Socioeconomic characteristics and fruit/vegetable intakesamong scholar children in the oasis of Tafilalet, Southeastern Morocco / Características socioeconómicas e ingesta de frutas / verduras entre los niños escolares en el oasis de Tafilalet, en el sureste de Marruecos

INTRODUCTION: Fruits and vegetable were globally promoted as healthy food. It was proved that high consumption of fruit and vegetable reduced the risk of noncommunicable diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer. The purpose of this study was to describe fruit and vegetable intake and its relation with socioeconomic status in Moroccan school aged children METHODS: Data were collected by a cross-sectional study of a sample of children from primary government schools in southeastern Morocco. A 24 hours dietary recall of the children's food intake questionnaire was realized. RESULTS: Results showed a strong association between fruit and vegetable and tested variables. Higher fruit and vegetable intakes were associated with lower level of education of mothers. Concerning monthly family income category, no significant correlation was detected. Mean vegetables consumption were related significantly with Household location, Ethnicity and age groups (p = 0.000, p = 0.000 and p = 0.001 respectively). CONCLUSION: Socioeconomic inequalities influence fruit and vegetable intakes. Consequently, socioeconomic status must be considered in promoting health and improving diet

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Analysis of food intake profile among women from the oasis of southeastern Morocco.

Nutritional status is the best indicator of the global well-being of women and food intake is known to reflect a healthy diet. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of socioeconomic status on the food intake in women living in the southeastern oasis of Morocco by exploring their nutritional intake through 24-h dietary recall (n=387). Analysis of the relationship between food intake and the socioeconomic characteristics in women showed a positive correlation between daily vegetable, cereals, red and white meat intake and region of residence (p<0.001, p=0.005, p=0.001 and p=0.04 respectively). The number of persons living at home showed a positive significant correlation with the daily intake of vegetables (p=0.01) and beverage (p=0.004). For fish and cereals, a positive significant correlation with the occupation variable has been shown (p=0.04 and p<0.001 respectively). In addition, a positive correlation has been noticed between the daily intake of vegetables, cereals, white meat, and dairy product and family status in housing (p=0.03, p=0.02, p=0.03 and p=0.04 respectively). In conclusion, the level of education, family size and occupation influence the daily intake of food in this region.

Antidiabetic plants improving insulin sensitivity.

BACKGROUND: Globally, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing at an alarming rate. This chronic pathology gravely troubled the human health and quality of life. Both insulin deficiency and insulin resistance are involved in the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus. Moreover, insulin resistance is being diagnosed nowadays in a growing population of diabetic and obese patients, especially in industrialized societies. There are lots of conventional agents available to control and to treat diabetes, but total recovery from this disorder has not been reported up to this date. Plants provided a potential source of hypoglycemic drugs and are widely used in several traditional systems of medicine to prevent diabetes. A few reviews with less attention paid to mechanisms of action have been published on antidiabetic plants. OBJECTIVES: The present review focuses on the various plants that have been reported to be effective in improving insulin sensitivity associated with diabetes. KEY FINDINGS: In this work, an updated systematic review of the published literature has been conducted to review the antidiabetic plants improving insulin sensitivity and 111 medicinal plants have been reported to have a beneficial effect on insulin sensitivity using several in-vitro and in-vivo animal models of diabetes. CONCLUSION: The different metabolic and cellular effects of the antidiabetic plants improving insulin sensitivity are reported indicating the important role of medicinal plants as potential alternative or complementary use in controlling insulin resistance associated with diabetes mellitus.