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This purpose of this study was to assess dietary diversity among women of reproductive age (WRA) and the associations between consumption of a diversified diet and overweight/obesity statuses in Ekiti State, Nigeria.

Cross-sectional study of 207 WRA from six local government areas in Ekiti State, Nigeria, was done. A validated interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, dietary intake and anthropometry. Dietary intake was assessed with 24-h dietary recall to calculate the Minimum Dietary Diversity Score for Women (MDD-W). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman rank correlation and Chi square test at α_0.05.

Majority of the participants (65.2%) were aged between 19 and 34 years, 58.5% were married and 49.8% had high school as their highest level of education. Mean MDD-W and body mass index (BMI) were 3.8 ± 0.9 and 25.46 ± 6.4 kg/m², respectively. All participants (100%) consumed foods from the “grains, white roots and tubers” group and majority also from the “meat and poultry” group (79.7%) but ranked low in the consumption of foods from other food groups. Many were overweight (34.8%), obese (14.0%) and a few (1.9%) had morbid obesity. MDD-W was significantly associated with marital status (X² = 7.7, P = 0.022) and BMI (X² = 11.4, P = 0.023) and had a weak positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.189, P = 0.007).

Study shows that both undernutrition and overweight/obesity coexist in the population, indicating a case of double burden of malnutrition (DBM) at a population level. However, further studies may be needed to investigate the extent of DBM at individual levels. Although there was a positive correlation between MDD-W and BMI, it cannot be used to predict causality. Study further reveals that the micronutrient intake of the WRA population in Ekiti is inadequate. Considering the importance of the 10 food groups highlighted in MDD_W to nutrition and health, the promotion of the consumption of foods from these food groups with more attention to the micronutrient-rich ones needs to be heightened.

Diet of participants was not diverse enough, indicating micronutrient inadequacy. Promotion of the consumption of a diverse diet, particularly from the food groups rich in micronutrient, needs to be heightened, while food groups high in calorie should be minimally consumed to forestall DBM.

This study aims to examine the relationship between muscle strength, eating index and blood pressure in adolescent girls. Growing studies show earlier onset of hypertension in youth. The prevalence may deteriorate during the COVID-19 pandemic due to unhealthy behavioral changes. Muscle mass (MM) is reported to be associated with blood pressure (BP), but there are limited studies that observed the relationship between the functional properties of muscle (muscle strength [MS]), healthy eating index (HEI) and BP.

This cross-sectional study involved 499 girls aged 15–18 years. HEI was generated from a 24-h food recall. MM and body fat (BF) were measured by bioelectrical impendence analysis (BIA), and MS and BP were measured by hand grip and Tensimeter, respectively. Multiple linear tests were performed to obtain an adjusted model.

Almost five out of 100 girls had high BP (4.8%) and a good diet (4%). The majority of them had desirable MM (75.9%) and low MS (50.1%). HEI negatively and MS are positively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP). The inclusion of MM in the model diminished the association between MS and SBP completely. After adjustment for age and BF, only MM (ß = 0.19, 95% CI = 0.35, 0.95) was associated with SBP. HEI was inversely (ß = −0.16, 95% CI = −0.31, −0.09) whereas MM (ß = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.11, 0.53) was positively associated with diastolic BP.

Studies associating MM or MS with better physical performance and metabolic health are mostly reported in the elderly; current finding contributes to the lack of literature and implies the importance of examining those associations at a younger age.

HEI and MM are associated with young girls’ BP in different directions. Healthy eating and engagement in activities to optimize muscle function should be promoted in adolescent girls to alleviate the risk of getting cardiovascular disease.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of the empirical dietary index for insulin resistance (EDIR) and empirical lifestyle index for insulin resistance (ELIR) with the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Iranian adults.

In this case-control study, 120 cases of NAFLD and 240 controls aged ≥20 years were included. NAFLD was detected by a gastroenterologist using an ultrasonography test. The food frequency questionnaire was used to collect nutritional data and determine the score of EDIR in participants. ELIR was determined based on body mass index, physical activity and dietary pattern. The odds ratios (ORs) of NAFLD were reported across tertiles of EDIR and ELIR using a logistic regression test.

The mean±SD age and BMI of subjects were 41.8 ± 7.5 years and 27.4 ± 2.2 kg/m², respectively. In the age and sex-adjusted model, the odds of NAFLD were increased across tertiles of ELIR (OR = 3.00; 95% CI: 1.63–5.55, P_trend = 0.001). Also, based on the fully adjusted model, the odds of NAFLD were increased according to tertiles of ELIR (OR = 2.66; 95% CI: 1.38–5.10, P_trend = 0.006). However, no significant association was found between the higher score of EDIR and odds of NAFLD based on the age and sex-adjusted model (OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 0.68–2.05, P_trend = 0.52) and the multivariable-adjusted model (OR = 0.91; 95% CI: 0.48–1.70, P_trend = 0.87).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was the first study to examine the role of the insulinemic potential of diet and lifestyle in predicting NAFLD risk. Our findings suggested that a lifestyle with a higher score of ELIR was positively associated with NAFLD risk. However, a diet with a higher score of EDIR was not related to the odds of NAFLD.

This study aims to assess the association of Healthy Eating Index (HEI) with levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS) and lipid profile in normoglycemic and elevated FBS patients.

This case-control study was conducted on 144 participants, namely, 72 normoglycemic subjects (FBS < 100 mg/dl) and 72 high-glycemic patients (FBS ≥ 100 mg/dl) aged 20–60 years of age, who were selected from the nutrition and diet clinics in Tehran city. The dietary intake was collected by using a validated food frequency questionnaire to determine the HEI score.

The mean±SD age and body mass index of participants were 47.1 ± 12.7 years and 29.6 ± 6.0 kg/m², respectively. The median (interquartile range) of HEI scores in the normoglycemic group and the high-glycemia group were 19.34 (15.24–24.31) and 16.53 (13.35–24.07), respectively. In the overall population, the findings of the multi-variable linear regression model indicated a positive association between the HEI score and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (ß = 0.34; 95%CI: 0.05–0.64, P = 0.01). However, there is no significant association between HEI and HDL-C in normoglycemic (ß = 0.19; 95%CI: −0.31, 0.69, P = 0.45) and hyperglycemic subjects (ß = 0.28; 95%CI: −0.10–0.66, P = 0.15). Furthermore, the association of HEI with levels of FBS, triglycerides (TGs) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) was not significant in any of the analyzed groups, including the total population, normoglycemic individuals and hyperglycemic subjects.

This study was the first study to assess the role of HEI and its components with levels of FBS and lipid profile in normoglycemic and hyperglycemic individuals in Iran. The findings suggested that higher adherence to HEI may be associated with an increase in the HDL-C level. However, HEI could not predict FBS, TGs and LDL-C levels in the adult population.

The estimation of the burden of a disease is one of the tasks with the longest tradition in health economics, which allows us to know the volume of resources that a country allocates to a specific health problem, and to compare countries and diseases. Although the fundamental objective of health systems is not to reduce the cost of the disease, but to improve the health of the population, the studies of burden of disease establish the economic seriousness of the problem, orienting the priorities of action.

Government-funded medical expenditure in Uruguay for the last ten years has tripled in US dollars. The increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity has contributed to this growth. According to the World Health Organization, Uruguay has the highest growing trend in the prevalence of both overweight and obesity in South America. We have previously estimated that economic burden linked to obesity will be more than US$500 million by 2020, a figure close to 1% of the country’s GDP.

In this study, we tried to generate a measure of value to ascertain the cost of inaction in the fight against obesity and its consequences linked to several non-communicable diseases. The cost of inaction is not defined as the cost of not doing, but as the cost of not implementing the right policies (in this case health prevention policies) at the right time.

The thin feminine body ideal in Western society has persisted, despite becoming less representative of the female population, with obesity rates consistently rising since the 1980s. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated obesity rates, due to curtailed interventions, restricted mobility/enforced physical inactivity and increased reliance on processed food with a longer shelf life due to social isolation (World Obesity Foundation, n.d.). Individuals with obesity report weight discrimination in a broad range of settings, including employment, where researchers have documented weight discrimination in relation to hiring, job assignment, promotion, remuneration and work stability. Weight discrimination may be worse for jobs involving public interaction, particularly for women, because heavier women do not conform to societal body ideals, leading to weight stigmatisation such as anti-fat attitudes and beliefs (e.g. negative stereotypes) and prejudice. This chapter presents a systematic literature review of studies that have examined weight discrimination against women with obesity in jobs involving public interaction, i.e. ‘customer-facing roles’.

Escalation in the number of online food ordering platforms, along with extensive junk food marketing, lucrative offers and discounts, innovation in food flavors, and doorstep delivery of food, have triggered the consumption of high-calorie and unhealthy food products which pose serious threats to the health and future well-being of individuals by making them more obese. To date, several public policy frameworks have been developed to confront obesity; however, their efficacy seems debatable. Directionally, the objective of this study is to highlight the potential influence of “digital nudging” which aims at steering individuals in desired directions, at the same time delimiting their freedom of choice. The study also establishes the effectiveness of digital nudges promoting a healthy lifestyle by steering individuals toward healthier food choices. The author strongly believes that this conceptual perusal will offer immense inputs to healthy food marketers and researchers alike in addressing the matters of obesity. Addressing the menace of obesity calls for joint efforts of the government, the public, researchers, and more specifically food product manufacturers/marketers who should incorporate healthier food options into their portfolios. E-tailers are also urged to adopt such practices in virtual markets and promote healthier food options to effectively tackle obesity.

In the state of Hawaii, it has been shown that certain ethnic minority groups, such as Filipinos and Pacific Islanders, suffer disproportionally high rates of cardiovascular disease, evidence that local health-care systems and governing bodies fail to equally extend the human right to health to all. This study aims to examine whether these ethnic health disparities in cardiovascular disease persist even within an already globally disadvantaged group, the houseless population of Hawaii.

A retrospective chart review of records from Hawaii Houseless Outreach and Medical Education Project clinic sites from 2016 to 2020 was performed to gather patient demographics and reported histories of type II diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and other cardiovascular disease diagnoses. Reported disease prevalence rates were compared between larger ethnic categories as well as ethnic subgroups.

Unexpectedly, the data revealed lower reported prevalence rates of most cardiometabolic diseases among the houseless compared to the general population. However, multiple ethnic health disparities were identified, including higher rates of diabetes and obesity among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders and higher rates of hypertension among Filipinos and Asians overall. The findings suggest that even within a generally disadvantaged houseless population, disparities in health outcomes persist between ethnic groups and that ethnocultural considerations are just as important in caring for this vulnerable population.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study focusing on ethnic health disparities in cardiovascular disease and the structural processes that contribute to them, among a houseless population in the ethnically diverse state of Hawaii.