OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate an obesity ontology as a framework for collecting and analyzing unstructured obesity-related social media posts. METHODS: The obesity ontology was developed according to the ‘Ontology Development 101’. The coverage rate of the developed ontology was examined by mapping concepts and terms of the ontology with concepts and terms extracted from obesity-related Twitter postings. The structure and representative ability of the ontology was evaluated by nurse experts. We applied the ontology to the density analysis of keywords related to obesity types and management strategies and to the sentiment analysis of obesity and diet using social big data. RESULTS: The developed obesity ontology was represented by 8 superclasses and 124 subordinate classes. The superclasses comprised ‘risk factors,’‘types,’‘symptoms,’‘complications,’‘assessment,’‘diagnosis,’‘management strategies,’ and ‘settings.’ The coverage rate of the ontology was 100% for the concepts and 87.8% for the terms. The evaluation scores for representative ability were higher than 4.0 out of 5.0 for all of the evaluation items. The density analysis of keywords revealed that the top-two posted types of obesity were abdomen and thigh, and the top-three posted management strategies were diet, exercise, and dietary supplements or drug therapy. Positive expressions of obesity-related postings has increased annually in the sentiment analysis. CONCLUSIONS: It was found that the developed obesity ontology was useful to identify the most frequently used terms on obesity and opinions and emotions toward obesity posted by the geneal population on social media.
Abdomen ; Diet ; Dietary Supplements ; Drug Therapy ; Obesity* ; Social Media ; Statistics as Topic* ; Thigh

OBJECTIVETo explore influence factors of dietary supplement used in population aged above 45 years in Beijing.

METHODSUtilizing the data of the survey of dietary supplement (DS) used in Beijing in 2006 was to investigate the influence factors by using multi-factorial logistic regression analysis.

RESULTSAll 2487 samples were included in the analysis. Sex, age, average income of each month for each member of the family, experiences of deficiency of nutrition, attitude to nutrition knowledge, attitude to the need of DS and city-or-rural resident had shown effects on DS using. The percentage of using DS in female was higher than that in male being 19.3% and 11.8% respectively. The percentage grew up as the age became older. The same trend appeared as the economic-status going up, but not as education level change. Use of DS was greater in urban population (16.9%) than in rural population (14.6%). The percentage of using DS in people who had or just been diagnosed as malnutrition/deficiency disease or chronic disease, or those who thought themselves having got these diseases only by their own feeling were higher than those did not.

CONCLUSIONPeople the female, the elder, or those having higher income, having experiences of deficiency of nutrition, are more interested in nutrition knowledge, and more positive in need of DS and those living in rural should be the target population of nutrition education for DS use.

Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; Dietary Supplements ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nutrition Surveys ; Sex Factors

OBJECTIVETo understand the prevalence and spatial distribution of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in China among children at ages under six years.

METHODSAbout 8,600 children under 6 years of age in 14 cities and 28 counties of 14 provinces were selected with stratified cluster sampling for survey, including interview with questionnaire for their family information and nutritional status. Blood specimens were collected for measuring serum level of VA with fluorescent spectrophotometry in laboratory.

RESULTSTotally, 8,669 children under 6 (2,877 in urban area and 5,792 in rural area) were surveyed in 14 provinces, with 4,629 males and 4,040 females. Eight cases of night blindness and seven cases of xerophthalmia were found among the children at ages of two to five years. Sixty-one mothers of the children in this group were also found suffering from night blindness. All the cases of night blindness and xerophthalmia both in children and mothers were living in rural areas. Based on their serum levels of VA, 11.7% of the all 1 018 children were diagnosed as VAD, with serum VA concentrations below or equal to 0.70 micro mol/L. Prevalence of VAD was 15.0% and 5.8% in rural (23.3% in the poverty-stricken counties) and urban areas, respectively, and 5.8%, 11.5% and 16.8% in the coastal, inland and remote areas, respectively. The average serum level of VA was 1.20 micro mol/L and 0.99 micro mol/L for urban and rural areas, respectively, with a national average of 1.06 micro mol/L. And, babies under six months of age with an average serum levels of VA < or = 0.70 micro mol/L accounted for 33.4%, and those at ages of four to five years with the same level of VA accounted for 8%. There was significant difference in serum levels of VA between ages, but no significant difference between genders.

CONCLUSIONVAD did exist in children of China, especially in the remote and poverty-stricken rural areas and VA supplementation is urgently needed for the children in these regions.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Dietary Supplements ; Female ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Night Blindness ; complications ; Prevalence ; Rural Health ; statistics & numerical data ; Vitamin A ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Vitamin A Deficiency ; complications ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Xerophthalmia ; complications

In the Chinese national nutrition surveys, fortified foods were not investigated separately from the base diet, and the contribution of fortified foods to micronutrients intake is not very clear. This study investigated the diet, including fortified foods and food supplements, of urban pregnant women and analyzed the intake of calcium, iron, and zinc to assess the corresponding contributions of fortified foods, food supplements, and the base diet. The results demonstrated that the base diet was the major source of calcium, iron, and zinc, and was recommended to be the first choice for micronutrients intake. Furthermore, consumption of fortified foods and food supplements offered effective approaches to improve the dietary intake of calcium, iron, and zinc in Chinese urban pregnant women.
Adult ; Calcium, Dietary ; analysis ; metabolism ; China ; Cities ; Diet ; Dietary Supplements ; analysis ; Female ; Food, Fortified ; analysis ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Iron, Dietary ; analysis ; metabolism ; Micronutrients ; analysis ; metabolism ; Minerals ; analysis ; Pregnancy ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Urban Health ; statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult ; Zinc ; analysis ; metabolism

Inadequate vitamin D status is highly prevalent in the Korean population, especially among young adults. Nonetheless, correlates of suboptimal vitamin D levels in young adults are not well defined. This study aimed to investigate potentially modifiable determinants of vitamin D levels in young adults in Korea. This cross-sectional study was based on health check-up data from 3,450 healthy male and female university students aged 18-29 yr in Seoul between April and May 2013. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels were determined using chemiluminescent immunoassay. Anthropometric data were measured, and lifestyle, dietary, and sociodemographic factors were obtained through self-administered questionnaires. General linear regression was used to assess correlates of serum 25(OH)D levels. The mean serum 25(OH)D level was 11.1 ng/mL, and the prevalence of 25(OH)D levels less than 10 ng/mL was 44.7% (39.5% in men, 50.2% in women). In a final multivariable model, significant positive correlates of serum 25(OH)D were older age, male sex, increased physical activity, sunlight exposure > or = 30 min/day, eating breakfast regularly, consumption of dairy and fatty fish, and use of vitamin D-containing supplements. In contrast, significant inverse correlates were obesity (body mass index, BMI > or = 25 kg/m2) or underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2), abdominal obesity, increased sedentary time, and frequent consumption of instant noodles and sugar-sweetened beverages. In conclusion, many modifiable lifestyle and dietary factors were associated with low serum 25(OH)D levels in Korean young adults. Further studies on potential mechanisms of the correlates and optimal strategies to improve vitamin D status in this vulnerable subpopulation are warranted.
Administration, Oral ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Dietary Supplements/*statistics & numerical data ; *Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Assessment ; Sex Distribution ; Vitamin D/*administration & dosage/*analogs & derivatives/blood ; Vitamin D Deficiency/*blood/*epidemiology/prevention & control ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of supplementation of glutamine (GLN) on maintaining glutathione (GSH) level, immune system function, liver function, and clinical outcome of patients receiving abdominal operation.

METHODSForty patients undergoing elective abdominal surgical treatment were randomly divided into 2 groups: study group (n = 20) and control group (n = 20). All patients received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for up to 7 days during perioperative period. The study group received TPN supplemented with GLN dipeptide while the control group received TPN without GLN dipeptide. Patients in both groups received equivalent nitrogen and caloric intake. Blood sample was taken on preoperative day, and the 1st, 3rd, 6th postoperative day to measure GSH level, immune indexes, and liver function indexes.

RESULTSThe decrease of GSH level in plasma and red blood cell (RBC) in study group was less than that in control group during postoperative period. Ratio of GSH/glutathione disulfide (GSSG) in plasma in study group was higher than that in control group on the 3rd postoperative day (52.53 +/- 11.46 vs. 31.43 +/- 7.27, P = 0.001). Albumin level in study group was higher than that in control group on the 3rd postoperative day (37.7 +/- 3.8 g/L vs. 33.8 +/- 4.2 g/L, P = 0.02). There was no significant difference in the levels of immunoglobin (IgG, IgM, IgA) or T lymphocyte subgroup (CD4, CD8, CD4/CD8) in both groups during postoperative period. There was one case with infectious complication in control group, while none in study group. A trend of shortened hospital stay was observed in study group compared with control group (22.3 +/- 2.1 d vs. 24.9 +/- 1.7 d, P = 0.32).

CONCLUSIONSSupplementation of GLN-enriched TPN has beneficial effects on maintaining GSH levels in plasma and RBC, sustaining GSH/GSSG ratio and albumin level, and keeping antioxidant abilities during postoperative period in patients with abdominal operation, with the trends of decreasing incidence of infectious complication and shortening hospital stay.

Abdomen ; surgery ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; blood ; Dietary Supplements ; Female ; Glutamine ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Glutathione ; blood ; Glutathione Disulfide ; blood ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; blood ; Length of Stay ; statistics & numerical data ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parenteral Nutrition ; Postoperative Complications ; prevention & control ; Serum Albumin ; metabolism ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult ; gamma-Glutamyltransferase ; blood