Evaluation of the Implemented and Adopted Curriculum in Health Education in the Czech Republic with an Emphasis on the Drinking Regimen

According to the Framework Education Programme for Elementary Education in the Czech Republic, part of Health Education is nutrition and food intake, including the drinking regimen. This paper’s objective is to analyse that using the results of two extensive curricular studies performed at the Faculty of Education, Palacký University Olomouc. Both studies used data from representative samples of pupils in grade nine from elementary schools in the Czech Republic. The research instruments were designed according to applicable documents of the state-level implemented curriculum and showed good reliability. The results of the subjective evaluation of the implemented curriculum in health education suggest that in the area ‘healthy lifestyle and health care’, the subtopic ‘nutrition and health – healthy diet principles, drinking regimen, eating disorders’ was most dominant. The testing of the level of the adopted curriculum regarding fluid intake revealed a problematic level of pupils’ knowledge (the average percentage of task achievement was around 46%). Conclusions and recommendations for practice: nutrition and food intake (including the drinking regimen) is a very important topic in health education in elementary education in the Czech Republic, which is consistent with other research studies. However, the cognitive dimension of the pupils’ curriculum is inadequate. Qualitatively and quantitatively, the recommended drinking regimen may support natural health determinants, while an inappropriate or insufficient regimen may result in medical complications. The issue of adequate nutrition and diet and drinking regime must be taught by professionally and didactically competent teachers. Students should not only be taught cognitively, but their affective and behavioural abilities should also be formed.

The Effects of Dietary Pattern on Metabolic Syndrome in Jiangsu Province of China: Based on a Nutrition and Diet Investigation Project in Jiangsu Province

Metabolic syndrome, a complex group of metabolic disorders of energy use and storage, is considered as an important determinant risk factor for many cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to examine the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and dietary pattern among adults in Jiangsu Province of China. Data were from three rounds of cross–sectional nutrition and diet investigation projects in Jiangsu Province of China, which were conducted in 2002, 2007, and 2014 by Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention. A total of 13,944 participants with complete food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) were eventually included in this study after further data screening. The 2009 Joint Interim Statement for China was used to define metabolic syndrome. Three distinct dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis: the modern dietary pattern (rich in pork, poultry, vegetables, seafood, pastry food, other animal meats, fruits, milk and its products, soft drink, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, but low in wheat), vegetable oils/condiments/soy products dietary pattern (rich in vegetable oils, other condiments, salt, soy products, and fruits and low in dry legumes), and modern high–wheat dietary pattern (rich in wheat, tubers, fruits, and other animal meats, but low in rice). Higher intake of the modern dietary pattern and modern high–wheat dietary pattern were positively associated with metabolic syndrome in both unadjusted and adjusted models by genders, whereas higher intake of the vegetable oils/condiments/soy products dietary pattern had a negative relationship with metabolic syndrome in both unadjusted and adjusted models by genders (p < 0.05). Our study recommends reducing the consumption of animal meat products, especially processed meat products, and replacing animal oils with vegetable oils as the main supply of daily oils. Furthermore, more prospective and experimental studies are needed to confirm the relationship between dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome.

The Influencing Factors of Nutrition and Diet Health Knowledge Dissemination Using the WeChat Official Account in Health Promotion

Background: The promotion of a healthy diet via health education is a component of the “Healthy China 2030” plan. However, few studies have reported whether health knowledge about nutrition and diet has gained public attention, and whether it is needed by the public.Methods: The numbers of views, shares, and reads of articles published by the official WeChat account of a hospital in China were accessed. The influence index was obtained via the entropy analysis of these three indices. A questionnaire survey was developed based on the purpose of the study and the conclusion of the content analysis, which conducted to analyze users' requirements for health knowledge and their influencing factors. Moreover, risk factors were explored by logistic regression models.Results: Of the 103 articles considered in this study, four articles in the Top 10 were related to nutrition and diet. The influence index of nutrition and diet knowledge was found to be the highest in the content analysis (p &lt; 0.05). The higher degrees of humor (β = 0.224, p = 0.027), nutrition and diet articles (β = 0.776, p = 0.034), and cover articles (β = 0.312, p = 0.021) have significant influences on the influence index. In total, 581 questionnaires were obtained, and 78.1% of the respondents reported believing that the health knowledge of greatest concern was that related to nutrition and diet. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the associations between the features of the articles and users reading nutrition and diet knowledge; it was found that gender (female, OR: 4.651, 95%Cl: 2.598, 8.325, and p &lt; 0.001), age (young adult, OR: 0.358, 95%Cl: 0.266, 0.481, and p &lt; 0.001), cancer precaution knowledge (OR: 4.333, 95%Cl: 2.262, 8.299, and p &lt; 0.001), traditional Chinese medicine (OR: 2.121, 95%Cl: 1.064, 4.230, and p = 0.033), the knowledge acquisition approach [circle of friends (OR: 2.586, 95%Cl: 1.373, 4.868, and p = 0.003), social media (OR: 2.183, 95%Cl: 1.204, 3.960, and p = 0.010)), hospitals (OR: 3.194, 95%Cl: 1.793, 5.692, and p &lt; 0.001), television media (OR: 4.348, 95%Cl: 2.341, 8.077, and p &lt; 0.001)], and social media strategies [professionalism and authority (OR: 2.354, 95%Cl: 1.231, 4.505, and p = 0.006)] have statistically significant relationships with users reading nutrition and diet knowledge.Conclusion: Nutrition and diet knowledge could contribute to WeChat user engagement of health information dissemination. Nutrition professionals should improve the scientific popularization ability and effectively use social media for health promotion.

A Scoping Review of Policies Related to the Prevention and Control of Overweight and Obesity in Africa

To address the issue of obesity, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a set of comprehensive programmes aimed at changing the obesogenic environments to provide opportunities for healthy food options and increased physical activity in the school, home, and at the population level. The objectives of this study were to examine the nature and range of policies related to overweight and obesity prevention in Africa, and to assess how they align with international guidelines. An existing methodological framework was adapted for this scoping review. A search of publicly available national documents on overweight/obesity, general health, and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) was undertaken from relevant websites, including WHO, ministries, and Google Scholar. Additional requests were sent to key contacts at relevant ministries about existing policy documents. The documents were reviewed, and the policies were categorised, using the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework. The framework categorises the environmental drivers of obesity into four domains (physical, economic, legislative, and socio-cultural) and two scales: macro (national, regional, sectors, food industries, media, etc.) and micro (household, institutional, and community). This review included documents from 41 African countries. The policy initiatives to prevent overweight/obesity target the school, family and community settings, and macro environments, and broadly align with global recommendations. The NCD documents were in the majority, with only two on obesity. The majority of the documents detailed strategies and key interventions on unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. The physical, legislative, and sociocultural domains were largely featured, with less emphasis on the economic domain. Additionally, nutrition- and diet-related policies were in the majority. Overlaps and interactions of policies were observed in the application of the ANGELO framework. This study has provided information on national policies and programmes in Africa and can be useful as a first point of call for policymakers. The overlapping and interaction in the initiatives demonstrate the importance of multi-sectoral partnerships in providing supportive environments for healthy behaviours.

The Importance of Screening for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer: Epidemiological Review

&ndash; Objective: Ovarian cancer, although not possessing a high incidence, is still the most common cancer-related deaths among women diagnosed with a gynecologic malignancy. The present study aims to highlight the epidemiology, risk factors of this disease and the significance of development of improved early detection strategies. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using current published English studies by searching PubMed and Google Scholar. The search strategy included the keywords &ldquo;ovarian cancer&rdquo;, &ldquo;diagnosis&rdquo;, &ldquo;risk factors&rdquo;, &ldquo;screening&rdquo;, &ldquo;epidemiology&rdquo;. Studies on incidence and mortality were also considered. Case reports were excluded.Results: The highest incidence and mortality rates are observed in Central and Eastern Europe, while rates are relatively low in Asia and Africa. These rates are highest among the white population (14.3 per 100,000) and lowest among blacks (10 per 100,000) and Asians (9.7 per 100,000). The risk factors for this disease includes a family history, hormonal factors, nutrition and diet and physical activity, with some of them playing protective roles in reducing risk of ovarian cancers. There are no reliable screening methods for ovarian cancers. The most common diagnosis methods include a transvaginal ultrasound and a blood test to detect CA125 markers.Conclusions: The mortality rate of ovarian cancer is gradually increasing; thus, preventative measures are required to reduce lifetime risk of ovarian cancers and improve mortality rate.

Rooting for Wellness: An Initiative Introducing Plant-Based Nutrition to First Year Medical Students

Advances in preventive medicine have demonstrated the crucial role of whole-food unprocessed plant-based nutrition in reducing disease burden. Nutrition education and plant-based nutrition is seldom included in medical curriculum and is thus seldom incorporated into clinical care. Additionally, personal exposure to lifestyle modifications, including nutrition and diet, is associated with a provider’s willingness to recommend lifestyle modifications in clinical encounters. We offer this editorial to our fellow health professions’ students, practicing healthcare providers, and those community leaders intending to advocate for the patient population via evidence-based curricular enhancement. Our primary effort, Rooting for Wellness, consisted of a mandatory four-week segment within Wayne State University School of Medicine’s (WSUSOM’s) Patient, Population, Physician and Professional (P4) curriculum, which culminated in a required half-day event consisting of patient/provider panels and an interactive cooking demonstration. Prior to the curriculum, we provided several voluntary extracurricularopportunities for plant-based engagement including a 4-week plant-based kickstart program, cooking demonstration, journal club, and guest speaker events. To our knowledge, this is the first exclusively mandatory plant-based nutritional intervention undertaken at a medical institution in the United States. The strategy presented here may serve as a model for similar initiatives at a variety of institutions and settings.

How Epigenetics Contributes to the Understanding of Human Development

Introduction: Epigenetics, which studies the phenotypic expression of certain characteristics in relation to the interaction with the environment, specifically of the primary DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sequence and that does not modulate the genetic expression. Objective: To identify the role of epigenetics in the understanding of development of the human being. Method: Non-systematic bibliographic review in databases such as PubMed, Elsevier, Academic Google, Scopus, Lilacs, Scielo and website What is epigenetics and NIH, which includes the terms epigenetics, development. Results: Review of 57 articles from 2007 to 2019, of which 30 that were in correspondence with the topic and objective of this literature review study were included. Discussion: Epigenetics refers to all those non-genetic factors involved in the formation of the individual, epigenetics tries to explain why living organisms express some genes and other silences for this way to assemble their physical characteristics. There are several factors involved in epigenetic expression, stories such as nutrition and diet during pregnancy, maltreatment and maternal stress, exercise, microbiome, among others. Conclusion: Epigenetics as a science helps us to understand certain phenomena that occur in the phenotypic expression of characteristics of the individual that could not otherwise be explained. Currently, epigenetic mechanisms are more studied and better understood so that the understanding of human development is in turn more understood. Keywords: genetic, epigenetic, development. RESUMEN Introducción: La epigenética, que estudia la expresión fenotípica de ciertas características en relación con la interacción con el medio ambiente, independientemente de la secuencia primaria de ADN (ácido desoxirribonucleico) y que estos no modulan la expresión genética. Objetivo: Identificar el rol de la epigenética en la comprensión del desarrollo del ser humano. Método: Revisión bibliográfica no sistemática en bases de datos como PubMed, Elsevier, Academic Google, Scopus, Lilacs, Scielo y sitio web What is epigenetics y NIH, que incluyó los términos epigenética, desarrollo. Resultados: Revisión de 57 artículos desde 2007 a 2019, de los cuales se incluyeron 30 que están en correspondencia con el tema y objetivo del presente estudio de revisión de la literatura. Discusión: La epigenética se refiere a todos aquellos factores no genéticos que intervienen en la formación del individuo, en este contexto la epigenética intenta explicar la razón para que algunos organismos vivos expresen en sus características físicas unos genes y silencien otros. Existen varios factores que intervienen en la expresión epigenética, tales como la nutrición y la dieta durante el embarazo, el maltrato y el estrés materno, el ejercicio, el microbioma, entre otros. Conclusión: La epigenética como ciencia nos ayuda a la comprensión de ciertos fenómenos que ocurren en la expresión fenotípica de características propias del individuo que de otra forma no podrían ser explicadas. En la actualidad, los mecanismos epigenéticos son más estudiados y mejor entendidos de modo que el entendimiento del desarrollo humano es a su vez más comprendido. Palabras clave: genética, epigenética, desarrollo.