Preschool diets in children from Pi\u142a, Poland, require urgent intervention as implied by high risk of nutrient inadequacies

Background: Among the studies published after the year 2000 which focused on nutrition at preschool, only three aimed to assess children\u2019s intake of energy and selected nutrients at preschool. The purpose of this study was to assess dietary intake in children during their stay at preschool. Methods: The studied population comprised 128 4\u20136-year-old children who attended preschools in Pi\u142a, Poland. Intakes of energy and macronutrients were estimated from a 5-day weighed food record completed by the preschool staff. Weight and height were measured, and BMI was calculated. Statistical analysis was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0 computer programme. The data were analysed according to gender. Results: Energy intake was the lowest in children with underweight, 2004 kJ (478 kcal), and the highest in obese children, 3388 kJ (809 kcal). Energy intake from lactose was statistically significantly higher in boys than in girls, 3.0 vs 2.6 %. Statistically significantly higher percentage of boys in comparison to girls had intakes of vitamin C below 70 % of EAR, 56.9 vs 38.1 %. It is important to highlight the excessive intake of energy from saturated fatty acids and energy from sucrose, along with inadequate intake of energy from polyunsaturated fatty acids. We also found excessive intake of sodium and inadequate intakes of dietary fibre, water, vitamin D, vitamin E, folate, niacin, calcium and potassium. Conclusions: Preschool diets need urgent improvement to prevent diet-related diseases in the studied preschoolers in the future. The inadequacies observed in these diets are in accordance with the previously reported inadequacies in menus planned for preschoolers. More research is needed to investigate dietary intake of children during their stay at preschool. Common regulations worked out for all preschools in the European Union would be a good way to provide adequate nutrition to preschool children

Gender differences and typical nutrition concerns of the diets of preschool children – the results of the first stage of an intervention study

Abstract Background Nutrition in children has an important influence on health both in childhood and adulthood. Actions aimed at improving children’s nutrition are essential, not only to the children and their families, but also to the whole society. The aim of the study was to present the results of nutrient intake before starting a nutrition and physical activity intervention programme, to investigate gender differences in nutrient intake and to discuss whether the preschoolers’ nutrient intake is similar to the intake of their peers from other countries. Methods Nutrient intake was estimated from seven-day weighed food records kept by parents and preschool staff individually for 122 4–6-year-old children who attended two preschools in Piła, north-western Poland. Nutrient intake was calculated using Dieta 4.0 computer programme including water intake and intake of nutrients from dietary supplements. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics computer programme, version 21.0, according to gender. The study was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Poznan University of Medical Sciences (reference number 886/08). Results Boys, in comparison to girls, were found to have statistically significantly higher intakes of total protein, total protein per kg of body weight, saturated fatty acids, total carbohydrates, available carbohydrates, lactose, sucrose, total water, vitamin A, beta-carotene, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Statistically significantly higher percentage of girls than boys had intakes of vitamin E below AI. Conclusions Gender was a significant factor of nutrient intake in the studied preschool children. The main nutritional concerns in the studied preschoolers’ diets, irrespective of gender, are typical of the diets of preschool children from various parts of Europe and indicate the need to work out common nutritional strategies to improve preschoolers’ nutrition across Europe to reduce future burden of diet-related diseases to the European societies

Comparison of physical activity and ways of spending leisure time in urban and rural preschool children

Wstęp. Z uwagi na znaczenie aktywności fizycznej dla rozwoju dziecka w wieku przedszkolnym konieczne jest jej systematyczne monitorowanie. Celem niniejszej pracy było porównanie zwykłej i dodatkowej aktywności fizycznej oraz ulubionych form spędzania czasu wolnego przez dzieci przedszkolne z miasta i wsi. Materiał i metody. Ankietę dotyczącą zwykłej i dodatkowej aktywności fizycznej oraz ulubionych form spędzania czasu wolnego podczas ładnej i deszczowej pogody wypełnili rodzice 213 dzieci w wieku od 3 do 6 lat uczęszczających do przedszkoli w Pile i wsiach powiatu pilskiego. Statystyczną analizę wyników przeprowadzono przy pomocy programu komputerowego IBM SPSS Statistics 21. Przyjęto podział badanej grupy dzieci w zależności od czynnika miejsce zamieszkania-płeć. Wyniki. Stwierdzono statystycznie istotne zróżnicowanie odpowiedzi na pięć pytań dotyczących aktywnych form spędzania czasu wolnego w przedszkolu, dwa pytania dotyczące biernych form spędzania czasu wolnego w domu, trzy pytania dotyczące ulubionych form spędzania czasu wolnego podczas ładnej pogody i trzy pytania dotyczące ulubionych form spędzania czasu wolnego podczas deszczowej pogody. Wnioski. Bardzo niski odsetek badanych dzieci z obu typów przedszkoli uczestniczący w aktywnych formach spędzania czasu wolnego w przedszkolu i poza przedszkolem, szczególnie wyraźny w przypadku dzieci wiejskich, wskazuje na konieczność podjęcia planu naprawczego uwzględniającego równy i w miarę możliwości bezpłatny dostęp do aktywności fizycznej dla dzieci przedszkolnych z wiejskich i miejskich przedszkoli.Background. Physical activity is one of the major determinants of preschool children’s development and therefore it should be monitored constantly. The aim of this study was to compare ordinary and additional physical activity, and favourite ways of spending leisure time urban and rural preschool children. Material and methods. Questionnaires on ordinary and additional physical activity, and favourite ways of spending leisure time during sunny and rainy weather were filled in by parents of 213 children aged 3 to 6 years who attended preschools in Piła and in the villages in the district of Piła. Statistical analysis was carried out by the IBM SPSS Statistics 21 computer programme. The studied population was divided according to the variable place of residence-gender. Results. Statistically significant differences were found in the answers to five questions concerning active ways of spending leisure time at preschool, two questions concerning passive ways of spending leisure time outside preschool, three questions concerning favourite ways of spending leisure time during sunny weather and three questions concerning favourite ways of spending leisure time during rainy weather. Conclusions. The very low percentages of children from both types of preschool who took part in active ways of spending leisure time at preschool and outside preschool, especially evident in the case of children living in the countryside, shows the necessity of introducing a repair programme which should include equal and free access to physical activity for children from both town and the countryside

Nutritional status in female basketball players at various levels of performance

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess nutritional status in female basketball players at various levels of performance who differed in training load per week, what is most important, were trained by the same coach. Methods: Nutritional status was assessed in 39female basketball players aged 14 to 25. years trained by one and the same coach. The studied population comprised 14university students aged 19 to 25. years who attended basketball training obligatorily, 11students from a university basketball team aged 19 to 25. years and 14basketball players from a second division team aged 14 to 18. years. Anthropometric measurements, biochemical indices in serum and haematological indices were used to assess nutritional status. Results: The level of performance had statistically significant influence on body height, subscapular skinfold thickness, abdominal skinfold thickness, HDL-cholesterol, atherogenic ratios: total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol, and apolipoproteinsA and B, the percentages of the players who met the norm for HDL-C, mean corpuscular volume and the percentages of the players who met the norm for haematocrit. Conclusions: Our study showed that the players from the university basketball team were characterised by the most favourable indices of nutritional status. Unexpectedly, the most unfavourable lipid profile was observed in basketball players at the highest level of performance, who had the most training sessions a week and had the longest training experience. © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Gender and the length of time since autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-What is their influence on the immune reconstitution in multiple myeloma patients?

IntroductionIn the literature there is lack of information on the influence of gender and time since autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) on the immune reconstitution in multiple myeloma (MM) patients.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the diversity of the immune reconstitution according to gender in MM patients after autologous HSCT on the day of the clinic discharge and on the 29th day after discharge, as well as to investigate the changes in the immune system in females and males after staying at home for 28 days.MethodThe studied population comprised 13 females and 13 males after autologous HSCT. On the day of the clinic discharge and on the 29th day after discharge blood samples were taken to analyse 22 immunological parameters. Statistical analysis was performed using STATISTICA 10 StatSoft Poland. For multiple comparisons, the Bonferroni correction was used.ResultsNo statistically significant differences were observed in the analysed immunological parameters between the studied females and males with MM on the day of the clinic discharge and on the 29th day after discharge. However, on the 29th day after the clinic discharge compared to the day of the clinic discharge, statistically significant differences were found in 8 immunological parameters among females and 6 immunological parameters among males.Conclusion and recommendationOur results indicate that the immune reconstitution is similar but not the same in patients of both genders. Statistically significant differences in the immune response in the studied females and males imply that gender may play a role in the immune reconstitution and that the results obtained in MM patients should be analysed separately in females and males. In order to explain the observed changes in the immune system according to gender, further research should be carried out on a larger population. This would most probably make it possible to find their clinical application