A pilot study to improve sugar and water consumption in Maltese school children.

Background: Excessive sugar consumption remains implicated as one of the key dietary factors that has been linked to overweight and obesity in children. Schools have been identified as an important setting for health promotion interventions in children and can be successful in bringing about dietary behavioral change when well designed.

Objective: The main aim of the study was to conduct a pilot intervention study and assess the possible effects of educational and environmental methodological components on sugar intake and water consumption in Maltese school children.

Relationship between anthropometric indices of body fat distribution and basal energy metabolism in healthy Maltese women.

A sample taken from a population (Maltese) with a high incidence of the metabolic complications of central obesity was studied to determine: (1) whether the standard Schofield equations adequately predict the basal metabolic rate (BMR) in this population; (2) whether the Maltese have a greater tendency for central obesity compared with other populations; (3) whether the distribution of body fat influences energy expenditure and fuel selection. Healthy women responding to a public advertisement were sampled randomly from the Maltese population. Correlation analysis and analysis of variance were used to study relationships between BMR and body composition.