Urban Females Research Articles

Energy, macronutrients and dietary fibre intake among adults in North Macedonia.

The present research aimed to estimate macronutrients intake among adults in North Macedonia and to identify their predominant food sources. Within this cross-sectional study dietary data were collected using repeated 24h recall interviews. Nationwide, adults aged 18+ were recruited. Dietary data, anthropometric measures and socio-demographic characteristics were available for 496 participants. Nutrient intake was analyzed using the Balkan Food Composition Database and Diet Assess and Plan platform. Macedonian dietary guidelines were used for estimation of inadequacy. Significant differences in macronutrients intake are noticed between age groups within certain socio-demographic factors. Total sugar intake was significantly higher among young adult females comparing with those older than 25 years (p = 0.049). Young urban females have significantly higher fats intake than older participants (p = 0.038). Higher total daily energy, proteins, fats and carbohydrates intake (p = 0.033, p = 0.043, p = 0.032, p = 0.042, respectively) was noticed among young urban males when compared to older ones. Only dietary fibre intake was higher among older urban males (p = 0.030). Univariate linear regression models showed that obese participants had significantly higher relative proteins intake comparing with those having BMI within recommended range (p = 0.024, β = 1.21). Relative carbohydrates intake was significantly lower among males (p = 0.018, β = -2.077) and among highly educated participants (p = 0.018, β = -4.304). Participants with tertiary education had higher relative fats intake (p = 0.012, β = 4.213). Macronutrients intake of adults should be improved. There is higher intake of dietary fats and need for an increase of complex carbohydrates intake, particularly dietary fibre. Findings of this survey should be used in shaping, fine-tuning and implementing food and nutrition policies that will stimulate healthier diets for prevention of diet related non-communicable diseases.

Application of single-level and multi-level modeling approach to examine geographic and socioeconomic variation in underweight, overweight and obesity in Nepal: findings from NDHS 2016

Nepal’s dual burden of undernutrition and over nutrition warrants further exploration of the population level differences in nutritional status. The study aimed to explore, for the first time in Nepal, potential geographic and socioeconomic variation in underweight and overweight and/or obesity prevalence in the country, adjusted for cluster and sample weight. Data came from 14,937 participants, including 6,172 men and 8,765 women, 15 years or older who participated in the 2016 Nepal Demography and Health Survey (NDHS). Single-level and multilevel multi-nominal logistic regression models and Lorenz curves were used to explore the inequalities in weight status. Urban residents had higher odds of being overweight and/or obese (OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.62–2.20) and lower odds of being underweight (OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.70–0.93) than rural residents. Participants from Provinces 2, and 7 were less likely to be overweight/obese and more likely to be underweight (referent: province-1). Participants from higher wealth quintile households were associated with higher odds of being overweight and/or obese (P-trend < 0.001) and lower odds of being underweight (P-trend < 0.001). Urban females at the highest wealth quintile were more vulnerable to overweight and/or obesity as 49% of them were overweight and/or obese and nearly 39% at the lowest wealth quintile were underweight.

Sex, personality and conspecific density influence natal dispersal with lifetime fitness consequences in urban and rural burrowing owls.

There is a growing need to understand how species respond to habitat changes and the potential key role played by natal dispersal in population dynamics, structure and gene flow. However, few studies have explored differences in this process between conspecifics living in natural habitats and those inhabiting landscapes highly transformed by humans, such as cities. Here, we investigate how individual traits and social characteristics can influence the natal dispersal decisions of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) living in urban and rural areas, as well as the consequences in terms of reproductive success and apparent survival. We found short dispersal movements among individuals, with differences between urban and rural birds (i.e., the former covering shorter distances than the latter), maybe because of the higher conspecific density of urban compared to rural areas. Moreover, we found that urban and rural females as well as bold individuals (i.e., individuals with shorter flight initiation distance) exhibited longer dispersal distances than their counterparts. These dispersal decisions have effects on individual fitness. Individuals traveling longer distances increased their reproductive prospects (productivity during the first breeding attempt, and long term productivity). However, the apparent survival of females decreased when they dispersed farther from their natal territory. Although further research is needed to properly understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of dispersal patterns in transformed habitats, our results provide information about the drivers and the consequences of the restricted natal movements of this species, which may explain its population structuring through restricted gene flow between and within urban and rural areas.

Menstrual marks: An evaluative study to assess knowledge and practices among urban and rural adolescent young females of Kanpur, India

CONTEXT: Menstruation is a unique phenomenon for females. The beginning of menstruation is one of the most significant processes occurring among young females during the adolescent age. AIMS: To assess and compare the real knowledge and practice regarding menstrual marks among adolescent urban and rural young females about menstruation. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Urban and rural adolescent school young females were selected as participants. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A school-based, cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted from June to July 2019 among the adolescent school-going young females of Kanpur who were selected from two urban and five rural schools. All young females aged between 9 and 17 years who have attained menarche were selected and the sample size came out to be 530. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics-version 21. Descriptive statistics included the calculation of percentages. Categorical data were compared using the Chi-square test. All values were considered statistically significant for a value of P RESULTS: 51.8% of rural young females participated in the study. Young females aged 12–14 years were the main participants, and 67.2% of rural and 80.3% of urban young females were aware of menstruation before menarche. Both group young females knew sanitary napkins which were statically significant (P CONCLUSIONS: Hygienic exercise and knowledge during menstruation were disappointing in the rural area. Rural young females should be more educated about the traditional beliefs and misconceptions regarding menstruation.

The State of Mental Health Among the Elderly Chinese

China introduced its stringent family planning policies from the early 1970s, known as the Later, Longer, Fewer policies, and followed it with the One-Child Policy from 1979. The number of children born to Chinese parents significantly decreased from 5.7 in late 1960s to 2.5 in 1988. In Chen and Fang (2019), we show that family planning policies have drastically different effects on elderly parents' physical and mental well-beings. Whereas parents more exposed to the family planning policies consume more and enjoy slightly better physical health status, they report more severe depression symptoms. In this paper, we present a more complete picture of the difference in mental health among residents in rural and urban areas, between males and females, between different education groups, between those with one child and those with more than one children, and between widowed and non-widowed. We highlight the role of family support (from children and spouse) for the mental health status among the elderly Chinese. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

The Impact of Healthy Human Capital on the Labor Participation of Chinese Elderly

The labor participation of the elderly is an important level of labor supply in China, and healthy human capital is one of the main factors affecting the labor participation of the elderly. Based on the data of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) in 2014, this paper uses the Probit model to empirically analyze the impact of the healthy human capital of the elderly in China on their labor force participation rate. The results show that when individual characteristic variables, family characteristic variables and social characteristic variables are added, healthy human capital is positively correlated with labor participation of retired elderly people. The better health status is, the higher labor participation rate is. With the decline in health status, the labor force participation rate of retired elderly people decreased significantly. The influence of healthy human capital on labor participation of the elderly in China is also heterogeneous between urban and rural areas, gender and age, among which the influence of healthy human capital on labor participation of the elderly in rural areas, males and young age groups is higher than that in urban areas, females and elderly retirees.

Unintentional Injury Mortality Among Children Under Five Years — China, 2006−2017

What is already known about this topic? Unintentional injuries among children aged under five years is still a serious public health problem in China. Epidemiological characteristics of under-five unintentional injury are reported in single provinces and cities for China but not nationally based on the Disease Surveillance Points (DSPs) dataset. What is added by this report? Unintentional injury mortality rates for under-five decreased substantially between 2006 and 2017 in China, with the decrease occurring primarily for males and rural children. Children living in rural areas and males had higher unintentional injury mortality rates than children in urban areas and females. The major fatal types of under-five unintentional injury were drowning and road injury. What are the implications for public health practice? Further interventions need to be taken in accordance with the main types of unintentional injuries, especially effective prevention strategies used in other countries or recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Even with equal access to injury prevention and control services for different sexes, policy efforts should focus on higher-risk populations, especially children aged under five years who are males or reside in rural areas.

A survey on a rural in-hospital population diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation in west Shewa region, Ethiopia.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia seen in clinical practice. It has been extensively studied in Western countries but less is known about developing countries. We collected data on a rural population afferent to Wolisso hospital in Ethiopia, analysing epidemiology, clinical and cardiac ultrasound profile.We enrolled 54 patients with first diagnosis of AF who undertook cardiac ultrasound and a questionnaire about personal and clinical profile. Enrolled patients were younger than reported in the African urban population (mean age 51years) and females were symptomatic at a younger age than males (61.8% of females were <50years old versus 30% of males) and had complicated disease (100% of females had CHF). Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) was found in 38.9% of patients, especially in females (41.1%) and young patients, whereas hypertension (HTN) and degenerative valvular disease were predisposing to AF in old patients. Low socio-economic level may explain findings we observed, particularly male to female ratio, more relevant than in urban subsets. RHD and HTN are many etiological factors of AF in our small population, so low-cost strategies to prevent their complications are surely cost-effective in rural catchment area of Wolisso hospital.

Prevalence and predictors of adolescent linear growth and stunting across the urban-rural gradient in eastern Ethiopia.

To assess the magnitude and factors associated with adolescent linear growth and stunting in two eastern Ethiopian communities. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban Harar Health Demographic Surveillance Site (HDSS) and rural Kersa Demographic Surveillance and Health Research Center (KDS-HRC). Univariate analysis was used to describe the data. Multiple regression models examined predictors of linear growth. Logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with stunting. The study included 2010 adolescents. The prevalence of stunting was 26.9% (95% CI 24.9, 28.9), with 8.1% among urban adolescents (95% CI 6.5, 9.9) vs. 47.9% among rural ones (95% CI 44.6, 51.1). There was a significant interaction between residence and sex on the risk of stunting [AOR=4.17 (95% CI 2.66, 9.9), P<0.001], and height-for-age z score (HAZ) (β=-0.51, P<0.001). For urban adolescents, older age (18 to 19years) was negatively associated with linear growth (β= -0.29; P<0.001). In the rural setting, handwashing practice after toileting was positively associated with HAZ (0.62; P<0.001) and with lower risk of stunting [AOR=0.51 (95% CI 0.34, 0.76)]. Urban females had significantly higher HAZ than urban males [β=0.52; P<0.01)], and a significantly lower risk of stunting [AOR=0.29 (95% CI 0.18, 0.48)]. There are significant disparities in the magnitude of stunting between urban and rural adolescents. The gender gap in stunting and linear growth, along with a high prevalence of stunting in early adolescence, calls for age-appropriate and gender-sensitive interventions. Particular attention and context-specific interventions are warranted for adolescents in these and similar rural eastern Ethiopian communities.

INCIDENCE AND MORTALITY OF CERVICAL CANCER IN THE OMSK REGION

The purpose of the study was a comparative assessment of the cervical cancer incidence and mortality among females in urban and rural populations of the Omsk region.Material and Methods. The study included females aged over 18 years from urban and rural areas of the Omsk region. According to population-based cancer registry data for the period 2004–16, the crude cancer incidence and mortality rates in urban and rural populations were calculated. The variational and correlation analyzes were used, the differences were assessed using Student t-test.Results. During 2004–16, the cervical cancer incidence among females of the Omsk region showed an increasing tendency, reaching a peak incidence in women aged 35–54. Concerning the cervical cancer mortality rate, it tended to decrease. For rural females, the cervical cancer mortality rate decreased from 10.8 to 9.7 per 100,000 females (p&gt;0.05). For urban females, the mortality rate decreased from 9.2 to 7.5 per 100,000 females (p&gt;0.05). No significant differences in the mortality rates between urban and rural females were found (p&gt;0.05). The tendency towards decreased incidence of advanced cervical cancer (the average decrease being 3.3 % for rural females and 2.8 % for urban females, p&gt;0.05) and increased incidence of early stage cervical cancer (the average rise being 1.8 % and 1.9 %, respectively) was observed.Conclusion. In the Omsk region, the cervical cancer mortality rate for both rural and urban females showed a tendency to decrease. During the study period, the incidence of cervical cancer had increased; however the incidence of advanced cervical cancer had decreased.

Network of Vascular Centers in the Russian as a way to reducing mortality in the working population

Abstract Over the entire period of the state program aimed at reducing mortality from circulatory system diseases initiated in 2008 the number of Vascular Centers has increased from 85 to 140. According to the federal statistical observation form, the rate of Vascular Centers per 100 000 population increased 1.5 times from 0.066 to 0.095 in 2008 and 2017 respectively. As a result, the number of treated patients increased 6.3 times - from 53.1 to 327.3 per 100 000 population. During the analyzed period, the mortality rate of patients of Vascular Centers decreased from the average of 9.3% for all Vascular Centers in 2009 to 7.6% in 2017 (χ2 = 248.6, p &amp;lt; 0.0001) reflecting accumulation of experience of care delivery within the framework of the state program. The majority of patients with myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular diseases received treatment in the Vascular Centers. In 2017, 76.6% of all patients were admitted to Vascular Centers. From 2008 to 2017, the mortality from circulatory diseases in urban males of working age decreased by 36.1% (from 354.6 to 226.6 per 100 000 population), while cardiovascular mortality in rural males decreased to a greater extent - by 41.0% (from 394.2 to 232.0). Female mortality from circulatory system diseases (the level of which was initially five times lower) decreased to a lesser extent: from 67.0 to 44.5 per 100 000 urban females of working age (1.5 times - by 33.6%), and was even more pronounced in rural females - from 90.8 to 55.4 (by 39.0%). Therefore, along with the increase in the number of Vascular Centers the volume of specialized care including high-tech, increases while mortality decreases, reflected by the decreased mortality from myocardial infarction and other forms of acute ischemic heart disease. However, the activity of Vascular Centers did not affect the rate of mortality from cerebrovascular diseases in the Russian population. Key messages Through the activity of regional vascular centers since 2008 substantial reducing of patients’ mortality was registered from myocardial infarctions and other acute forms of ischaemic heart disease. Mortality from myocardial infarction has decreased in the last decade faster than in the period up to 2009.

Experience of well-being: a cross-generational study in India

ABSTRACT The present study was conducted to see the impact of social support, social relations, and autonomy on happiness in intergenerational experiences. It also tried to examine the role of demographic variables (age, location and gender) on such experiences. The study involved a total of 185 participants from 48 families where each of the four members in the family namely, father, mother, son, and daughter-in-law, were administered scales related to perceived social support, social relations, autonomy, and happiness. The finding of the study suggests that highly educated people perceive high levels of social support, social relations, and autonomy which, in turn, affect their happiness. People who perceive higher social support and better social relations perceive higher levels of happiness. It was also found that education and social support are significant predictors of happiness. Results further revealed that younger rural females experienced better social relations as compared to younger rural males and a similar finding was also found for the young urban males and females. Additionally, the results indicated that rural older males and urban older females perceive better social relations than urban males and the rural female.

2873 The Demographic, Clinical, and Endoscopic Features of Patients With Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE) in a Rural Gastroenterology Solo Practice in Central Maine

INTRODUCTION: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic, food-triggered, immune-mediated disorder of the esophagus. The average age of adult diagnosis is 30 years and the M:F ratio is 3:1. Rural patients may be at higher risk of EoE and may present with heartburn rather than dysphagia. This study aimed to characterize the demographic, clinical, and endoscopic features of adult rural EoE patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective, descriptive analysis of data obtained between 2013 and 2018. Adults ≥ 18 years with ≥ 15 eos/HPF regardless of PPI-response were included. The reported incidence of EoE is 7.2/100,000 and the expected sample size was 22. Statistical analysis of demographics, clinical history, and endoscopy data was conducted. RESULTS: During the study period there were 51 cases and the mean age at diagnosis was 45 years. There was no significant difference between the mean age at diagnosis in males and females, 44 vs 45 years. The M:F ratio was 1.8:1. The average BMI was 31.3, 80% were overweight or obese, and 57% were obese. There was no significant difference between the BMI of males and females. The frequency of tobacco use was 41% and cannabis use was 14%. Half (49%) had other atopic conditions, 16% had a family history of atopy, and 2% had a family history of EoE. Fifty-two percent were PPI-responsive and 53% were responsive to PPI or H2-blocker. While 51% of patients presented with dysphagia, females more often presented with dysphagia when compared to males (61% vs 45%; P = 0.0002). Food impaction on presentation was rare and no female patient presented with food impaction (0% vs 9%). Compared to males, more females had rings (72% vs 55%; P &lt; 0.0001) but significantly more males had fibrotic strictures (36% vs 33%; P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: EoE is common in this rural solo GI practice and the incidence was higher than predicted. EoE is more common in males but rural females may be impacted more than urban females. Obesity and tobacco exposure are prevalent features in this population. In contrast to previous study, most rural EoE patients present with dysphagia and not heartburn and dysphagia is more prevalent in females than males. Rings are the most common endoscopic feature however rings are more prevalent in females whereas strictures are more prevalent in males. Rings are likely associated with the symptom of dysphagia but not with the presence of fibrotic strictures. EoE diagnosis is delayed by 15 years in this rural environment emphasizing the need for increased awareness.

Obesity: An Inevitable Consequence of Urbanization

Background: Today, obesity is a key healthcare problem on a global scale including Iran. The present study aimed at determining the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Hormozgan province, Iran to propose effective healthcare programs and strategies to reduce this dilemma in future. Objectives: The current study conducted in the South of Iran aimed at exploring the prevalence of overweigh and obesity in males and females in terms of social variables affected by demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, education level, smoking, and physical activity. Methods: In the current cross sectional, observational study, a sample of 5000 eligible males and females above 18 years old were selected based on a multi-stratified clustering sampling method. The data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of variables such as weight, height, drug consumption, and physical activity. Statistical analysis was performed. Results: The present study findings revealed that 31.8% of the population in Hormozgan province was overweight, while only 15.2% were obese. The highest percentage of obesity (18.3%) was observed among the subjects aged 35 - 44 years. The prevalence of obesity among females was higher in urban population. Conclusions: The current study results showed that the urban married middle-aged females had the highest rate of obesity, which requires appropriate educational planning and utilization of efficient models in the realm of females’ health.

Utilising Group-Size and Home-Range Characteristics of Free-Roaming Dogs (FRD) to Guide Mass Vaccination Campaigns against Rabies in India

Adequate vaccination coverage of free roaming dogs (FRD) against canine rabies is not achieved primarily due to difficulties in administering parenteral vaccinations to this population. One factor associated with this difficulty is the tendency of FRD to form groups, which increases their aggressive behavior, resulting in a significant risk of dog-bites for the vaccinators. This study investigated factors that influenced FRD forming groups and their home-ranges, using data obtained from photographic capture-recapture/sight-resight surveys conducted in rural Shirsuphal (584 sightings) and urban Panchkula (3208 sightings), India. In the rural site, older dogs (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.2–0.9, p = 0.03) and FRD sighted within 20 m of garbage sites (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4–0.9, p = 0.02) were less likely to be in groups. The number of dogs sighted with an FRD decreased with increased resight-probability of that dog (β = −1.0, p < 0.001). The rural FRD with smaller home-ranges were more likely to be sighted alone (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.0–95, p = 0.04) than those with larger home-ranges. In the urban site, females (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.5, p = 0.002) and older dogs (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.1, p = 0.07) were more likely to be found in groups, and groups of dogs were more likely to be seen within 20 m of garbage sites (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.5–2.0, p < 0.001). The distribution of urban FRD sighted alone, in pairs, triads, and in packs of ≥4 dogs were not random in the administrative (p = 0.02), and the two industrial (p = 0.03 & 0.01) survey tracks of the urban site, implying stable groups. The resighting probability of a dog (β = 0.3, p < 0.0001) and presence of garbage within 20 m (β = 0.2, p < 0.0001) in the urban site increased the likelihood of sighting a FRD with other dogs. It is concluded that data on the resighting probability, presence of garbage points, and home-ranges can be utilised to guide the selection of parenteral or oral rabies vaccination to achieve a population vaccination coverage of 70% to break the transmission cycle of rabies virus in FRD in India.

SOME METHODS OF TREATMENT PARENTHOOD AS PERCEIVED BY THE CHILDREN AND IT’S RELATIONSHIP TO STUBBORNNESS IN A SAMPLE OF CHILDREN AGING BETWEEN (9-12) YEARS

The importance of childhood as the future maker does not need to be emphasized. It is the stage in which the child is capable of being formed and willing to learn in collaboration with his / her mentors. Therefore, the child's study is not a wasted time or effort but is necessary and feasible. This study belongs to the pattern of descriptive studies because they are the most appropriate types of studies suitable for the nature of the subject of the study, which aims to describe some methods of parental treatment and their relationship to stubbornness. A sample of children from 9-12 years has a comparative study between the shelf and the urban. Obtained and interpreted and then draw conclusions, and the development of indicators that help to reduce the parenting of erroneous causes of obstinacy. The current study relied on the use of the measure of parental treatment methods and the measure of obstinacy and challenge. The actual sample, after verifying the validity and stability of the tool, was conducted on a sample of 140 children. The mean and standard deviations of the responses of the sample of the study towards expressions after parenting methods were the average (70.41) and the standard deviation (22.22) and the percentage (58.67%). The highest mean arithmetic mean Males reached (105.40) with a standard deviation of (8.16) and a value of (4.548) at a significant level (0.05 = α) between the average scores of males and urban females. In the light of the research procedures and the results we reached and the quantitative explanations and how we offer a set of recommendations and suggestions to conduct thorough studies on ways to reduce obstinacy in children, especially in adolescence, the need to conduct studies to develop remedial programs for the behavior of stubbornness on different age groups and different environments Gender studies (male-female), studies on parental treatment methods and their relationship to stubbornness for different age groups from the age group covered by current studies and studies on the nature of other behavioral disorders common to intransigence.

Detection of lipoprotein(a)- cholesterol expression in Bangladeshi adults with dyslipidemia

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Lipoprotein(a)-cholesterol (Lp(a)-C)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span lang="EN-GB"&gt;, a low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-like particle is considered as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). &lt;br /&gt; We aimed to investigate the association of Lp(a)-C expression with dyslipidemia among the Bangladeshi population and assess the relationship with cardiovascular risks. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In this cross-sectional comparative study, a total of 180 urban males and females between ages 19-65 years were included who were enrolled in a hospital setting of Bangladesh. Participants were selected based on their total c&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;holesterol (TC) level≥200 mg/dl, high density lipoprotein (HDL)-C&amp;lt;40 mg/dl, LDL-C≥140 mg/dl, and triacylglycerol (TG)≥150 mg/dl regardless of race, religion and socioeconomic status. Venous blood was collected from all participants and analyzed. &lt;br /&gt; Further, participants’ socio-demographics and body mass index (BMI) were collected. Expression of Lp(a)-C was detected in 22.86% patients with desirable levels (&amp;lt;14 mg/dL) of serum Lp(a)-C. This study suggests that the prevalence of hyperlipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia is high in the Bangladeshi population. Males were found to have lower HDL-C and higher TG than females. and, similar to other ethnic groups, a negative correlation between BMI and HDL-C was found in this population. In addition, Lp(a)-C had a positive correlation with TG which may recommend routine clinical investigation of Lp(a)-C as a biomarker for CVD risk.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Gender-based differences in employment opportunities and wage distribution in Nepal

The gender wage gap has long been a critical aspect of gender inequality. The issue is even more crucial for countries such as Nepal, where there are significant differences between men and women in educational attainment levels. This study investigates how educational attainment affects occupational choice for men and women in urban and rural areas. The result shows that females in rural areas have difficulty finding regular work even when their educational attainment level is controlled, compared with males and urban females. In addition, our decomposition results show that regular female workers in rural areas face a large wage gap owing to gender discrimination effects. These results indicate that, despite high education levels on par with males or urban females, rural females have fewer opportunities to find regular work and face significant wage discrimination. This may explain the perceived low incentives in educating girls in rural Nepal. This study contributes to the literature on gender wage gap by expanding the analysis to regular and casual labor markets and to urban and rural areas.

Do Improvements of living standards lead to growth of obesity? Evidence from Chinese adults

This study estimates the impacts of income on body mass indices (BMIs) of male and female adults from both urban and rural areas in China under the neoclassic theory of obesity, using China Health and Nutrition Survey data during 1991–2011. Results of this study show that incomes has a significant inverted U-shaped impact on weight for both urban and rural males while having a negative effect on weight for urban females and positive effect on BMI for rural female, suggesting that further income growth is expected to lead to continuing growth of obesity for both urban and rural male adults as well as for rural female adults. Moreover, the strenuousness of physical activity, which is represented by types of jobs, significantly reduced the BMI for all adults except for urban females, implying that a decrease in the strenuousness of physical activity stemming from economic development and technological changes is an important factor leading to the growth of obesity for all adults and rural female adults.

The prevalence of malnutrition and growth percentiles for urban South African children

BackgroundLow- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are experiencing a double-burden of malnutrition characterised by high prevalence of both under- and over-nutrition. We set out using data from the mixed-longitudinal Birth-to-Twenty Plus (Bt20+) birth cohort, to evaluate the patterns of malnutrition and growth in a large South African (SA) city by; (i) assessing the prevalence of undernutrition from birth to 5 years of age and overweight and obesity from ages 2 to 21 years in black and white, male and female children, and (ii) determining percentiles for height, weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences and comparing the centiles to American and Dutch references.MethodsHeight, weight, waist and hip circumferences were measured on urban black and white SA children from the Bt20+. A total of 3273 children born between April and June 1990 in the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan area were included in the cohort. Z-scores were derived using the WHO 2006 child growth standards (0–5 years), for defining stunting, underweight and wasting. The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) references were used to define overweight and obesity. Percentiles were developed using the lambda mu sigma (LMS) method and compared to American and Dutch references.ResultsBlack children were consistently shorter and black males lighter than white children and American references. The prevalence of stunting peaked at 2 years and was significantly higher in males than females and in black than white children. Black females had a greater prevalence of overweight and obesity than black males from 10 to 17 years. The percentiles for black females for weight and BMI were similar to those of South African white and American references but both black and white South African females had lower waist circumferences than American references.ConclusionThe growth percentiles show that young South African urban black females are experiencing general but not central obesity due to a secular change which is faster in weight than height. High levels of undernutrition persist alongside high levels of over-nutrition with adolescence being a critical period for the upsurge in obesity in females. Early intervention is needed to combat the rise in obesity.