Body mass index and body fat percentage in assessing obesity: An analytical study among the adolescents of Dibrugarh, Assam

Background: Body mass index (BMI) is one of the most commonly used indices to measure the weight status of an individual. However, it takes only height and weight of individual into account. The relative body composition can be calculated regardless of height and weight by body fat percentage (BF%). Objectives: The objectives of the study are (1) To assess the prevalence of obesity using BMI and BF% among early adolescents studying in schools of Dibrugarh. (2) To assess the relationship between BMI and BF%. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 1200 school going adolescents of 10–14 years in Dibrugarh town for 1 year. Weight status was assessed using the World Health Organization-2007 reference for BMI and the McCarthy's body fat reference. Data were presented using percentages and mean with standard deviation. The correlation between the anthropometric variables was calculated using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Kappa statistics was used to analyze the agreement. Results: Total participants included in the analysis were 1096 with a response rate of 91.3%. The prevalence of overweight and obesity by BMI was 20.9% and 10.2%, respectively. According to BF%, overweight was present in 16.4% participants and 10.9% were obese. Of the 625 normal weight participants (according to their BMI), 9.0% were overweight and 1% were obese under BF% criteria. Again, of 682 participants who were normal by BF%, 15.2% were categorized as obese by BMI criteria. BMI and BF% had a significant high positive correlation (r = 0.70 and P < 0.001). The measurement of agreement by Kappa statistics was 0.621 which was significant (P < 0.001). Conclusions: BMI and BF% positively correlate with each other. BMI accompanied by BF% in the studies might give a better picture of the adiposity of an adolescent.

Tea Seed: A Review

Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntz) is one of the most economically essential beverage crops in all over the world and is considered to be the national drink. Tea seeds are borne in capsules, each containing one to three seeds. Seed is a means for reproduction and always possess variation within groups of seedlings. In nature, variability has an essential role in the production of the crop with quality and quantity. Tea seeds are recalcitrant and shown to lose viability very fast which makes their storage and transportation. In North East India, tea flowers from October to mid-February. Seed development right from flower bud initiation to maturity required 18 months. During seed maturation, the storage of carbohydrates in cotyledons continuously increases, and finally around 30% starch accumulates in tea seed cotyledons. Moreover, flower buds are a strong sink and approximately 46 percent of total photo-assimilates absorbed by developing flower bud. Tea seeds are planted in rows at a depth of about 1.5 cm. The macropile is usually pointed downward or parallel to the ground surface. Product diversification and value addition is currently an area of great interest. The oil extracted from tea seed has almost similar properties of olive and groundnut oils. High-quality detergent, soap, cream and hair oils can be made from tea seed oil.

The study of bacterial flora of different types in hospital waste: evaluation of waste treatment at Aiims Hospital, New Delhi.

Bio-medical waste management rules were formulated in response to the worldwide public concern over medical waste. The practice of separation into different types of waste in health care institutes should be evaluated more scientifically. Due to a lack of data from the Indian sub-continent, this study was initiated at a tertiary care hospital. Samples were collected from different types of waste at the hospital, at different time intervals, for microbiological evaluation. The results reveal that the microbial flora isolated from infectious waste and general waste from the hospital are similar. The samples from general waste in this study reveal many types of pathogens. The bacteria present in the waste initially was low in quantity, but they replicated rapidly over time so that significant numbers were detected by 24 hours, due to environmental factors which were favorable for growth during this period. This study strongly suggests that waste should be removed from the hospital within 24 hours of its generation to prevent environmental contamination caused by any accidental spillage of waste. General waste generated in the hospital should be treated similar to infectious waste, as it can be equally hazardous.

Knowledge, attitude and practices towards HIV among nurses in a tertiary care teaching hospital: two decades after the discovery.

Accidental transmission of HIV infection to health care workers during occupational exposure is a real threat today. The first such case in India has been documented by NACO recently. Adequate knowledge about the disease and practice of safety measures are our best bet to reduce such transmission. A survey was carried out amongst over 500 nurses in a tertiary care referral hospital in Delhi to assess their knowledge, attitude and practices towards HIV/AIDS. While overall knowledge was satisfactory, there were gaping holes in vital areas. The conversion of their theoretical knowledge into safe practices was shockingly poor. It was due to attitude problems as much as inadequate supplies. High incidence of accidental exposures in the near past and complete ignorance of post-exposure prophylaxis guidelines was another highlight of this study. Despite tremendous efforts put in by the Government as well as various Non-Governmental Organizations, we are completely ill equipped to fight the menace of occupational HIV transmission. In order to fight this menace, "safe practices" have to be made a "way of life" for HCWs. Our health care planners need to take note of it and our teaching and training programmes need complete re-orientation to achieve this goal.