Volume 9 Issue 4

▪ Keyword : body mass index, elderly Chinese, nutrition

▪ Content : Cross-sectional data from the 1991 (n = 1657) and 1993 (n = 1773) China Health and Nutrition Surveys were used to describe patterns in the diets, activity levels and body mass index (BMI) of elderly Chinese (aged 60 or older). In 1991 and 1993, the prevalence of low BMI (BMI < 18.5 or BMI < 22.0) exceeded 15%, while the prevalence of high BMI (BMI > 25.0 or BMI > 27.0) ranged between 4% and 24%. The BMI was consistently, positively and significantly associated with urban residence. Urban residence and income were consistently and positively associated with energy from fat and protein intakes, and decreasing physical activity levels. The results suggest that under- and overnutrition coexist among Chinese elders and are differentially distributed across income and urban/rural strata.

▪ Keyword : hypercholesterolaemia, erythrocyte membrane, green vegetable juice, phospholipid, polyunsaturated fatty acid

▪ Content : Treatment with green vegetable juice rich in dark-green leafy and cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, was tested in 31 hypercholesterolaemic patients for three weeks. Green vegetable juice supplementation significantly increased the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; P); 18:2n-6, 20:3n-6, 20:4n-6, 20:5n-3, 22:4n-6, 22:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 of erythrocyte membrane phospholipid and decreased saturated fatty acids (SFA; S): 14:0 and 18:0, and therefore increased the polyunsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids (P/S) ratio markedly from 0.26 ± 0.01 to 0.49 ± 0.01 (P < 0.001).

▪ Keyword : anti-oxidants, influenza virus, oxidative stress, quercetin

▪ Content : Oxidative stress was found to have a role in many viral diseases including AIDS, hepatitis and influenza. In the present study the pathology of influenza viral infection in the lungs, which may lead to oxidative stress, was investigated and an attempt was made to study the efficacy of anti-oxidants as therapeutic agents.

▪ Keyword : food quality and safety, risk assessment

▪ Content : From any perspective, whether it be Australia or other countries, the issue of risk and food is one that includes all sectors of the community. The expansion of information technology and globalisation is making society as a whole more knowledgeable and expectant of safer foods with minimal risk. There is risk in everything and the basis of risk science is one that involves a number of established steps such as risk assessment, management and communication. The evolution of food technology, production and dietary habits, together with changes in trade, will no doubt raise new safety issues and governments need to be abreast of risk science to assess such changes.

▪ Keyword : bone health, bowel health, cancer, cardiovascular disease, Central Java, Indonesia

▪ Content : Tempe is a fermented soy bean product originally made by Central Javanese people through fermentation with Rhizopus species. Although there is evidence of earlier fermentation of soy, tempe had appeared in the Central Javanese food pattern in the 1700s.

▪ Keyword : Chinese elders, gender, Hong Kong, knee height, stature

▪ Content : The main aim of this study was to validate the use of the Caucasian-based knee height equations for predicting stature of Chinese elderly subjects and to compare the predicted height to those estimated by equations derived from elderly subjects of Chinese origin. The study was performed by a survey by measurement of convenience samples.

▪ Keyword : BMI, body fat distribution, elderly, Jakarta, Indonesia

▪ Content : A cross-sectional study on 222 elderly subjects was carried out at Health Centers in 10 subdistricts in south Jakarta, Indonesia. The anthropometric data (body mass index (BMI), body fat distribution), fasting blood glucose, serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides were assessed. There was a positive correlation between body fat distribution and serum lipid concentration (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides). Body fat distribution appears to be a stronger determinant of serum lipids than BMI.

▪ Keyword : educational achievement, height-for-age, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, nutrition

▪ Content : The relationship between nutrition, health and educational achievement of school-age population in less developed countries has been of interest to many researchers due to the frequent observation that many children did not complete primary school and those who completed, did not do as well as children in the developed countries.

▪ Keyword : goitre, iodized oil, Malaysia, mental performance, Orang Asli

▪ Content : Although endemic goitre is no longer a major public health problem in Malaysia, iodine deficiency still remains a significant problem in a few remote settlements. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of iodized oil intervention in the prevention of endemic goitre among the indigenous people in Malaysia. A pretest and post-test controlled trial was conducted among primary schoolchildren and pregnant mothers in Lasah, Sungai Siput and Perak.

▪ Keyword : multiple 24-h recalls, semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire, Singaporeans, urinary biomarker, validation study

▪ Content : The aim of this study was to assess the relative validity of a 159-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for use among adult Singaporeans. This FFQ should be able to classify intakes of energy, total fat, saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat and cholesterol into quintiles of intakes for purposes of epidemiological studies.

▪ Keyword : coronary heart disease, developmental transitions, dietary fats, dietary fish/fish oils, essential fatty acids

▪ Content : The increased vulnerability to non-communicable diseases (NCD) of developing populations experiencing a demographic and epidemiological transitions to increased risk of NCD at a time when the battle against infectious diseases, is ongoing. Apart from population growth, the major attributes of developmental transition are confined to changes in occupational pattern in family structure, lifestyle, dietary practices and progressive ageing of population.

▪ Keyword : body mass index, Bombay, Calcutta, central obesity, fruit, India

▪ Content : The association between social classes, food intake and coronary risk factors was determined. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 6–12 urban streets in each of five cities, each one from five different regions of India using similar methods of dietary intakes and criteria of diagnosis. We randomly selected 3257 women aged 25–64 years inclusive, from Moradabad (n = 902), Trivandrum (n = 760), Calcutta (n = 410), Nagpur (n = 405) and Bombay (n = 780).

▪ Keyword : blood glucose response, fruit, glycemic index, Philippines, type II diabetes

▪ Content : To determine the glucose responses of diabetes mellitus type II subjects to fruits, four locally available fruits (containing 25 g of available carbohydrates per serving portion) of chico, mango, pineapple, and papaya were tested among ten type II diabetic subjects, using wheat bread as the control.