Combined effect of short stature and socioeconomic status on body mass index and weight gain during reproductive age in Brazilian women

Short stature, a marker for undernutrition early in life, has been associated with obesity in Brazilian women, but not in men. We tested the hypothesis that weight gain during the reproductive years could explain this gender difference. A national two-stage household survey of mothers with one or more children under five years of age was conducted in Brazil in 1996. The subjects were women aged 20 to 45 years (N = 2297), with last delivery seven months or more prior to the interview. The regions of the country were divided into rural, North/Northeast (urban underdeveloped) and South/Southeast/Midwest (urban developed). The dependent variables were current body mass index (BMI) measured, BMI prior to childbearing (reported), and BMI change. Socioeconomic variables included mother's years of education and family purchasing power score. A secondary analysis was restricted to primiparous women. The prevalence of current overweight and overweight prior to childbearing (BMI > or = 25 kg/m²) was higher among shorter women (<1.50 m) compared to normal stature women only in the urban developed region (P < 0.05). After adjustment for socioeconomic variables, age, parity, BMI prior to childbearing, and age at first birth, current BMI was 2.39 units higher (P = 0.008) for short stature women living in the urban developed area compared with short stature women living in the urban underdeveloped area. For both multiparous and primiparous women, BMI gain compared to the value prior to childbearing was significantly higher among short stature women living in the urban developed region (P <= 0.04). These results provide clear evidence that short stature was associated with a higher BMI and with an increased risk of weight gain/retention with pregnancy in the developed areas of Brazil, but not in the underdeveloped ones

Malnutrition during lactation as a metabolic imprinting factor inducing the feeding pattern of offspring rats when adults. The role of insulin and leptin

The aim of the present study was to determine the impact of malnutrition during early postnatal life and the feeding pattern of rat offspring when adults (2 months and 1 year old). In comparison with rats normally fed during lactation, we observed that adult offspring displayed a faster process of feeding reduction when a protein-free diet was offered. In addition, we studied the concentration of insulin and leptin in the lactating pups (10 days) and when these offspring became adult after the onset of a new feeding pattern induced by the protein-free diet. When the diet was changed at 60 days, the offspring malnourished during lactation displayed, after 3 days, a food intake reduction around 41.4 vs 14.2 percent of the control group. At 10 days of life, plasma leptin and insulin were higher in the malnourished pups when compared with normally fed rats (leptin: 4.6 0.8 vs 2.25 ng/ml; insulin: 0.73 0.12 vs 0.22 0.03 ng/ml) while at 60 days they showed reduction of both hormones when compared with the control group (leptin: 1.03 0.25 vs 1.43 0.5 ng/ml; insulin: 0.54 0.3 vs 0.61 0.4 ng/ml). Despite the different food intake reductions, the malnourished and control rats displayed a similar reduction of insulin and leptin after 3 days of protein-free diet (from 60 to 63 days). The data suggest that the high concentration of insulin and leptin found at 10 days in the malnourished pups may elicit a sustained long-term and unique feeding pattern

Bradykinin enhances membrane electrical activity of pancreatic beta cells in the presence of low glucose concentrations

In most of cells bradykinin (BK) induces intracellular calcium mobilization. In pancreatic beta cells intracellular calcium is a major signal for insulin secretion. In these cells, glucose metabolism yields intracellular ATP which blocks membrane potassium channels. The membrane depolarizes, voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels are activated and the intracellular calcium load allows insulin secretion. Repolarization occurs due to activation of the Ca2+-dependent K+ channel. The insulin secretion depends on the integrity of this oscillatory process (bursts). Therefore, we decided to determine whether BK (100 nM) induces bursts in the presence of a non-stimulatory glucose concentration (5.6 mM). During continuous membrane voltage recording, our results showed that bursts were obtained with 11 mM glucose, blocked with 5.6 mM glucose and recovered with 5.6 mM glucose plus 100 nM BK. Thus, the stimulatory process obtained in the presence of BK and of a non-stimulatory concentration of glucose in the present study suggests that BK may facilitate the action of glucose on beta cell secretion

Blockade of the 32P phosphate flush of pancreatic beta cells from adult rats who received a low-protein diet during early lactation

In order to study the effect of nutrition on the onset of disturbances in Wistar rat pancreatic beta cells, we compared the effects of a low protein diet (8 per cent protein) and a normal protein diet (25 per cent protein) supplied to the dams (6 in each group) during the first 12 days of lactation. The parameter evaluated was the beta cells phosphate flush in response to stimulatory concentration of glucose (16.7 mM) of isolated islets of Langerhans from 60-day old pups. Using a collagenase digestion technique, islets were isolated from the pups and the 32P fractional outflow rate (FOR) of the beta cells was used as a metabolic index in both experimental groups (N = 36). We observed that although the weights of the pups of the two groups were not significantly different at 60 days of age (control = 186 +/- 18 g; undernourished during lactation = 179 +/- 19 g), the typical phosphate flush response (FOR = 2.4 +/- 0.4 per cent /min) to a stimulatory glucose concentration (16.7 mM) was abolished in the rats from undernourished mothers. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that undernutrition may be an important cause of diabetes mellitus type II

Estudo de fatores associados ao desmame precoce em criancas atendidas no Centro de Saude de Varzea Paulista. / Factors associated with precocious weaning in children assisted in the Centro de Saude de Varzea Paulista

Foram entrevistadas 492 maes, com filhos na faixa etaria de um mes a dois anos, atendidas no Centro de Saude de Varzea Paulista no periodo de 9 de dezembro de 1981 a 15 de janeiro de 1982, quando foram tomadas medidas de peso e altura da mae e da crianca. Concluiu-se que aos dois meses e meio de vida 50% das criancas ja haviam sido desmamadas, e que somente 12,6% das criancas com mais de seis meses apresentavam periodo de amamentacao superior ou igual a seis meses.Em relacao as variaveis estudadas observou-se que a idade da mae, o numero de filhos e a historia pregressa de amamentacao tem influencia positiva sobre o habito de aleitamento, enquanto que o baixo peso ao nascer e o uso de anticoncepcionais orais tem efeitos negativos sobre a incidencia da amamentacao. Variaveis estudadas como possiveis condicionantes de stress para a mae, nao apresentaram relacao com o aleitamento. As criancas mantidas em aleitamento natural apresentam menor indice de internacoes e menor incidencia de desnutricao ate o 6o. mes de vida.Apos o 6o. mes de vida nao existe relacao entre o estado nutricional da crianca e o habito de aleitamento natural