ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Picky eating might be associated with a higher risk of being underweight and poor growth. This study aimed to investigate if picky eaters aged between three and 12 years showed differences in height, weight, and body composition compared to their non-picky peers using a body impedance analysis (BIA). METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted between March 1, 2022, and July 31, 2022, on children aged three to 12 years who presented to the outpatient pediatric clinics at Al Habib Ar Rayyan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Body composition was measured using BIA after manually inserting the height, gender, and age into the machine, where body mass index (BMI), fat mass, and skeletal muscle mass were recorded. Participants were classified as under/normal/over for each body composition measurement. RESULTS: A total of 2234 children were entered into the final data analysis. Our analysis showed that 1917 (85.8%) were Saudis and 1117 (50%) were males. The mean age of participants was 6.08±2.01 years and 1151 (51.5%) were in the pre-school age. The reported prevalence of picky eaters was 1684 (75.4%), of whom, 606 (27.0%) were selective eaters, 365 (16.2%) were low appetite eaters, and 723 (32.2%) were both selective and low appetite eaters. Being underweight was significantly more common among the picky eaters 487 (28.9%) compared to those non-picky eaters 55 (10.0%) (p<0.001). Significantly, 1280 (76%) picky eaters had below-average skeletal muscle mass compared to 151 non-picky eaters (27.5%) (p<0.001). The low appetite picky eater group had more under skeletal muscle mass children 277 (75.9%) compared to the selective picky eater group 412 (68.0%) (p=0.009). Additionally, the low appetite group possessed lower muscle ratios (p=0.012) and were more underweight than the selective group (p<0.001). Furthermore, the low appetite group showed a higher percentage of children below the 3rd percentile in the height for age category (p=0.003) compared to the selective group. CONCLUSION: This study is the first of its kind in Saudi and globally to evaluate body composition using BIA among children. The study showed that picky eating is more associated with underweight children and low muscular mass. Despite the normal BMI, height, and weight of a picky eater, their skeletal muscle mass might be less than average, which could be associated with an increased risk of morbidity.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: We sought to explore the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of Breast Cancer (BC) and Colorectal Cancer (CRC) patients receiving active chemotherapy. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenient sample of BC and CRC patients between May 2018 and June 2019. HRQoL was measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B; 36 items, score range 0-144)) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colon (FACT-C; 34 items, score range 0-136) scales. Both scales measured Physical Well-Being (PWB), Social Well-Being (SWB), emotional well-being, Functional Well-Being (FWB), and an additional disease-specific HRQoL items. RESULTS: A total of 209 BC and 159 CRC patients were included, with a mean age 49.73 ± 10.41 and 55.38 ± 11.35 years, respectively. 110 (52.6%) of BC and 86 (54.1%) CRC patients were dependent on caregivers, and 115 (55%) of BC and 92 (57.9%) CRC patients slept > 7 h/night. Reported HRQoL mean scores of BC (FACT-B) and CRC (FACT-C) were 85.53 ± 14.81 and 87.69 ± 20.21, respectively. For BC, the PWB score of patients aged >49 years (postmenopausal) was statistically significantly (p = 0.013) worse than those aged ≤49 years (premenopausal). Patients dependent on caregivers had statistically significant better PWB and worse EWB (p = 0.041; p = 0.027, respectively). CRC patients' dependent on caregivers had better statistically significant differences scoring in FACT-C (p = <0.001), PWB (p = 0.001), EWB (p = <0.001), and FWB (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, BC and CRC patients who received active chemotherapy were more likely to have poor HRQoL. BC and CRC HRQoL should be addressed early and continuously, to limit their effects on treatment plan.
