Assessment of Nutritional Status and its Related Factors among Female Adolescent Girls: A School based Study in Arar city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Objective: The objective of the present study was to assess the nutritional status of adolescent girls and to investigate its association with socio-economic status, eating and physical activity pattern. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adolescent girls (15 and 19 years) and stratified random sampling technique was done in 4 schools of Arar city, KSA. Subjects were asked to fill pre-tested questionnaire about socio-economic status, dietary and physical activity pattern and their height and weight were measured and BMI (kg/m2) was calculated. SPSS version 22 (2017) was used in entering, managing survey data and to analyze the obtained data. A p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant for individual variables. Results: The final study sample consisted of 322 adolescent girls (response rate of 90.96%), with a mean age of 17.14 ± 1.15 years. More than one-fifth of the study population was overweight and obese, moreover, about three-fifth of the study population were of normal weight, while 19.2% were underweight. A significant relationship was observed between nutritional status with the mother’s occupation and education, family size, and a number of meals taken per day. Conclusion: Adolescent’s populations face two contrasting nutrition situations, under and over nutrition. This study will help in generating imperative data and recommendations for managing nutrition-related problems in adolescent girls in Saudi Arabia.

Assessment of Physical Activity Pattern, Activity Coefficient, Basal Metabolic Rate and Daily Energy Expenditure in Female University Students / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was conducted to investigate the physical activity pattern, activity coefficient, basal metabolic rate and energy expenditure of female university students. One-day activity diaries were collected from 95 female university students in Seoul. Body composition was measured by Inbody 720. Subjects spent 7 hr 8min on sleeping, 6 hr 31min on studying, 2 hr 50min on physiological activity, 2 hr 3min on leisure, 2 hr 2min on walking and jogging, 1 hr 58 min on commuting and 22min on house chores. The activity coefficient of these subjects was 1.58. The comparison of body composition of subjects according to PAL showed that body weight, body fat mass, arm circumference and arm muscle circumference of physically active group were significantly higher than those of the sedentary group. BMR calculated by Harris-Benedict (H-B) formula and DRI formula and BMR measured by Inbody 720 was 1375 kcal, 1306 kcal and 1209 kcal, respectively. Total energy expenditure (TEE) examined by one-day activity diaries and calculated by H-B formula and estimated energy requirement (EER) formula in DRI was 2102.1 kcal, 2184.4 kcal, and 2164.5 kcal, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient between TEE examined by one-day activity diaries and H-B TEE was 0.795 (p < 0.001) while that between TEE examined and DRI EER was 0.604 (p < 0.001). Overall data indicated that female university students seemed to be less active. Therefore it is recommended that universities develop good exercise programs for their students. Further studies are needed to generate more meaningful results with a larger sample size and using machine attached to the body, which are able to detect physical activity more accurately.

Componentes de variância genética e ambiental nos padrões de atividade física de gêmeos. Exploração das possibilidades da entropia aproximada / Genetic and environmental variance components for physical activitypatterns of twins. Exploring the possibilities of approximate entropy

O principal objetivo deste estudo foi estimar a contribuição dos fatores genéticos no padrão da atividade física (AF) de gêmeos através da estatística entropia aproximada (EA). A amostra foi constituída por 162 pares de gêmeos monozigóticos (MZ) e dizigóticos (DZ) com idade entre seis e 18 anos, residentes em Portugal. A AF foi medida pelo acelerômetro Tritrac-R3D durante cinco dias de uma semana habitual. Para descrever o padrão da AF, recorreu-se a descrição da EA estimada através do software Cine Wizard. A determinação da zigotia foi realizada com base no método direto de análise do DNA. Para a análise dos dados,foram utilizados diferentes softwares como SYSTAT 10.0, STATA 10,0 e o Twinan92. A EA foi calculada para três diferentes fenótipos de AF, classificados de acordo com a quantidade de dias de mensuração (EA 5, 3 e 2 dias). Foi utilizado o recurso a modelos distintos paradescrever o padrão das matrizes de covariância entre pares de gêmeos (variância genética, envolvimento comum e único) e o nível de significância foi fixado em 5%. Foi verificada a presença de agregação fraterna na EA com uma maior homogeneidade entre os gêmeosMZ. Pode-se concluir que os fatores genéticos apresentaram forte influência, na variação interindividual, no padrão de AF e sua contribuição variou entre 44 e 89%.

The main objective of this study was to estimate the contribution of genetic factors to physical activity patterns (PAPs) in twins using approximate entropy (ApEn) statistics. The sample consisted of 162 monozygotic and dizygotic twins from Portugal aged 6 to 18 years. Physical activity was measured with a Tritrac-RT3 triaxial accelerometer over 5 days of a usualweek. PAPs were described by ApEn using the Cine Wizard software. Zygosity was assessed by direct DNA analysis. Data were analyzed using the SYSTAT 10, STATA 10 and Twinan92 softwares. PAPs were estimated for 5, 3 and 2 days. In addition, structural equation modelingwas used to compute different sources of variance genetic, common environmental and unique environmental variance.The level of significance was set at 5%. Sibling aggregation was identified by ApEn analysis, with monozygotic twins showing greater homogeneity. In conclusion, geneticfactors accounted for 44 to 89% of the total variation in PAP.

Physical Activity Pattern and Energy Expenditure of Malaysian Adults: Findings from the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey (MANS)

This paper aims to report the physical activity pattern and energy expenditure of adults aged 18 – 59 years in the Malaysian Adults Nutrition Survey (MANS) carried out between October 2002 and December 2003. The survey included 7349 adults representative of Peninsular Malaysia (Northern, Southern, Central and East Coast), as well as Sabah and Sarawak. A total of 6926 adults, comprising 3343 men and 3583 women, completed the physical activity section of the survey. Physical activity data was obtained using a physical activity questionnaire and 24-hour physical activity recall. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) was calculated from Ismail et al. (1998) predictive equations; total energy expenditure (TEE) was then estimated through factorial calculations based on time allocated and energy cost of various activities. Physical activity level (PAL) was calculated as the ratio of TEE to BMR. It was found that almost three-quarters of Malaysian adults travelled by passive modes of transportation. Only a third reported having ever-exercised, and an even smaller proportion of the population (14%) had adequate exercise. The population also spent the majority of their time (74% of the day) in sedentary activities, such as sleeping or lying down; doing light intensity activities (15% of the day), and doing moderate to vigorous intensity activities (10% of the day). Mean BMR and TEE was significantly higher amongst men than women, while mean PAL values were similar for men [1.6 (1.6 – 1.7)] and women [1.6 (1.6 – 1.6)]. More men (16%) were categorised as having active PAL compared to women (10%), while more women (43%) were categorised as having sedentary PAL compared to their male counterparts (37%). The present study provides the first in-depth report of the physical activity pattern, and national estimates of energy expenditure and physical activity levels of Malaysian adults, and concluded that Malaysian adults are generally sedentary. It is thus important that physical activity be further promoted and integrated into the lives of the population, preferably through various health promotion efforts as well as through the commitment of the authorities in providing a suitable environment for an active lifestyle.