[Eating habits in physical therapy students]. / Hábitos dietéticos en estudiantes de fisioterapia.

OBJECTIVE: a) To know the eating and exercising habits of undergraduate Physical Therapy students; b) To promote awareness among these future health professionals and educators of the need to foster adequate eating habits among patients and the general population. METHODS: A dietary and physical activity questionnaire, regarding a seven-day period, distributed among students of the School of Physical Therapy (University of Valladolid) in the city of Soria, Spain (n = 131; sex (m/f): 38/93). RESULTS: Results show that a high percentage of the subjects follow the recommendations of the new Nutritional Pyramid of the Spanish Nutrition Society (SEN) regarding intake of meat, fish, milk, dairy products and exercise habits. This is not the case, however, for products such as pasta, bread and cereals, vegetables, fruits, legumes and olive oil. Furthermore, fast food is taken, on average, once a week despite the recommended sporadic monthly intakes. CONCLUSIONS: According to results, formative programmes should be carried out to enable these students to encourage healthy diets. Thus, diseases related to non-healthy eating habits could be prevented, and information on the issue could be spread among the population.

[Prevalence of osteoporosis assessed by quantitative ultrasound calcaneus measurements in institutionalized elderly population]. / Prevalencia de osteoporosis en ancianos institucionalizados, mediante ultrasonografía de calcáneo.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze using quantitative ultrasound of calcaneus (QUS) the prevalence of osteoporosis in institutionalized elderly people, in order to contribute to state reliable criteria (T-score units) for the diagnosis of osteoporosis which allow advances in bone fracture prevention. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Elderly people (n=171) were divided into separate groups according to sex and age criteria (three decades, from 70 to 90 years) and analyzed using QUS. RESULTS: Both globally and in the younger groups, women showed significantly lower values than men in all densitometry variables (p < 0.001). In the oldest group only T-score and BUA showed statistical differences (p = 0.039 y p = 0.025, respectively). The prevalence of osteoporosis in women was higher than in men whichever criteria were applied in all age groups. Applying the WHO criteria with QUS, the prevalence of osteoporosis in global population is close to that stated by DEXA using the same criteria. CONCLUSIONS: QUS could be useful to assess the bone mass evolution with age and for the diagnosis and monitoring of osteoporosis. In our elderly population, the WHO criteria for DEXA, are also the most suitable ones for QUS utilization.