RESUMO
Background and Objectives: Regarding the high prevalence of unhealthy food habits among Iranian children, we aimed to assess the effect of a school-based nutrition education program on nutritional status of primary school students in Shiraz
Materials and Methods: This randomized educational controlled trial was carried out on 221 primary school age children selected by cluster sampling in the elementary schools of Shiraz-Iran. The intervention consisted of 6 nutrition education sessions carried out through one year for children, using active learning methods. Mothers' education was carried out in person in both lecture and question-answer sessions also via sending text messages and pamphlets. Weight, height and waist circumference [WC] of children were measured before and after the intervention. Also a 168-item food frequency questionnaire was completed. Two separate nutrition knowledge questionnaires were filled up by children and their mothers. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16
Results: 171 children [83 in the case and 88 in the control group] aged 9.5-10.5 years, completed the study. Anthropometric and nutritional knowledge of the participants in both the intervention and control groups was significantly increased. Weight, height, WC and nutritional knowledge increased significantly more in the intervention group compared to the controls. Consumption of fruits and vegetables decreased in the intervention group while plain sugar and fast foods intake increased among the controls. There were no significant differences between the changes in the intake of any of the food groups in the two groups
Conclusions: In conclusion, the designed nutrition education program could increase students' nutritional knowledge, and lead to a non-significant change towards reducing the consumption of unhealthy foods such as fast foods, sweets and salty snacks
RESUMO
Prediabetes is a high-risk condition for type 2 diabetes mellitus. The growing prevalence of diabetes emphasizes on the necessity of concentrating on various strategies to prediabetes prevention and management. Probiotics as a group of functional foods might exert antidiabetic effects. This study aimed to assess the effects of probiotic administration on blood lipid profile and blood pressure in patients with prediabetes. This randomized controlled trial consisted of 60 prediabetic patients, aged 25-65 years old, that were randomly assigned to the intervention [receiving 500 mg probiotic capsules, n = 30] or control group [receiving placebo, n = 30] for 8-week period. Demographic and anthropometric data were collected at baseline. Blood samples were collected at baseline and after 8 weeks for biochemical measurements. Blood pressure was measured at the baseline an after 8 weeks of intervention. Data regarding dietary intakes and physical activity were also collected during the study. We used SPSS software version 16 [SPSS Inc. Chicago, USA] for data analyzing. Probiotic supplementation did not contribute to significant changes in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein [LDL]-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein [HDL]-cholesterol, Triglycerides [TG], TG/LDL and LDL/HDL ratios, after 8 weeks. After adjusting for potential confounders, HDL cholesterol reduced significantly in the placebo group compared with probiotic group. Percent change in systolic blood pressure was significantly different in the probiotic group in comparison with a placebo group [-3.10 +/- 2.22 vs. 3.24 +/- 1.96, P = 0.01], although this significance did not exist anymore after adjusting for confounders [P > 0.05]. Our study showed that probiotics did not have significant effects on lipid markers although they had positive effects on systolic blood pressure