Search

Gaining weight above the Institute of Medicine recommended range contributes to the development of obesity, which increases risk for diseases. We evaluated the effectiveness of an educational program with the spouse's participation on the optimal gestational weight gain (GWG) in pregnancy. We conducted a randomized controlled trial on 128 nulliparous women attending Najmieh Hospital--Antenatal Clinic based in Tehran-Iran. Participants randomly allocated into two groups of interventions and one control group. In group A, the women received education with their spouse's participation. In group B, the women received education without the participation of the spouses. In the control group, women received only routine prenatal care. Data were analysed by the ANOVA and Chi-square coefficient. The mean of the total GWG in the groups A and B was significantly lower than the control group (13.50 3.85, 13.55 3.20 and 15.53 4.20 kg, respectively, P > 0.05). The rate of optimal GWG in groups A and B was 1.97 and 1.77 times of the control group, respectively (P < 0.05). The percentage of non-optimal GWG significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Groups A and B were not significantly different indicating no effect of spousal presence.

Introduction: Epidemiologic studies have shown a discrepancy between overweight and puberty processes. This cross-sectional study was aimed to clarify these associations in the Iranian girl population. Methods: A total of 1300 girls aged 11-15 years were randomly selected from Mashhad, in the northeast of Iran, using a multi-stage cluster sampling method. The demographic data were collected and weight, height, and waist circumference (WC) were measured, then Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist-to-Hip ratio were calculated. Overweight and obesity were defined based on WHO reference data. Central obesity was defined as ≥90th percentile of WC. Linear regression and unconditional binary logistic regression were performed to investigate the association between socio- demographic parameters and age at menarche in months, puberty categories, and menarche age groups (<12 vs. ≥12 years) respectively. Results: The prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal fat distribution were 11.5%, 10.3%, and 10.5% respectively. Menarche was experienced by 63% of subjects at the mean age of 12.24±0.98 years. Regression tests revealed that the odds of menarche occurrence at the age of 12 or more was significantly lower in girls with higher BMI (OR: 0.31, 95%CI: 0.22-0.43) than their leaner counterparts (P< 0.001). Conclusion: The findings suggest that being overweight or obese is a possible predictor of experiencing menarche at a younger age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Eating disorders are psychological syndromes which characterized by abnormal or disturbed food habits resulted from intense fear of obesity and may include negative effects on people physical or mental health. This cross sectional study was carried out to assess dietary intakes and food habits in female adolescents with eating disorders in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: Totally, 231 female adolescent with eating disorders were selected from a total number of 2766 students from five districts in Tehran using multistage clustered sampling in a 2-phase procedure. All affected students and 284 non-affected students filled demographic and food habit questionnaires (modified version) for adolescents and then were interviewed for the 70-item non-quantitative food frequency by expert nutritionists. Results: Study of dietary patterns in adolescents showed that the most common meal pattern (30%) in nonaffected group included three main meals and two snacks. The highest frequent patterns in partial syndrome group (33.5%) and bulimia nervosa (28.1%) included two main meals daily. The missing dinner in partial syndrome and bulimia nervosa groups were significantly higher than that in non-affected group (P<0.05). The highest frequency of drinking water (4-6 cups/day) was seen in partial syndrome group (41%). This included 3-2 cups/day (39% and 42.3%) in bulimia nervosa and non-affected groups, respectively. A significant difference was seen between these groups (P = 0.037). Consumption of all cereals and vegetables in the affected group was significantly lower than that in non-affected group (P < 0.05). Study of lipid intake status in the participants showed that the frequency of low-fat dairy products in affected groups (25% and 35.8% in partial syndrome and bulimia nervosa, respectively) was significantly higher than that in non-affected group (12.7%). Conclusions: Study demonstrated that missing dinner and drinking higher volumes of water with decreased cereal and low-fat dairies intakes were the major techniques used by the adolescents to reduce the calorie intake. Despite of these differences, the overall food habits in the affected group do not seem different significantly from those in non-affected groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic and endocrine perinatal complication and is a growing health problem worldwide. Considering the fetal programming and its contribution as one of the evolutionary origins of human diseases, it is very important to improve the glucose metabolism in pregnant women, determination of other nutrients, preventing excessive accumulation of fetal fats, emphasis on weight loss measures before pregnancy, dietary intake with low-fat healthy food and prevention of abundant weight loss. In this paper, we have provided a brief review on dietary intake and dietary interventions in GDM from the perspective of nutrition science attending the physiopathology and etiology of the disease. Materials and methods: Electronic search for English and Persian articles has been perform in databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed ,Scopus, Cochrane central ,Science direct, ISC, SID, Magiran, Iran Medex, and Med Libby key words: gestational diabetes, gestational diabetes mellitus, nutrition, macronutrient, micronutrient, Diabetes. All available articles (cross-sectional, descriptive-analytic, and clinical studies with desirable design and review quality studies were used. Reference books including Krause's Food and the Nutrition Care, The Williams Obstetrics editions of the 14th (2017) and the 24th edition (2014) were also reviewed. Results: Nutrition therapy and physical activity are the initial treatment of GDM. Proper and flexible methods of nutrition therapy that successfully regulate maternal glycaemia while improving expected fetal growth have extensive concepts. Meanwhile, dietary supplements with proven beneficial effects can play an important role in improving deficiencies and improving the metabolic profile of patients. Conclusion: Nutritional management is the main treatment for gestational diabetes mellitus and overweight/obesity is the principal contest in patient counseling and interventions during pregnancy. Despite extensive researches carried out, this field is an active research area and requires more clinical research to minimize maternal and fetal complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Dyslipidemia has been considered as a major risk factor for coronary heart disease. Alternative medicine has a significant role in treatment of dyslipidemia. There are controversial findings regarding the effects of sour tea on dyslipidemia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of aqueous extract of dried calyx of sour tea on polygenic dyslipidemia. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was done on 43 adults (30-60 years old) with polygenic dyslipidemia that were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. The control group was trained in lifestyle modifications at baseline. The intervention group was trained for lifestyle modifications at baseline and received two cups of sour tea daily, and both groups were followed up for 12 weeks. Lipid profile was evaluated at baseline, and six and 12 weeks following the intervention. In addition, dietary and physical activity assessed at baseline for twelve weeks. Results: Mean concentration of total cholesterol, HDL-C and LDL-C significantly decreased by up to 9.46%, 8.33%, and 9.80%, respectively, after 12 weeks in the intervention group in comparison to their baseline values. However, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio significantly increased by up to 3.15%, following 12 weeks in the control group in comparison to their baseline values. This study showed no difference in lipid profiles between the two groups, except for HDL-C concentrations. Conclusion: sour tea may have significant positive effects on lipid profile of polygenic dyslipidemia subjects and these effect might be attributed to its anthocyanins and inflation factor content. Therefore, sour tea intake with recommended dietary patterns and physical activity can be useful in regulation of lipid profile in patients with polygenic dyslipidemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Reports indicate that hypovitaminosis D is extremely common worldwide and is reemerging as a major health problem globally. In the present study, the main objectives were: 1) to examine whether healthy men and women living in Ahvaz have adequate vitamin D status; 2) to assess association between vitamin D status and some cardiometabolic risk factors. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study which was part of the National Food and Nutrition Surveillance (NFNS). A total of 235 apparently healthy women and men aged 20-60 met the inclusion criteria from the city of Ahvaz (latitude 31.3oN, 48.6oE). Anthropometric measurements including weight and height were taken. Serum 25- hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations and lipid profile including triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-C and HDLC were evaluated. Results: Mean circulating 25(OH)D concentration was 25.4±12.7 nmol/L, with significant difference between men and women (p=0.015). Only 6 % of the participants had sufficient levels of vitamin D (25(OH)D ≥ 50 nmol/L). Results of logistic regression analyses after controlling for gender showed that subjects with hypovitaminosis D were almost 4.38 times more likely to be overweight/obese compared with subjects with vitamin D sufficiency (OR:4.38, p:0.011). There was no significant association between serum 25(OH)D concentration and the lipid profile components. Conclusions: We found high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in apparently healthy adults in Ahvaz, a sunny city of Iran. Our findings suggest that high vitamin D concentrations among the adult population are associated with a substantial decrease in body mass index. However, there was no association with the lipid profile components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Studies have shown that many people with diabetes are fasting in the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan fasting causes several changes in metabolism, habit and lifestyle that are associated with an increased risk of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia in diabetic patients. An educational program based on behavioral science theory in the field of diet and medication changes, proper physical activity during Ramadan fasting, recognizing risks and symptoms of fasting complications and the management may improve the diabetic patients' ability in changing lifestyle, reduce the risk of fasting complications and weight and metabolic control during Ramadan. This study aimed to investigate the effect of nutritional education program based on health belief model (HBM), on the knowledge of type 2 diabetic patients who fast in Ramadan. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 53 type 2 diabetic patients referring to the Diabetes Clinic of Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences and tending to fast during Ramadan, who were recruited based on the research inclusion criteria. The subjects were randomly assigned into two groups of intervention (n=28) and control (n=25). A week before Ramadan, the intervention group was educated based on HBM. In a week before and after Ramadan, the data on demography, HBM components and knowledge were collected through face-toface interview by trained nutritionists. Results: The research results revealed that the education program in the intervention group significantly increased the HBM components such as perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy comparing to the baseline and the control group (P<0.005). At the end of the study, there was a significant difference in the scores of knowledge about fasting conditions and medications, nutrition and physical activity between the two groups (P<0.001, P=0.049 and P=0.013, respectively). The educational intervention significantly increased the total knowledge score, as well as the fasting conditions and medications and blood glucose control scores compared to the baseline values; also in comparison with the control group, the scores of fasting conditions and medications, blood glucose control and total knowledge increased significantly in the intervention group. Conclusions: The findings showed an increase the knowledge level and improvement in the HBM components in the intervention group compared with the control group. It seems that focused Ramadan education could increase Ramadan knowledge of patients and empower them to proper management of diabetes during the holy Ramadan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the sixth cause of cancer death worldwide. Among the major risk factors for this disease lack of certain vitamins and minerals including antioxidant vitamins are considered. Objectives: This study examined the relationship between antioxidant vitamins including vitamins A, E and C and risk of squamous cell carcinoma in Kurdistan. Patients and Methods: This case-control study was based on dietary patterns of 143 patients including 47 cases and 96 controls. Data were collected by food frequency questionnaire and nutritional value of dietary patterns intake was determined in the two groups by using N4 (nutritionist IV) software. Statistical data analysis was performed using SPSS-16 and using independent t-test, X2 and logistic regression. Results: The result of logistic regression analysis showed an inverse relation between intake of vitamin E and risk of squamous cell carcinoma (P = 0.01). Also the risk of esophageal cancer in people who received mean of 141 mg/day of vitamin C compared with those with average intake of 125 mg/day had a 98% decrease (P = 0.01). There was no association between intake of vitamin A, beta carotene and alphatocopherol with risk of squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusions: Results suggest that antioxidant vitamins can possibly play a protective role in preventing risk of squamous cell carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is emerging globally as a leading, underlying contributor to a variety of different diseases, some of which are fatal. This study aims to provide a brief review of the botanical sources which are available to serve as an alternative to modern, synthetic anti-obesity drugs, and to provide a brief discussion of their mechanism of action, and their safe and effective usage. Information was gathered from books, journals, and a variety of electronic sources published in the period of 1991 to 2014. Medicinal plants can reduce weight through five basic mechanisms: controlling appetite, stimulating thermogenesis and lipid metabolism, inhibiting pancreatic lipase activity, preventing adipogenesis, and promoting lipolysis. Based on a review of the available literature, the consumption of recommended medicinal plants in a single form, and at an optimum dosage, could be a safe and effective complementary treatment for obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]