Household food insecurity in the Islamic Republic of Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Using a systematic review of all available studies between 1991 and 2011, the prevalence of food insecurity in the Islamic Republic of Iran was estimated. After document evaluation and data aggregation, studies were analysed in separate categories based on the methods used: dietary recall, household income/expenditure or experiential/ perception-based surveys. Meta-analysis of dietary-recall studies showed small non-significant increases between 1994 and 2004 in the prevalence of mild [from 8.8% to 9.3%] and moderate food insecurity [from 5.4% to 5.6%]. Severe food insecurity was 3.8% and 3.7% in 1994 and 2004 respectively. Prevalence of food insecurity [moderate to severe] based on household income/expenditure surveys was consistently reported to be 10%. A separate meta-analysis of experiential/perception-based studies revealed rates of mild, moderate and severe food insecurity of 28.6%, 14.9% and 6.0% respectively. By combining study results in this manner makes it possible to come up with more realistic estimates for evidence-informed policy-making, until development of a national food insecurity surveillance system

[Snack of students in secondary schools and their buffet conditions in Tehran: a qualitative study]

School buffets are considered as important facilities in providing snacks for students. In addition, the consumption of junk and unhealthy foods in the snacks is prevalent. This qualitative study was carried out to identify the views and performance of students concerning having breakfast as well as snacks and assessing school buffets in Tehran in 2006. 240 students from 12 secondary schools in district 4 of Tehran were selected by purposive sampling method. 24 focus group discussion sessions, each lasted 60 minutes with 8-10 students were held and recorded for each group. All session notes were compared and controlled by recorded files for identifying the main themes to be encoded, classified and analyzed. More than half of the students ate snacks to reduce lack of energy and satisfy hunger. About 50% of girls took cake, waffle and milk while some boys ate fruits, sandwich and cake. Most students believed that buffet is necessary at school and considered its condition from moderate to bad. More than half of them stated that the snacks and foods in buffets were invariable, expensive, unhealthy and nonnutritive. With respect to undesirable snack patterns of students, improving the condition of school buffets to have more nutritious foods is a significant step in altering eating habits of them

[Effects of iron supplementation with or without vitamin C on oxidative stress and iron status in iron deficient female college student]

Iron excess disturbs the antioxidant system through pro-oxidants mechanisms. In this study, oxidative stress indices were compared between iron deficient and healthy subjects and effects of iron supplementation with and/or without ascorbic acid on performance of the antioxidant defense system, levels of oxidative stress and iron status in iron deficient female students were determined. In this double-blind randomized clinical trial, 60 NAID and 30 normal students [control] were selected from 289 female students at the dormitory of Shaheed Beheshti University [MC], Tehran. Hemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations were measured by cell counter and ELISA, respectively. After matching, NAIDM students were randomly assigned into the intervention group receiving 50 mg/d elemental iron supplements without [group I] and/or with [group II] 500 mg/d ascorbic acid for 12 weeks. Serum malondialdehyde [MDA], Total Antioxidant Capacity [TAC] and serum ascorbic acid were measured at the beginning and the end of the 6th and 12th weeks in the groups studied. Student's t and repeated measurements tests were employed to analyze the data using SPSS software. Mean TAG in group Ill was significantly higher in NAID subjects at the beginning of the study [3.87 +/- 0.47 vs 3.4 +/- 0.41 mmol/mL; p<0.001]. At the end, serum TAC significantly increased in supplemented subjects, not only compared to the baseline values [within group], but also in comparison with controls [between groups] [5.1 +/- .3 vs 4.7 +/- 0.04 mmol/mL; p<0.001]. In contrast, serum MDA concentrations decreased from 1.7 +/- 0.14 to 1.1 +/- 0.09 nmol/mL [p<0.001] and from 1.9 +/- 0.18 to 1.7 +/- 0.15 nmol/mL [p<0.001] in groups I and II, respectively, after 6 weeks of supplementation. Serum MDA concentration however increased to 1.7 +/- 0.15 nmol/mL at the 12th week [p<0.001]; although the same results were seen in group II, but the mean MDA concentration was significantly less than the value at the beginning [1.4 +/- 0.1 vs 1.9 +/- 0.18 nmol/mL; p<0.03]. It seems that the status of the anti-oxidant defense systems significantly improves among NAID young female subjects within the first few weeks after iron supplementation especially with ascorbic acid, an approach recommended for more efficient control of iron deficiency

[ associations of total energy, macronutrients intake and meals-derived energy with body mass index]

In some works, a correlation between the percentage of meals-derived energy intake and the prevalence rate of obesity has been found. To explore any possible correlation between body mass index [BMI] and dietary energy, macronutrients intakes and also contribution of meals to energy intake. This was a cross-sectional study in which 348 male high school students aged 14-16 from Zarrin-shahr district, Isfahan, were investigated. The selection procedure was based on stratified random sampling from all high schools in the region followed by calculation of BMI [Weight/height[2]] for each individual. Data on food and nutrient intakes were gathered using a 24-hr dietary recall method. Obesity, overweight and thinness was defined on the basis of CDC 2000. The data showed that 9% of adolescents were thin, 6% overweight and 5% obese. While there was a positive correlation between total energy intake and BMI [r=0.31 p<0.03], no relationship was found between BMI and protein, fat or carbohydrate intakes. In all age groups, overweight/obese students had lower energy intake from breakfast. The adolescents aged 14 and 15 had higher energy intake from lunch [23.9+/-5.1% vs. 18.9+/-4.2% and 27.2+/-4.0% vs. 19.2+/-3.9%], respectively [p<0.01]. There was a significant correlation between total energy intakes and BMI, and also between the latter and the energy share of different meals which may have important implications in designing nutrition education programs to prevent overweight or obesity in school adolescents