Volume 26 Issue 3

▪ Keyword : tea plant, theanine, chronic liver disease, hepatoprotective effect, immune functions

▪ Content : For thousands of years, humans have consumed tea made from leaves of Camellia sinensis, first as a medicinal herb and then as a widely popular beverage. In the past 10 years, theanine, a tea-derived, unique, nonproteinic amino acid, has been extensively studied for its health benefits. Recently, multiple lines of evidence have proven its beneficial effects on hepatic and immune functions.

▪ Keyword : breastfeeding, Japanese, maternal breastfeeding evaluation, satisfaction, psychometric testing

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: The Japanese Maternal Breastfeeding Evaluation Scale (JMBFES) was developed in 2013 based on the original Maternal Breastfeeding Evaluation Scale (MBFES). Mothers’ abilities to incorporate breastfeeding into their daily life may influence their decision to continue or discontinue to breastfeed, but that version of the JMBFES had no questions to measure this important aspect of breastfeeding. Therefore, we sought to improve the JMBFES by incorporating questions measuring “lifestyle compatibility-incompatibility,” and we conducted psychometric testing of the improved version.

▪ Keyword : energy intake, nutrient intake, dietary assessment, weighed food record, menu labelling

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Image-assisted dietary assessment methods are frequently used to record individual eating habits. This study tested the validity of a smartphone-based photographic food recording approach by comparing the results obtained with those of a weighed food record. We also assessed the practicality of the method by using it to measure the energy and nutrient intake of college students.

▪ Keyword : congenital heart disease, enteral nutrition, feeding interruption, gastrointestinal factors, non-gastrointestinal factors

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Perioperative nutritional support has become a hot topic in the clinical management of congenital heart disease (CHD). Postoperative enteral nutrition (EN) offers many benefits, such as protection of the intestinal mucosa, reduced risk of infection, and low clinical costs. Interruptions in EN frequently influence nutritional support and clinical outcomes. We, therefore, aimed to determine the causes of interruptions in postoperative EN in CHD patients and discuss clinical counter measures.

▪ Keyword : lutein, visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, diabetic retinopathy; randomized controlled trial

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether supplementation with lutein improved visual function in patients with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR). Methods and Study Design: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 31 patients with NPDR were assigned randomly to 10 mg/d of lutein or identical placebo for 36 weeks. Visual performance indices, including visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity (CS) and glare sensitivity (GS) at four different spatial frequencies, were measured at baseline, week 18 and 36.

▪ Keyword : vitamin D, oral cholecalciferol, postmenopausal osteoporosis, Chinese ethnicity, tropical

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) dose required to maintain sufficiency in non-Caucasian women with postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) in the tropics has not been well studied. Some guidelines mandate 800-1000 IU vitamin D/day but the Endocrine Society (US) advocates 1500-2000 IU/day to maintain 25-hydroxyvitamin-D (25(OH)D) concentration at >75 nmol/L. We aimed to establish oral cholecalciferol dose required to maintain 25(OH)D concentration at >75 nmol/L in PMO Chinese Malaysian women, postulating lower dose requirements amongst light-skinned subjects in the tropics.

▪ Keyword : type 2 diabetes, diet, continuous glucose monitoring, glutinous brown rice, postprandial hyperglycemia

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: We investigated whether intake of non-glutinous brown rice (BR) or glutinous brown rice (GBR) for 1 day had an influence on the daily glucose profile measured by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) when compared with intake of non-glutinous white rice (WR).

▪ Keyword : reproductive age, vitamin D, bone ultrasonography, parathyroid hormone, bone alkaline phosphatase

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D and bone metabolism in healthy women of reproductive age. Methods and Study Design: This study included 100 healthy female residents of Beijing (23-30 years old), who underwent bone ultrasonography as well as testing to evaluate serum25-hydroxy-vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, bone alkaline phosphatase, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase.

▪ Keyword : gestational weight gain, Japan, low birth weight, pre-pregnancy body mass index, underweight

▪ Content : Back ground and Objectives: The prevalence of low birth weight (LBW) infants in Japan has doubled in the last several decades. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) on LBW infants of Japanese women.

▪ Keyword : maternal vitamin D, pregnancy, cognitive function, children, India

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Animal studies have demonstrated poor cognitive outcomes in offspring in relation to maternal vitamin D deficiency before and/or during pregnancy. Human studies linking maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy with offspring cognitive function are limited. We aimed to test the hypothesis that lower maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy is associated with poor offspring cognitive ability in an Indian population.

▪ Keyword : dietary patterns, nutrient, rural, lactating, Tibet

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: There is very limited published data on Tibetan dietary patterns and its association with nutrient intakes and socioeconomic factors. The aim of this study was to identify and describe the dietary patterns and the associations with nutrient intakes in rural Tibetan pregnant, lactating mothers.

▪ Keyword : early childhood, inequality, malnutrition, children under 2 years, maternal education

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: As tackling socioeconomic inequality in child malnutrition still remains one of the greatest challenges in developing countries, we examined maternal educational differences in malnutrition and the magnitude of its inequality among 4,198 children from the Prospective Cohort study of Thai Children (PCTC).

▪ Keyword : infants, growth, Aboriginal, body composition, fat mass

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: To compare growth characteristics of Aboriginal and Caucasian formula-fed infants in the first 12 months of life. Methods and Study Design: We conducted post-hoc data analysis of infants who were part of a previous randomised controlled trial comparing infants randomly assigned to cow or goat milk-based infant formulae. Weight, height, and body composition were assessed at serial time points between study entry (~1-2 weeks of age) and 12 months. There was no growth difference between the randomised groups so the two groups were combined and the data were used to conduct a non-randomised comparison of the growth between Aboriginal (n=11) and Caucasian formula-fed (n=169) infants.

▪ Keyword : constipation, glucomannan, children, meta-analysis, RCTs

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Constipation, a common complaint in children, considerably affects the quality of life. This systematic review assessed the treatment effects of glucomannan on children with constipation by summarising evidence from previous randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Methods and Study Design: A comprehensive electronic literature search was conducted for identifying eligible RCTs that evaluated the effectiveness of glucomannan.

▪ Keyword : nutrition labels, nutrient function claims, nutrition claims, trans-fatty acids, regulations

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: The Chinese government officially enacted the Regulation on the Management of Food Nutrition Labelling in 2007 and the General Rules for Nutrition Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods in 2011. Our investigation examined the presence and accuracy of nutrition labelling of pre-packaged foods in Shanghai and provides baseline data for future studies.

▪ Keyword : adolescent health, nutrition, Indonesia, qualitative, women

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Adolescence is a critical life-stage that sets the foundation for health in adulthood.Adolescent women are a unique population and should be targeted as such for nutrition promotion activities. Using Indonesia as a case study, this qualitative study aimed to identify existing nutrition promotion programs aimed at adolescent girls, how best to target this population and effective recommendations to inform nutrition education program design for this important group.

▪ Keyword : Vietnam, university nutrition education, public health nutrition, nutrition transition, nutrition lecturers

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: A core challenge for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in combating the negative effects of the nutrition transition is to implement appropriate prevention strategies to halt the increasing prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), against a background of prevailing under nutrition.

▪ Keyword : urbanization, food environment, fast food, policy, China

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Research on how urbanization has influenced the food environment in China is limited. The study aimed to examine the impact of urbanization on the food environment in China. Methods and Study Design: Longitudinal data collected during 1989-2009 from the China Health and Nutrition Survey were used, which covered 9 provinces in China. Urbanicity index (0-10) was assessed using an urbanicity scale.

▪ Keyword : fruits, vegetables, metabolic syndrome, menopause, women

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: The association between fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and risk of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) has not been elucidated fully, particularly by menopausal status. Method and Study Design: The study population was 2,999 women aged 40-64 years participating in the 4th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The definition of MetS and its components was based on the modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) for Koreans. Dietary data were assessed by a 24-hour recall.

▪ Keyword : home food availability, nutrient intake, saturated fat, sugar, fruit and vegetables

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: The home food environment is known to influence children’s diet and selected health outcomes. However, similar research in adults is scarce. The home is arguably the most important food environment for New Zealand adults as the majority of food consumed is stored and prepared in the home. Therefore we investigated relationships between home food availability and nutrient intake in 50 year olds from Canterbury, New Zealand.

▪ Keyword : insulin, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, dietary pattern, principal component analysis

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between major dietary patterns and the risk of insulin resistance (IR) among an urban Iranian population. Methods and Study design: In this longitudinal study, 802 adult men and women were studied within the framework of Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study.

▪ Keyword : diet, pattern, baPWV, Japan, risk

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Arterial stiffness is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and it is considered to be affected by dietary intake. However, few studies have examined the relationship between major dietary patterns and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) among Japanese middle-aged subjects. We studied whether major dietary patterns were associated with baPWV in this population.

▪ Keyword : rice, green tea, diabetes mellitus, effect modification, cohort study

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Recent observational studies have suggested a positive association of white rice and protective associations of green tea and coffee with the risk of diabetes. However, none have examined the interaction between these dietary factors on the risk of diabetes. We prospectively investigated the effect modification of green tea and coffee on the association between rice and incident diabetes in elderly Japanese men and women.

▪ Keyword : physical activity, dietary intake, health status, survivor, Japan

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Each of the effects of physical activity and dietary intake on health is well known, but combined associations of physical activity and dietary intake on health has not been reported yet. Physical activity and dietary intake are key factors for maintaining health of survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. This study aimed to examine combined associations of physical activity and dietary intake with survivors’ health status.

▪ Keyword : survey, diet, nutrition, Chinese women, diet-related non-communicable disease

▪ Content : Background and Objectives: Urbanization in China has increased the prevalence of high-fat and low-fiber diets, and of adverse health behaviors associated with an increased risk of diet-related, non-communicable diseases (DR-NCDs) in eastern Chinese women. This study aimed to characterize the dietary intake and health behaviors in eastern Chinese women.