A study was carried out to study lite prevalence of hypertension amongst rural Malays living in two villages in Kuala Selangor district. Simple random sampling of households was carried out and all members 15 years and above were examined. Out of 359 persons examined, 92 (25.6%) had hypertension. A significant increase in prevalence was observed with increasing age and in smokers. Prevalence rates did not differ significantly in the two sexes and with income. Only 38 of the hypertensives were known cases. It was found that 78. 7% of them had been detected within less than five years and 81.6% had undergone medical treatment. It is proposed that preventive programmes in hypertension be introduced in rural health services and a national prevalence survey be conducted.
Good nutrition in the first "1000 days," including breastfeeding and appropriate complementary foods, prepares for a healthy childhood and adult life, also contributes to the prevention of the double burden of malnutrition. Exclusive breastfeeding provides all required nutrients until an infant is around 6 months of age when complementary foods are needed. A literature review was undertaken of complementary foods in the Asia Pacific region. The foods being used at present are often of low nutrient density may provide insufficient amounts of some critical nutrients, and generally the variety is limited. Guidelines for complementary feeding are provided to assist in education and in public health planning.
Monomorium orientale Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a common structure- and food-infesting ant in Asia. There is only limited information on the biology and habits of this species, especially on the preferred foods and distribution of nutrients in colonies. We conducted a laboratory study on the distribution of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, which were represented by respective food sources, in M. orientale colonies. Three colony conditions were applied: normal, with a balanced ratio of castes, queenless (only workers and brood), and broodless (only queens and workers). Food sources were stained to track the flow of the respective food in the colonies. Results revealed that carbohydrates had rapid distribution, with > 60% of the colony indicated in 24 h, in all colony conditions. Queens in all colonies did not feed on protein. Protein showed a more delayed distribution in the brood in all colony conditions; < 10% of the colony fed on protein by 24 h. Only queens in broodless colonies showed signs of feeding on lipid, with < 10% indicated in 24 h. Workers in all colonies fed on lipid as soon as it was delivered, whereas the brood only began to reveal feeding response after 24 h.
PIP:
The International Fertility Research Program is carrying out several studies focused on breastfeeding's contraceptive protection. A longitudinal study is investigating the relationship between breastfeeding and the return of ovulation and fertility after childbirth. The impact of factors such as the early introduction of supplementary foods, resumption of menses, and sexual practices on the return of ovulation will be analyzed. The study, which will be conducted at 4 geographic sites, will include a total of 100 women who are breastfeeding and a control group of 40 nonlactating mothers. Its ultimate goal will be to determine the optimum time for breastfeeding women with different cultural needs to start using contraceptives. A second study will seek to determine whether progestogen-only oral contraceptives (OCs) have advantages for lactating women. Trials in India, Malaysia, Argentina, and Egypt will compare 1000 lactating women who use progestogen-only OCs with an equal number of women who use nonhormonal contraception in terms of contraceptive acceptance and side effects and infant weight gain. The third study will survey breastfeeding patterns in relation to changing child spacing trends in a sample of 4000 women from Lagos, Nigeria. Analyzed will be the proportions of women who are using a modern method of fertility control, the proportions protected from unwanted pregnancy by the traditional practices of prolonged breastfeeding and sexual abstinence, and determinants of recent changes in the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding.
The first 2 years of life is a critical period of rapid growth and brain development. During this period, nutrition and environmental factors play important roles in growth and cognitive development of a child. This report describes the study protocol of early nutrition, growth and cognitive development of infants from birth to 2 years of age.
Restriction of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in Indonesia reduces broiler production due to bacterial diseases. Some poultry farmers have attempted to replace AGP with phytogenic compounds, such as tannin as an in-feed additive. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the effects of tannin administration on the production performance, viscera weight, and lipoprotein levels of tropically-raised broiler chickens. Cobb Strain broiler chicks aged one day were used in an experiment with a completely random design, three treatments, and four replicate pens, each containing nine birds. Three dietary treatments were assigned to the birds: basal diet (negative control), basal diet+0.03% Zn Bacitracyn (positive control), and basal diet+0.05% tannin for the starter phase of 1-21 days and the grower phase of 22-42 days, respectively. Tannin supplementation significantly increased the feed conversion ratio in all phases relative to the control group. Tannin supplementation in the diet significantly reduced daily feed intake during the grower phase, final body weight, carcass weight, intestine weight, liver weight, and total visceral weight, compared to the control group. Tannin had lower levels of aspartate aminotransferase but higher levels of low-density lipoprotein and alanine aminotransferase. Tannin addition in broiler diets might not improve growth performance and health. Therefore, it is not suggested as a substitute for AGPs in broiler diets.
The nutritional status of 896 Kadazan children below 6 years of age from 23 villages of Tambunan District were studied. When stunting and wasting were defined as those who were below two standard deviations of height-for-age and weight-for-height (Waterlow et al, 1977) and based on the National Center for Health Statistics reference population, 67.6% of boys and 66.8% of girls were stunted while 12.3% of boys and 8.3% of girls were wasted. Weaning foods and toddler feeding practices were unsatisfactory. The role of health education on child care and feeding practices is emphasized.