[Breast feeding: can protect against childhood obesity?]

Obesity is a multifactorial disease resulting from complex interaction between genes and environment. Early infant nutrition constitutes one of the environmental determinants of infantile obesity. The effect of breast-feeding on the development of obesity in the child was the subject of many studies the results of which are still controversial. We realized this case-control study to search for an association between breastfeeding and obesity in childhood. Our study included 92 children [46 obese and 46 with normal weight]. Age, sex, socio-economic level and birth weight were comparable in the two groups. Our results show a significant relationship between obesity and breastfeeding [Odds Ratio=0.23, p=0,01]. This protective effect of breastfeeding persists after adjustment for the family history of obesity [OR=0.18, P<0,01]. Although this association is not an evidence for a link of causality, the promotion of breastfeeding is recommended for the prevention of childhood obesity

[ incidence of nutritional education on the food intake regulation of young diabetics]

The aim of our study is to evaluate the effect of nutritional education [applied during young diabetic camps] on the nutrition knowledge acquisition and the effective application of this knowledge by young diabetics in their dietary intake composition. This study included ten volunteer pupils, aged from 12 to 15 years. Each meal provided was quantified before and after consumption to determine during three consecutive days the exact amount of food consumed. Our results showed that the young diabetic could regulate his energetic intake in accordance with his needs.He didn't modify the proposed food when it was normocaloric [2615 +/- 390 Kcal], but he increased his food intake near the recommended needs when the proposed food was hypocaloric [1766 +/- 283 Kcal] and decreased his consumption when the proposed food was hypercaloric [4271 +/- 511 Kcal]. Moreover, this study showed a significant negative correlation between the total energy intake and the amount of carbohydrates [r = -0.46, p < 0.01] and proteins [r= -0.70, p< 0.01], while it was positive between the first and lipid intake [r=0.63, p<0.01]