[Infant feeding practice and later obesity risk. Indications for early metabolic programming]. / Frühkindliche Ernährung und späteres Adipositasrisiko. Hinweise auf frühe metabolische Programmierung.

Metabolic factors acting during limited and sensitive time periods of pre- and postnatal development can induce lasting effects on health and disease risk in later life up to old age, including later obesity risk, which is referred to as early metabolic programming of long-term health. Three meta-analyses of observational studies found that obesity risk at school age was reduced with early breastfeeding compared to formula feeding. We assumed that breastfeeding protects against later obesity by reducing the occurrence of high weight gain in infancy and that one causative factor is the lower protein content of human milk compared to usual infant formulas (the "early protein hypothesis"). We are testing this hypothesis in the European Childhood Obesity Project, a double-blind, randomized clinical trial enrolling 1,678 infants in five countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain). We have randomized healthy infants born at term to receive for the first year infant formula and follow-on formula with higher or lower protein contents, respectively. The follow-up data obtained at age 2 years indicates that feeding formula with reduced protein content normalizes early growth relative to a breastfed reference group and the current WHO growth standard, which may furnish a significant long-term protection against later obesity. We conclude that infant feeding practice has a high potential for long-term health effects. The results obtained should stimulate the review of recommendations and policies for infant formula composition.

Neural network based automated interpretation algorithm for combined geophysical soundings in coastal zones.

The fresh water availability in coastal aquifers is an important problem faced by a major part of world's population dwelling there. For in situ and dynamic characterization of seawater encroachment into coastal aquifers, electrical geophysical methods are better suited. However, the resolving power of such data in distinguishing saline sands from moist clays in the subsurface is very poor. To meet this aspect and also the problem of analyzing voluminous data sets, we propose a feed forward back-propagation neural network (BPNN) based approach for the analysis of combined vertical electrical and induced polarization soundings. Our method is tested on synthetic data computed from available geo-electric sections and prevailing subsurface geological information of coastal aquifers of East Coast of India. The synthetic data are comprised of 18 combined soundings spread over five profiles. 15 out of 18 are used for training the BPNN, while 3 are used for testing. The trained BPNN (one node each in each of the input and output layers and 18 hidden nodes) showed 84.85% accuracy in testing phase for distinguishing clays from saline sands. Our method is also tested on real data concerning a shaly aquifer in Bahia, Brazil yielding an overall accuracy of 84.9%, comparable to that of synthetic case; thereby validating our approach.

Intestinal parasitism among Jiren elementary and junior secondary students in South-Western Ethiopia

A cross-sectional survey on intestinal parasites was conducted in Jiren Elementary et Junior Secondary School; Jimma. A total of 301 stool specimens were collected by systematic random sampling from a total of 1626 population. The stools were examined for ova and parasites by direct saline suspension (wet mount) method. The result showed high prevalence rate of parasitic infection (68.4 percent). A total of 10 species were identified among which Ascaris lumbricoides was the leading (52.2 percent) followed by Trichuris trichiura (18.6 percent); while Schistosoma mansoni was the least (0.3 percent). No statistically significant difference was seen in the prevalence rate of intestinal parasites by sex; (P.0.01). However; there is significant association between water source for drinking and parasitoses; (P;0.01); where; unprotected source of water favouring infection of all infected. Most of the infected children (92.2 percent) were asymptomatic. It is suggested that affective PHC strategies; such as health education in schools; expansion of school health services and chemotherapy with broad spectrum antihelminthics should be implemented

Physical activity behaviors in lower and higher socioeconomic status populations.

Few data on physical activity habits among populations of low socioeconomic status have been published. The authors studied physical activity habits--leisure-time physical activity, job-related physical activity, household physical activity, and walking--among 172 lower socioeconomic status women and 84 lower socioeconomic status men and compared their habits with those of 208 higher socioeconomic status women and 95 higher socioeconomic status men. All subjects resided in the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area. Data collection occurred throughout 1986. Lower socioeconomic status women, the least active group, averaged 1,536 +/- 1,701 minutes/week (+/- standard deviation) of total physical activity, whereas higher socioeconomic status women, the most active group, averaged 2,079 +/- 1,807 minutes/week (p less than 0.0001). Higher socioeconomic status men averaged 1,952 +/- 1,799 minutes/week, and lower socioeconomic status men averaged 1,948 +/- 1,916 minutes/week. Higher socioeconomic status women spent significantly more time each week in leisure-time physical activity, job-related physical activity, and household physical activity than did lower socioeconomic status women. Lower socioeconomic status men spent significantly more time each week walking and doing household chores, whereas higher socioeconomic status men tended to be more active in leisure-time physical activity. These data suggest important quantitative and qualitative differences in physical activity among population subgroups. In view of the important role of physical activity in promoting physical and mental health, reasons for the differences among groups of varying socioeconomic status must be examined and elucidated.

Physical activity, stress, and type A behavior in blacks.

We assessed the relationship between potential risk factors for coronary heart disease, including type A behavior, leisure time physical activity, and stress in a young black adult population. The study population consisted of 192 black college freshmen at the University of Pittsburgh. The mean age of male subjects was 18.4; the mean age of female subjects was 18.5 years. No significant sex differences were noted for body mass index, type A behavior, stress, or physical activity levels. For both men and women, type A (Framingham) was positively correlated with stress. Only among women was there a positive association between type A (Bortner) and physical activity.

Body fat distribution patterns and blood pressure in black and white women.

The prevalence of obesity and being overweight and the distribution of body fat in relation to blood pressure were assessed in a college population of 181 black and white US women and 124 black Nigerian women. The mean ages ranged from 18.6 to 22.4 years. Twenty-nine percent of black US women were overweight and 12.9% were obese; whereas 13.6% of white US women were overweight and 2.3% were obese. Only 18.6% of Nigerians were overweight and 1.6% were obese. More upper body fat was found among the black US women and Nigerians than among white US women. There was no significant correlation between body fat distribution and blood pressure among Nigerians. In general, among US blacks and whites, there were positive associations among body mass index, waist-hip girth measurements, and blood pressure, particularly for systolic blood pressure.

Assessment of cardiovascular risk factors in Nigerian students.

The present study assessed the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in 65 Nigerian medical students attending the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. Their ages ranged from 17 to 28 years with a mean age for men of 20.9 years and for women of 18.8 years. Approximately 8% of the men and 0% of the women were current cigarette smokers, whereas alcohol use was observed in 14.6% of the men and in 0% of the women. The Nigerian men had significantly higher diastolic blood pressures than did American black and white men. Compared to American black men, the Nigerian men had considerably lower total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. The Nigerian women did not differ from American black women with respect to total cholesterol, but had significantly lower triglyceride concentrations.

An epidemiological assessment of blood pressure determinants in an adolescent population of Nigerians.

An epidemiological assessment of blood pressure determinants in a random sample of 254 Nigerian adolescents aged 6-17 years in Benin City, Nigeria, was conducted. None of the adolescents reported cigarette smoking. Only 2.6% of the males and 0% of the females were alcohol users. Socio-economic status of the children according to parental education revealed that approximately 23% of the mothers and 9.8% of the fathers received less than a secondary (high school) education. At the other end of the education spectrum, a college education was received by 64.1% and 30.8% of the fathers and mothers, respectively. Two percent of the females and 1.3% of the males either had systolic blood pressures of greater than or equal to 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressures of greater than or equal to 90 mmHg. No significant blood pressure differences existed between the two sexes. Among the males, it was demonstrated that age, body mass index, and heart rate were significant independent predictors of systolic blood pressure, explaining 49% of the variance. Forty-seven per cent of systolic blood pressure variance was explained by age and heart rate, for females. It was interesting to note that age was the only independent predictor of diastolic blood pressure for both males and females after control for heart rate and body mass index.

Physical activity assessment for epidemiologic research: the utility of two simplified approaches.

We assessed the utility of two simplified approaches for the assessment of physical activity in a random sample of 348 college students (218 white, 130 black), mean age 19.3 years. Self-assessment of physical activity level was obtained from the response (4-point scale) to the question "Compared with others your age and sex would you consider yourself to be" (I) much more active to (IV) somewhat less active. In addition, the frequency of exercise-induced sweating (days/week) was assessed. Responses were compared with measurements of resting heart rate, triceps skinfolds, and physical activity as assessed by the Harvard Alumni Survey. Results for the self-assessment question indicated significantly lower resting heart rates (beats/min) (73.0 vs 64.6, P less than 0.01), triceps skinfolds (mm) (10.9 vs 20.4, P less than 0.001), and higher Harvard Survey scores (kcal/week) (5,654 vs 1,310, P less than 0.001) for those responding (i) compared with (iv). Similar results were noted for the sweat-episode question. Those reporting 5-7 sweat episodes per week had significantly lower resting heart rates (67.0 vs 74.8, P less than 0.01), triceps skinfolds (14.7 vs 17.3, P less than 0.01), and higher Harvard Survey scores (5,717 vs 1,453, P less than 0.001) than those reporting 0-1 sweat episodes per week. The results suggest that these simplified approaches may provide useful indices of physical activity for epidemiologic research and warrant further investigation in other populations.

Physical activity and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and subfractions among young black adults.

Limited information is available regarding the relationship between physical activity and blood lipids in black populations. To assess the association, the authors measured high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and subfractions (HDL(2)-C, HDL(3)-C), physical activity (Harvard Alumni Survey), height, weight, cigarette, alcohol, and oral contraceptive use (questionnaire) in a sample of 173 black freshmen college students at the University of Pittsburgh (59 male, 55 female) and Paine and Augusta colleges in Georgia (14 male, 18 female).Results indicated HDL-C, HDL(2)-C, and HDL(3)-C were significantly higher among women compared with men after adjustment for age, body mass index, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and oral contraceptive use. No significant sex differences were noted for physical activity, however a significantly greater proportion of women reported low physical activity levels (<2000 kcal/wk, 54 percent female, 31 percent male, P < .05). Physical activity was univariately associated with HDL-C (r = .32, P < .01) and HDL(2)-C (r = .29, P < .05) among women. No significant correlations among physical activity and lipid variables were noted among men. The results from stepwise multiple linear regression models (variables included were age, body mass index, physical activity, and oral contraceptive use) revealed that among women physical activity was the only significant independent predictor of both HDL-C and HDL(2)-C explaining 11 and 9 percent of the variance in HDL-C and HDL(2)-C, respectively. Physical activity was not a significant predictor of any of the lipid variables among men.If confirmed, the study finding of a significant association between physical activity and HDL-C and HDL(2)-C among black women suggests that increased physical activity may be an important intervention for the reduction of cardiovascular risk in this high-risk group.

Behavioral factors and blood pressure in black college students.

The relationship of behavioral factors and resting blood pressure was assessed in a random sample of 192 young middle class black adults. Framingham Type A behavior was positively associated with diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.17, p less than 0.05) among the women. Also, anger-in and trait anxiety were positively correlated with diastolic blood pressure for the women, r = 0.20, p less than 0.05 and r = +0.28 and p less than 0.01, respectively. After control for body mass index, trait anxiety and anger-in remained independent predictors of diastolic blood pressure among the women. For men, marijuana use was positively associated with blood pressure. Marijuana use was an independent predictor for systolic blood pressure after adjusting for body mass index among the males. The present study demonstrated a sex difference related to behavioral factors and blood pressure in young middle class blacks.

Sex differences in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and subfractions among young black adults.

The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein subfraction (HDL2 and HDL3) concentrations were examined in 170 young black adults. The women examined had significantly higher total high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations than the men, i.e., 57.0 mg/dl vs 51.2 mg/dl, P less than 0.002. The increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol among women represented a significant increase in both HDL2 and HDL3 cholesterol concentrations. The sex differential could not be explained by body mass index, alcohol consumption, or physical activity. The determinants of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol for men appeared to be different than those for women.