Association between lifestyle and height growth in high school students.

Introduction: An important indicator that plays a pivotal role in examining the health of individuals living in a community is their height. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between lifestyle and height among female high school students in Dezful, Iran. Methods: This research was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study. Participants included 351 female high school students who were selected from public and private high schools in Dezful using random cluster sampling. Miller-Smith Lifestyle Assessment Inventory was used to collect data about students' lifestyles, and their height was measured based on self-report. Results: The total lifestyle score of the study participants was 52.23 ± 11.31. Also, 30.2%, 67.2%, and 2.6% of the students had high, moderate, and low lifestyle scores, respectively. A negative and significant relationship was observed between the total score of lifestyle and its components, that is, nutrition, sleep, exercise, and mental stress, and the height growth of female high school students in Dezful (P < 0.05) according to Pearson's correlation. Results of regression analysis showed that the total lifestyle score and its components could significantly predict the height growth of students. Conclusion: Our results are indicative of the relationship between lifestyle and its components with height growth among female high school students.

Puberty signs and its relationship with lifestyle in 8-to-10-year-old girls: A descriptive-analytical study.

Introduction: Declining the age of puberty causes many different physical, emotional and social changes that lead to negative consequences in adolescence and middle age. In the past 100 years, the average age of puberty has declined all over the world. External factors related to the lifestyle have effects on general sequences of puberty stages. The present study aimed to evaluate the puberty signs and their relationship with the lifestyle of 8-to-10-year-old girls in Ahvaz City. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 200 girls between 8 to 10 years of age from public schools of Ahvaz City from 2019 to 2020. Multi-stage cluster random sampling was used. The lifestyle questionnaire was distributed among the parents, and the children were examined physically for secondary sex characteristics. To analyze the data, SPSS 22 was used with the analyses and descriptive methods. Results: 57.6% of the children experienced puberty, with an average onset age of 9.36 for girls. There was a significant relationship between the age of puberty onset and birth order (P = 0.007), body mass index (P = 0.001), nutrition of 8-year-old girls (P = 0.008) and alcohol abuse of 9-year-old girls' families (P = 0.039). There was no significant relationship between the beginning age of puberty with environmental, social and psychological health. Conclusion: Results indicated a lower age of puberty onset compared to previous studies in the country. Therefore, these results can be a database for future analyses and comparisons.

The Effect of Consuming Chicory Juice by Breastfeeding Mothers on Neonatal Icterus.

Objective: Hyperbilirubinemia has been considered one of the most common clinical conditions in newborn babies. As a traditional medicine, chicory distillate may be beneficial in reducing bilirubin. This randomized, double-blind clinical trial was conducted to determine the effect of chicory extract on hyperbilirubinemia in neonates. Methods: The clinical trial was conducted among 154 participants with hyperbilirubinemia. The study group was selected and randomly divided into the control (n = 77) and intervention (n = 77) groups. In the intervention group, breastfeeding women received a 10% solution of chicory distillate (50 ml every 12 h), whereas, in the control group, the participants received sterile distilled water, 50 ml every 12 h. The infants' bilirubin level was measured before and 24, 48, and 72 h after the intervention. Fisher's exact and Chi-square tests were run to examine qualitative data, while a t-test was applied for independent variables. Findings: There was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups (P < 0.001). Within each group, a significant difference was found in bilirubin levels among different sampling times (P < 0.001). Although the bilirubin levels reduced during the time intervals in both groups, the reduction rate was significantly higher in the intervention group (P < 0.001). Based on the results, breastfeeding mothers should be aware of including chicory extract in their nutritional programs. Conclusion: Chicory extract consumption in breastfeeding mothers can reduce bilirubin in their neonate.