SHIFTING MINDSETS: Views of seasoned experts on changes most needed now in global nutrition work

In preparation for a talk Alan Berg was asked to give at an American Society for Nutrition meeting honoring him and celebrating his 90th birthday, as well as the 50th anniversery of the publication of his book The Nutrition Factor, he asked 11 “nutrition engineers” (experts in public health nutrition, specializing in low-income settings) 3 questions. These are their responses

Derivations of Atomic Ionization Effects Induced by Neutrino Magnetic Moments

A recent paper [M.B. Voloshin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 201801 (2010)] pointed out that our earlier derivations of atomic ionization cross-section due to neutrino magnetic moments (arXiv:1001.2074v2) involved unjustified assumptions. We confirm and elaborate on this comment with these notes. We caution that the results of the sum-rule approach in this paper contradict the expected behaviour in atomic transitions.Comment: V3 3 pages ; confirm and elaborate on unjustified assumptions in V1 & V

Remaining Challenges in Tanzania's Efforts to Eliminate Iodine Deficiency.

To determine iodine levels in salt and iodine deficiency prevalence in school-aged children in 16 districts in Tanzania with previous severe iodine deficiency. A cross-sectional study in schoolchildren. Systematic probability sampling was used to select schools and subjects for goitre assessment and urinary iodine determination. Sixteen districts randomly selected from the 27 categorised as severely iodine-deficient in Tanzania. The study population was primary-school children aged 6-18 years who were examined for goitre prevalence and urinary iodine concentration (UIC). Salt samples from schoolchildren's homes and from shops were tested for iodine content. The study revealed that 83.3% of households (n=21,160) in the surveyed districts used iodised salt. Also, 94% of sampled shops (n=397) sold iodised salt, with a median iodine level of 37.0 ppm (range 4.2-240 ppm). Median UIC in 2089 schoolchildren was 235.0 microg l(-1) and 9.3% had UIC values below 50 microg l(-1). The overall unweighted mean visible and total goitre prevalence was 6.7% and 24.3%, respectively (n=16,222). The age group 6-12 years had the lowest goitre prevalence (3.6% visible and 18.0% total goitre, n=7147). The total goitre prevalence had decreased significantly in all districts from an unweighted mean of 65.4% in the 1980s to 24.3% in 1999 (P<0.05). We believe this difference was also biologically significant. ConclusionThese findings indicate that iodine deficiency is largely eliminated in the 16 districts categorised as severely iodine-deficient in Tanzania, and that the iodine content of salt purchased from shops is highly variable

Tanzania national survey on iodine deficiency: impact after twelve years of salt iodation

Background: In many low-income countries, children are at high risk of iodine deficiency disorders, including brain damage. In the early 1990s, Tanzania, a country that previously suffered from moderate to severe iodine deficiency, adopted universal salt iodation (USI) as an intervention strategy, but its impact remained unknown. Methods: We report on the first national survey in mainland Tanzania, conducted in 2004 to assess the extent to which iodated salt was used and its apparent impact on the total goitre prevalence (TGP) and urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) among the schoolchildren after USI was initiated. In 2004, a cross-sectional goitre survey was conducted; covering 140,758 schoolchildren aged 6 - 18 years were graded for goitre according to new WHO goitre classification system. Comparisons were made with district surveys conducted throughout most of the country during the 1980s and 90s. 131,941 salt samples from households were tested for iodine using rapid field test kits. UIC was determined spectrophotometrically using the ammonium persulfate digestion method in 4523 sub-sampled children. Results: 83.6% (95% CI: 83.4 - 83.8) of salt samples tested positive for iodine. Whereas the TGP was about 25% on average in the earlier surveys, it was 6.9% (95%CI: 6.8-7.0) in 2004. The TGP for the younger children, 6-9 years old, was 4.2% (95%CI: 4.0-4.4), n = 41,965. In the 27 goitre-endemic districts, TGP decreased from 61% (1980s) to 12.3% (2004). The median UIC was 204 (95% CF: 192-215) μg/L. Only 25% of children had UIC <100 μg/L and 35% were ≥ 300 μg/L, indicating low and excess iodine intake, respectively. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates a marked improvement in iodine nutrition in Tanzania, twelve years after the initiation of salt iodation programme. The challenge in sustaining IDD elimination in Tanzania is now two-fold: to better reach the areas with low coverage of iodated salt, and to reduce iodine intake in areas where it is excessive. Particular attention is needed in improving quality control at production level and perhaps the national salt iodation regulations may need to be reviewed.publishedVersio

Possibilidades e limitações da amamentação entre mulheres trabalhadoras formais

INTRODUCTION: Studies carried out on breastfeeding and working women are difficult to compare. Breastfeeding practices among formally employed women in Brazil have not been much studied, despite important changes in public policies such as the extension of maternity leave to 120 days. OBJECTIVES: A description of breastfeeding patterns among women employed in factories and the constraints and opportunities involved in conciliating breastfeeding and work. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An exploratory study was carried out in 13 factories in S. Paulo city in 1994, where all women in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy were interviewed (76), and re-interviewed (69) when they went back to work (around 5,4 months after delivery). RESULTS: Breastfeeding initiation was found in 97% of women and the median duration was 150 days. The exclusive breastfeeding and predominant breastfeeding rates were, respectively, 10 and 70 days of median duration. Higher socio-economic status and nursery facilities and the existence of a place in which to extract and store the mother's milk at the workplace were factors associated with longer duration of breastfeeding. Other factors such as flex-time and work out of the production-line also showed a significant relation to longer duration of breastfeeding in the factories studied. CONCLUSION: Maternity leave is widely taken advantage of and highly benefitial for the majority of working women as regards breastfeeding, but other factors are important in maitaining lactation, such as circunstances which permit closer mother-child contact and/or the extraction of human milk during the working day.INTRODUÇÃO: Pesquisas sobre a amamentação e a questão do trabalho da mulher são de difícil comparabilidade. A prática de amamentar entre mulheres com um emprego formal no Brasil tem sido pouco estudada, em que pesem as mudanças havidas como a extensão da licença maternidade para 120 dias. Decidiu-se realizar estudo com o objetivo de descrever o padrão de amamentação de mulheres empregadas em empresas, as limitações que elas enfrentam e que fatores contribuem para que elas possam conciliar trabalho e amamentação. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Estudo exploratório realizado em 13 indústrias de São Paulo em 1994, onde todas as mulheres no terceiro trimestre da gestação (76) foram entrevistadas e reentrevistadas (69) na volta ao trabalho (em torno de 5,4 meses pós-parto). RESULTADOS: Iniciaram a amamentação 97% das mulheres, apresentando uma duração mediana de 150 dias; quanto ao Aleitamento Materno Exclusivo, a duração mediana foi de 10 dias, e à Amamentação Predominante, a mediana foi de 70 dias. As mulheres de melhor nível socioeconômico e as que tinham creche no local de trabalho ou sala de coleta e estocagem de leite materno, foram as que amamentaram por mais tempo. A possibilidade de flexibilizar seu horário e não trabalhar na linha de produção também mostraram ser fatores significantes que levam as mulheres dessas indústrias a amamentar mais. CONCLUSÕES: A licença-maternidade tem sido útil e usada pela maioria das trabalhadoras para amamentar, mas há outros fatores que são fundamentais para que a manutenção da lactação seja facilitada, tais como aqueles que permitem a proximidade mãe-criança e/ou a retirada periódica de leite materno durante a jornada de trabalho

Conflict of interest in nutrition conference financing: Moving towards solutions after IUNS 2022

Making contributions to reducing malnutrition entails sharing evidence and approaches among the research and practice communities, including through conferences. But who is involved in these processes, including who pays, matters both in terms of actions and optics. This paper was motivated by observations – in 2022 and historically – that the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS), in putting on its flagship International Congress of Nutrition (ICN), was leaving itself – and, by extension, participating scientists – open to conflicts of interest (COI). With contemporary scholarship on the commercial determinants of health making clear the ways in which this kind of sponsorship represents both a conflict of interest for nutrition events and a negative force in broader food system drivers of nutrition, this paper aims to document the issues surrounding the 2022 IUNS-ICN conference as historical record; draw on academic literature on conflict of interest to better understand the issue; and suggest some practical options moving towards COI-free nutrition events in the future.