Poverty and other correlates of obesity and underweight among 7-year-olds from Croatia and Montenegro.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at investigating poverty and other correlates of childhood underweight and obesity in two urban regions with lower (Podgorica, Montenegro) and higher economic development (Osijek, Croatia). STUDY DESIGN: Comparative study. METHODS: A comparative study was conducted on 693 children (52% boys), aged 7 years old (224 from Podgorica and 469 from Osijek). Parents completed the study-specific questionnaire on relevant factors for children's nutritional status. We measured children's height and weight and calculated their body mass index (BMI). International Obesity Task Force cut-off values of BMI were used to assess children's nutritional status. Subjective social position was assessed by the Mac Arthur scale. RESULTS: There were more underweight children in Osijek compared with Podgorica, both among boys (5.5% vs. 1.6%) and girls (6.9% vs. 1.0%). Obesity was more frequent in Podgorica than Osijek, both among boys (11.3% vs. 5.9%) and girls (10.0% vs. 4.3%). However, poverty in two cities diminished observed differences in children's nutritional status. The odds for child underweight decreased by 12.2%, while the odds for obesity increased by 3.6% per each paternal BMI unit. The frequency of child obesity was lowered per each step higher on the Mac Arthur scale and with breastfeeding by 23.2% and 68.0%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We show that a higher economic development is related to less obese children but more underweight children. However, poverty seems to impact nutritionally all children equally, regardless of the regional economic development. Paternal and not maternal BMI is relevant for both extremes in children's nutritional status. Breastfeeding and higher social position independently protect from child obesity.

Characterization of unusual alkaliphilic gram-positive bacteria isolated from degraded brown alga thalluses.

Two orange-pigmented Gram-positive, aerobic bacteria were isolated from enrichment culture during degradation of brown alga Fucus evanescens thalluses. In this work, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to study the cell morphology. The non-contact mode imaging revealed unusual irregular coccoid shape of cells, possessing a single flagellum. Bacteria produced carotenoid pigments, were chemo-organotrophic, alkaliphilic and halo-tolerant growing well on nutrient media containing up to 15% NaCl. Growth temperature ranged from 5 to 45 degrees C. The DNA base compositions were 48 mol% G + C and the level of DNA similarity of two strains was conspecific (98%). A comparative phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the strain KMM 3738 tightly clustered with recently described Planococcus maritimus (99.9% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). DNA-DNA hybridisation experiments revealed that DNA from the KMM 3738 showed 12-15% and 16-35% of genetic relatedness with the DNA of type strains of the genera Planomicrobium and Planococcus, respectively, and 87% with DNA from Planococcus maritimus, indicating that new isolates belong to the later species.