Food portion size educational programme in a workplace setting in Puducherry - Is it effective?

BACKGROUND: Consuming larger portion sizes, i.e., in excess of a typically recommended serving size, has been attributed to the obesity epidemic. The workplace acts as an efficient target for health promotion activities. AIMS: To assess the effectiveness of a food portion size educational programme in increasing knowledge among the employees of a software company in Puducherry. METHODOLOGY: An interventional study was conducted with a pre-post design. A single group of software company employees (N = 120), age ≥30 years selected by simple random sampling was included in the study. The intervention consisted of a health education programme on the portion sizes of common food items including fruits and vegetables. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on personal and sociodemographic details. Self-regulation on eating was assessed using the Self-Regulation of Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (SREBQ). RESULTS: The mean age of the study participants was 27 ± 5 years. Most of the participants were males, i.e., 72 (60%). Of the total, 55 (47.8%) participants were obese and 18 (15.7%) were overweight. The median number of meals and snacks consumed by the participants was 3 (1-3) and 1 (1-2), respectively. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) knowledge scores of the food portion size significantly increased from 9 (0-16) to 14 (5-19) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study has demonstrated that an educational intervention in the workplace setting is feasible and effective in increasing the knowledge of food portion size over a short term.

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection and its associated factors among children in Puducherry, South India: a community-based study.

There is paucity of studies at community level on prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among under 18 years age group. This cross-sectional community-based research aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal worm infections and its associated risk factors among 1 to 18 years age group in Puducherry, India. Sociodemographic, behavioral and other associated factors were collected using a structured questionnaire. One stool sample was collected from each participant and examined using direct (saline/iodine wet mount) and concentration (floatation/sedimentation) microscopic techniques. Log binomial regression analysis was used to find the factors independently associated with intestinal parasitic infection. Of 187 participants who provided the stool sample, 25 (13.4%) had at least one of the parasitic infections and among them 12 (6.4%) had Soil Transmitted Helminth infection (STH) and 13 (6.9%) had intestinal protozoan parasites. Parasitic infection is marginally higher among 1 to 7 years age group (14.4%) compared to 8 to 18 years age group (12.1%). After adjusting for confounding, urban residence (APR = 3.3, 95% CI 1.4-8.0) and open-air defecation (APR = 3.3, 95% CI 1.4-7.5) were significantly associated with intestinal parasitic infections. One out of eight children had any of the parasitic infection and nearly 50% of parasitic infections were caused by STH. Those children residing in urban areas and practice of open-air defecation had higher prevalence of parasitic infection.

A Mixed Methods Evaluation of Adolescent Friendly Health Clinic Under National Adolescent Health Program, Puducherry, India.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the awareness and utilization of Adolescent Friendly Health Clinic (AFHC) services among school going adolescents (14-19 y) and to explore the forces 'for' and 'against' the utilization of AFHC services in Puducherry, India. METHODS: This mixed-methods study was conducted in two primary health centres. Record review assessed the utilization of AFHC service. Survey assessed the awareness on AFHC services and self-reported illnesses and their treatment seeking behavior. Group interviews were conducted with adolescent girls, boys and healthcare providers. A summative content analysis was done to organize the 'for' and 'against' forces for service utilization. RESULTS: Of the 311 adolescents, less than 50% were aware of the services available at AFHC. Utilization of Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation was good. Only 2-10% of adolescents consulted the outpatient services of the Primary Health Centre for the treatment of their health problems. The authors found low utilization of AFHC services (15% among girls, zero among boys). One of the reasons for low utilization was poor awareness. Though free sanitary napkins motivated the girls to avail the services, boys considered the AFHC as a girl's clinic. Healthcare providers suggested that building rapport and trust with adolescents and their parents, involving school teachers and ensuring privacy in the clinic would increase the utilization. CONCLUSIONS: There is a huge gap between the awareness and utilization of AFHC services. The reasons for non-utilization were poor awareness and misconceptions about the clinic. Training of health staffs on communication skills, and supportive supervision could improve the utilization.