What is the best anthropometric predictor for identifying higher risk for cardiovascular diseases in afro-descendant Brazilian women? A cross-sectional population-based study.

Objectives: Excessive adiposity is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Anthropometric indices are useful in screening individuals at higher risk for these diseases. However, there are no studies that show which of these indices has the best discriminatory power among Afro-descendant Brazilian women.

Prevalence of anaemia in Brazilian children in different epidemiological scenarios: an updated meta-analysis.

Objective: To update the estimation of the prevalence of anaemia in Brazilian children according to four different epidemiological scenarios.

Design: A new systematic review was conducted with a meta-analysis of the results published between 2007 and May 2019. Literature search was carried out in the PubMed and LILACS databases using keywords anaemia, child and Brazil.

Prevalence of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (ENOS) gene G894T polymorphism and its association with hypertension: a population-based study with Brazilian women.

Introduction: Hypertension is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world, accounting for millions of deaths each year. The reduction in the concentration of nitric oxide (NO) produced by the catalysis of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is associated with higher blood pressure (BP) levels. This reduction might be because of genetic polymorphisms.

Coverage and educational actions related to the national vitamin A supplementation program: a study in children from the state of Alagoas.

Objectives: To estimate the coverage of the National Vitamin A Supplementation Program (Programa Nacional de Suplementação de Vitamina A) in children from Alagoas, to identify factors associated with this coverage, and to analyze the adequacy of nutrition education actions.

Methods: Household survey involving a representative probabilistic sample of children aged 6 to 59 months from Alagoas and their mothers (n=509). Coverage was defined by the percentage of children with supplementation records in the last semester.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Food Insecurity in the Context of the Economic Crisis in Brazil.

The Brazilian economy has been officially in recession since 2014. Since then, there has been an increase in the unemployment rate, cost of food, and cuts in the budgets of social programs, among other situations that may interfere with the food security of the population. The aims of this study were to identify the prevalence of and factors associated with food insecurity (FI) in Alagoas, one of the poorest states in Brazil, and to discuss the results in the context of the national economic crisis.

Waist-to-height ratio is the best anthropometric predictor of hypertension: A population-based study with women from a state of northeast of Brazil.

The WHO recommends the use of some anthropometric parameters as a screening resource for individuals under cardiometabolic risk. However, in the validation of these indicators, Brazilian women were not included. These women have different anthropometric profile compared to women who integrated the samples of the validation studies.

High Blood Pressure among Students in Public and Private Schools in Maceió, Brazil.

Unlabelled: The prevalence of hypertension in childhood is increasing, and investigation of its distribution is important for planning timely interventions. This study assessed the prevalence of high blood pressure (HBP) and associated factors in students between 9 and 11 years of age enrolled in public and private schools in Maceió, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was performed in a probabilistic sample of students (10.

Protective effect of breastfeeding against overweight can be detected as early as the second year of life: a study of children from one of the most socially-deprived areas of Brazil.

Millions of children live in Brazil's semi-arid region, one of the most socially-deprived areas of the country, where undernutrition co-exists with obesity as a consequence of the nutrition transition. There is evidence that childhood obesity predisposes adult obesity and, thus, that obesity should be prevented as early as possible. Some studies have shown that breastfeeding is a protective factor against overweight and obesity while other studies have not found this association.

Evolution of the biochemical profile of children treated or undergoing treatment for moderate or severe stunting: consequences of metabolic programming?

Objective: to evaluate changes in the biochemical profile of children treated or being treated for moderate or severe stunting in a nutrition recovery and education center.

Methods: this was a retrospective longitudinal study of 263 children treated at this center between August of 2008 to August of 2011, aged 1 to 6 years, diagnosed with moderate (z-score of height-for-age [HAZ] < -2) or severe stunting (HAZ < -3). Data were collected on socioeconomic conditions, dietary habits, and biochemical changes, as well as height according to age.

Overweight and associated factors in children from northeastern Brazil.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of overweight and its association with socioeconomic, biological, and maternal factors in children under 5 years of age in the semiarid region of the state of Alagoas.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with a representative sample. We evaluated child variables (excess weight, sex, birth weight, prematurity, duration of breastfeeding, and origin) and mother variables (excess weight, central obesity, income, education, and smoking during pregnancy).

Dyslipidaemia and undernutrition in children from impoverished areas of Maceió, state of Alagoas, Brazil.

Chronic undernutrition causes reduced growth and endocrine adaptations in order to maintain basic life processes. In the present study, the biochemical profiles of chronically undernourished children were determined in order to test the hypothesis that chronic undernutrition also causes changes in lipid profile in pre-school children. The study population comprised 80 children aged between 12 and 71 months, including 60 with moderate undernutrition [height-for-age Z (HAZ) scores ≤ -2 and > -3] and 20 with severe undernutrition (HAZ scores ≤ -3).

[Chemical composition and efficacy of the multimixture as a dietary supplement: a literature review].

The aim of this work was to identify all papers already published on the nutritional supplement known as multimixture (MM) in journals with high level of scientific rigor and to evaluate the effectiveness of this product as a food supplement. The methodology was based on searching at Medline and Scielo databases, without limit of date, using the keyword multimixture. Thirty one articles were analyzed.

Association between malnutrition in children living in slums, maternal nutritional status, and environmental factors.

Objective: To investigate the association of malnutrition in children living in substandard settlements (slums) of Maceió, Brazil, with maternal nutritional status and environmental conditions.

Methods: Cross-sectional study involving a probability sample of 2,075 mothers (18 to 45 years) and their children (4 months to 6 years), living in the slums of the city of Maceió. First, we conducted a cluster analysis with the purpose of choosing the settlements and the administrative region of the city of Maceió with the lowest human development index.

Effects of dietary coconut oil on the biochemical and anthropometric profiles of women presenting abdominal obesity.

The effects of dietary supplementation with coconut oil on the biochemical and anthropometric profiles of women presenting waist circumferences (WC) >88 cm (abdominal obesity) were investigated. The randomised, double-blind, clinical trial involved 40 women aged 20-40 years. Groups received daily dietary supplements comprising 30 mL of either soy bean oil (group S; n = 20) or coconut oil (group C; n = 20) over a 12-week period, during which all subjects were instructed to follow a balanced hypocaloric diet and to walk for 50 min per day.

Stunting is associated with wasting in children from the semiarid region of Alagoas, Brazil.

Stunting is one of the most widespread forms of undernutrition found in Brazilian children. Some studies have revealed an association between this condition and overweight, whereas others report an association with wasting. The objective of this work was to test the hypothesis that stunted children who live in the semiarid region of Alagoas (Brazil), one of the poorest areas of the country, tend to exhibit wasting and not overweight.

Short stature of mothers from an area endemic for undernutrition is associated with obesity, hypertension and stunted children: a population-based study in the semi-arid region of Alagoas, Northeast Brazil.

The objectives of the study were to investigate whether the health conditions of mothers with short stature differed from those with normal stature, and to establish if these aspects were associated with the health of the offspring. Data relating to health and socio-economic, demographic and anthropometric conditions were collected from a probabilistic sample population consisting of 1180 mothers and 1511 children ( < 10 years) living in the semi-arid region of the State of Alagoas, Brazil. Mothers were categorised according to stature, with those in the 1st quartile being defined as of short stature and those in the 4th quartile being defined as of normal stature and serving as a reference for the comparison of variables of interest.

Short stature and food habits as determining factors for the low productivity of sugarcane labourers in the State of Alagoas, north-eastern Brazil.

Undernutrition, especially in the prenatal period and/or until 5 years of age, can cause stunting. Adults with short stature resultant from this process show a series of functional deficits, amongst which is a reduced capacity to do physical work. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the dietary pattern, nutritional status and stature of sugarcane cutters, and to determine possible associations with worker productivity.

Short stature, abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and alterations in lipid profile in very low-income women living in Maceió, north-eastern Brazil.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that short stature is associated with abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and lipid profile changes.

Methods: Anthropometric data were collected from 237 women (18-60 years old), residents of a shantytown in Maceió. Biochemical profiles of 60 individuals drawn from this population were determined.

[Evolution of nutritional status in hospitalized children].

Objective: To assess the evolution of nutritional status in children admitted to the Teaching Hospital of Universidade Federal de Alagoas.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 52 children (0-10 yrs) whose length of hospital stay exceeded 10 days (from February to July/2001). We compared their nutritional status, expressed in terms of Z score of the weight-for-age ratio at the beginning (T1) and at the end of the hospitalization period (T2).

The use of protein hydrolysate improves the protein intestinal absorption in undernourished mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni.

Patients residing in endemic areas for schistosomiasis in Brazil are usually undernourished and when they develop the hepatosplenic clinical form of the disease should usually receive hospital care, many of them being in need of nutritional rehabilitation before specific treatment can be undertaken. In the mouse model, investigations carried out in our laboratory detected a reduced aminoacid uptake in undernourished animals which is aggravated by a superimposed infection with Schistosoma mansoni. However, in well-nourished infected mice no dysfunction occurs.