Systematic review and meta-analysis of the most common processed foods consumed by Iranian children

Background:The trend of increasing overweight and obesity among children is a huge burden on health systems. In thisregard, the growing availability of processed foods, often energy dense and nutrient poor, has become a major concern.Changing this trend will require evidence-based policies.Aims:This systematic review aimed to identify the most common processed/ultraprocessed foods consumed by 4–12-yearoldIranian children.Methods:We searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of science, as well as Persian scientific search engines, including IranResearch Information System, Scientific Information Database and Mag-Iran. We also assessed grey literature, that is, national studies and papers presented at relevant Iranian congresses. All data collected from studies were converted to daily servings (S/D). Mean and standard deviations of the included results were combined by performing meta-analysis with a random effects model. The I2 test was used to compute heterogeneity. Egger’s test was used to assess publication bias.Results:Ten studies with 67 093 children were included in this review. The meta-analysis demonstrated that the highestconsumption of processed foods belonged to the sugars and sweets group with 8.01 S/D, followed by oils, and biscuits andcakes with 5.58 S/D and 3.33 S/D, respectively.Conclusion:Given the high consumption of less healthy processed foods, robust policies to support healthy eating and help improve Iranian children’s food environment are recommended.

Relationship between obesity and depression, anxiety and psychological distress among Iranian health-care staff

Background: Psychological-related disorders such as obesity are a key contributor to morbidity and mortality. Aims: To assess the association between general and abdominal obesity with depression and anxiety among Iranian health-care staff. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted under the framework of the Study on the Epidemiology of Psycho- logical Alimentary Health and Nutrition. A total of 4361 Iranian health-care staff were analyzed for general obesity and 3213 for central obesity. Overweight and obesity was defined as body mass index 25.0–29.9 and ≥ 30.0 kg/m2, respectively. Abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference (WC) ≥ 88 cm for females and ≥ 102 cm for males. The Iranian validated versions of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the General Health Questionnaire were used to assess depression and anxiety. Results: Stratified analysis by sex revealed no significant relationship between general obesity, depression and anxiety among males. However, we found an inverse association between abdominal obesity (WC > 102 cm) and severe depression among males. In females, abdominal obesity was significantly associated with anxiety, before and after taking confounders into account. No significant association was seen between abdominal obesity and psychological distress in either sex after controlling for potential confounders. Conclusions: Abdominal obesity was associated with anxiety in Iranian adult females but not in males. Further studies, particularly prospective research, are required to confirm these findings.