Magnitude and pattern of various cancers from tertiary health care center registry: A study in three southern states of India.

Many research studies have looked into the epidemiological aspects including various potential risk factors associated with cancers, namely environmental, dietary, genetic, and hormonal. The present article studies the magnitude and pattern of various cancers registered at tertiary health-care centers in three South Indian states. Data from hospital-based cancer registries compiled by the ICMR-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research for the time periods 2007-2011 and 2012-2014 for three South Indian states, namely Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, were analyzed using R software. Summarizing the type and proportions of cancers seen at the three registries during the periods 2007-2011 and 2012-2014, it was found that, among men, hypopharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and oral cancer were the major cancer types prevalent and, among females, cervical cancer, mouth cancer, breast cancer, ovary cancer, and thyroid cancer were the common cancer types. With multidisciplinary approach, cancers can be prevented to a certain extent by insisting behavioural changes through recommendation of increase in physical activities and intake of micro nutrient-rich food items with fiber component.

Nutrition and health education intervention for student volunteers: topic-wise assessment of impact using a non-parametric test.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of a classroom-based nutrition and health education intervention among student community volunteers in improving their knowledge on individual topics. DESIGN: Prospective follow-up study. Topic-wise knowledge change among student volunteers on individual topics (twenty-one questions related to nutrition and health, eight questions related to infectious diseases and two questions related to obesity and hypertension) pertaining to nutrition and health was evaluated at baseline and after intervention, using the McNemar test. SETTING: Six different colleges affiliated to Osmania University, Andhra Pradesh, India. SUBJECTS: Six hundred and eighty-seven student volunteers under the National Service Scheme, of both genders, average age 19 years. RESULTS: A significant mean improvement of 11.36 (sd 8.49, P < 0.001) was observed in the overall nutrition and health knowledge scores of the student volunteers after the education intervention. The McNemar test showed that knowledge on individual topics related to energy, proteins, fats, adolescent phase, obesity, some lifestyle diseases and infectious diseases improved significantly (P < 0.01). No significant (P > 0.05) improvement was observed in knowledge on the nutritional content of milk and sprouted grams, hypertension, HIV/AIDS, ELISA and malaria. CONCLUSIONS: Topics on which our educational intervention could not bring about significant knowledge improvement have been identified and suitable modifications can be carried out to strengthen them.

Nutrition education for student community volunteers: a comparative study of two different communication methods.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition education for student volunteers can enhance their skills, and they can act as change agents in the community. There is a dearth of data from India on the effectiveness of different communication tools in providing nutrition education to student volunteers. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the comparative effectiveness of two different methods of communication--lectures in the classroom aided by print material, and a televised version of a local folk-dance form--for providing nutrition education to student community volunteers in a South Indian state. METHODS: Interventions were conducted during two mega-camps of student volunteers (camps 1 and 2) with 70 and 137 participants, respectively. Their knowledge levels were tested at baseline. Camp 1 received the lecture intervention and camp 2 the televised folk-dance intervention. Knowledge scores were measured before and after the intervention in each camp, and the two camps were compared for significant improvements in knowledge. RESULTS: At baseline, the knowledge levels of students in both camps were comparable. Significant improvement in knowledge was observed in both camps after intervention (p < .05). Although there was no significant difference between the camps in improvement in knowledge, a significant difference was observed when only the positive increments (improvement over baseline) were compared. CONCLUSIONS: The televised version of the folk-dance form was better in bringing about positive increment.

Dietary habits and effect of two different educational tools on nutrition knowledge of school going adolescent girls in Hyderabad, India.

OBJECTIVES: To assess dietary habits and nutrition knowledge levels of the adolescent girls from different schools and to study the efficacy of two different nutrition education tools in improving their nutrition knowledge in the classroom setting. DESIGN: Purposive sampling technique was adapted for selecting the subjects in the study. SETTING: Four secondary schools in Hyderabad, India. SUBJECTS: In total, 164 adolescent girls belonging to eighth grade. INTERVENTIONS: Two interventions (Intervention-1. Traditional method using print media such as folders leaflets and charts; Intervetion-2. Audio-visual CD) were carried out in a classroom setting for the experimental group. RESULTS: FFQ data on dietary consumption of adolescent girls revealed more consumption of aerated drinks, bakery items, fast foods and less consumption of millets irrespective of their socio-economic conditions. However, consumption of vegetables, green leafy vegetables and fruits was moderate. A significant improvement in the nutrition related knowledge was observed among the experimental group after interventions-1 and -2 as compared to the baseline data. However, no significant difference in the improvement of nutrition knowledge levels was observed with the second intervention over the first intervention as already the children in the experimental group gained knowledge through print media. CONCLUSIONS: Education on ill effects of aerated drinks, fast foods and the importance of nutrition during the adolescent phase should be emphasized in future programmes.

A qualitative assessment of nutrition knowledge levels and dietary intake of schoolchildren in Hyderabad.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the nutrition knowledge levels and dietary intake pattern of schoolchildren belonging to two groups of different socio-economic status (SES; high income/high SES and low income/low SES). DESIGN: A purposive sampling method was employed. A validated food-frequency questionnaire was administered to assess the dietary intake of schoolchildren in four schools from two different socio-economic strata in the month of January 2001. The children were divided into two groups, one serving as the experimental group and the other as the control group. SUBJECTS: Two hundred and seventy-two children aged between 12 and 14 years. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement (P<0.001) in the knowledge levels of high-SES schoolchildren as compared with low-SES schoolchildren. A significant difference was observed in the intake of protective foods like milk and milk products, green leafy vegetables and fruits between the two income groups. However, children from the high SES background preferred fast foods such as noodles and corn flakes to traditional foods. Irrespective of income group, most of the children consumed carbonated beverages. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant difference in the intakes of protective foods and fast foods between the different income groups. However, the increased intake of fast foods and carbonated beverages by the children irrespective of SES needs to be discouraged as a part of nutrition education. The study indicated the need for repeated interventions for improvement of nutrition knowledge levels in low-SES children.