An inverse association between calcium and adiposity in women with high fat and calcium intakes.

Objectives: To assess the association between calcium intake and body composition in African Black and White women.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Metabolic unit.

The nutrition and health transition in the North West Province of South Africa: a review of the THUSA (Transition and Health during Urbanisation of South Africans) study.

Objective: To describe how urbanisation influences the nutrition and health transition in South Africa by using data from the THUSA (Transition and Health during Urbanisation of South Africans) study.

Design: The THUSA study was a cross-sectional, comparative, population-based survey.

Setting: The North West Province of South Africa.

The nutritional status of asymptomatic HIV-infected Africans: directions for dietary intervention?

Objective: To compare the relationships between food (nutrient) intakes and biochemical markers of nutritional status of asymptomatic HIV-infected with HIV-uninfected subjects, to gain more information on the appropriate diet for HIV-infected persons at an early stage of infection.

Design: Cross-sectional population-based survey.

Setting: North West Province, South Africa.

Meta-analysis of the health effects of using the glycaemic index in meal-planning.

Diabetes mellitus and CVD are some of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. Accumulating data indicate that a diet characterised by low-glycaemic index (GI) foods may improve the management of diabetes or lipid profiles. The objective of the present meta-analysis was to critically analyse the scientific evidence that low-GI diets have beneficial effects on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism compared with high-GI diets.

Physical inactivity as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in communities undergoing rural to urban transition: the THUSA study.

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains uncommon among South African blacks. Habitual physical activity contributes to the low prevalence of CHD in this population. The aim of this study was to determine the physical activity levels of black South Africans in the North West Province and to assess the relationship between physical activity and the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a cross-sectional study.

Physical inactivity is the major determinant of obesity in black women in the North West Province, South Africa: the THUSA study. Transition and Health During Urbanisation of South Africa.

Objective: We investigated the association between measures and determinants of obesity in African women.

Methods: For a cross-sectional study of adult black women in the North West Province, South Africa, we used a stratified sample of 1040 volunteers from 37 randomly selected sites in the province according to the level of urbanization. We analyzed the association between measures of obesity, namely body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, triceps and subscapular skinfolds, and socioeconomic factors, dietary intakes, and physical activity.