Differences In Growth Status Research Articles

Diet Quality and Growth Status of Children Aged Two to Six Years at Tuba Island, Langkawi, Malaysia

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of undernutrition, diet quality and its associated factors among children aged two to six years at Tuba Island. A total of 67 children paired with their mother or caregiver were participated in this study. A questionnaire containing socio-demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements and two days of 24-hours dietary recall was administered. The Malaysian Healthy Eating Index (HEI) was used to assess the children’s diet quality. The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting were 22.4%, 20.8% and 17.9%, respectively. Mean total HEI score was 37.1±6.3, which indicate poor diet. The children had low mean scores for vegetables, fruits, milk and dairy products as well as legumes. For socio-demographic factors, number of children per household was associated with diet quality. This study points out that overall low dietary score among these children and their diet quality had no association with their growth status. The low diet quality was prevalent; thus it did not contribute to differences in growth status among these children. Therefore, it is suggested further intervention should be taken to improve the nutrition quality of these children.

Tolerance Mechanism and Cadmium Enrichment Abilities in Two Brassica napus L. Cultivars

A hydroponic experiment was conducted to explore the differences in growth status and Cd accumulation characteristics of two Brassica napus L. cultivars (QY-1 and SYH) under different concentrations of cadmium (Cd) stress (0, 2, and 5 mg·L-1). The Cd subcellular compartmentalization and antioxidant enzyme activities were determined to elucidate the intrinsic mechanism of the differences in the Cd accumulation capacity between the two cultivars of Brassica napus L. Furthermore, field trials were conducted to further verify the differences in phytoremediation of the two cultivars. Results show that neither of the cultivars exhibited obvious growth inhibition under Cd stress. Under the 2 mg·L-1 Cd condition, there were no significant differences in shoot Cd concentrations between the two cultivars. Under 5 mg·L-1 Cd condition, however, the Cd concentrations in both shoot and root of SYH were significantly higher than that of QY-1, which increased by 32.05% and 99.57%, respectively. In addition, the bioconcentration factor (BCF) of the root in SYH is significantly higher than that of QY-1. The subcellular Cd distribution in leaves of the two cultivars of Brassica napus L. showed that, with an increase of Cd stress, Cd concentrations of heat stable protein (HSP) and metal-rich granule (MRG) fractions in leaves significantly increased by 143.69% and 118.91% for QY-1, and by 63.34% and 118.91% for SYH. Thus, the segregation of Cd in HSP and MRG, which was reported to be biological detoxified metal fractions (BDM), might play an important role in the detoxification of Brassica napus L. at a subcellular level under Cd stress. Moreover, the distribution of Cd in the cellular debris fraction might be another important factor contributing to the differences in Cd accumulation of the two Brassica napus L. cultivars, which was 4.41 times higher in SYH than in QY-1 under Cd stress. The results of the antioxidant enzyme activities of two Brassica napus L. cultivars showed that, under the 5 mg·L-1 Cd condition, the antioxidant enzyme system may represent an important detoxification mechanism for QY-1 to cope with stress induced by high concentrations of Cd, while SYH is more effective in reducing the toxicity of Cd by separation of Cd into BDM fractions. The results of the field trial confirmed that the Cd concentrations in the above- and underground parts of SYH were 2.34 and 1.43 times higher than in QY-1, respectively. Therefore, SYH possess a higher Cd phytoextraction capacity than QY-1, and might be a good candidate for the remediation of moderate and mildly Cd-contaminated farmland.

Anthropometric Studies on the Turkish Population - A Historical Review

A historical review of anthropometric studies conducted on Turkish children and adults is presented. In view of observed differences in growth status between children of different societies, the need for local reference standards and the methodology to be used for such studies have been stressed. The importance of local studies in reflecting the state of health and nutrition both in children and adults has also been mentioned. While a number of studies in children cited in this paper are designed to compare the growth of children from different socioeconomic levels, other studies aim to establish local reference data for Turkish children. While the historical studies in adults aim to define racial characteristics, the more recent studies aim to bring out nutritional characteristics with emphasis on increasing frequency of obesity.Conflict of interest:None declared.

Facial aesthetics and the divine proportion: a comparison of surgical and non-surgical Class II treatment

Abstract Objective: This study was designed to compare selected divine or golden proportions in Class II division 1 patients treated either during the growth phase with an activator and fixed appliances or after the completion of growth with fixed appliances and orthognathic surgery; and to determine the associations between divine facial proportions and perceived facial attractiveness. Methods: The material consisted of subjects with Class II division 1 malocclusions treated either with upper and lower fixed appliances and orthognathic surgery or with activators followed by fixed appliances. There were 23 females and 9 males in the surgical group (Mean age: 23.5 years; SD: 9.6 years) and 17 females and 11 males in the non-surgical group (Mean age: 10.8 years; SD: 1.1 years). The divine relationships of the subjects were assessed on pre- and post-treatment lateral cephalometric radiographs, and on lateral and frontal facial photographs. In addition, the attractiveness of the subjects was scored by a panel of judges using a visual analogue scale. Facial aesthetic scores were then correlated with the presence of particular divine facial proportions. Results: On average, few ratios fitted the divine proportion, either before or after treatment in either treatment group. There was, however, significant individual variation in the presence or otherwise of these divine proportions, as there were with changes in the proportions with treatment. Regardless of the treatment method, ratios in some patients moved toward the divine proportion, while those in others moved away from it. A comparison of the two treatment groups both before and after treatment showed that the mean group values for some of the proportions differed. These differences could largely be explained by differences in growth status and treatment method. Conclusion: Neither treatment method was more likely to result in a greater number of divine proportions, and the achievement of divine proportions seemed to have little, if any, influence on overall aesthetic outcomes.

Early infant feeding and growth status of US-born infants and children aged 4–71 mo: analyses from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994

There is controversy over what growth references to use in evaluating breast-fed infants and concern about whether never-breast-fed infants are at risk of overweight in childhood. The objective of this study was to determine whether infants who are exclusively breast-fed for 4 mo differ in average size from infants who are fed in other ways and whether such differences persist through age 5 y. Data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) were linked to birth certificates of US-born infants and children. Feeding groups were defined on the basis of feeding patterns over the first 4 mo of life: exclusively breast-fed for 4 mo, partially breast-fed, breast-fed for <4 mo, and never breast-fed. Growth status, indexed as internally derived z scores (SD units) for weight, length (height), weight-for-length (height), midupper arm circumference, and triceps skinfold thickness, was compared among feeding groups. The final sample consisted of 5594 non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Mexican American infants and children aged 4-71 mo. Of these, 21% were exclusively breast-fed for 4 mo, 10% were partially breast-fed, 24% were breast-fed for <4 mo, and 45% were never breast-fed. At 8-11 mo, infants who were exclusively breast-fed for4 mo had adjusted mean z scores for weight (-0.21; -0.2 kg), weight-for-length (-0.27), and midupper arm circumference (-0.15) that differed significantly from zero (P < 0. 05). By 12-23 mo, the differences had dissipated; there were no significant differences subsequent to 5 y. Triceps skinfold thickness was not related to early infant feeding. Infants who were exclusively breast-fed for 4 mo weighed less at 8-11 mo than did infants who were fed in other ways, but there were few other significant differences in growth status through age 5 y associated with early infant feeding.

Comparison of growth status of patients with cystic fibrosis between the United States and Canada

Differences in growth status of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) between the United States and Canada were reported in the 1980s based on analysis of data from 2 regional CF centers. We evaluated the current growth status of the entire CF population in the United States and Canada in view of recent advances in the treatment of CF. Growth data from the 1992-1994 CF Patient Registries were analyzed. Mean height and weight were at approximately the 30th percentile for children with CF in the United States. Mean height and weight were 4-5 percentiles higher in children with CF in Canada than in those in the United States (P < 0.01), but percentages of ideal weight (104%) were similar in both populations. In adults with CF, mean height was similar at the 37th percentile; however, weight (26th compared with the 21st percentiles) and percentage of ideal weight (93% compared with 90%) were significantly higher in Canada than in the United States. Differences related to sex and age were similar in both countries for all indexes, which showed a high prevalence of underweight in infants and in older patients, but little sex discrepancy. We observed substantially smaller differences in the growth indexes of CF patients between the United States and Canada compared with results from the 1980s. These findings reflect significant improvements in the nutritional status of US patients in recent years. However, caution is required in the direct comparison of mean percentiles from reports using different growth standards because there are systematic differences in growth standards, which affect, in particular, the comparison of growth in males and females.

Implications of individual growth status on the future sex of the European eel

Sex‐related differences in growth status was demonstrated in eels Anguilla anguilla reared indoors at 17, 20 or 26° C, from the elver stage. Growth status was defined as length increase, weight increase and length–weight relationship. Eels attaining at least 10 g body weight (180–220 mm body length) were tagged with Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT). Length and weight were measured at 6‐week intervals, until individuals stopped growing or had attained 150 g weight (380–450 mm). Sex‐specific data from potentially undifferentiated eels were provided by retrospective classification of sex. Comparisions between sexes were made within groups graded by length or weight data from the beginning of each 6‐week period. There was no consistent difference in absolute length increase between small males and females, but below 40–60 g initial body weight, males displayed on average a higher weight increase than females. Males also had lower length at weight than females, even in the smallest weight groups. Early growth status may influence the future sex of undifferentiated eels, but other approaches are needed for distinction between cause and effect.