Malnutrition in Obesity: Is It Possible?

<b><i>Background:</i></b> The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies malnutrition as the biggest threat to public health worldwide, and this condition is observed in 20–60% of hospitalized patients. Malnutrition is a state of the body in which due to insufficient supply or incorrect absorption of essential nutrients, the body composition changes and the body’s functions are impaired. Malnutrition is associated not only with reduced body mass index but also with obesity. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> Obesity is defined as a paradoxical state of malnutrition, which despite excessive energy consumption is associated with a shortage of individual microelements. Deficiency or lack of homeostasis of essential micronutrients can significantly affect daily performance, intellectual and emotional state, but also the physical state of the body. Food deficiency can also contribute to further weight gain or the development of other metabolic diseases. Micronutrient deficiency may include not only incorrect dietary choices and insufficient access to nutrient-rich foods but also changes in the absorption, distribution or excretion of nutrients, and altered micronutrient metabolism resulting from systemic inflammation caused by obesity. An effective therapy method recommended for people with morbid obesity is bariatric surgery aimed at both weight loss and improving quality of life. Unfortunately, the effects of these treatments are often medium- and long-term complications associated with micronutrient deficiency as a result of reduced consumption or absorption. Therefore, the use of bariatric surgery in patients with extreme obesity can affect the metabolism of microelements and increase the risk of nutritional deficiencies. <b><i>Key Messages:</i></b> Studies by many authors indicate a higher incidence of food deficiency among people with excessive body weight, than in people with normal body weight of the same age and same sex. Monitoring the concentration of minerals and vitamins in blood serum is a good practice in the treatment of obesity. The proper nutritional status of the body affects not only the state of health but also the effectiveness of therapy. The aim of the review was to present the issue of malnutrition in the context of obesity.

Monitoring of mineral nitrogen concentration as a possible factor of influence on the results of valvometry of mussel kept in non-flow conditions with food deficiency

We investigated changes in the content of mineral forms of nitrogen formed as a result of mussel vital activity in non-flow conditions under favorable temperature and aeration, but with food deficiency, as a possible factor influencing mussel flap movement and valvometry results. A laboratory 11-day experiment was carried out with mussels 24–26 mm long. The dry weight of their soft tissues was about 35 mg. The experiment consisted of five exposures lasting 17-67 h. The mussels were kept in 3-liter vessels with 3 individuals in each, feeding only on the natural food available in this volume of water. In parallel, vessels with aerated water without mussels in them were exposed. Ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate concentrations were measured at the beginning (i.e., in fresh seawater from the Sevastopol coastal zone) and at the end of each exposure. It was determined that, compared to the initial level at the end of the exposures, on average, the content of ammonium in vessels with mussels increased by 250%, nitrite – by 25%, and nitrate – did not change. In vessels without mussels, the content of ammonium, on average, decreased by 250 %, changes in the level of nitrite and nitrate corresponded to changes in the concentration of these nitrogen forms in vessels with mussels. The greatest variability was characteristic of the final values of ammonium concentration, in some exposures it could increase by 700 %. However, the maximum value of ammonium content during the experiment reached only 21, 7 μg N/l, which is two orders of magnitude lower than its MPC level for marine fishery objects. It follows from the obtained data that in experiments with mussels kept in non-flow conditions with food deficiency, the probability of the effect of ammonium excreted by them, as well as of products of its further biological oxidation on valvometry results is not high.

Vulnerability to food insecurity in rural Punjab, Pakistan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the vulnerability to food insecurity in rural Punjab, Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Primary data of 1,152 households were collected. The extent of food deficiency was measured using dietary intake assessment method (seven days). Value at Risk (VaR) and conditional Value at Risk (cVaR), a method widely used for risk analysis in financial institutes, were applied to assess the vulnerability to food insecurity. Findings In total, 23 percent of the sample households were measured as food deficient. The VaR and cVaR results identified that the lowest 3 percentiles (up to 30 percent) were at risk to become food deficient without any seasonal shortages. In case of shocks, up till sixth percentiles (60 percent) will be as at risk of food deficiency. This study suggests that multi-period data, at least quarterly, are required to predict vulnerability. It is suggested that a blanket policy is not a good approach. Once the most vulnerable households are identified, a targeted approach must be opted. Originality/value Generalizing the results of one week’s calorie calculations may produce biased results that may mislead the policy process. A multi-period data collection is costly and cumbersome. The application of VaR and cVaR helps overcome this issue. Furthermore, this is one of the initial studies to apply these methods to food security analysis.