Suchergebnisse

In developed countries, regular breakfast consumption is inversely associated with excess weight and directly associated with better dietary and improved physical activity behaviors. Our objective was to describe the frequency of breakfast consumption among school-going adolescents in Delhi and evaluate its association with overweight and obesity as well as other dietary, physical activity, and sedentary behaviors. Methods: Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Eight schools (Private and Government) of Delhi in the year 2006. Participants: 1814 students from 8th and 10th grades; response rate was 87.2%; 55% were 8th graders, 60% were boys and 52% attended Private schools. Main outcome measures: Body mass index, self-reported breakfast consumption, diet and physical activity related behaviors, and psychosocial factors. Data analysis: Mixed effects regression models were employed, adjusting for age, gender, grade level and school type (SES). Results: Significantly more Government school (lower SES) students consumed breakfast daily as compared to Private school (higher SES) students (73.8% vs. 66.3%; p<0.01). More 8th graders consumed breakfast daily vs. 10th graders (72.3% vs. 67.0%; p<0.05). A dose-response relationship was observed such that overall prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents who consumed breakfast daily (14.6%) was significantly lower vs. those who only sometimes (15.2%) or never (22.9%) consumed breakfast (p<0.05 for trend). This relationship was statistically significant for boys (15.4 % vs. 16.5% vs. 26.0; p<0.05 for trend) but not for girls. Intake of dairy products, fruits and vegetables was 5.5 (95% CI 2.4-12.5), 1.7 (95% CI 1.1-2.5) and 2.2 (95% CI 1.3-3.5) times higher among those who consumed breakfast daily vs. those who never consumed breakfast. Breakfast consumption was associated with greater physical activity vs. those who never consumed breakfast. Positive values and beliefs about healthy eating; body image satisfaction; and positive peer and parental influence were positively associated with daily breakfast consumption, while depression was negatively associated. Conclusion: Daily breakfast consumption is associated with less overweight and obesity and with healthier dietary-and physical activity-related behaviors among urban Indian students. Although prospective studies should confirm the present results, intervention programs to prevent or treat childhood obesity in India should consider emphasizing regular breakfast consumption. ; Obesity Prevention Center, University of Minnesota ; PRIME program of the University of Texas, School of Public Health (Stigler, PI) ; Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research in Underserved Populations

OBJECTIVE: To assess school policies, built environment and practices for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in schools of Delhi, India. METHODS: School built environments and policies were assessed using a structured observation checklist in 10 private and 9 government schools which were randomly selected from all 184 co-educational schools with primary to senior secondary level education in Delhi, India. A self-administered questionnaire was also completed by teachers from each school (n = 19) to capture information specific to school policies. Surveys were also conducted with parent of students in class II (aged 6-7 years; n = 574) and student in class XI (aged 15-16 years, n = 755) to understand school practices. RESULTS: The majority of government (88.9%; n = 8) and private (80%; n = 8) schools reported having comprehensive school health policy. In terms of specific health behaviours, policies related to diet and nutrition in government schools were mostly restricted to primary levels with provision of the mid-day meal programme. All schools had two physical education periods per week of about 45-50 minutes. Most schools were compliant with tobacco-free school guidelines (n = 15 out of 19) and had alcohol control policies (n = 13 out of 19). Parent and student reports of practices indicated that school policies were not consistently implemented. CONCLUSION: Most schools in Delhi have policies that address health behaviours in students, but there was considerable variation in the types and number of policies and school environments. Government schools are more likely to have policies in place than private schools. Further work is needed to evaluate how these policies are implemented and to assess their impact on health outcomes.

This study assessed perceptions and support among the Indian populace about plain packaging for all tobacco products. Twelve focus group discussions (n = 124), stakeholder analysis with 24 officials and an opinion poll with 346 participants were conducted between December 2011 and May 2012, Delhi. Plain packages for tobacco products were favored by majority of participants (69%) and key stakeholders (92%). The majority of participants perceived that plain packaging would reduce the appeal and promotional value of the tobacco pack (>80%), prevent initiation of tobacco use among children and youth (>60%), motivate tobacco users to quit (>80%), increase notice ability, and effectiveness of pictorial health warnings on tobacco packs (>90%), reduce tobacco usage (75% of key stakeholders). Majority of participants favored light gray color for plain packaging. This study provides key evidence to advocate with Indian Government and other countries in South Asia region to introduce plain packaging legislation for all tobacco products.

Background: The bidi industry in India is predominantly an unorganized sector. It continues to enjoy tax benefits, arguably, to protect bidi workers' interests and employment. Our objective was to study trends in employment and wage differentials in the bidi industry using nationally representative data. Methods: We studied trends in employment and wages in the bidi industry using secondary data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Government of India–the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) (2000–2001 to 2011–2012) and Enterprises Survey (2000–2001, 2005–2006, 2010–2011). Results: The bidi industry contributed to only 0.65% of the total gross value added (GVA) by the entire manufacturing industry. Employment in this industry was primarily through contractors. Bidi workers earned only 17% of wages compared to workers in other manufacturing industries. Although females constituted the majority of bidi workers, they earned INR 7,000 to 8,000 (USD 155.7 to 178) less than male bidi workers annually. Despite the increase in bidi industry profits from INR 1.7 billion (USD 37.8 million) in 2005–2006 to INR 12.8 billion (USD 285 million) in 2010–2011, the wages of bidi workers have continued to decline over this period. Conclusion: Bidi workers earn much less compared to workers in other manufacturing industries and are subject to income inequality. There is a need to increase registration of the bidi industry for better administration of taxes and prevention of exploitation of the bidi workers. Skill building and alternative employment could provide better job quality, wages, social security and employment benefits.