BACKGROUND

With childhood overweight and obesity becoming widespread in the Philippines, there is an increased risk of developing non-communicable diseases at a younger age. The school environment, found to be associated with body mass index, offers an avenue to address and prevent school-aged obesity. However, the lack of data on the current school environment poses a barrier to improving these conditions.

This study aimed to describe the physical, political, and sociocultural environment characteristics of primary schools in the Municipality of Pateros (Philippines) that affect nutrition and physical activity of school-aged children. 

Self-administered questionnaires for key school personnel and observational checklists were used to examine available resources, policies, and current practices for obesity prevention in five public schools in a municipality. The role perceptions of all school personnel on childhood obesity prevention were also gathered. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the number and categories of food items, functional spaces and equipment for physical activity, policies and scores of attitude toward obesity prevention. Data were collected in May to June 2019 and were analyzed descriptively.

Majority of the schools serve food items that contain high amounts of saturated fat, sugar, or salt, provide excess calories, and are not recommended to be sold at school canteens based on guidelines by the Department of Education. While all schools have areas and functional equipment for physical activity, students have limited access to these. Policies and guidelines for nutrition were present but sparse for physical activity and obesity prevention. Positive attitude towards childhood obesity prevention was seen across all school personnel respondents.

Participant primary schools are eager to address childhood obesity, however, the physical, political, and sociocultural environments do not seem to enable this. This situation may promote, rather than prevent, overweight and obesity among school children. This points to the need of reorientation and implementation of policies on obesity prevention to the schools as well as developing the skills of both teaching and non-teaching personnel in healthy eating and physical activity to students. School-based healthcare workers like school nurses and doctors would have critical roles in supporting schools in this regard.

BACKGROUND

Maternal malnutrition is a major cause of low birth weight (LBW) newborn outcome especially among adolescent mothers. It is one of the key drivers of child stunting and initiates the vicious cycle of intergenerational malnutrition. The body mass index prior to pregnancy or at the initial trimester is currently being used to establish the desired weight gain throughout pregnancy. However, Filipino adolescents often delay their first antenatal visit at a later stage of pregnancy. Without a baseline weight, the establishment of appropriate weight gain and nutritional status is often challenging. Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) was proven to be a good proxy measure of acute malnutrition, however, there was no global consensus on what MUAC cut-off point to use to identify pregnant adolescents at risk for delivering LBW babies. Finding the optimal cut-off could facilitate early identification and intervention of pregnant adolescents who are nutritionally at risk and could eventually break the cycle of intergenerational malnutrition.

The study aims to determine the association of maternal MUAC and the birth weight outcomes among newborn deliveries of adolescents in a tertiary hospital for a period of six months and to identify the optimal maternal MUAC cut-off point that can be used to predict low birth weight outcome among newborn deliveries of adolescents in a tertiary hospital.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescents ages 10 to 19 years who delivered babies in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines for a period of six months. Maternal MUAC and LBW outcome were documented, and their association was determined using a logistic regression analysis. To measure diagnostic accuracy, the sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve were taken for each MUAC point. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to aid the MUAC cut-off determination.

Out of 237 newborn deliveries, 35% were noted with low birth weight while 65% had normal birth weight. Most of the mothers were in their late adolescence at 78%. The crude association for the MUAC cut-offs ≤23.00 cm, ≤23.50 cm, and ≤24.00 cm and LBW showed a significant value of 2.19, 2.25, and 2.39 at 95% CI, respectively. However, it is only the cut-off ≤24.00 cm that showed significant results for adjusted association by the logistic regression analysis. The MUAC cut-off ≤24.00 cm also showed a better trade-off value between the sensitivity and specificity. Furthermore, the optimal maternal MUAC measurement that predicts LBW newborn outcome points to ≤24.00 cm cut-off based on the ROC curve.

This study shows that the maternal MUAC is predictive of LBW outcome among adolescent deliveries.A MUAC cut-off of ≤24.00 cm was superior to lower cut-offs studied. The pregnant adolescents might need a higher MUAC cut-off than adults to allow timely intervention and prevention of poor neonatal outcomes. By doing this simple screening test, suspected pregnant adolescents can be easily identified and referred for further confirmatory testing.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to describe the micronutrient intake and diet quality of overweight and obese Filipino adults in the National Capital Region (NCR). Specifically, it seeks to assess micronutrient inadequacy among these individuals and analyze differences in food intake based on their sociodemographic profiles and lifestyle habits.

This analytical cross-sectional study utilized data from the Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) conducted in 2018, 2019, and 2021 by the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI). A total of 3,154 overweight and obese subjects were included. ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were employed to analyze the food groups consumed by these adults.

Majority of overweight and obese adults were found to be inadequate in vitamin A (81.7%), vitamin C (88.4%), thiamin (62.5%), riboflavin (70.7%), iron (69.8%), and calcium (88.7%). Significant differences were observed in the mean intake of various food groups across different age groups, sexes, civil statuses, wealth quintiles, educational attainments, employment statuses, and smoking and drinking statuses.

Filipino adults who are overweight and obese, and residing in urban settings face significant challenges related to micronutrient inadequacy. When their food intake was assessed based on sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics, it was found that their diets were more calorie-dense than nutrient-dense. To address this issue, it is recommended to encourage a wider variety of nutrient-dense foods among overweight and obese adults.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine the association between Asia-Pacific classification of body mass index, waist circumference and waist hip ratio and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 moderate & severe patients at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A This study involved adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19. 182 patients were analyzed and divided into 167 moderate and 15 severe COVID-19 patients. Primary outcomes (respiratory decompensation, septic shock, and mortality) of patients were compared among Asia Pacific BMI groups.

Among patients with moderate and severe COVID-19, 7 out of 10 patients were obese. Respiratory decompensation and sepsis were more frequently seen in obese patients. Obesity and waist circumference were significantly associated with the odds of respiratory decompensation (95% CI p=0.010 and p=0.002), however this association was not sustained upon adjustment for confounders. On univariate analysis, waist and hip circumferences were significantly associated with the odds of ICU admission (95% CI, p=.013 and p=.034), however after controlling for confounders, only hip ratio retained significant association. Among patients with severe COVID-19, there was insufficient evidence to support significant variations in distributions of outcomes of interest across Asia-Pacific BMI groups.

Our study emphasized that although respiratory decompensation and sepsis were more frequently seen in obese patients. progression of respiratory decompensation and mortality is not significantly associated with obesity as defined by the Asia Pacific BMI classification, warranting the need for larger prospective studies.

Humans ; Obesity/epidemiology*

Humans ; Obesity/prevention & control* ; Healthy Lifestyle

Humans ; Obesity/epidemiology*

Humans ; Obesity/prevention & control* ; Healthy Lifestyle

Objectives: We aimed to study the trend of referrals for precocious puberty during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-COVID years, explore the differences in the demographic and clinical features, and evaluate the contributing factors. Methodology: The cases referred for assessment of PP from 2018-2021 to our endocrine centre were grouped into pre-COVID (2018-2019) and COVID (2020-2021) years. Cases fulfilling the diagnosis of PP included the onset of thelarche <8 years in females and 4 ml testicular volume <9 years in males. The PP was further differentiated as Isolated Thelarche (IST) and Central Precocious Puberty (CPP). Early menarche was defined as menarche <10 years old. Results: There were more referrals for PP and more diagnosed as CPP during the COVID-19 pandemic, predominantly among females. There were more endocrine tests done and more cases received treatment. None of the abnormal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pituitary findings required surgical intervention. The body mass index (BMI) was found to be positively associated with the risk of getting CPP with a crude-odd ratio (COR) of 1.8, P <0.001, and early menarche (COR 2.1, P <0.001). Conclusion We found a significant increase in the referrals of PP and diagnosis of CPP during the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher BMI was found to be associated with CPP and early menarche.
Puberty, Precocious ; COVID-19 ; Obesity

Background: This study aimed to determine the differences in glycemic control, metabolic parameters (blood pressure control, triglycerides, LDL, HDL) and the presence of nephropathy and/or retinopathy between obese and overweight versus normal body mass index (BMI) type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (T2DM). Methodology: This is an analytic cross-sectional study of T2DM patients from outpatient clinics at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City. Available medical records and laboratory tests were reviewed. Data were analyzed and compared between those overweight and obese versus those with normal BMI based on Asia Pacific Guidelines. Results: A total of 248 patients with T2DM were included in the study. More patients who are obese and overweight have uncontrolled diabetes (p = 0.011), low HDL (p = 0.037) and nephropathy (p = 0.027) compared to those with normal BMI. There were no significant difference between overweight and obese patients versus those with normal BMI with regards to BP control, high LDL, high triglycerides and retinopathy. Conclusion T2DM patients who are obese and overweight have a significantly higher prevalence of uncontrolled diabetes, low HDL and nephropathy compared to those with normal BMI.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Overweight