Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 227 adults aged 40 to 59 years at low-cost housing flats in suburban area of Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Data collection involved food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for polyphenols and international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ). Subjects were measured for anthropometric parameters including height, weight, waist and neck circumferences (NC), and body fat percentage. The polyphenol intake from the diet was estimated using local polyphenol database built according to PHENOL-EXPLORER.
Results: The average intake of polyphenol of subjects was 1815 (672) mg/day. The main food sources of polyphenol were coffee with milk, followed by chocolate milk and red beans. A higher polyphenol intake according to quartile was significantly associated with a lower neck circumference (χ2 = 8.30, P = 0.040), waist circumference (χ2 = 8.45, P = 0.038) and body fat percentage (χ2 = 8.06, P = 0.045). Binomial logistic regression analysis showed that the association remained significant for the neck circumference (P = 0.032), after controlling for age, household income, energy intake and physical activity level. More subjects with normal NC had higher intake of polyphenols (50th percentile and above). In contrast, subjects with high NC showed lower percentiles of polyphenols intake (50th percentile and below).
Conclusion: The result showed that polyphenol intake was associated with neck circumference and thus it can be suggested that polyphenol intake is associated with obesity.
Methods: A quasi-experimental study with 328 obese and overweight low socio- economic status housewives aged 18-59 years old who met the screening criteria participated in the study. They were recruited into an intervention group (N = 169) or control group (N = 159). The intervention group received a lifestyle intervention consisting of a diet, physical activity and self-monitoring behavior package. The control group (delayed intervention group) received a women's health seminar package. Both groups were followed up for six months. Weight, body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure were evaluated both pre- and post-intervention.
Results: A total of 124 participants from the intervention group and 93 participants from the control group completed the study. Mean weight loss was 1.13 ± 2.70 kg (P < 0.05) in the intervention group and 0.97 ± 2.60 kg (P < 0.05) in the control group. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) reductions in the intervention group were 5.84 ± 18.10 mmHg (P < 0.05). The control group showed reduction in SBP 6.04 ± 14.52 mmHg (P < 0.05). Both group had non-significant DBP reduction. Multivariate analysis via General Linear Model Repeated Measures observed no significant differences in terms of parameter changes with time in both groups for all parameters.
Conclusions: The results indicate that the lifestyle interventions in this study resulted in modest weight loss and thus decreased BMI and blood pressure (SBP) within six months of intervention.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). A total of 303 students participated. Data was collected from January to April 2016. Self-designed questionnaires comprised questions pertaining to current weight, self-reported height data, information on eating habits, exercise and knowledge of the food pyramid. The collected data were used to compare and contrast eating habits and lifestyle practices among overweight/obese students with those of non-overweight/obese students.
Results: The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 28.8% (95% CI: 24.0%, 34.0%). The majority ate regular daily meals, but more than half skipped breakfast. Frequent snacking, fried food consumption at least three times per week and low intake of daily fruits and vegetables were common. The frequency of visits to fast food restaurants was significantly higher in the overweight/obese. 25.4% of the students exercised at least three times per week. Almost all students are aware of balanced nutrition and the food pyramid.
Conclusions: Most university students had poor eating habits, although the majority had good nutrition knowledge. By way of recommendation, the university is encouraged to provide a multi-disciplinary team specialising in health promotion that includes nutrition and physical activity programmes to increase the awareness among the university students.
Methods: Mice (n = 48) were fed high-fat diet (HFD) for 25 weeks to induce obesity, after which half were maintained on HFD and half switched to low-fat diet (LFD)while they were given normal water (H2O) or 0.1% (w/v) SCE in water at week 0-4 which was increased to 1% (w/v) at week 5-9. Effects of treatment with SCE were compared between HFDH2O, HFDSCE, LFDH2O and LFDSCE groups. Respiratory exchange ratios (RER) were measured at weeks 0, 5 and 10. Food, water intake and body weight were measured weekly. Plasma lipid profile and organ weights were determined at week 10.
Results: SCE had significantly reduced RER at week 9 (P = 0.011). Food intake, body weight, and abdominal adipose tissue weight were not altered by SCE at weeks 5 and 10. However, significant increase in plasma and liver cholesterol (P < 0.050) was observed.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that SCE induced lipolysis and body fat oxidation and increased energy expenditure. Further studies in other animal models should be done to confirm the consistency of these results.
Methods: This study involved 93 disabled athletes in Malaysia. The setting of the study is at National Sports Council, Malaysia. The data obtained are analysed using chi-square test using SPSS.
Results: This study shows that the most common types of eating behaviour among disabled athletes are emotional eating (37.6%), followed by uncontrolled eating (34.3%) and cognitive restraint (28%). Most of the overweight and obese disabled athletes are prone to emotional eating (19.4%) as compared to non-overweight athletes (18.3%).
Conclusion: As a conclusion, recognising the eating behaviour in disabled athletes is important as more effective and innovative interventions and measures can be undertaken to prevent eating disorder which can enhance sports performance.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Records of 688 women between January 2004 and July 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients received urodynamic studies, 1-hour pad test, Urogenital Distress Inventory-6 and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-7, and were divided into normal weight, overweight and obese. Objective cure at 1 year was defined as no involuntary urine leakage during filling cystometry and pad test less than 2 gm. Subjective cure was established by negative response to question 3 on Urogenital Distress Inventory-6. McNemar's test, chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact test were used for paired categorical variables. Independent samples t-tests and paired t-test were used for continuous parametric variables. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for failure.
RESULTS: Objective and subjective cure in normal, overweight and obese patients was 91.4% and 89.1%, 87.5% and 86%, and 76% and 70.1%, respectively. There was no difference in surgical complications. Obese patients had worse quality of life scores preoperatively and postoperatively. Risk factors in obese patients with failed mid urethral sling included 66 years old or older (OR 2.02, 1.56-3.98), menopause (OR 4.21, 1.21-14.22), previous prolapse surgery (OR 4.57, 2.36-8.52), diabetes (OR 2.79, 1.61-5.99) and intrinsic sphincter deficiency (OR 5.06, 3.08-9.64).
CONCLUSIONS: Obese women with mid urethral sling had lower objective and subjective cure at 1 year and worse quality of life scores compared to normal and overweight women. Risk factors for failure include age, diabetes, menopause, previous prolapse surgery and intrinsic sphincter deficiency.
STUDY DESIGN: We assessed data from 6414 children aged 6-18 years, collected by the South East Asia Community Observatory. Child underweight, overweight, and obesity were expressed according to 3 internationally used BMI references: World Health Organization 2007, International Obesity Task Force 2012, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000. We assessed agreement in classification of anthropometric status among the references using Cohen's kappa statistic and estimated underweight, overweight, and obesity prevalence according to each reference using mixed effects Poisson regression.
RESULTS: There was poor to moderate agreement between references when classifying underweight, but generally good agreement when classifying overweight and obesity. Underweight, overweight, and obesity prevalence estimates generated using the 3 references were notably inconsistent. Overweight and obesity prevalence estimates were higher using the World Health Organization reference vs the other 2, and underweight prevalence was up to 8.5% higher and obesity prevalence was about 4% lower when using the International Obesity Task Force reference.
CONCLUSIONS: The choice of reference to express BMI may influence conclusions about child anthropometric status and malnutrition prevalence. This has implications regarding strategies for clinical management and public health interventions.
STUDY DESIGN: In this retrospective cohort study, we included children aged 5-20 years who received regular outpatient care at a large academic medical center between January 1996 and April 2016. BMI was expressed as age- and sex-specific percentiles and BP as age-, sex-, and height-specific percentiles. Linear mixed models incorporating linear spline functions with 2 breakpoints at 9 and 12 years of age were used to estimate the changes in BMI and BP percentiles over time during age periods: <9, 9-<12, and >12 years of age.
RESULTS: Among 5703 children (24.8% black, 10.1% Hispanic), Hispanic females had an increased rate of change in BMI percentile per year relative to white females during ages 5-9 years (+2.94%; 95% CI, 0.24-5.64; P = .033). Black and Hispanic males also had an increased rate of change in BMI percentile per year relative to white males that occurred from ages 5-9 (+2.35% [95% CI, 0.76-3.94; P = .004]; +2.63% [95% CI, 0.31-4.95; P = .026], respectively). There were no significant racial differences in the rate of change of BP percentiles, although black females had higher hypertension rates compared with white females (10.0% vs 5.7%; P
OBJECTIVES: Two independent cross-sectional studies were designed to evaluate the association between age, sex, and plasma vitamin D concentrations with physiological and biochemical biomarkers of NO synthesis and EF in young and older healthy participants (Study 1) and in overweight and obese postmenopausal females (Study 2).
METHODS: In Study 1, 40 young (20-49 y) and older (50-75 y) males and females (10 participants per age and sex group) were included. Resting blood pressure and ear-to-finger peripheral pulse wave velocity (PWV) were measured. A stable-isotopic method was used to determine whole-body NO production. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), nitrate, nitrite, and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) concentrations were determined. In Study 2, 80 older overweight and obese females (age 61.2 ± 6.2 y, body mass index 29.5 ± 4.4 kg/m2) were recruited. Postocclusion reactive hyperemia (PORH) and peripheral PWV were measured. Plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D, nitrate, cyclic guanosine monophosphate, 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), endothelin-1, vascular endothelial growth factor, and ADMA were determined.
RESULTS: In Study 1, whole-body NO production was significantly greater in young compared with older participants (0.61 ± 0.30 μmol·h-1·kg-1 compared with 0.39 ± 0.10 μmol·h-1·kg-1, P = 0.01) but there was no evidence of a sex difference (P = 0.81). Plasma 25(OH)D concentration was not associated with PWV (r = 0.18, P = 0.28) or whole-body NO production (r = -0.20, P = 0.22). Plasma ADMA concentration was associated positively with age (r = 0.35, P = 0.03) and negatively with whole-body NO production (r = -0.33, P = 0.04). In Study 2, age was associated with lower PORH (r = -0.28, P = 0.02) and greater ADMA concentrations (r = 0.22, P = 0.04). Plasma 25(OH)D concentration was inversely associated with 3-NT concentrations (r = -0.31, P = 0.004).
CONCLUSIONS: Older age was associated with lower whole-body NO production. Plasma vitamin D concentrations were not associated with NO production or markers of EF but showed a weak, significant correlation with oxidative stress in postmenopausal overweight females.