Association between Eating Patterns and Excess Body Weight in Adolescents.

Background: Excess body weight is a risk factor for the development of diseases. Adolescence is a nutritionally vulnerable age group that suffers due to influences on food intake. We aimed to identify the main dietary patterns of adolescents to investigate their association with excess body weight. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Anthropometric measurements (weight and height) were collected to calculate the BMI. Nutritional statuses were classified according to World Health Organization classification. Food consumption data were obtained through a 24-hour recall and food patterns were identified through factor analyses of the main components. The patterns were categorized into quintiles and dichotomized into greater (fourth and fifth quintile) and lower (first to third quintile) adherences. Binomial regression was used to assess the association between food patterns and excess body weight. The study was conducted in a capital city in Northeast Brazil from adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years in 826 public schools. Results: Three main food patterns were identified in women and men: coffee with bread (white bread, coffee, fat, and eggs), common Brazilian (white rice, beans, meat, pasta, with negative factor load for regional foods), and mixed pattern (sweets, fruits, biscuits and cakes, vegetables, and dairy products). Adolescents with a greater adherence to the coffee and bread pattern [odds ratio (OR) = 0.68; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.50-0.93] and the common Brazilian pattern (OR = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.53-0.99) had a lower chance of being excess body weight than those with lower adherence. Conclusions: Three main eating patterns were identified among adolescents, and greater adherence to the coffee with bread and common Brazilian patterns implied a lower chance of excess body weight.

Unbalance of Se and nutritional status in male infertility.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the selenium status and oxidative stress in male infertility cases selected from a private human reproduction center in the state of Ceará, Brazil. METHODS: The present study had a cross-sectional quantitative approach, carried out between January and October 2013 at a Human Reproduction Center. The studied population was composed of 49 male individuals seen at the clinic, aged between 18 and 60 years. Blood samples were collected to measure serum selenium concentrations, erythrocyte activity and glutathione peroxidase. After medical diagnosis, the participants were divided into fertile and infertile groups. Blood samples were collected for establishing Se concentrations in plasma and erythrocytes, and measurements of the enzymatic activity of glutathione peroxidase in the erythrocytes. RESULT: it resulted in 53.1% of fertile men and 46.9% of infertile men. The average age of the fertile group was 34.1 years and the infertile group was 37.3 years. Regarding the assessment of nutritional status, the scatter diagram of the infertility group showed a higher body mass index and waist circumference, showing that this group has a higher risk of global and abdominal obesity compared to the fertile group (p<0.0001, respectively). There were similarities between the groups regarding caloric intake, macronutrient and selenium intake. CONCLUSION: We can conclude that the serum values of selenium, in excess and in deficiency, can be harmful to male fertility.

Construção e validação de cartilha educativa para promoção da alimentação saudável entre pacientes diabéticos / Development and validation of an educational booklet for health eating promotion among diabetic patients

Objetivo: Descrever o processo de construção e validação de conteúdo de uma cartilha educativa voltada para a orientação sobre alimentação saudável de pacientes com diabetes mellitus. Métodos: Trata-se de uma pesquisa metodológica com levantamento bibliográfico, elaboração e validação do material por especialistas no assunto. Os sete juízes possuíam especialização em diabetes e/ou com, no mínimo, dois anos de experiência na área, sendo duas enfermeiras, uma fisioterapeuta e quatro nutricionistas. Os itens avaliativos da cartilha consistiam em: objetivo, conteúdo, linguagem, relevância, ilustrações, layout, motivação e cultura, sendo cada item analisado separadamente através de escala tipo Likert. A análise da validação da tecnologia educativa foi realizada por meio da utilização do Índice de Validade de Conteúdo (IVC), com recomendação do ponto de corte superior a 0,78. Resultados: A cartilha educativa apresentou IVC global de 0,96. Apenas dois itens apresentaram valores de IVC abaixo do limite adotado. Os juízes realizaram observações referentes à aparência e ao conteúdo para o aperfeiçoamento da cartilha, as quais foram acatadas para a versão final. Conclusão: A cartilha educativa para orientação nutricional de pacientes com diabetes mellitus foi construída e validada em termos de aparência e conteúdo por juízes, devendo, assim, ser considerada para aperfeiçoar a adesão à terapia nutricional. Dessa forma, o material servirá de suporte aos profissionais e aos portadores de diabetes, para que superem as dificuldades que permeiam o autocuidado referente à alimentação para o controle da doença.(AU)