BackgroundCivilization has produced lifestyle changes; currently, people ingest more calories than are expended, resulting in obesity. This study assessed the association between dietary habits, physical activities, and sedentary behaviors and the risk of obesity in schoolchildren in Mexico City.MethodsOf 1,441 children (6–12 years old) screened in elementary schools, 202 obese (BMI ≥95th pc) and 200 normal-weight children (BMI 25th- 75th pc), as defined by the 2000 CDC criteria, were included in a case–control study. The children’s eating, physical activity and sedentary lifestyle habits were recorded using validated questionnaires. The quantity and quality of the foods were obtained, and the energy that was expended was transformed into METs. Sedentary behavior was assessed in hours. Logistic regression models were used to determine the risks of certain habits and their association with obesity.ResultsObese children ingested around of 270 Kcal less than eutrophic children. However, compared with the eutrophic children, obese children had significantly worse lifestyle habits; the children with healthy dietary habits (eating breakfast at home, bringing a school lunch, and not bringing money to purchase food) had a lower risk of obesity (OR 0.59, CI 0.46; 0.75). The quality of the eaten food was associated with a risk of obesity. Consuming fruit demonstrated an inverse association with risk of obesity (p Trend = 0.01); consumption of sweetened beverages (p Trend < 0.04) and refined carbohydrates with added fat (p Trend = 0.002) were associated with an increased risk of obesity. Children who were more physically active at school had an OR of 0.37 (CI 0.16; 0.89), those who had 3–4 televisions at home had an OR of 2.13 (CI 1.20; 3.78), and the risk of developing obesity was independent of caloric intake.ConclusionsPoorer eating habits as well as less physical activity were associated with the risk of obesity. An obesogenic environment could change if teachers and parents worked together to form healthy food intake and physical activity habits.

BackgroundIron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies worldwide. It is more prevalent when iron requirements are increased during pregnancy and during growth spurts of infancy and adolescence. The last stage in the process of iron depletion is characterized by a decrease in hemoglobin concentration, resulting in iron deficiency anemia. Iron deficiency, even before it is clinically identified as anemia, compromises the immune response, physical capacity for work, and intellectual functions such as attention level. Therefore, interventions addressing iron deficiency should be based on prevention rather than on treatment of anemia. The aim of this study was to compare short- and medium-term effects on ferritin concentration of daily supplementation with ferrous sulfate or iron bis-glycinate chelate in schoolchildren with iron deficiency but without anemia.MethodsTwo hundred schoolchildren from public boarding schools in Mexico City who had low iron stores as assessed by serum ferritin concentration but without anemia were randomly assigned to a daily supplement of 30 mg/day of elemental iron as ferrous sulfate or iron bis-glycinate chelate for 12 weeks. Iron status was evaluated at baseline, one week post-supplementation (short term), and 6 months (medium term) after supplementation.ResultsFerritin concentration increased significantly between baseline and post-supplementation as well as between baseline and 6 months after supplementation. One week post-supplementation no difference was found in ferritin concentration between iron compounds, but 6 months after supplementation ferritin concentration was higher in the group that received bis-glycinate chelate iron. However, there is no difference in the odds for low iron storage between 6 months after supplementation versus the odds after supplementation; nor were these odds different by type of supplement. Hemoglobin concentration did not change significantly in either group after supplementation.ConclusionsSupplementing with 30 mg/d of elementary iron, either as ferrous sulfate or iron bis-glycinate chelate for 90 days, showed positive effects on increasing ferritin concentration in schoolchildren with low iron stores, and this effect persisted 6 months after supplementation.

Nutrition therapy and a multimedia diabetes education program have a favorable impact on achieving metabolic control goals in type 2 diabetes.

Overweight and obesity have become a world-health public problem, mainly for developing countries. Both health conditions have a higher prevalence among women of childbearing age. Physiopathology, overweight and obesity are characterized by a chronic oxidative stress status, which has deleterious effects on mothers and children. Hence, we determine whether the qualities of diet during pregnancy and maternal pregestational body mass index (BMI) are associated with increased oxidative stress markers in mothers and newborns. Two hundred forty-two (242) mother-newborn pairs were classified according to their pregestational BMI. Information on food intake was collected using a food frequency questionnaire in the third trimester of pregnancy. Levels of Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Nitric Oxide (NO) were measured in plasma from mothers at the end of the third trimester of pregnancy and from cord blood at birth. MDA and NO levels in mother–newborn pairs with maternal pregestational overweight or obesity were higher than in mother–newborn pairs with pregestational normal weight. For women (and newborns) who had a higher intake of fruit and vegetables, the levels of NO and MDA were lower. Lastly, women with pregestational obesity had lower fruit and vegetable intake during pregnancy and higher levels of oxidative stress and in their newborns.