating habits amongst apparently healthy adolescents in Uyo. This was a cross-sectional study of 1701 adolescents, carried out between December 2016 and April 2019. It involved weight, height and waist circumference (WC) measurement as well as administration of pre-tested questionnaires which assessed birth weight, television viewing, exercise involvement, feeding frequency and soft drink consumption. Prevalence of Obesity was 5.6% using Body Mass Index (BMI), while it was 11.2% using waist circumference percentile and 9% using waist-to-height ratio(WtHR). Meal frequency and sedentary behaviour were found to be predisposing factors for obesity. No association was found between birth weight and obesity. This study showed a high prevalence of general and central obesity

Trochammina

The ecostratigraphic analysis of foraminiferal assemblages from Upper Pliensbachian to Lower Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) mudstones, siltstones and black shales from northern Siberia allows for a better understanding of the response to the benthic biotic crisis related to the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event in a high latitude context. The assemblages were dominated by agglutinated taxa with extremely low diversity values and dominance of Trochammina. These features suggest that the foraminiferal assemblages were adapted to restricted conditions, where the main limiting factors were salinity and oxygen degree. The opportunist behaviour of Trochammina enabled this genus to survive and adapt to unfavourable conditions. Trochammina proliferated in relation to the sea-level fall and probable changes in salinity in the Arctic palaeobasin during the Margaritatus Chron and at the beginning of the Viligaensis Chron (Late Pliensbachian). Another Trochammina proliferation is associated with the initial development of the restricted oxygen conditions related to the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event