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Summary: Current global trends in physical activity levels demonstrate that the world is not on track to achieve the 2030 target set by the Global Action Plan. The Action Plan posited that physical activity should be an integral component of "daily lives" of all individuals "across the life course." Potential contributions to achieve global physical activity goals include the utilization of compositional data analysis and life course epidemiology to provide a framework for the composite nature of physical activity and complex life course relationships. Combining these two traditionally disconnected fields represents a paradigm shift in physical activity research. Here, we discuss how these combined fields enable a reinterpretation of previous research findings and explore their impact on policy and potential advantages and challenges. Careful consideration needs to be given to the implications of both fields remaining disconnected and the alternate option of consolidation to realize ambitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) co‐exist, often because of poor intakes and adversely impact health. Habitual diets were assessed in 300 school children (6–17 years old) recruited from two government schools by simple random sampling. Probability of adequacy (PA) for 11 micronutrients and mean probability of adequacy (MPA) was calculated. Haemoglobin, plasma ferritin, folic acid, vitamin B12 and C‐reactive protein were estimated. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to estimate magnitude and factors associated with MNDs. The contribution of fortified foods and/or supplements in addressing inadequacies and excessive intakes was modelled. The PA ranged from 0.04 for folate to 0.70 for zinc, and the MPA was 0.27. Prevalence of anaemia (53%), iron deficiency (57%; ID), iron deficiency anaemia (38%; IDA), folate deficiency (24%) and B12 deficiency (43%) was high. Dietary inadequacy of iron, zinc and a low MPA was associated with anaemia and IDA. Inclusion of double fortified salt (DFS), fortified rice (FR) or iron folic acid (IFA) supplements individually in habitual diet reduced probability of iron inadequacy significantly from 82% to ≤13%. Inclusion of DFS and FR simultaneously led to disappearance of iron inadequacy, but risk of excessive intake increased to 16%. Inclusion of DFS, FR and IFA together increased risk of excess iron intake to 40%. Nevertheless, intakes of folate and B12 remained inadequate even with FR and/or IFA. These results indicate a high risk of dietary MNDs in children and suggest need for more systematic intake measurements in representative sample and adjustment of iron dosages to avoid excessive intakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulse wave velocity (PWV), a measure of arterial stiffness, and intima-media thickening (IMT), a measure of early atherosclerosis, are intermediate markers of cardiovascular disease which are predictive of cardiovascular events. Traditionally, both were thought to result from accumulative exposure to traditional cardiovascular risk factors. However, their association with risk factors in young adults in low-income settings is unknown. We sought to investigate the association between PWV and IMT with traditional cardiovascular risk factors in the Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study cohort from Southern India. Male and female adults (N = 1440) aged between 20 and 24 years underwent measures of PWV and IMT. Exposure variables included smoking, body mass index (BMI), mean arterial pressure (MAP), glucose, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol), and triglycerides. Association between outcome and exposure variables was assessed using linear regression analysis. Average values for PWV and IMT were 5.9 ± 0.6 m/s and 0.5 ± 0.1 mm. In univariable analysis, PWV associated with MAP, BMI, smoking, total cholesterol, glucose, and HOMA-IR and IMT associated with MAP, BMI, tobacco use, and HDL-cholesterol. In multivariable analysis, PWV remained strongly positively associated with MAP increasing by 0.5 m/s (P < .001) for a 10 mm Hg increase in MAP (R2  = .37). In contrast, IMT negatively associated with HDL-cholesterol (β = -.10; P = .012, R2  = .02). There was weak evidence that PWV and IMT positively associated with BMI. In young adults from Southern India, PWV positively associated with blood pressure and IMT negatively associated with HDL-cholesterol. This suggests separate etiologies for atherosclerosis and arterial stiffening in young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: Stature estimation from the skeleton is a classic anthropological problem, and recent years have seen the proliferation of population‐specific regression equations. Many rely on the anatomical reconstruction of stature from archaeological skeletons to derive regression equations based on long bone lengths, but this requires a collection with very good preservation. In some regions, for example, South Asia, typical environmental conditions preclude the sufficient preservation of skeletal remains. Large‐scale epidemiological studies that include medical imaging of the skeleton by techniques such as dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) offer new potential datasets for developing such equations. Materials and methods: We derived estimation equations based on known height and bone lengths measured from DXA scans from the Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study (Hyderabad, India). Given debates on the most appropriate regression model to use, multiple methods were compared, and the performance of the equations was tested on a published skeletal dataset of individuals with known stature. Results: The equations have standard errors of estimates and prediction errors similar to those derived using anatomical reconstruction or from cadaveric datasets. As measured by the number of significant differences between true and estimated stature, and the prediction errors, the new equations perform as well as, and generally better than, published equations commonly used on South Asian skeletons or based on Indian cadaveric datasets. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the utility of DXA scans as a data source for developing stature estimation equations and offer a new set of equations for use with South Asian datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Although several risk factors contribute to the development of sarcopenia, whether preclinical atherosclerosis contributes to the risk of sarcopenia is not established. The present cross‐sectional study aimed to investigate if there is an association between preclinical atherosclerosis and muscle strength among two ethnic populations. Methods: Participants included individuals aged ≥40 years and enrolled in the third follow‐up examination of the Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study, India, and in the baseline assessments of the Nagasaki Islands Study, Japan. Preclinical atherosclerosis was evaluated by carotid intima‐media thickness, brachial‐ankle pulse wave velocity, cardio‐ankle vascular index. The association of carotid intima‐media thickness and pulse wave velocity/cardio‐ankle vascular index with handgrip strength (HGS) was analyzed separately in the sexes and for hypertensive status from the two cohorts using a multivariable linear regression model. Results: Data on a total of 1501 participants in India and 3136 participants in Japan were analyzed. Carotid intima‐media thickness was negatively associated with HGS in non‐hypertensive Indian men (B coefficient = −5.38, P = 0.036). Arterial stiffness was also associated with HGS in non‐hypertensive Indian men (B = −0.97, P = 0.001), but not in hypertensive Indian men. Same as Indian men, we found the significant associations between arterial stiffness and HGS in non‐hypertensive women in both India and Japan (B = −0.44, P = 0.020, B = −0.63, P = 0.016, respectively), but not in hypertensive women. Conclusions: The negative association between preclinical atherosclerosis and HGS was dominantly found in non‐hypertensive participants. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 1071–1078. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]