Erasmus+sport let’s move Europa: learning units for health promotion among children and adolescents

Background School years are crucial for acquiring life-lasting healthy habits. However, an increasing rate of children and adolescents fail to maintain a healthy lifestyle. European Union has financed the Erasmus+ Sport Let’s Move Europa project to design an innovative digital tool for promoting healthy lifestyles among those age groups. University of Bologna, partner of the project, has developed 30 Learning Units (LUs) about Physical Activity, Sleep and Nutrition to be integrated in the school program by teacher

Weekday and Weekend Differences in Eating Habits, Physical Activity and Screen Time Behavior among a Sample of Primary School Children: The "Seven Days for My Health" Project

Background: Healthy eating and active lifestyle habits are essential for a child's development, wellbeing, and health. School setting and family environment play a crucial role in shaping these habits and this could be reflected in different behavior patterns during weekdays and weekends. Methods: We investigated primary school children's lifestyle habits through a cross-sectional analysis of 428 Italian primary school children, with a mean age of 8.99 years (+/- 1.43). Data were collected from May to June 2017 using a weekly diary to assess children's lifestyles. Results: Children who eat their morning snack and lunch at school three or more times during the weekdays were 5.47 times more likely (95% CI 3.02, 10.2) to consume adequate snacks and 7.79 times more likely (95% CI 4.43, 14.5) to have adequate meals than those who did not. Conclusion: Consumption of vegetables, lunch, and snacks are significantly more adequate during the weekdays as compared to the weekends. Physical activity levels did not differ between weekdays and weekends. Moreover, children spent more time engaged in physical activities than in front of a screen during both the weekdays and the weekends. The present results are good indicators of the importance of the school canteen in defining correct eating habits. Family-based and school-based interventions could represent valuable integrative strategies for promoting a healthy lifestyle in children

N-terminal pro C-type natriuretric peptide relation with prolactin in the elderly

A relationship between natriuretic peptides, reproduction, and the elderly has been known for some time. To investigate the relation between Nt-pro C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) and reproduction, a group of 71 elderly men and women were studied. In particular, the relation between prolactin (PRL) and Nt-proCNP was examined. Nt-proBNP (N-terminal Brain NP), pro Atrial (ANP)(1-98) (Atrial NP), Nt-proCNP, luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormones, PRL, progesterone, and 17\u3b2-estradiol were measured in 51 (23 males/28 females) hypertensive patients. A total of 20 normotensive elderly subjects formed the control group. The hypertensive patients (TH) were divided into subgroups, accordingly to their main other clinical diagnosis, namely Diabetes, Hypertension, Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease. A direct correlation was observed between Nt-proCNP and PRL in all subjects, patients, and healthy volunteers (r = 0.56; P < 0.001). An inverse correlation between Nt-proCNP and follicle-stimulating hormones was observed in TH patients (r = -0.55; P < 0.05). proANP(1-98) and Nt-proBNP correlated with PRL respectively in peripheral arterial occlusive disease (r = 0.57; P < 0.05) and in TH (r = 0.52; P < 0.05). A direct correlation was found between the latter and luteinizing hormone in Diabetes (r = 0.64; P < 0.05). We demonstrate, for the first time, a correlation between Nt-proCNP and PRL in sick and healthy elderly subjects. Also proANP(1-98) and Nt-proBNP appeared to coregulated with PR

Supplementary suckling technique with expressed breast milk can increase the belief in breastfeeding

In Tanzania in 2015 more than 100,000 Severe Acute Malnourished (SAM) cases were estimated, with high risk of dying. SAM infants under‐6 months (U‐6 mo) need special care and should always be treated as inpatient. If it is possible to restore Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF), therapeutic feeds can be best delivered by the Supplementary Suckling Technique (SST). A male infant, born at term with a body weight (BW) of 3100 g, was admitted in hospital at 6 weeks of age with a BW of 1550 g. The child was diagnosed as marasmatic SAM. He was started on therapeutic milk administered by SST. Mother was instructed in proper SST use and counseled in order to re‐establish effective EBF. As weight gain was maintained, SST was stopped and the child was put on EBF, but BW started to decrease again. SST was then applied using Expressed Breast Milk (EBM), gradually stepped down and stopped. Since BW started to decrease again it emerged that the mother decided by herself to start again to administer EBM by SST but in insuficient quantity. She was invited to breastfeed frequently under supervision, creating a better awareness of breastfeeding practices. Since the child showed correct weight gain on EBF he was discharged, with a BW of 2420 g. According to our experience SST with EBM could be useful in developing countries to increase awareness and belief on successful breast feeding