scholarly journals The health and nutrition of young indigenous women in north Queensland – intergenerational implications of poor food quality, obesity, diabetes, tobacco smoking and alcohol use

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 2143-2149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn McDermott ◽  
Sandra Campbell ◽  
Ming Li ◽  
Brad McCulloch

AbstractObjectiveTo document nutritional status and health behaviours of young indigenous women of childbearing age in rural communities in north Queensland.DesignCross-sectional survey of 424 Aboriginal and 232 Torres Strait Islander (TSI) women aged 15–34 years, conducted in twenty-three rural and remote communities of far north Queensland in 1999–2000, with follow-up of a smaller cohort (n132) in 2006–2007.Main outcome measuresWeight, waist circumference, intake of fruit and vegetables, smoking, alcohol intake, fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, γ-glutamyltransferase, red cell folate (RCF), interval weight and waist gain and incidence of diabetes.ResultsForty-one per cent of Aboriginal and 69 % of TSI had central obesity, 62 % were smokers, 71 % drank alcohol regularly and of those, 60 % did so at harmful levels. One third of Aboriginal and 16 % of TSI women had very low RCF levels. In the group followed up, there was a mean annual waist gain of 1·6 cm in Aboriginal women and 1·2 cm in TSI, 0·5 kg/m2in BMI and 1·5 kg in weight. Incidence of new type 2 diabetes mellitus in this cohort was 29·1 per 1000 person-years (py) (95 % CI 14·0, 52·8) in Aboriginal women and 13·9 per 1000 py (95 % CI 5·6, 28·5) among TSI.ConclusionsHigh prevalence and incidence of central obesity and diabetes, poor nutrition, high rates of alcohol use and tobacco smoking together with young maternal age, provide a poor intra-uterine environment for many indigenous Australian babies, and contribute to high perinatal morbidity and future disability. Community level interventions to improve pre-pregnancy nutrition and health behaviours in young women are urgent.

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Fredericks ◽  
Nereda White

The first recorded Aboriginal person to graduate with an undergraduate qualification from any Australian university was Aboriginal woman Margaret Williams-Weir in 1959 ( Melbourne University, 2018 ). Williams-Weir graduated with a Diploma in Education. There have now been six decades of graduating Indigenous Australian women in the discipline of education, and many other disciplines. In this article, we explore Indigenous women’s presence in higher education through the narratives of our lives as Aboriginal women within education and the lives of other Indigenous women, noting their achievements and challenges. We acknowledge that while the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women participating in university study and becoming engaged in education as a discipline at undergraduate and postgraduate levels has increased, we are still significantly underrepresented. Similarly, while we have seen increases in Indigenous university staff within the education discipline, the employment of Indigenous academics has not reached parity with non-Indigenous academics levels and too few are employed in the professoriate and in senior management positions. We will show how we would not have been able to develop our education careers within higher education without the bridges built by those like Dr Williams-Weir and others who went before us. We will share how we have worked to establish the footings for those Indigenous women who will follow us and others. In this way, we work within the context that is for the now and the future.


2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 1959-1965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Li ◽  
Robyn McDermott ◽  
Katina D'Onise ◽  
Dympna Leonard

AbstractObjectiveTo assess nutritional status using red-cell folate (RCF) and associated health behaviours including fruit and vegetable intake, smoking, drinking and physical activity in two Indigenous populations living in remote northern Australia.DesignA cross-sectional survey conducted during 1998–2000.SettingTwenty-six rural communities in north Queensland, Australia.SubjectsA total of 2524 Indigenous people aged 15 years and over was included in the study. Self-reported fruit and vegetable intake, tobacco smoking, alcohol intake and physical activity were recorded. RCF was measured using the Bayer Advia Centaur automated immunoassay system. The association between low RCF (RCF<295 nmol/l) and risk factors was analysed using general linear models adjusted for demographic factors and covariates, namely BMI, diabetes and dyslipidaemia.ResultsThe prevalence of RCF deficiency was higher in Aboriginal participants compared with Torres Strait Islanders (25·6 %v. 14·8 %,P< 0·001). Young women of childbearing age were more likely to have low RCF. Among Aboriginal adults, smoking was strongly associated with low RCF (risk ratio = 1·9, 95 % CI 1·5, 2·5 in females and risk ratio = 2·9, 95 % CI 1·9, 4·2 in males).ConclusionsIndigenous Australians, especially women of childbearing age, had high prevalence of low RCF. Smoking was associated with insufficient folate independent of fruit and vegetable intake and alcohol consumption in the Aboriginal population. This population with an already higher risk of obesity and higher rate of tobacco smoking should be targeted to improve nutrition status to prevent ill health such as diabetes and CVD.


1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katelyn Barney

One of the most common Aboriginalist representations of Indigenous Australian people is, as Indigenous female performer Lou Bennett points out, ‘basically a man, out in the desert, black skin, flat nose with a lap-lap on, standing on one leg, resting against a spear’. Her comment raises many issues. In what ways are discourses of Aboriginalism gendered? How does Aboriginalism affect performance and specifically Aboriginal women performers? In exploring these questions, I examine Aboriginalist representations of Aboriginal women performers by white male scholars and the role of women anthropologists in the production of Aboriginalist discourse about Aboriginal women. Drawing on interviews with Indigenous women performers and musical examples of their songs, I explore the impact of Aboriginalism on non-Indigenous expectations of Indigenous Australian women performing in contemporary music contexts, the strategies performers use to work within and against these constructions and my own relationship to Aboriginalism.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (03) ◽  
pp. 593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke-Hsin Chueh ◽  
Mei-Sang Yang ◽  
Cheng-Sheng Chen ◽  
Shyam-Min Chiou

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 437-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Tsai ◽  
R. Louise Floyd ◽  
Patricia P. Green ◽  
Coleen A. Boyle

2019 ◽  
Vol 133 (21) ◽  
pp. 2189-2202
Author(s):  
Jian Wang ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Limei Liu ◽  
Kabirullah Lutfy ◽  
Theodore C. Friedman ◽  
...  

Abstract Excessive glucocorticoid (GC) production in adipose tissue promotes the development of visceral obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS). 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) is critical for controlling intracellular GC production, and this process is tightly regulated by hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PDH). To better understand the integrated molecular physiological effects of adipose H6PDH, we created a tissue-specific knockout of the H6PDH gene mouse model in adipocytes (adipocyte-specific conditional knockout of H6PDH (H6PDHAcKO) mice). H6PDHAcKO mice exhibited almost complete absence of H6PDH expression and decreased intra-adipose corticosterone production with a reduction in 11β-HSD1 activity in adipose tissue. These mice also had decreased abdominal fat mass, which was paralleled by decreased adipose lipogenic acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and ATP-citrate lyase (ACL) gene expression and reduction in their transcription factor C/EBPα mRNA levels. Moreover, H6PDHAcKO mice also had reduced fasting blood glucose levels, increased glucose tolerance, and increased insulin sensitivity. In addition, plasma free fatty acid (FFA) levels were decreased with a concomitant decrease in the expression of lipase adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) in adipose tissue. These results indicate that inactivation of adipocyte H6PDH expression is sufficient to cause intra-adipose GC inactivation that leads to a favorable pattern of metabolic phenotypes. These data suggest that H6PDHAcKO mice may provide a good model for studying the potential contributions of fat-specific H6PDH inhibition to improve the metabolic phenotype in vivo. Our study suggests that suppression or inactivation of H6PDH expression in adipocytes could be an effective intervention for treating obesity and diabetes.


Author(s):  
Vida Mozaffari-Khosravi ◽  
Masoud Mirzaei ◽  
Hassan Mozaffari-Khosravi

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome is a series of disorders such as central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, decreasing HDL, abnormal blood glucose and hypertension that ultimately lead to the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other problems. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of this syndrome among adults in Yazd. Methods: This study was performed using the data of the recruitment phase of "Yazd Health Study" (YaHS). More than 10,000 residents (aged 20-69 years) of Yazd Greater Area have participated in this prospective cohort study. Lifestyle data, disease history, and blood tests have been recorded. Sampling was cluster random based on the postal code of the residents of Yazd Greater Area. Out of the 10,000 participants in the study, approximately 4,000 people gave blood samples to the lab in the first phase and their data were used to calculate the syndrome. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on the ATP III criteria. Data were analyzed by SPSS Version 16. Results: The overall prevalence of syndrome was 33.3%. The prevalence had a significant relationship with age, age over 40 years, reaching to the highest level of over 50%. The prevalence in women was 39.9%, more than men, with 25.9%. Frequency of abnormal components of the syndrome was respectively waist circumference or abdominal obesity (47.1%), diastolic or systolic blood pressure (43.7%), triglyceride (41.6%), HDL (39.5%) and fasting blood glucose (21.7). 67.5% and 91.7% of those with syndrome were obese or overweight, respectively. Conclusion: The study showed that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, especially in women and those over 50 years old, is higher than other studies. General obesity, central obesity and hypertension are the most important components of metabolic syndrome in Yazd, which requires proper interventions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nam Lyong Kang

Abstract This study examined the age-dependence of the association between diabetes and obesity among Korean adults. The data from the Seventh Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017) were analyzed. This paper considered the body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHT2R) as obesity indices and the fasting blood glucose (FBG) as a diabetes index and used their lump mean values and the regression method. The WEHT2R was a more suitable index for examining the FBG than the BMI. The increase in the WHT2R of females was more sensitive to age than that of males. In contrast, the increase in the FBG of males was more sensitive to age than that of females. The ages that FBG increased to 100.0 mg/DL were 44.7 and 60.5 years for males and females, respectively. Korean adults should reduce their WHT2R to prevent the excessive increase in their FBG level and Korean males should take care of their FBG from a young age. The present results can be used for a preliminary inspection of diseases, such as functional degradation of Langerhans islets and gestational diabetes


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Thornton

BACKGROUND Poor diet, alcohol use and tobacco smoking have been identified as strong determinants of chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancers. Smartphones have the potential to provide a real-time, pervasive, unobtrusive and cost-effective way to measure these health behaviours and deliver instant feedback to users. Despite this, the validity of using smartphones to measure these behaviours is largely unknown. OBJECTIVE The aim of our review was to identify existing smartphone—based approaches to measure these health behaviours and critically appraise the quality of their measurement properties. METHODS We conducted a systematic search of the Ovid MEDLINE, Embase (Elsevier), Cochrane Library (Wiley), PsychINFO (EBSCOhost), CINAHL (EBSCOHost), Web of Science (Clarivate), SPORTDiscus (EBSCOhost), and IEEE Xplore Digital Library databases in March 2020. Studies that were written in English, reported measuring diet, alcohol use and/or tobacco use via a smartphone, and reported on at least one measurement property (eg validity, reliability and/or responsiveness) were eligible. Outcomes were summarised in a narrative synthesis. This systematic review is registered with PROSPERO, identifier CRD42019122242. RESULTS Of 12,261 records, 72 studies describing the measurement properties of smartphone—based approaches to measure diet (n=48), alcohol use (n=16) and tobacco use (n=8) were identified and included in the current review. Across the health behaviours, 18 different measurement techniques were used within smartphones. The measurement properties most commonly examined were construct validity, measurement error and criterion validity. Results varied by behaviour and measurement approach and the methodological quality of studies varied widely. Most studies investigating the measurement of diet and alcohol received ‘very good’ or ‘adequate’ methodological quality ratings (72.9%, 35/48, and 68.8%, 11/16, respectively), while only one study (12.5%, 1/8) investigating the measurement of tobacco use received a ‘very good’ or ‘adequate’ rating. CONCLUSIONS This review is the first to bring together evidence regarding the different types of smartphone—based approaches currently used to measure key behavioural risk factors for chronic disease (diet, alcohol use and tobacco use) and the quality of their measurement properties. Nineteen measurement techniques were identified, the majority of which assessed dietary behaviours (67%, n=48/72). Some evidence exists to support the reliability and validity of using smartphones to assess these behaviours, however results varied by behaviour and measurement approach. The methodological quality of included studies also varied. Overall, more high-quality studies validating smartphone based approaches against criterion measures are needed. More research investigating the use of smartphones to assess alcohol and tobacco use, and objective measurement approaches is also needed. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01375-w


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