Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

Assessment Of The Impact Of Municipal Solid Waste On Soil Quality Characteristics In Kannahalli, A Urban Fringe Area Of Bangalore, Karnataka

Disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the cities has become a colossal problem worldwide. Indian cities are also facing many problems due to improper solid waste. Littering of waste indiscriminately leads to the formation of leachate and landfill gas polluting water and air. Bengaluru generates around 1.385 million tonnes of MSW annually and is generally landfilled. In the present study, an attempt has been made to understand the effect of MSW on the soil characteristics of Kannahalli, a peri-urban area in the northern part of Bengaluru which is around 20kms away from the city center. MSW is being dumped in this site since a year. Soil samples were collected by excavation at two different locations in the site viz., one right below the landfill and the other about 90ft away from the landfill site. The soil samples collected from sites were tested for change in pH, chloride percentage, alkalinity, BOD and COD. The chemical analysis depicts a rise in alkalinity, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in soil collected in the landfill site signifying that this contamination of soil is due to MSW

Neonatal Skin Maturation-Vernix Caseosa and Free Amino Acids

Abstract: Neonatal skin hydration decreases rapidly postnatally and then increases, indicating adaptive changes in stratum corneum water handling properties. Transition from high to low humidity at birth may initiate filaggrin proteolysis to free amino acids. Neonatal skin with vernix caseosa retained is more hydrated than skin with vernix removed. This study examines the potential roles of free amino acids and vernix in postnatal adaptation of infant stratum corneum in vivo. Specifically, the ontogeny of free amino acid generation in neonatal stratum corneum and the role of vernix caseosa in postnatal adaptation were examined using high performance liquid chromatography. Free amino acids were quantified for infant skin samples collected at (i) birth and 1 month and (ii) birth and 24 hours after vernix caseosa retention or removal and compared to neonatal foreskin, vernix caseosa, and adult stratum corneum using t-tests, analysis of variance, or univariate procedures. Free amino acids were extremely low at birth, significantly higher 1 month later but lower than in adults. Vernix caseosa retention led to significantly higher free amino acids 24 hours after birth compared to infants with vernix caseosa removed, and it paralleled the higher stratum corneum hydration of vernix caseosa-retained skin. Vernix caseosa contained free amino acids, with glutamic acid and histidine levels higher than in infants. Free amino acids in vernix caseosa-retained skin appear to originate from vernix caseosa. Free amino acids were lower in neonatal foreskin than adult forearm stratum corneum. Arginine was higher than citrulline at birth, but levels were comparable in older infants. The free amino acid increase at 1 month may be initiated by the humidity transition at birth and supports results in animals. The findings have implications for infant skin care practices

Developmental neuropsychiatry: A new model of psychiatry for young people with and without intellectual disability

Deinstitutionalization of young people with intellectual disability means that they are now cared for by families and served by community-based professionals. Normalization, which has been the guiding philosophy for this re-integration, has challenged child psychiatry to accept its responsibility for the mental health of this special needs group. It is argued that this group, with its special mental health needs, has had an influence on the conceptual framework of child psychiatry, particularly our understanding of development. This article examines the influence of the psychiatry of intellectual disability on child psychiatry and the influence of child psychiatry on the understanding of the mental health needs of those with intellectual disability. In particular, the management of young people with intellectual disability has required child psychiatry to expand its understanding of a biopsychosocial approach. Some of the resulting changes and challenges are presented to illustrate the benefits for both child psychiatry and the psychiatry of intellectual disability. The interaction of different conceptual biases has led to a new and broader conceptual spectrum of developmental neuropsychiatry. Developmental neuropsychiatry recognizes the need to integrate social science and preventative strategies at one end of the spectrum, with the genetics, molecular biology of human behaviour and targeted pharmacology at the other, and consider the developmental and interactive nature of such models. This article argues that this emerging, dynamic and broader conceptual framework of developmental neuropsychiatry enhances our understanding of the child mental health of all children. The article looks at some of the implications for assessment, diagnosis and treatment. As mental health needs become a greater public health priority, the advances in basic sciences will reinvigorate this medical specialty and training programmes will need to reflect these. Copyrigh