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Background: Betel quid chewing is a deep-rooted practice in India and neighboring countries, which has migrated to other parts of the world. Betel leaf acts as a carrier for areca nut and most often, smokeless tobacco, both of which are carcinogenic, making betel quid a harmful product. Objectives: The first objective was to compare the prevalence of "use of betel quid with tobacco" from GATS-1 to GATS-2. The second was to study the association of "use of betel quid with and without tobacco" with different socio-economic groups (wealth quintiles) according to select background characteristics. Methods: This study used data from the Global Adult Tobacco Surveys (GATS), 2009–10 and 2016–17. Logistic regression with adjustment of co-variates (age, gender, residence and education) was used to study association of use of betel quid with different socio-economic groups. Results: Highest reduction (40 percent) was seen in "use of betel quid with tobacco" among male youth (15–24 years) over the two rounds of GATS. No change was seen in this form of use among females. The odds of "use of betel quid with tobacco" had a positive gradient with decreasing wealth quintiles. "Use of betel quid without tobacco" showed highest odds among participants with moderate levels of education. Conclusion: Health promotion interventions around harmful effects of "betel quid with and without tobacco" are needed for all genders from poorer populations with low education. Stress needs to be laid on universal population-level public health awareness campaigns about the carcinogenic properties of areca nut in betel quid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with obesity, and various other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The aim of the study was to study the patterns of consumption of SSBs and association of SSB consumption with various socioeconomic factors and fried food consumption. Methodology: We used data of the 4th round of National Family Health Survey. We used multiple logistic regression to estimate the extent of the relationship between consumption of aerated drinks and various predictors. Furthermore, generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) was used to derive a path diagram that showed a significant linkage between aerated drinks and observed variables. Results: Our study showed a clear association between consumption of aerated drinks with socioeconomic variables age, sex, marital status, and wealth index. The consumption of aerated drinks was also significantly associated with watching television and eating fried foods. Conclusion: Aerated drinks are a popular source of added sugar in the Indian diet. Limiting such factors can prove to be beneficial in reducing their consumption and further help in reducing the burden of NCDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field survey carried out during Kharif 2015-16 and 2016-17 in various villages of Varanasi district indicated varied level of pest incidence and damage on long duration pigeonpea crop. Insect pests like gram pod borer (H. armigera), tur pod fly (M. obtusa) and tur pod bug (C. gibbosa) were noticed as major insect pests infesting pigeonpea during the survey. During 2015-16, the extent of damage due to pod fly was recorded to be highest in Tariya village, damage due to pod bug was highest in Tikari village and damage due to gram pod borer was found to be maximum in Narottampur village. Similarly, during 2016-17, the higher incidence of pod fly and pod bug was recorded in Narottampur village and the higher incidence of gram pod borer was recorded in Ramna village. Extensive cultivation of pigeonpea as an intercrop or sole crop inflicted higher incidence of above insects and thereby greater damage while lower incidence observed was mainly because of the crop grown marginally in isolated areas or around the high valued crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]