AIMS: We assessed the dietary intake of female Saudi Arabian adolescents living in Arar.
METHOD: In this randomised cluster study, female students were selected randomly from assigned schools to form the intervention (n = 68) and control (n = 70) groups. Initially, a 60-minute seminar was held for mothers of students in the intervention group. Subsequently, 6 90-minute sessions were held over 3 months for the intervention group on topics such as food groups, healthy and unhealthy eating, body image and physical activity. The data were analysed using generalized estimating equations.
RESULTS: The interaction effect (group by time) between the groups revealed statistically significant differences for dairy products (P < 0.001), sweetened beverages (P < 0.001), sweetened baked goods (P = 0.022) and fruits and vegetables (P < 0.003). The intervention significantly increased the intake of dairy products (P < 0.001) and fruits and vegetables (P = 0.003). It reduced the intake of sweetened beverages (P < 0.001) and sweetened baked goods (P = 0.010) in the intervention group.
CONCLUSION: This intervention showed a grater positive effect on the intervention than the control group; it increased dietary intake of dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and reduced intake of sweetened beverages and sweetened baked goods among the intervention group participants. We recommend similar nutrition interventions among other young Saudi Arabian population groups to prevent obesity and other diseases.
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine factors associated with body weight status of Iranian postgraduate students in Universiti of Putra Malaysia (UPM).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the body weight status of 210 Iranian postgraduate students aged between 22 and 55 years in University of Putra Malaysia. The associations between body weight status and socio demographics factors and also lifestyle factors (smoking and physical activity) were assessed. Anthropometric factors (height, weight, BMI and waist and hip circumferences) were measured. Chi-square, Spearman Rho and Pearson tests were used for data analysis.
RESULTS: From a total of 210 postgraduate students 110 were females, and 100 males. No significant correlation was observed between smoking and BMI (P = 0.4). However, statistically significant correlations were observed between gender (P = 0.007), physical activity (P = 0.02), using protein (P = 0.005), carbohydrate (P = 0.002), fat (P = 0.001), fiber (P = 0.003), vitamin C (P = 0.04), calcium (P = 0.005), waist circumference (P = 0.02), hip circumference (P = 0.001), Waist to Hip Ratio (P = 0.002), and BMI.
CONCLUSIONS: The nutritional behavior of university students was poor. Therefore, it is essential to encourage young people, including university students to enrich their diets with milk, beans, fruit, and vegetables to decrease the risks of nutrition related disorders.
METHODS: A sample of 758 adolescents aged 12-18 years were recruited from private and public schools in Tehran. Information about socio-demographic background and body change techniques were collected via a self-administered questionnaire.
RESULTS: A high percentage of adolescents used body change techniques frequently to alter their body appearance. Girls changed normal eating pattern significantly (p=0.007) to lose weight more frequently than boys while boys used this method significantly (p=0.01) to gain weight more frequently than girls. Overweight/obese adolescents exercised significantly to change muscle size (p=0.03) and changed normal diet to lose weight (p<0.001) more frequently than normal weight adolescents. The relation between sex and body weight status with body change techniques (p<0.0) implied that male and female adolescents especially overweight/obese adolescents were frequently trying to change their body appearance.
CONCLUSION: Significant differences existed in using body change techniques according to sex and body weight status and these should be considered in obesity prevention programs for adolescents.
METHODS: This a randomized controlled trial (RCT) randomized 208 patients with T2DM [mean age = 48.8 ± 11.8 years, Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) = 9.5 ± 2.4%, and Body Mass Index = 28.0 ± 5.6 kg/m2] to intervention group (n = 104) or control group (n = 104). Participants in the intervention group received a weekly diabetes nutrition module based on the health belief model for 12 weeks in addition to the usual care whereas the control participants were given the usual care. We evaluated HbA1c and diabetes-related outcomes (metabolic parameters, dietary intake, and physical activity level) at baseline, 12 weeks, and 22 weeks. Health beliefs, diabetes knowledge, and health literacy were also evaluated.
RESULTS: After 22 weeks, HbA1c improved significantly in the intervention group (-1.7%) from the baseline value, compared to the control group (+0.01%) (p
Methods: We conducted a cluster randomized controlled intervention trial (16-week intervention and 8-week follow-up). Malaysian government employees in Putrajaya, Malaysia, with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned by cluster to a point-of-decision prompt group (n = 44), an aerobics group (n = 42) or a control group (n = 103) based on sample size calculation formula. Step counts were evaluated by Lifecorder e-STEP accelerometers for all participants. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the 'harmonizing' definition, in which individuals who have at least three of the five metabolic risk factors (waist circumference, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) will be classified as having metabolic syndrome. A total of 80% of the enrolled government employees with metabolic syndrome completed the programme. Data were analyzed using SPSS for Windows (version 20, SPSS, Chicago, IL).
Results: There were significantly higher step counts on average in the aerobics group compared to the control group over assessments. Assessments at baseline, post-intervention and follow-up showed a significant difference in step counts between the intervention and control groups. The greatest reductions in the proportions of individuals with metabolic syndrome were observed in the aerobics group with a reduction of 79.4% in the post-intervention assessment compared to the assessment at baseline.
Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that physical activity intervention via aerobics classes is an effective strategy for improving step counts and reducing the prevalence of metabolic syndrome.
METHOD: The KAPQ initially consisted of 73 items, covering knowledge (30), attitude (22), and practice (21) related to nutrition, physical activity (PA), and body image (BI). The content and face validity were tested to identify the relevance of the questionnaire items to the content and their relevance to nutrition, PA, and BI. Construct validity was assessed using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Internal consistency was determined by Cronbach's α value, and stability was determined based on test-retest reliability.
RESULTS: Based on the EFA, each scale had several dimensions. The Cronbach's α ranged between 0.977 and 0.888 for knowledge, 0.902 and 0.977 for attitude, and 0.949 and 0.950 for practice. The test-retest reliability revealed that the kappa of knowledge was 0.773-1.000, while the intraclass correlation (ICC) values for attitude and practice were 0.682-1.000 and 0.778-1.000, respectively.
CONCLUSION: The final KAPQ, which included 72 items, was valid and reliable for assessing the KAP levels for nutrition, PA, and BI of 13-14-year-old female students in KSA.