Prevalence of dieting, overweight, body image satisfaction and associated psychological problems in adolescent boys

Purpose - The aim of the present study is to examine the severity of dieting and its association with obesity, body satisfaction and psychological problems in adolescent boys. Design/methodology/approach - A representative sample of 800 boys in the age group of 14-19 in Qatar was approached during the period from October to December, 2004 and 593 boys gave consent to participate in this study, thus giving a response rate of 74.1 per cent. Self-reports were obtained from 593 teenage boys using the adolescent dieting scale (ADS), and the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20) for psychopathology. Findings - Of the studied subjects, 33.1 per cent were overweight, 10.1 per cent were extreme dieters and 37.4 per cent were intermediate dieters. Among the dieters, 34 per cent were overweight. Dieting was more likely in subjects who practiced exercise and who were perceived by peers or themselves as overweight. The extreme dieters experienced more psychological problems than the intermediate dieters and non-dieters. Extreme dieters reported sleeping problems (58.3 per cent), tired all the time (53.3 per cent) and felt like crying more than usual (50 per cent). Television was the main source of information on diet (61.7 per cent). Originality/value - The present study findings provide a strong evidence for the association between frequent dieting and overweight, body image dissatisfaction and psychological problems

Fisheries rehabilitation in post-tsunami Aceh: Status and needs from participatory appraisals

The widespread and long-term nature of the tsunami damage in Aceh province, Indonesia has threatened the continued use of coastal and fisheries resources. This article describes the application of the Rapid Appraisal of Fisheries Management System (RAFMS) methodology and presents key findings from the participatory appraisals in 15 study sites. The focus is on changes in the number and types of fishing boats and fishing effort, consumption and marketing flow patterns and community perspectives on livelihood options. The level of aid (for new boats), mainly from international organizations, has been unevenly distributed with the number of boats in 13 of 15 villages still being well below the pre-tsunami levels. A focus on supplying small vessels may put increased fishing pressure on the near-shore zone. Consumption data and marketing flows suggest that most fishing villages are supplying outside markets and adding considerably to the wider food security of the province. Despite the tsunami, marine fisheries-related livelihoods are still preferred, although there are indications for the potential expansion of livelihoods into the culture of new species. Alternative resource-based livelihoods need to be tested and refined to fit the needs of the current conditions in Aceh to provide viable options for eliminating hunger and reducing poverty

American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora): an ancient remedy for today’s anxiety?

Anxiety is a common but potentially serious disorder as it can lead to somatic and social dysfunction. Orthodox anxiolytics are associated with unpleasant side-effects and dependency. American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) is a popular herb in traditional medicine systems and the western materia medica for anxiety and related disorders. Preliminary clinical and in vitro research provides encouraging support for its potential as a safe, well-tolerated and effective alternative

Fisheries rehabilitation in post-tsunami Aceh: Status and needs from participatory appraisals

The widespread and long-term nature of the tsunami damage in Aceh province, Indonesia has threatened the continued use of coastal and fisheries resources. This article describes the application of the Rapid Appraisal of Fisheries Management System (RAFMS) methodology and presents key findings from the participatory appraisals in 15 study sites. The focus is on changes in the number and types of fishing boats and fishing effort, consumption and marketing flow patterns and community perspectives on livelihood options. The level of aid (for new boats), mainly from international organizations, has been unevenly distributed with the number of boats in 13 of 15 villages still being well below the pre-tsunami levels. A focus on supplying small vessels may put increased fishing pressure on the near-shore zone. Consumption data and marketing flows suggest that most fishing villages are supplying outside markets and adding considerably to the wider food security of the province. Despite the tsunami, marine fisheries-related livelihoods are still preferred, although there are indications for the potential expansion of livelihoods into the culture of new species. Alternative resource-based livelihoods need to be tested and refined to fit the needs of the current conditions in Aceh to provide viable options for eliminating hunger and reducing poverty.Disaster, Tsunami

Subband domain coding of binary textual images for document archiving

Cataloged from PDF version of article.In this work, a subband domain textual image compression method is developed. The document image is first decomposed into subimages using binary subband decompositions. Next, the character locations in the subbands and the symbol library consisting of the character images are encoded. The method is suitable for keyword search in the compressed data. It is observed that very high compression ratios are obtained with this method. Simulation studies are presented

Feasibility of Impact-Acoustic Emissions for Detection of Damaged Wheat Kernels

Cataloged from PDF version of article.A non-destructive, real time device was developed to detect insect damage, sprout damage, and scab damage in kernels of wheat. Kernels are impacted onto a steel plate and the resulting acoustic signal analyzed to detect damage. The acoustic signal was processed using four different methods: modeling of the signal in the time-domain, computing time-domain signal variances and maximums in short-time windows, analysis of the frequency spectrum magnitudes, and analysis of a derivative spectrum. Features were used as inputs to a stepwise discriminant analysis routine, which selected a small subset of features for accurate classification using a neural network. For a network presented with only insect damaged kernels (IDK) with exit holes and undamaged kernels, 87% of the former and 98% of the latter were correctly classified. It was also possible to distinguish undamaged, IDK, sprout-damaged, and scab-damaged kernels. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Attitudinal Determinants of diet and lifestyle among African and Caribbean women living in the UK : study design and rationale

The aim of this article is to describe the rationale and design of a cross-sectional study that investigated the influence of attitudinal factors on diet and lifestyle of African and Caribbean women living in the UK. The results of the study will be presented elsewhere. African and Caribbean women are at high risk of obesity which exacerbates health inequalities. In the UK, little work has been carried out to better understand attitudinal factors that contribute towards obesity, lifestyle and health practice amongst this group. Methods: The study applied a comprehensive questionnaire to capture socio-demographic data and explore general attitudes towards diet and lifestyle of African and Caribbean women. Dietary data were collected using triple-pass 24-hour recalls. In addition, all participants had anthropometric measures, blood pressure and biochemical indices assessed using standardised methods. Discussion: Potential strengths and limitations of the current study design, exploring health, diet, and lifestyle habits and the contextual influence on these practices among African and Caribbean in the UK are discussed. Findings from this study will contribute to the understanding of food and health practices, the role of socio-cultural factors and potential barriers and facilitators to the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, which could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, all of which have increased prevalence in these communities