Household Food Insecurity Is Associated with Nutritional Status among Iranian Children.

This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine household food security status and sociodemographic factors influencing it and to examine whether food insecurity of household is a risk factor for underweight, stunting, and thinness in primary school children of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran. A sample of 610 students aged 7-11 years was selected by a multistage cluster random sampling method during December 2013-May 2014. Using U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Security questionnaire, 42.3% of households showed some degree of food insecurity. Food insecurity was positively associated with household size (p = .002) and number of children per household (p = .001) and negatively associated with mother's and father's education level (p = .005 and p = .042, respectively), father's occupation status, and household income (p < .0001). Children living in food insecure with severe hunger households were 10.13, 10.07, and 4.54 times as likely to be underweight, stunted, and thin, respectively, as counterparts from food secure households. The findings showed food insecurity was prevalent and associated with sociodemographic factors among households with schoolchildren in southeastern Iran. Nutritional status of children was also associated with food security status of their households.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practice of drivers towards traffic regulations in Bandar-Abbas, Iran.

INTRODUCTION: Traffic injuries are among the leading causes of death and disability in many countries. The knowledge, attitudes, and practice of drivers towards traffic regulations are key factors in decreasing traffic injuries and deaths. The objectives of this research were to study the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of taxi drivers towards traffic regulations in Bandar-Abbas, Iran, and to determine the relationships between demographic features and knowledge, attitudes, and practice of taxi drivers towards traffic regulations. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done in 2014 in Bandar-Abbas, Iran (Hormozgan Province). To study the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of 241 intra-city taxi drivers towards traffic regulations, researchers developed questionnaires and a checklist. The chi-squared test was performed to determine the relationships between knowledge, attitude, and practice of drivers towards traffic regulations and demographic features. RESULTS: Among the 241 drivers, 50 of them (20.7%) thought that the seat belt could cause discomfort while driving, and 107 (44.4%) did not wear a seat belt while driving. The study determined that there was a significant difference between the knowledge and work experience of the drivers (p = 0.014). The 94 drivers (43.5%) in the 31-40 year age group had positive attitudes towards traffic regulations (among 216 drivers expressed positive attitudes) and 92 (44.4%) of the drivers in this age group had safe practices towards traffic regulations (among 207 drivers with safe practice). CONCLUSION: Many of the taxi drivers in Bandar-Abbas had inadequate knowledge, less positive attitudes, and risky practices towards traffic regulations. Implementation of effective intervention programs may increase the taxi drivers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards traffic regulations.

Impaired enzymatic antioxidant defense in erythrocytes of women with general and abdominal obesity.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme activities in general and abdominal obese women. METHODS: In this study, 160 women 20-45 years old were randomly selected. General information data were gathered from each sample using questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. Activities of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes were also evaluated by measuring activities of copper zinc-superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) in selected subjects. RESULTS: Mean activity of CuZn-SOD was significantly lower in overweight and obese groups compared to normal weight group (721 ± 81 vs. 987 ± 84, p < 0.01 and 638 ± 74 vs. 987 ± 84, p < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, both erythrocyte GSH-Px (97.6 ± 45.2 vs. 148.7 ± 54.2, p < 0.01) and CAT (184.2 ± 37.8 vs. 316.7 ± 65.8, p < 0.01) activities was significantly lower in obese women compared to normal weight women. In addition, women with abdominal obesity had lower erythrocyte CuZn-SOD (632 ± 76 vs. 871 ± 84, p < 0.001), GSH-Px (103.6 ± 52.8 vs. 154.7 ± 62.4, p < 0.01) and CAT (216.6 ± 76.4 vs. 298.3 ± 71.1, p < 0.05) activities compared to women with normal body fat distribution. Moreover, multiple linear regression analysis suggests higher prediction of waist circumference (i.e. higher R(2)) on antioxidant enzyme activities in relation to other adiposity indicators. CONCLUSION: Our results provides further evidence suggesting that obesity and, especially, abdominal adiposity associated with decreased antioxidant enzyme activities which in turn, may contribute to oxidative stress related to obesity.