<p>This cross-sectional study intended to determine the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction and associated factors in Portuguese adolescents (N=529, 10-18 years, 53.7% male and 46.3% female). The prevalence of body dissatisfaction (estimated through Collins's silhouettes) was 58%. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the variables associated were: obesity, watch TV over 2 hours/day and practice sport activities 4 or more days/week. In male, obesity and watch TV over 2 hours/day were related to body dissatisfaction and among female only obesity had statistical significance. It is necessary to considered different public health interventions for men and women in order to reduce this high body image dissatisfaction.</p>

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Food influences to a great extent our disposition whereas our mood dictates our cravings and the type of nutrients we choose. Emotions affect eating while the nutritional properties of food impact on brain functions related to mood and emotion. The dietary choices are a complete and complex circuit. Provided we influence one option, the other will follow suit, as increasing evidence has shown that the food choices have a positive impact on several mental disorders. In this research paper we have tried to show that nutritional deficiencies have been proved to negatively impact on the mental sanity and that, consequently, specific nutrients can contribute to the alleviation of mood and mental disorders. Specific nutrients can affect cognitive processes and emotions, whereas the lack of vitamins, fatty acids, minerals and some macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) may contribute to aggravating a poor psychological state. Among the most common nutritional deficiencies seen in mental disorder patients are those of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that are precursors to neurotransmitters: tyrosine to dopamine, tryptophan to serotonin. Serotonin and tryptophan are known to promote well-being and their production is triggered by carbohydrate rich foods. Carbohydrates have been found to affect mood and behaviour. Inadequate dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) may increase predisposition to several psychiatric disorders, particularly depression. Anxiety, depression, and autism spectrum disorders have been linked to functional Gastro-Intestinal tract (GI) disruptions, whereas GI disease are often determinant for psychological comorbidities.  Altered gut microbiota composition, in particular a less diversified one, has been associated with stress as well.  Showing more attention to the daily food and bringing the right nutrients in the proper amounts may enhance our mood.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in university students from a Brazilian public higher education institution between three surveys. Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted with 1,084, 1,085, and 1,041 university students in 2010, 2012, and 2014, respectively, from an institution located in Bahia, Brazil. Outcomes were cardiovascular risk factors: overweight, leisure-time physical activity for < 150 min per week, low consumption of fruits and vegetables, consumption of meat and chicken with fat, fried snacks, soft drinks or artificial juices, smoking, drinking alcohol abuse, and negative self-assessment of stress in life. The independent variable was the year of the survey.The measure of association was the Prevalence Ratio (PR). The significance level was 5%. Results: In all surveys, there was a higher prevalence of college students with insufficient leisure-time physical activity, low consumption of fruits and vegetables, consumption of fatty and savory meat, and negative self-assessment of stress. Overweight and consumption of chicken with fat increased over the years of the survey. Prevalence decreased in the last survey among college students concerning the consumption of fruits, vegetables, snacks, and artificial soft drinks or juices (PR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.52–0.84). Conclusions: There was an increase in overweight; however, there were also positive modifications in eating habits among college students.

Aging is dependent on biological processes that determine the aging of the organism at the cellular level. The Oxidative Stress Theory of Aging might explain some of the age-related changes in cell macromolecules. Moreover, exposome and lifestyle may also induce changes in cell damage induced by oxidative stress. The aim of the present study was to analyze the related redox changes in lymphocyte function of healthy women over 40 years old. Three groups: younger (YG: 40–49 years), middle aged (MAG: 50–59 years), and older (OG: ≥60 years) were evaluated on anthropometric variables, blood pressure, cardiovascular fitness, lifestyle habits, perceived stress, DNA damage, malondialdehyde, catalase activity, and total antioxidant capacity. Physical activity and cardiovascular fitness were significantly higher in YG and MAG as compared to the OG. Systolic blood pressure increased significantly with group age. Frequency and total amount of alcohol intake were lower in the OG and higher in the MAG. No significant differences were observed between the three groups in oxidative stress parameters. Only alcohol consumption was associated with the higher DNA FPG-sensitive sites, and only in the YG (p < 0.05). Healthy lifestyle is critical to avoiding major ailments associated with aging. This may be inferred from the lack of significant differences in the various oxidative stress parameters measured in the healthy women over the age of 40 who took part in the study. Conscious lifestyle behaviors (decrease in alcohol and smoking habits) could have impaired the expected age-related oxidative stress increase.