The Effect of a Single Dose of Dark Chocolate on Cardiovascular Parameters and Their Reactivity to Mental Stress.

Objective: This study investigated the effect of a single administration of dark or milk chocolate on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and double product (DP) in young healthy women at rest and during acute mental stress.Method: Measurements consisted of anthropometry, BP, and HR. Mean arterial BP (MAP) and DP were computed. The relative reactivity of individual variables was quantified as to their percentage change during the rest or test of mental arithmetic (MA) with respect to the respective baseline value. All subjects underwent two tests of MA-one before chocolate administration and the second one 2 hours after chocolate (1 mg/g of body weight) ingestion.Results: Two hours after ingestion at rest, dark chocolate administration resulted in a significant increase in relative values of systolic BP and DP by 5.1% ± 1.4% and 13.7% ± 3.2%, respectively, compared to the responses in the milk chocolate group (-2.4% ± 1.6% and 0.6% ± 3.4%, respectively, p < 0.04 for both comparisons) without changes in diastolic BP, HR, and MAP. During MA-induced acute stress, the relative magnitude of the reactivity of diastolic BP, HR, MAP, and DP decreased by about 10, 16, 8, and 23 percentage points, respectively, 2 hours after ingestion of dark chocolate compared to the relative reactivity determined before dark chocolate ingestion. Milk chocolate failed to affect any of the above-mentioned parameters at rest or during stress.Conclusions: The single oral intake of 85% dark chocolate increased relative values of systolic BP and DP at rest but buffered the reactivity of diastolic BP, HR, MAP, and DP during mental stress, which was not found after ingestion of milk chocolate. Thus, dark chocolate might have a beneficial effect during acute stress due to its ability to buffer cardiovascular reactivity in young healthy women.

Prevalence of overweight/obesity among 7-year-old children-WHO Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative in Slovakia, trends and differences between selected European countries.

The objectives of this study were (1) to assess the prevalence and time trends of overweight/obesity in Slovak children by applying WHO, IOTF, and the national criteria; (2) to compare the prevalence between selected European countries; and (3) to evaluate the central obesity by the waist-to-height ratio. The survey was performed within the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative. The weight, height, waist, and hip were measured in 2795 children at the age of 7-7.99 years (50.1% boys; 55.5% in rural areas). The prevalence of overweight/obesity was determined using the LMS Growth. In boys, the prevalence of overweight/obesity was 17.1/14.9% according to WHO, 13.8/8.8% according to IOTF, and 9.9/8.8% according to the national criteria. Among girls, the prevalence reached 15.1/11.1%, 12.6/8.1%, and 7.5/9.5%, respectively. These rates corresponded to the average of the European countries. Central obesity was identified in 76.9% of overweight/obese, but also in 5.9% normal-weight subjects. CONCLUSION: While overweight has increased by 3% the prevalence of obesity has doubled since 2001. The rise culminated approximately 6 years ago and has not increased since then. The body constitution differences should be considered when comparing the prevalence of overweight/obesity between populations and/or individuals. What is Known: • Knowledge of the prevalence of overweight/obesity is seminal for effective implementation of programs focusing on the reduction of incidence and prevalence of obesity in early childhood. What is New: • The most numerous and representative study on the prevalence of overweight/obesity in 7-year-old children involving 2795 (5%) of peers living in Slovakia. • The prevalence of obesity in Slovakia falls within the range of average rate of the European countries. Central obesity was identified in almost 20% subjects.

Comparison of Slovak reference values for anthropometric parameters in children and adolescents with international growth standards: implications for the assessment of overweight and obesity.

AIM: To compare the national reference percentile values for body height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents in Slovakia with international standards and to analyze growth trends in this population. METHODS: The study was designed as a repeated cross-sectional survey. Two nationwide anthropometric surveys (NAS) performed in 2001 and 2011 assessed body weight, height, and BMI of 38 692 children aged 7 to 18 years. Age- and sex-specific smoothed percentiles were generated with the lambda-mu-sigma method. Slovak standards were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) 2007 z-scores and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) standards. RESULTS: Medians of body height corresponded to the 75th-85th percentile of the WHO 2007 standards. The secular trend of height increase was attenuated, and the final body height did not change between NAS 2001 and NAS 2011. The cut-off BMI values for obesity, set at the 97th percentile for age <14 years, were higher across age ranges than WHO 2007 standards but lower than IOTF standards. Obesity prevalence, relatively low in 2001 (<3%), doubled during the following decade (P<0.001), with the highest values (4.8%-7.6%) observed in children aged up to 13 years. CONCLUSION: NAS 2001 data were chosen as national growth standards, as these data were not influenced by the obesity rates increase in the period between the surveys. BMI cut-offs were lower than those in most European countries. Obesity proportions in prepubertal and pubertal boys might be overestimated when WHO 2007 cut-offs are used.

Normal variability of the peak-to-trough amplitude of isointegral QRST body surface maps.

The peak-to-trough amplitude (sum of absolute values of maximum and minimum) of an isointegral QRST body surface map was shown, according to literary data, to be sensitive to changes in ventricular sympathetic tone. Statistics of this parameter were obtained, with an 80 electrodes array, in 135 healthy subjects of both sexes, aged from 10 to 67 years (37 +/- 16). The QRST amplitudes were smaller in females than in males in average by 28% (P < .0001). They decreased with increasing age (r = -0.237, P < .01). Larger QRST amplitudes went with longer RR intervals (r = .449, P < .0001). In held deep inspiration, the amplitude decreased in 79% and increased in 21% of subjects. The change of the amplitude was related to the inspiratory change of the RR interval (r = .343, P < .0001), but not to the RR interval preceding the deep inspiration. Body mass index and somatometric characteristics of chest configuration did not significantly affect the QRST amplitude. The results may serve as a basis for further studies on the usefulness of the QRST amplitude as another variable reflecting changes of ventricular recovery properties.