Introduction: Late adolescents are tomorrow's adult population; assessment of their nutritional status is, therefore, primary to the prevention of noncommunicable diseases. Methodology: An ex post facto study using a cross-sectional survey design was employed to find out the prevalence of overweight and obesity among young female college students in Chennai. A total of 2765 female college students aged 17-21 from 10 women's colleges in Chennai city were included in the study. Anthropometric assessments included body mass index (BMI) and body fat percent. Dietary intake was assessed using a three 24 h dietary recall. Socioeconomic status (SES) of the sample was assessed using the Kalliath SES inventory. Results: Assessments of BMI indicated that only half the number of female college students (54.8%) had normal weight, while quite a few students were either overweight (13.2%) or obese (5.2%). More than a quarter of female college students were also underweight (26.9%). Mean energy intake of the students was (1828 kcal) lower than the Indian Council of Medical Research recommended values. The average intake of fruits, leafy vegetables, and other vegetables were dismally low. Conclusion: The findings reflect both a dual burden situation and an improper dietary pattern prevailing among the population of young female college students, necessitating the need for appropriate nutrition intervention.

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Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a complex web of metabolic factors that are associated with a 2-fold risk of cardiovascular diseases and a 5-fold risk of diabetes. There are lacunae of Indian studies regarding its prevalence with special reference to metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, India. Aim: To determine the prevalence of MetS in apparently healthy adult male population from Mumbai city based on their anthropometric, biochemical, and clinical health markers. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study comprising 313 apparently healthy adult males aged 18-65 years from upper-middle-income group from different locales of Mumbai. A standardized pretested questionnaire was used to collect data regarding demographic characteristics, anthropometric parameters, and biochemical and clinical health markers using standardized methods. The data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Any observed difference was considered statistically significant with P < 0.05. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 46 years. The prevalence of MetS was 40% with 82% of the population surveyed being overweight and obese and 70.3% of the population with waist circumference of ΃90 cm. It was observed that 36% of the subjects were prehypertensives and 23.4% had systolic and/or diastolic blood pressures ΃140/90 mmHg. Almost 40% of the subjects had dysglycemia with 34% of the subjects with high triglycerides, 26% with high total cholesterol, 64% with raised serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and almost 66% with low serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. A significant positive correlation was observed between anthropometric and biochemical markers. Conclusion: In apparently healthy adult population of Mumbai, the prevalence of MetS was 40%. A significant positive correlation was observed between anthropometric, clinical, and biochemical markers. The study highlights the need for intervention to lower the risk markers predisposing the urban population to noncommunicable diseases.

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Background: Obesity is one of the major cardiovascular risk factors and is linked with arterial stiffness. This study was undertaken to establish the relationship between regional adiposity and arterial stiffness using simple noninvasive techniques. Methods: In total, 181 young Asian Indian adults aged 18-28 years (mean age 21.9 ± 2.2) were measured for adiposity and arterial stiffness. Total body fat percentage was derived from skinfold thickness of various body sites. Body mass index and waist-hip-ratio were also measured. Arterial stiffness was measured using a SphygmoCor with a carotid-radial pulse wave analysis technique. Results: Significant gender differences were observed on anthropometric variables including skinfold thickness (P < 0.05) and all the arterial stiffness variables (P < 0.05) except pulse wave velocity. Systolic pressure, augmentation pressure, augmentation index (AIx), AIx at 75% heart rate, and aortic systolic pressure had statistically significant correlations with all three adiposity variables (P < 0.05). Significant correlations were found in a higher number of variables in the females. Physical activity had negative correlations with arterial stiffness and adiposity variables (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Arterial stiffness measured by carotid-radial pulse wave analysis is strongly related to adiposity measured from skinfold thickness in females. Females had higher arterial stiffness and adiposity compared with men. These findings could be helpful in future research using noninvasive arterial stiffness measurements.

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Introduction: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is described as hepatic component of metabolic syndrome as close association exists between the two. It has gained lots of importance in midst of rising epidemic of obesity worldwide in recent times as one of the predisposing risk factors of cardiovascular events. Study Design: The study design was a cross-sectional hospital-based study. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight patients diagnosed to have NAFLD were assessed for insulin resistance (IR) and noninvasive markers of subclinical atherosclerosis and compared with age, gender, and body mass index-matched controls. Results: The patients with NAFLD had significantly higher waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment-IR, and significantly lower levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. They also had significantly higher carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) than controls. Mean CIMT was 0.76 ± 0.12 mm in patients with NAFLD and 0.54 ± 0.18 mm in controls. This difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001). The mean increase in brachial artery diameter was 0.26 ± 0.13 mm in patients and 0.48 ± 0.09 mm in controls. Conclusion: Patients with NAFLD have greater propensity to develop cardiovascular disease in view of the presence of subclinical atherosclerotic markers compared to controls.

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Background: Psoriasis has recently been recognized as a systemic disease associated with several comorbidities such as obesity and dyslipidemia. These markers have a profound effect on cardiovascular morbidity. Objectives: We aim to evaluate the lipid profiles in patients of psoriasis and compare them with healthy controls to determine any association between psoriasis and lipid abnormalities. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was performed on a study group including 33 patients of clinically proven psoriasis and an equal number of age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers, taken as controls. The fasting serum lipid profile was estimated using  J & J Vitros 250 Chemical Analyser (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics), fully automated analyzer, after a period of 8-12 h of fasting. The data were analyzed by applying t-test for independent samples and Pearson's correlation by using GraphPad. Results: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were found to be significantly lower in cases than in the control group (P = 0.028). There was a significant positive correlation between triglyceride (TG) levels and Psoriasis Area Severity Index or severity of the disease (r = 0.36, P = 0.036). No significant statistical difference was observed between total cholesterol, TGs, and low-density lipoprotein levels of the cases and control groups. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated a possible association between psoriasis and dyslipidemia which underlines the need for early screening of psoriasis patients for this cardiovascular risk factor.

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Skeletal muscles express and elaborate a number of cytokines and other substances for modulating various metabolic processes which function locally and also target distant organs are known as myokines. Irisin is one of the most recently discovered myokines and is found to modulate effect of exercise on adipocytes through browning of white adipose tissue. Besides this, irisin is considered to be one of the future targets for therapies for metabolic disorders.

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Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is an emerging concern of modern times and has an increasing trend in developing countries because of the westernization of diet and lifestyle. The significance of diagnosis of this MS is to identify individuals at a high risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Objective: To study the occurrence of MS among different categories of mine employees. Materials and Methods: Health surveillance data of 1116 mine employees were analyzed and classified according to their job profile as office workers, maintenance workers, machine operators, and helpers. The WHO criteria were used for the diagnosis of MS. Results: MS was present in 14.7% of the mine employees with highest among machine operators (19.6%) and least among helper group (10.4%). It was also observed that occurrence of MS was directly proportional to age. The occurrence of MS increased by 9%, 11.5%, 38.7%, and 40.6% in the age group of 18-30, 31-40, 41-50, and 51-60 years, respectively. Conclusion: MS is becoming a major health concern among mine employees. There is a need to establish regular educational programs and effective intervention strategies to promote healthy lifestyle for mine employees.

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