Abstract
This paper describes the current prevalence and time trends of childhood obesity worldwide, and the association between childhood obesity and socio-economic status (SES). Childhood obesity ...has become a global public health crisis. The prevalence is highest in western and industrialized countries, but still low in some developing countries. The prevalence also varies by age and gender. The WHO Americas and eastern Mediterranean regions had higher prevalence of overweight and obesity (30-40%) than the European (20-30%), south-east Asian, western Pacific, and African regions (10-20% in the latter three). A total of 43 million children (35 million in developing countries) were estimated to be overweight or obese; 92 million were at risk of overweight in 2010. The global overweight and obesity prevalence has increased dramatically since 1990, for example in preschool-age children, from approximately 4% in 1990 to 7% in 2010. If this trend continues, the prevalence may reach 9% or 60 million people in 2020. The obesity-SES association varies by gender, age, and country. In general, SES groups with greater access to energy-dense diets (low-SES in industrialized countries and high-SES in developing countries) are at increased risk of being obese than their counterparts.
This paper investigates how managing online reviews affects hotel performance. An international hotel chain provided the hotel performance data and the online review data. A leading social media firm ...for the hospitality industry collected the online review data, which the hotel company purchased. The results indicate that overall ratings are the most salient predictor of hotel performance, followed by response to negative comments. The better the overall ratings and the higher the response rate to negative comments, the higher the hotel performance. Therefore, online reviews in social media, specifically overall rating and response to negative comments, should be managed as a critical part of hotel marketing.
Serum vitamin D status has been associated with prediabetes and metabolic syndrome. Evidence for the increased risk of metabolic disorders in individuals with prediabetes and a low vitamin D status ...is limited and uncertain. Furthermore, it has not been confirmed whether this possible relationship occurs in the Korean population. The aim of this study was to assess serum vitamin D status and to examine the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and metabolic risk factors in Korean adults with prediabetes. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 60 subjects aged 20-65 years. Participants had fasting glucose levels of 100 to 125 mg/dl. A questionnaire was used to assess vitamin D synthesis from sun exposure and a dietary intake examined using 3-days dietary records. Clinical and biochemical data were also collected. The 2009 harmonized definition of metabolic syndrome was used. Serum vitamin D levels were classified according to criteria from the 2011 Institute of Medicine report. The majority of subjects (75%) had a serum 25(OH)D level < 20 ng/ml, and among them, 31.1% were vitamin D deficiency (< 12 ng/ml). The proportion (42.9%) of subjects having low HDL-cholesterol was the highest among vitamin D deficiency (< 12 ng/ml) group (12 to < 20 ng/ml: 16.1%, ≥ 20 ng/ml: 6.7%). We observed an inverse relationship between 25(OH)D levels and TG, AI (β = -6.355, SE = 2.463; β = -0.020, SE = 0.008) after adjusted confounders. Korean adults with prediabetes were more likely to have low serum 25(OH)D levels. A sufficient 25(OH)D level may have possible beneficial effects on lipid profiles.
Abstract Background Glucose metabolism regulation is influenced by age and meal skipping, although research on their interplay with hyperglycemia remains limited. This study aims to explore the ...intricate relationship between meal-skipping patterns and hyperglycemia risk across distinct age groups in South Korean adults. Methods Utilizing data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) conducted from 2013 to 2020, comprising 28,530 individuals aged 19 years and older, this study employed multivariable logistic regression models to examine the associations between meal-skipping patterns and the risk of hyperglycemia. Results Meal-skipping patterns were categorized into three groups: no skipping (NS), skipping breakfast (SB), and skipping dinner (SD). Age groups were defined as “young” (aged 19–44), “middle-aged” (aged 45–64), and “elderly” adults (over 65 years old). Among “young” adults, SB was associated with a 1.33-fold higher risk of hyperglycemia (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.14–1.54) compared to NS. Conversely, in “elderly” adults, SD was linked to a 0.49-fold reduced risk (95% CI = 0.29–0.82) when compared to NS. Additionally, we observed that the Korean Health Eating Index (KHEI) scores, representing the quality of diet on a scale of 0 to 100, were consistently lower in SB compared to NS across all age groups. Intriguingly, specifically among the “elderly” group, this score was higher in SD compared to NS ( p < 0.001). Conclusions This study demonstrates age-specific variations in the association between meal-skipping patterns and the risk of hyperglycemia.
Abstract
Background
In the elderly, nutritional status and quality of life (QOL) could potentially affect food purchasing behaviors. We examined the association between combinations of nutritional ...status and QOL and food purchasing motives among the elderly.
Methods
A total of 143 community-dwelling elderly were recruited in Seoul, South Korea. Nutritional status and QOL were assessed and participants were divided into four groups according to those combinations. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine the odds of food purchasing motives according to combinations of nutritional status and QOL.
Results
As a result of comparing the scores (mean ± SD) of the overall important factors for food purchasing, health related factors such as
Nutrition quality
and
Preventive of treatment effect
were the highest score (4.4 ± 0.8), followed by
Price
(4.1 ± 0.9),
Ease of purchase
(3.8 ± 0.9),
Ease of chewing
(3.7 ± 0.9), and
Taste
(3.6 ± 0.9). Participants with a low nutritional status and low QOL had more eating-related problems (77.8%) including chewing difficulty (48.9%) and constipation (17.8%) than those with a high nutritional status and high QOL (
P
< 0.05). Participants who were in high nutritional status and low QOL were more likely to be motivated by
Ease of chewing
(OR: 6.72; 95% CI: 1.44–31.37;
P
< 0.05), while those who were in low nutritional status and high QOL were less motivated by
Taste
(OR: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.08–0.94;
P
< 0.05) compared to those who were in high nutritional status and high QOL.
Conclusions
There were differences in food purchasing motives such as
Ease of chewing
or
Taste
according to combinations of nutritional status and QOL. These data are important in demonstrating differing motives for food choice across nutritional status and QOL, and also provide indications of which care service and food development may be needed in promoting health for the elderly in South Korea.
Pure separation and sorting of microparticles from complex fluids are essential for biochemical analyses and clinical diagnostics. However, conventional techniques require highly complex and ...expensive labeling processes for high purity separation. In this study, we present a simple and label-free method for separating microparticles with high purity using the elasto-inertial characteristic of a non-Newtonian fluid in microchannel flow. At the inlet, particle-containing sample flow was pushed toward the side walls by introducing sheath fluid from the center inlet. Particles of 1 μm and 5 μm in diameter, which were suspended in viscoelastic fluid, were successfully separated in the outlet channels: larger particles were notably focused on the centerline of the channel at the outlet, while smaller particles continued flowing along the side walls with minimal lateral migration towards the centerline. The same technique was further applied to separate platelets from diluted whole blood. Through cytometric analysis, we obtained a purity of collected platelets of close to 99.9%. Conclusively, our microparticle separation technique using elasto-inertial forces in non-Newtonian fluid is an effective method for separating and collecting microparticles on the basis of size differences with high purity.
Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is more associated with cardiovascular diseases than sarcopenia or obesity alone. This study aimed to assess the association between the skeletal muscle mass-to-visceral fat ...area ratio (SVR) and dietary and cardiometabolic health risk factors in obese women. Fifty-nine women aged 19-65 years with BMI values of ≥25 kg/m
and <32 kg/m
were included. The SVR was inversely correlated with blood lipids (total cholesterol, β = -0.369,
= 0.022; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, β = -0.326,
= 0.049) and hs-CRP (β = -0.305,
= 0.043). Among the dietary factors, fatty acid intake (saturated fatty acids (SFA), β = -0.287,
= 0.044; monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), β = -0.282,
= 0.048; polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), β = -0.301,
= 0.035) was inversely correlated with the SVR. Conversely, vitamin B
and B
intake (vitamin B
, β = 0.338,
= 0.012; vitamin B
, β = 0.281,
= 0.024) showed positive associations with the SVR. Individuals with a lower SVR were more likely to have SO and higher blood lipids and inflammatory marker levels. Regarding dietary factors, the SVR increased with vitamin B
and B
intake, which was less likely to occur in individuals with SO.
Background: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading global cause of death and share common risk factors. Little quantitative data are available on the patterns of each NCDs death and dietary ...factors by national income level and region. We aimed to identify the trend of NCDs deaths and dietary factors with other health-related behaviors across national income levels and geographical regions. Methods: Three databases were collected, including the World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, and World Bank in 2014. These were analyzed to describe the trend for NCDs deaths and dietary factors with health-related behaviors across national income levels (high income, upper-middle income, lower-middle income, and low income) from 151 countries using variance-weighted least-squares linear regression. Results: Lower-middle-income and low-income countries in Africa and Asia had higher death rates of NCDs. More than 30% of the population had raised blood pressure with higher carbohydrate intake and lower protein and fat intake compared to high-income European countries in 2014. High-income countries had the highest prevalence of raised total cholesterol, overweight, and obesity, the highest total energy, fat, and protein intake, and the highest supplies of animal fat, stimulants, sugar and sweetener, vegetable oil, and milk, as well as insufficient activity with an increasing trend (p for trend < 0.001). Conclusion: There were differences in NCDs risk factors and dietary factors by national income and region. Accordingly, measures should be taken to suit the situation in each country. Our findings have significance for health workers and health policies preventing and controlling the rise of NCDs.
Autophagy, which has the literal meaning of self-eating, is a cellular catabolic process executed by arrays of conserved proteins in eukaryotes. Autophagy is dynamically ongoing at a basal level, ...presumably in all cells, and often carries out distinct functions depending on the cell type. Therefore, although a set of common genes and proteins is involved in this process, the outcome of autophagic activation or deficit requires scrutiny regarding how it affects cells in a specific pathophysiological context. The uterus is a complex organ that carries out multiple tasks under the influence of cyclic changes of ovarian steroid hormones. Several major populations of cells are present in the uterus, and the interactions among them drive complex physiological tasks. Mouse models with autophagic deficits in the uterus are very limited, but provide an initial glimpse at how autophagy plays a distinct role in different uterine tissues. Herein, we review recent research findings on the role of autophagy in the uterine mesenchyme in mouse models.
The increasing prevalence of overweight and obese children and adolescents poses a major concern worldwide. Dietary practice in these critical periods affects physical and cognitive development and ...has consequences in later life. Therefore, acquiring healthy eating behaviors that will endure is important for children and adolescents. Nutrition management has been applied to numerous childhood obesity intervention studies. Diverse forms of nutrition education and counseling, key messages, a Mediterranean-style hypocaloric diet, and nutritional food selection have been implemented as dietary interventions. The modification of dietary risk in terms of nutrients, foods, dietary patterns, and dietary behaviors has been applied to changing problematic dietary factors. However, it is not easy to identify the effectiveness of nutritional management because of the complex and interacting components of any multicomponent approach to intervention in childhood obesity. In this review, we describe the modifiable dietary risk factors and nutritional components of previous nutrition intervention studies for nutritional management in childhood obesity. Furthermore, we suggest evidence-based practice in nutrition care for obese children and adolescents by considering obesity-related individual and environmental dietary risk factors.
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