Balanced Meal Research Articles

Impact of Village Savings and Loan Associations on Food Security in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of Marange Community in Mutare District

Objective: The study aimed at evaluating the impact of the Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) on food security. Methods: Guided by a pragmatist philosophy, the study applied mixed methods approach with an exploratory sequential design beginning with qualitative research phase. It explored the views of participants from four focus group discussions (FGDs) and seven key informant interviews (KIIs) to identify and specify variables to be measured through the second phase which was quantitative research. The quantitative phase used a household survey questionnaire to collect data from 204 respondents exclusive of participants of the first phase. Data from FGDs was analysed using NVivo, while One-Way ANOVA Test was used to analyze data from individual households. Results: The results showed that non-VSLAs members experience poor food availability and utilization throughout the year. Participation in VSLAs increased household food availability by 0.349 and utilization of food by 0.222, as evidenced by eating of balanced meal by household members. The results also indicated that participation in VSLAs led to better access to food, and stability of access, availability and utilization of food than non-VSLAs households. Conclusion: The findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between household’s participation in VSLAs and its food security.

Obesity among government-backed economy restaurant workers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

IntroductionThis food service sector produces nutritionally balanced meals and its workers eat their meals in this environment. Since they work with nutritionally adequate meals, would these workers have a lower prevalence of obesity?ObjectivesThe present study aimed to describe the prevalence of obesity among government-backed economy restaurant workers in a Brazilian state capital with analysis of sociodemographic and occupational factors and associated health factors.MethodsTwo hundred and fifteen (215) workers from four government-backed economy restaurants operating in the city of Belo Horizonte were evaluated. Only workers who were active during the study period were eligible for the analysis. Anthropometric data were collected for investigation in relation to sociodemographic variables and work and health conditions.ResultsThe sample of government-backed economy restaurant workers was 37.2% female and had a mean age of 41.9 ± 10.9 years. Based on body mass index, we found that one third of the workers were obese. Obesity was more prevalent among women, workers who were dissatisfied with their bodies, workers who mainly perform tasks in a sitting position, and workers who perform strenuous tasks. Obese people have difficulties performing physical movements, classify their tasks as arduous, and opt for more sedentary tasks.ConclusionsThree out of 10 workers in the government-backed economy restaurants were obese. Programs and actions aimed at prevention and control of obesity are needed in this sector in order to improve the physical and mental capacities of its workers, avoiding attrition of the workforce and major health problems.

Predictors of Headache/Migraine and the Use of Complementary Medicine in U.S. Children: A Population-Based Analysis of 2017 National Health Interview Survey Data.

Background: This study set out to determine the prevalence and possible risk factors of headache and/or migraine in U.S. children, as well as the prevalence of complementary medicine use in this population. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of data from the 2017 U.S. National Health Interview Survey. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were compared between individuals with and without headaches. A backward stepwise procedure with a logistic regression statistic was used to test for potential predictors. Results: Six percent of children reported headaches and/or migraine within the past 12 months. Headaches were predicted by older age, female sex, non-Hispanic white ethnicity, and living in the southern United States. Inability to afford balanced meals and feeling sad or depressed in the past 6 months were also associated with higher odds of headache. A total of 19.2% of children with headaches reported using mind-body medicine, compared with 12.2% of children without headaches. Most frequently used therapy was yoga (57.2%), followed by spiritual meditation (31.1%) and mindfulness meditation (24.0%). The prevalence of visits to a complementary medicine practitioner or healer was 12.5%. Most frequently seen practitioners were chiropractors (62.1%), followed by naturopaths (21.2%), homeopaths (14.1%), and traditional healers (2.5%). Conclusions: The common use of complementary medicine among children suffering from headaches is worth noting. Understanding the motivation for using complementary medicine, as well as the choice of different forms of such therapy, may shed further light on the health-seeking behavior of this population.

Isi Piringku Dietary Meal Proportion Estimator Applications using SeeFood Image Segmentations

Isi Piringku atau My Meal Dish Content was a program initiated by the Indonesian ministry of health to promote a healthy daily lifestyle consisting of balanced dietary, enough hydration, active lifestyle, cleanliness and body weight control. The balanced diet meal was supposed to consist of ⅓ of carbohydrate intake, ⅓ of vegetable intake, ⅙ of fruit intake and ⅙ of protein intake every time. This introduces some difficulty that every meal must be measured to align with the dietary guidelines. This study targets estimating the meal diet proportion by its visual cues using smartphone application. While the actual meal content dietary division was weight based, for sake of simplicity the proportion in this study was estimated by each food area which roughly correlates to its volume. Using smartphone cameras in Android 9 Operating Systems and Tensorflow Lite Seefoods: Mobile Food Segmentation v1.0 module, an application was built to help users estimate their meal balances proportion. The original segmentation criterion was constructed using USDA dietary guidelines and it was reduced to only 4 food groups related to Isi Piringku criterion. Suggestion will be given regarding the segmentation result. The result was that the application was capable of estimating the meal diet proportion and giving suggestions based on the segmentation result. Although, the volume of the meal food groups estimated was still low on accuracy. This was correlated with the accuracy level of the segmentation module that was used. On average, the time needed to apply the segmentation process was around 2 to 3 seconds on a Snapdragon 835 device.

Cardiovascular Diseases Healthy Diet Related Knowledge among a Sample of the General Population in Egypt

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the extent of Egyptians’ awareness regarding the relationship between nutrition and cardiovascular health. AIM: This study seeks to evaluate people’s awareness through an online cross-sectional survey to determine the knowledge gaps. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey using a convenience sampling technique. The participation required being an adult Egyptian (≥18 years old). A pre-tested electronic-questionnaire included three sections: Socio-demographic data, a self-reported history of chronic and cardiac diseases, and 15 questions addressing dietary risk factors and protective factors. Six hundred and thirty-two participants completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean age was 28 ± 8 years. More than 80% of the participants were males. Of 632 participants, 233 had poor awareness. The median knowledge percent score was 62 with interquartile range (52, 71). About 85.4% of the participants were ready to change their eating habits and follow a healthy diet to maintain their health. The participants were interested in knowing more about healthy food and how to prepare healthy balanced meals (71.7% and 62.2%, respectively). Females, university-educated, employed, and Upper Egypt residents demonstrated deep awareness (p-value = 0.02, 0.011, 0.05, and 0.012, respectively). Intriguingly, friends and social media were the primary sources of nutritional knowledge. CONCLUSION: The participants’ knowledge is poor regarding the relation between nutrition and cardiovascular health. This study emphasizes the urgent need to raise public awareness as a precaution against cardiovascular diseases.

Do ready-to-eat meals of Greek supermarkets need reformulation?

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the nutritional value of ready-to-eat meals available in Greek retail outlets. A total of 228 meals were identified, their nutritional value was registered according to their labels and a comparison was performed against specific nutritional criteria for the macronutrients, per serving. The 183 products were main dishes and 45 were salads and appetisers. The 28.9% of salads and appetisers were within the calorie cut-off point (250Kcal), the 82.2% of them contained more salt than the limit (0.75 g), whereas 22.2% were within the limit of fat (9 g). 72.1% of the main dishes had fewer calories than the cut-off point (600 Kcal), 12.6% of them had less salt than the limit (1.8 g) and 48.1% of them were within the limit for fats (21 g). Companies should reformulate their offered ready-to-eat meals in terms of their fat and salt content in order to provide the consumers with balanced meals.

Associations of self-reported chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with indicators of economic instability and stress - 16 states, 2017.

To examine the association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease status and indicators of economic instability and stress to better understand the magnitude of these issues in persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Analyzed 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 16 states that administered the 'Social Determinants of Health' module, which included economic instability and stress measures (N = 101,461). Associations between self-reported doctor-diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease status and each measure were examined using multinomial logistic models. Adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were more likely (p < 0.001) than adults without to report not having enough money at month end (21.0% vs. 7.9%) or just enough money (44.9% vs. 37.2%); being unable to pay mortgage, rent, or utility bills (19.2% vs. 8.8%); and that often or sometimes food did not last or could not afford to eat balanced meals (37.9% vs. 20.6%), as well as stress all or most of the time (27.3% vs. 11.6%). Associations were attenuated although remained significant after adjustments for sociodemographic and health characteristics. Financial, housing, and food insecurity and frequent stress were more prevalent in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than without. Findings highlight the importance of including strategies to address challenges related to economic instability and stress in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease management programs.

Evaluation of the National School Lunch Program at a Public Charter School in Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is the second largest meal program in the United States, operating in Elementary, Secondary and not for profit private schools. The goals and objectives of the NSLP is to provide free, healthy, nutritious and balanced meals to students each school day so they can develop into healthy adults. This study sought to assess whether the goals and objectives of the NSLP were being met. A mixed method with a convergent design was employed with a sample of 30 students and 2 staff. Findings revealed that majority of students believed that meals served are healthy, nutritious and balanced and are served timely. Majority of the respondents indicated that staff and servers in the school cafeteria are friendly and accommodating. It can be deduced from the findings that the school met the objectives of the program to a great extent but there is room for improvement since there are students who were served with nutritional foods but still did not consume portions of it. It is therefore recommended that the school incorporate healthy eating habits in the school’s curriculum including health education and promotions, which can help to boost consumption and increase the nutritional intake of vital nutrients in students.

Healthy diet social media campaign among Indonesian college students

Despite rise of self-perception towards eating balanced meals, obesity incidence remains high all over the world, reaching more than half billion people. It is worrisome since it leads to sedentary lifestyle that contributes to non-communicable diseases. Therefore, having adequate knowledge about healthy lifestyle, diet and eating habits from early age is crucial. Leveraging on the high usage of social media, educational intervention seems promising. In this study, we assess the impact of using social media campaigns through Instagram to raise knowledge and encourage behavioral changes. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed. Freshmen (n=144) were selected as respondents and divided to two groups through random sampling. Those in intervention group received various information via Instagram for four months. All respondents had to fill self-administered knowledge questionnaires and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) each month as evaluation. To evaluate the on-going campaign even more, we also collected qualitative data by interviewing respondents (n=14). Data were analysed using constant comparative method (CCM). By the end of campaign period, there was only positive increasing trend in knowledge. Instagram was perceived as a suitable campaign media despite needing improvements. Overall, Instagram educational intervention had only successfully raised awareness and knowledge, not students’ eating habits.

“Come with us for a week, for a month, and see how much food lasts for you:” A Qualitative Exploration of Food Insecurity in East Harlem, New York City

BackgroundFood insecurity refers to uncertain access to food on a consistent basis and the stress experienced by families who worry about having sufficient resources to provide balanced meals in their households. Food insecurity has a disproportionate influence on people of color. A robust body of evidence links food insecurity to poor health outcomes. ObjectiveTo document experiences of food insecurity among linguistically and ethnically diverse residents of the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City by exploring the ways in which food availability and cost intersect with household budgets, personal preferences, and shopping strategies. DesignIn-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with adult residents of New York City’s East Harlem neighborhood to provide insights about the links between food insecurity, well-being, and quality of life. Participants/settingThirty-seven adult residents of East Harlem were recruited through purposive sampling. Eligibility requirements included living in an East Harlem zip code (10029 or 10035); being aged 18 years or older; being the main food shopper and food decision-maker in the household; and speaking English, Spanish, or Mandarin Chinese. The study was conducted from February to May 2018. Statistical analyses performedInterviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Codes were organized into broad thematic topics and cross-case analyses were conducted. ResultsParticipants discussed overall perceptions of food insecurity and seven themes related to the challenges of and strategies for coping with food insecurity: intermittent vs chronic food insecurity, shopping and budgeting strategies, pantries as a vital community resource, social support systems, food insecurity and health, frustration with an unjust system, and pride in “making it work.” ConclusionsTo manage food insecurity, many study participants carefully managed food spending, dedicated substantial time to visiting stores and accessing food pantries, and relied on a public benefits cycle that left many without sufficient financial resources at the end of each month.

Implementasi Layanan Kesehatan, Gizi, dan Perawatan dalam Menanamkan Disiplin Hidup Sehat

Early childhood health services, have routine activities of washing hands, maintaining personal health and protecting the environment. Nutritional services have routine activities, namely the provision of balanced nutritional meals in schools. Care services have first aid management and control the child's physical condition (body temperature and injuries). However, in reality there is no balance between school and home, while schools implement health, nutrition and care services. This research was conducted to familiarize yourself with health, nutrition and care services at An-Nur Cirebon PAUD; early childhood healthy life discipline; and the results of instilling the discipline of healthy life in early childhood. This research uses qualitative descriptive research, this research was chosen because it wanted to reveal more detail and clearly about health services, nutrition, care in instilling the discipline of a healthy life at PAUD An-Nur Cirebon. This research data collection technique is divided into 3 parts, namely observation, interviews, and documentation. The data analysis technique of this research is divided into 2, namely data reduction and triangulation. Keywords: Health Services, Nutrition, Nursing, and Healthy Living Disciplines.

A cross-sectional study of financial distress in persons with multimorbidity.

BackgroundFinancial distress among persons with multimorbidity is an important topic which has been inadequately addressed to date.ObjectiveWe examined the extent of financial distress among persons with multimorbidity, using data from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).DesignCross-sectional, population-based study.ParticipantsAdults ages ≥ 18 years with multimorbidity.Main measuresLow income and selected social determinants of health that are indicators of financial distress.Key resultsMultimorbidity was more common among those with a household income of less than $15,000 per year (P < 0.001) and among those who were 65 years of age or older (P < 0.001). There was an approximately linear increase in the percentage of individuals who had a household income of less than $15,000 or $25,000 per year with increasing number of morbidities. About one-quarter of individuals who had five or more morbidities had a household income of less than $15,000 per year as compared with 4.49% of individuals with no morbidities (P < 0.001). For all of the social determinants of health examined (Couldn’t pay bills, didn’t have money for food, didn’t have money for balanced meals, didn’t have enough money to make ends meet, and felt this kind of stress), there was an approximately linear increase in the percentage of individuals with an indicator of financial distress with increasing number of morbidities. Further research is needed examining the prevalence and correlates of financial distress in this population as well effective strategies for ameliorating its impact on the health and wellbeing of these persons.

Micronutrient Status of the Selected Transgenders

According to Hindu mythology the supreme beings of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi join and emerge as the almighty Ammaiyappan, these divine beings combine to take the form "half male and half female”-Arthanaareeshwara. The present study flashes light upon the micronutrient status of the transgender individuals. The study was conducted in Coimbatore and Tiruppur picking up a sample size of 147 and was selected by convenience and purposive sampling method. Written questionnaire was the tool used to gather data from the participants. The participants were assessed for their micronutrient status, nutritional status and dietary habits, physical and mental health. The dietary habits found out on enquiry include their general eating habits, food allergies, likes and dislikes on food. It was discovered that they consumed non vegetarian food (100%), road side food (100%), junk food (75%) and an average of 2 meals, 2 snack and 1 beverage a day. The micronutrient status was found to be low (0-40) for nearly all participants as assessed with vitastiq. The deficiency symptoms noticed on clinical examination are sparse / thin hair (27.3%), inattentiveness (22.1%) and mild anaemia (12.9%). The BMI of the participants indicated that 42.2% were obese, 26.5% were overweight, 8.2% were under weight and 23.1% were normal. On a general note, participants had very poor physical health due to their sedentary life style neglecting exercise and yogic practices in their day to day life. They did not show mental fitness due to equal per cent of sexual and verbal harassment. Even on consumption on balanced meal they show low nutritional status which may be attributed to stress, poor hygiene and sanitation, lack of medical facilities and nutritional intervention programs. Hence the nutritional status of the transgender needs to be improved.

Change in normative eating self-efficacy is associated with six-month weight restoration following inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a disorder characterized by rigid and restrictive eating behaviors, resulting in significantly low body weight. While specialized behavioral intensive treatment programs can reliably support individuals with AN to normalize eating and weight control behaviors and achieve weight restoration, prognostic factors predicting relapse following treatment are unclear. We examined whether changes in (i) normative eating self-efficacy, (ii) body image self-efficacy, (iii) drive for thinness, and (iv) body dissatisfaction from inpatient admission to six-month follow-up were associated with weight restoration status at program discharge and at six-month follow-up. The sample comprised 146 participants with AN admitted to a meal-based inpatient-partial hospitalization program. Participants completed questionnaires at inpatient admission and six months following program discharge. Additionally, at follow-up, participants reported the frequency of engaging in normalized eating behaviors since discharge (e.g. eating with others and preparing a balanced meal). The majority (73.3%) of participants attained a BMI > 19 at discharge and 59.6% were weight restored at six-month follow-up. Change in normative eating self-efficacy was significantly associated with weight restoration at follow-up, whereas change in body image self-efficacy, drive for thinness, and body dissatisfaction were not. For each one unit increase in normative eating self-efficacy, patients were 4.65 times more likely to be weight restored at follow-up (p = .002). Additionally, individuals reporting a higher frequency of normalized eating behaviors at follow-up were more likely to be weight restored. Normative eating self-efficacy and normalized eating behaviors may represent vital treatment targets for relapse prevention interventions for this high-risk population.

PSIII-23 Feeding In-shell Hazelnuts (Corylus Spp) to Pigs Alters Fatty Acid Profile of Pork Fat

Abstract The study objective was to examine the effects of feeding growing pigs in-shell hazelnuts (Corylus spp). Barrows (n = 36; 58.0 ± 0.73 kg body weight) were sorted into pens (6 pigs/pen; 4.05 m2/pig) across two study replicates. Pens were randomly assigned (n = 3 pens/treatment/replicate) to receive a balanced corn-soybean meal diet (control) or a diet diluted with in-shell hazelnuts (HAZEL; 90% control and 10% hazelnuts). Hazelnuts were pulverized using a roller mill before incorporation into the diet. Composition of the hazelnuts was 7.11% CP, 19.84% crude fat, and 53.32% ADF; C18:1 accounted for 74.93% of the total fat. Pigs were individually weighed every 28 days and feed disappearance by pen was recorded. Within replicate, all pigs were harvested on the same day after either 68 or 69 days of feeding. Two chops (last-rib location; 2.54 cm thick) were collected from each carcass to assess pork quality. One cube (2.54 cm3) of fat was removed from half of the chops (1 sample/pig) and analyzed for fatty acid profile. The R software (v. 4.0.2) package afex (v. 0.28) was used for statistical analysis by GLM (ADG, ADFI, G:F) or mixed models with subsampling (carcass traits and fatty acids). All models included fixed effects of treatment, replicate, and their interaction; mixed models included the random effect of pen and P-values were determined by parametric bootstrapping. Control pigs grew 6% more efficiently than HAZEL pigs (P = 0.03), but ADG and ADFI were not affected by treatment (P &amp;gt; 0.05). Depth of backfat, hot carcass weight, chop color, intramuscular fat, and pH were not impacted by treatment (P &amp;gt; 0.05). Fat from HAZEL pigs had more C18:1 and less C16:0 (P = 0.01) than control pigs. Supplementation of hazelnuts to pigs may alter pork fat composition.

Intraspecific diversity of Vigna subterranea accessions obtained from multinational sources

Bambara groundnut is a legume with balanced meal. The present study investigated agro-morphological diversity of 61 Bambara groundnut accessions whose passport data were from 21 countries. The Genetic Resources Centre (GRC), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria provided the 61 accessions. The accessions were established in row plots of ten plants on the field at the Centre for Ecological studies, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Seventeen quantitative and two qualitative traits were recorded from the sampling units for each accession. Descriptive and multivariate statistical analysis were employed on the 61 x 19 matrix mean data. Significant variation exists among the 61 accessions for the 19 descriptors. Mean genetic similarity among the 61 accessions was 0.78, the least (0.48) similarity was between TVSu1750 and TVSu250 and the highest (0.92) was between TVSu391 and TVSu415. TVSu1843 flowered earliest at 35 days. The 61 accessions were grouped into three main clusters. TVSu1964 and two accessions from Malawi (TVSu1748 and TVSu1750) in cluster III had high grain yield. Accessions in cluster II were significant for both vigour and grain yield. Striking uniformity and diversity existed among accessions from the same country. Genetic improvement in vigour and grain yield of Bambara groundnut is possible within each country.

Metabolic Parameters in Patients with Suspected Reactive Hypoglycemia.

Background: It remains unclear whether reactive hypoglycemia (RH) is a disorder caused by improper insulin secretion, result of eating habits that are not nutritionally balanced or whether it is a psychosomatic disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate metabolic parameters in patients admitted to the hospital with suspected RH. Methods: The study group (SG) included non-diabetic individuals with symptoms consistent with RH. The control group (CG) included individuals without hypoglycemic symptoms and any documented medical history of metabolic disorders. In both groups the following investigations were performed: fasting glucose and insulin levels, Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), 75 g five-hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) with an assessment of glucose and insulin and lipid profile evaluation. Additionally, Mixed Meal Tolerance Test (MMTT) was performed in SG. Results from OGTT and MMTT were analyzed in line with the non-standardized RH diagnostic criteria. Results: Forty subjects have been enrolled into SG. Twelve (30%) of those patients had hypoglycemic symptoms and glucose level ≤55 mg/dL during five-hour OGTT and have been diagnosed with RH. Ten (25%) subjects manifested hypoglycemic like symptoms without significant glucose decline. Patients with diagnosed RH had statistically significantly lower mean glucose at first (92.1 ± 37.9 mg/dL vs. 126.4 ± 32.5 mg/dL; LSD test: p < 0.001) and second (65.6 ± 19.3 mg/dL vs. 92.6 ± 19.3 mg/dL; LSD test: p < 0.001) hour of OGTT and insulin value (22.7 ± 10.9 lU/mL vs. 43.4 ± 35.0 lU/mL; LSD test: p < 0.001) at second hour of OGTT compared to the patients who did not meet the criteria of RH. Seventeen (43%) subjects from SG reported symptoms suggesting hypoglycemia during MMTT but none of them had glucose value lower than ≤55 mg/dL (68.7 ± 4.7 mg/dL). From the entire lipid profile, only mean total cholesterol value was significantly higher (p = 0.024) in SG in comparison with CG but did not exceed standard reference range. Conclusions: No metabolic disturbances have been observed in patients with diagnosed reactive hypoglycemia. Hyperinsulinemia has not been associated with glycemic declines in patients with this condition. Occurrence of pseudohypoglicemic symptoms and lower glucose value was more common after ingestion of glucose itself rather than after ingestion of a balanced meal. This could suggest an important role that nutritionally balanced diet may play in maintaining correct glucose and insulin levels in the postprandial period.

Which Consumers are Least Likely to Have a Balanced Diet in Japan?

There have been only a few large-scale nationwide studies regarding the frequency of eating a balanced diet consisting of staple food, the main dish, and side dishes in Japan. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify factors affecting the frequency of eating a balanced meal that consists of staple food, the main dish, and side dishes twice a day. We analyzed the secondary data of 13,772 responses from the 7-year pooled cross-sectional data of the nationwide Surveys of Attitudes toward Shokuiku (Food and Nutrition Education) by the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. Ordered logit regression was used to find factors affecting the frequency of having a balanced diet. Our estimation results suggested that gender, age, cohabitation, eating meals with family, subjective economic status, and residential area could be factors affecting the probability of having balanced meals every day. In conclusion, single men in their 20s-50s, single men in their 80s, older male adults living but not eating together with family, single women in their 20s-30s, and individuals with low economic status were identified as high-risk groups who do not have a balanced diet in Japan. Moreover, we found that the government health promotion program called Kenko Nippon 2013 (Health Japan 21, the second term) did not improve the dietary behavior of the consumer in Japan.

Associated Factors on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on Secondary and High School Students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Background: Obesity affects multiple organ systems and is associated with a variety of vascular and several nonvascular complications. BMI and WC are the commonly-used anthropometric measurements for obesity in The aims of study to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity, explore associated factors among secondary and high school students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 12 schools located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam between June 2018 and May 2019. Students were measured their height and weight and asked for demographical information. BMI-for-age-and-gender was used to categorize students into groups. Logistic regression with odd ratio was used to explore associated factors to obesity risk. Results: The mean weight of them was 59.01±12.76 kilograms, the mean height was 168.73±23.79 centimeters and the mean BMI was 22.62±1.79 kg/m2. Students who lived in remote area and do sport activities were had lower risk to be obese. Students who at the age of 13 to 15 and eat fatty food were had higher risk of overweight and obesity. Conclusion: Training programs need to be designed to provide sufficient and balanced meals and to instill a desire for physical exercise. How to Cite this Article Pubmed Style Thoai Dang Nguyen, Tram Thi Huyen Nguyen, Quang Vinh Tran, Nghiem Quan Le. Factors on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on Secondary and High School Students in Ho Chi Minh City, SRP. 2020; 11(3): 337-340. doi:10.5530/srp.2020.3.40 Web Style Thoai Dang Nguyen, Tram Thi Huyen Nguyen, Quang Vinh Tran, Nghiem Quan Le. Factors on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on Secondary and High School Students in Ho Chi Minh City, http://www.sysrevpharm.org/?mno=93059 [Access: March 30, 2021]. doi:10.5530/srp.2020.3.40 AMA (American Medical Association) Style Thoai Dang Nguyen, Tram Thi Huyen Nguyen, Quang Vinh Tran, Nghiem Quan Le. Factors on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on Secondary and High School Students in Ho Chi Minh City, SRP. 2020; 11(3): 337-340. doi:10.5530/srp.2020.3.40 Vancouver/ICMJE Style Thoai Dang Nguyen, Tram Thi Huyen Nguyen, Quang Vinh Tran, Nghiem Quan Le. Factors on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on Secondary and High School Students in Ho Chi Minh City, SRP. (2020), [cited March 30, 2021]; 11(3): 337-340. doi:10.5530/srp.2020.3.40 Harvard Style Thoai Dang Nguyen, Tram Thi Huyen Nguyen, Quang Vinh Tran, Nghiem Quan Le (2020) Factors on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on Secondary and High School Students in Ho Chi Minh City, SRP, 11 (3), 337-340. doi:10.5530/srp.2020.3.40 Turabian Style Thoai Dang Nguyen, Tram Thi Huyen Nguyen, Quang Vinh Tran, Nghiem Quan Le. 2020. Factors on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on Secondary and High School Students in Ho Chi Minh City, Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 11 (3), 337-340. doi:10.5530/srp.2020.3.40 Chicago Style Thoai Dang Nguyen, Tram Thi Huyen Nguyen, Quang Vinh Tran, Nghiem Quan Le. Associated Factors on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on Secondary and High School Students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy 11 (2020), 337-340. doi:10.5530/srp.2020.3.40 MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style Thoai Dang Nguyen, Tram Thi Huyen Nguyen, Quang Vinh Tran, Nghiem Quan Le. Associated Factors on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on Secondary and High School Students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy 11.3 (2020), 337-340. Print. doi:10.5530/srp.2020.3.40 APA (American Psychological Association) Style Thoai Dang Nguyen, Tram Thi Huyen Nguyen, Quang Vinh Tran, Nghiem Quan Le (2020) Factors on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity on Secondary and High School Students in Ho Chi Minh City, Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 11 (3), 337-340. doi:10.5530/srp.2020.3.40

A Summary Note of Gestational Diabetes Control Centred on Several Evidence-Based Type 2 Diabetes Research Results Using GH-Method: Math-Physical Medicine (No. 399)

The author, who has type 2 diabetes (T2D) for 26 years, conducted his diabetes research over the past 11 years. Since 2020, he has published 400+ medical research papers in various medical journals. Recently, he received invitations to submit his medical research notes to a gynecology journal but he hesitated because he was not a gynecologist. However, the editor convinced him that his research results may be beneficial to some patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) since diabetes conditions are quite similar, if not the same. Therefore, he started to review some medical papers online on the subject of gestational diabetes. Finally, he uncovered that his research results could indeed benefit some GDM patients to some degree and decided to write this summary note. Although his research specialties are in the areas of endocrinology, diabetes, and lifestyle, after 11 years of dedicated medical research with additional self-studying on GDM, he discovered that approximately 90% of his diabetes research findings are applicable to this special group. In summary, three areas with special emphasis are highlighted for GDM patients. The first and major area is food nutrition in a lifestyle management program. Due to the concerns of hyperglycemia, the author eats high-quality protein, a lot of fish and vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables, portioncontrolled shellfish and fruits, along with avoidance of red meat and sweetened food. However, for a GDM patient, he highly recommends them to follow a “nutritional balanced” meal plan, avoiding high-carbs, sugar-based, and processed food in general to prevent unhealthy chemical additives. The fetus in utero needs good nutrition supplied by its mother; therefore, the mother must eat nutritional balanced meals that meet nutritional requirements and glucose concerns. The second area is specific weight-gain management. The author focuses on the food portion percentage with a strong willpower to resist his food cravings plus persistence each day, so that he can achieve his weight reduction target. However, for a GDM patient, she must constantly monitor the amount of weight gained according to the Mayo Clinic’s “weight-gain guidelines”. Maintenance in this area is important for the benefit of the baby’s development and mother’s health during pregnancy. However, both of his food portion percentage and persistent weight control are good examples to follow and useful for a GDM patient. The third area is medication treatment for gestational diabetes. Although the author ceased taking medications in controlling his diabetes symptoms, he decided to implement a rather stringent lifestyle management program in order to control or even reverse his diabetes conditions at the root-cause level. Nevertheless, it is a difficult route that takes a longer time span to be able to see significant improvements. Since the pregnancy period is relatively shorter, less than 10 months, a gestational diabetes patient must follow her physician’s advice to pursue all the necessary medication treatments or insulin injections. The information in particular the high correlation coefficients between any two variables, from Figures 2 through 5, provide useful knowledge for a GDM patient to learn in order to control her glucose levels during pregnancy. The most important goal is the safe delivery of a healthy new born