In November 1988 a random sample of 435 men and women aged 70-75 years from the general population in Roskilde, a provincial town in Denmark, were invited to participate in a study of nutrition and health. Forty-six per cent of the total sample agreed to participate. The total sample could be characterized by socio-economic variables and data on previous hospitalizations obtained from public registers. A subgroup of the non-participants could be further characterized by some of the topics under study using information obtained by telephone interviews. It was found that the non-participants differed from participants by selected health variables. More non-participants than participants had been hospitalized one year before contact. Telephone interviews with non-participants revealed generally poorer self-judged health and less-frequent eating of cooked meals compared with participants. The degree of bias introduced by this selectivity is estimated by weighting and by a minimum/maximum calculation. Review of participation in previous studies of nutrition and health in the elderly shows that problems with non-participation have been treated in various ways. It is concluded that consideration of factors discriminating between participants and non-participants is important for proper estimation of population parameters.
Childhood obesity is a public health concern in Canada. Few published anthropometric data are available to indicate obesity prevalence in Canadian children. Obesity prevalence is reported for school-aged children in 11 London, Ontario, schools.
Data on body weight and height were obtained using standardized procedures. United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) body mass index (BMI)-for-age references and Cole's international BMI reference were used to classify the children's weight categories.
The study included 1,570 pupils aged six to 13. The CDC BMI references categorized 16.6% and 11.8% of children as overweight and obese, respectively. In comparison, when the Cole BMI reference and cut-off points were used, 17.5% and 7.6% of children were classified as overweight and obese, respectively.
Overweight is prevalent in the study population. Public health interventions are warranted to curb the obesity epidemic in school-aged children.
The dietary trends of indigenous Fijians have changed drastically in the past 50 years. Deviating from the traditional food consumption pattern and traditional lifestyle may have increased the incidence and prevalence of non-communicable diseases. The aim of this study is to examine the dietary trends of the indigenous Fijians in relation to the prevalence of diabetes from 1952 to 1994. The data used were obtained from the Naduri Nutrition Survey reports of 1952 to 1994, the Fiji National Nutrition Survey reports of 1983 and 1993, and the two diabetes survey reports of 1965 and 1980. Results indicated an increased consumption of introduced foods, which may be associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes. The total energy derived from cereals and sugar increased dramatically with a reduction in consumption of traditional foods. The prevalence of diabetes among the urban indigenous population in 1965 was very low compared to the 1980 figure, while the National Nutrition Survey of the same ethnic group showed a 433% increase of urban diabetes from 1965 to 1993. The hospital diabetes admission cases of 1952 to 1982 also showed an increased trend.
Investigations made it possible to establish that in the period from 1925-28 to 1970-71 there took place in the Ukraine an increase in the consumption of animal products (milk, meat, fish, eggs), of sugar, vegetables, fruits and a fall in the consumption of cereals (bakery products, grits, macaroni, beans) and potato. Because of these dietary changes in the nutritional pattern of the population there were noted an elevated proportional share of proteins and fats, basically of animal origin, and a decrease in that of complex carbohydrates. A direct relation between the health status of the population and its alimentation has been ascertained; first--between the calorific value of the food products sets and their fat and carbohydrates content, on the one hand, and the body weight of the examined, on the other; and secondly--between the fluorine level in the food and the prevalence of fluorosis, caries, exostosis, aggravated by an imbalance of a number of nutritional components, on the other. Note has been taken at the same time of the fact that obese individuals suffer more often from cardio-vascular affections, gout, uro- and cholelithiasis and diabetes mellitus.
It is unclear whether blood pressure control varies across the spectrum of atherosclerotic risk.
We used data from nonpregnant adults who had fasted laboratory samples drawn for the 2007-2009 cycle of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) or the 2005-2008 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
The 1692 CHMS subjects and 3541 NHANES participants were demographically similar (aged a mean of 45 years), although NHANES participants exhibited higher obesity rates (33.8% vs. 22.2%, P
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Comment In: Can J Cardiol. 2013 May;29(5):526-723523107
Intake of fish and omega-3 fatty acids is inversely related to adverse health outcomes; however, these relationships may be confounded by socio-economic status and health behaviours. This study's purpose was to describe the socio-demographic, health and lifestyle correlates of fish consumption among pregnant women.
Pregnant women (n=2394) completed a telephone interview between 10-22 weeks' gestation (London, Ontario, 2002-5) containing questions on socio-demographic, health and lifestyle variables; dietary intake was measured using a 106-item validated food-frequency questionnaire. Unadjusted and adjusted risk ratios were obtained using a modified Poisson regression model.
A study of iron deficiency states (IDS) in Chukotkan native women aged 20-59 years revealed a relatively high prevalence of 36.4%. The prevalence of anemia was 5.6%. Some risk factors of IDS have been defined including frequent deliveries, prolonged lactation and also some peculiarities in the nutrition of these women.
