Physical activity is known to influence the bone mass of an individual. Few studies have examined the effect of occupational activities on bone health. The present study investigated the relationship between occupational activities and the bone parameters measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in 158 women from a low-income group in India. Women involved in three occupations with different bone-loading patterns (beedi (cigarette) makers, sweepers and construction workers) were included in the study. Anthropometric parameters, parity and percentage of menopausal women did not differ significantly between the three groups and dietary intake of Ca was low in all the groups. Bone mineral density (BMD) values of the overall group at all the sites were much lower than those reported from developed countries, possibly due to different body sizes in these regions. Femoral neck and hip BMD were not different in the three groups in spite of marked differences in activity patterns. However, bone area in the femoral neck was higher in the beedi makers compared with sweepers probably due to the squatting position adopted by beedi makers. Lumbar spine BMD was significantly lower among the sweepers when compared with the beedi makers and the groups performing walking and weight-bearing activities (sweepers and construction workers) had a higher prevalence of osteoporosis in the lumbar spine. However, weight-bearing effects of the upper body due to a squatting position were associated with better lumbar spine BMD in the beedi makers. The present study thus indicates that undernutrition might affect the relationship between occupational activities and bone parameters.

A gorging pattern of food intake has been shown to enhance lipogenesis and increase body weight, which may be due to large fluctuations in storage and mobilisation of nutrients. In a state of energy balance, increasing meal frequency, and thereby decreasing inter-meal interval, may prevent large metabolic fluctuations. Our aim was to study the effect of the inter-meal interval by dividing energy intake over two or three meals on energy expenditure, substrate oxidation and 24 h satiety, in healthy, normal-weight women in a state of energy balance. The study was a randomised crossover design with two experimental conditions. During the two experimental conditions subjects (fourteen normal-weight women, aged 24·4 (sd 7·1) years, underwent 36 h sessions in energy balance in a respiration chamber for measurements of energy expenditure and substrate oxidation. The subjects were given two (breakfast, dinner) or three (breakfast, lunch, dinner) meals per d. We chose to omit lunch in the two meals condition, because this resulted in a marked difference in inter-meal-interval after breakfast (8·5 h v. 4 h). Eating three meals compared with two meals had no effects on 24 h energy expenditure, diet-induced thermogenesis, activity-induced energy expenditure and sleeping metabolic rate. Eating three meals compared with two meals increased 24 h fat oxidation, but decreased the amount of fat oxidised from the breakfast. The same amount of energy divided over three meals compared with over two meals increased satiety feelings over 24 h. In healthy, normal-weight women, decreasing the inter-meal interval sustains satiety, particularly during the day, and sustains fat oxidation, particularly during the night.

The manufacture of garments is the main industry in Bangladesh and employs 1·6 million female workers. Due to the indoor lifestyle and low dietary intake of calcium, we hypothesised that they are at risk of low vitamin D and bone mineral status. Two hundred female garment workers (aged 18–36 years) were randomly selected. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (S-25OHD), serum intact parathyroid hormone (S-iPTH), serum calcium (S-Ca), serum phosphate (S-P) concentration and serum alkaline phosphatase activity (S-ALP) were measured from fasting samples. Bone indexes of hip and spine were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The mean S-25OHD (36·7 nmol/l) was low compared to that recommended for vitamin D sufficiency. About 16 % of the subjects were found to be vitamin D-deficient (S-25OHD < 25 nmol/l). We observed a high prevalence (88·5 %) of vitamin D insufficiency (S-25OHD < 50 nmol/l) as well as a significant inverse relationship between S-25OHD and S-iPTH (r − 0·25, P ≤ 0·001). A decrease in S-25OHD ( < 38 nmol/l) and an increase in S-iPTH (>21 ng/l) was associated with progressive reduction in bone mineral density at the femoral neck and lumbar spine. According to the WHO criteria, the mean T-score of the femoral neck and lumbar spine of the subjects were within osteopenic range. We observed that subjects with a bone mineral density T-score < − 2·5 had a trend of lower values of BMI, waist–hip circumference, mid-upper-arm circumference, S-25OHD and higher S-iPTH and S-ALP. The high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D and low bone mineral density among these subjects are indicative of higher risk for osteomalacia or osteoporosis and fracture.

We aimed to describe the vitamin D status of young women living in two Chinese cities in the spring – Beijing in the north (latitude 39° north) and Hong Kong (latitude 22° north) in the south. We also examined the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations to determine a threshold for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D above which there is no further suppression of PTH. Finally, we examined whether dietary Ca intake influences this relationship. Non-pregnant women aged 18–40 years (n 441) were recruited between February and June. Fasting blood was collected and dietary intakes were assessed using 5 d food records. Mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was lower in Beijing than Hong Kong women (29 v. 34 nmol/l; P < 0·001). Vitamin D deficiency ( ≤  25 nmol/l) was indicated in 40 % of Beijing and 18 % of Hong Kong women, and over 90 % of women in both cities were insufficient ( ≤ 50 nmol/l). Mean Ca and vitamin D intakes were 478 mg/d and 2·0 μg/d, respectively. The relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and PTH was linear throughout the range with a slope of − 0·36 (different from 0; P < 0·001; R 0·26), with no apparent threshold. There was no influence of Ca intake on the relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D and PTH concentration. Vitamin D deficiency is common and insufficiency is very common in non-pregnant women in Hong Kong and Beijing during spring. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was inversely associated with PTH with no apparent threshold. Strategies such as vitamin D fortification or supplementation may be required.

Evidence exists that a more acidic diet is detrimental to bone health. Although more precise methods exist for measurement of acid–base balance, urine pH reflects acid–base balance and is readily measurable but has not been related to habitual dietary intake in general populations. The present study investigated the relationship between urine pH and dietary acid–base load (potential renal acid load; PRAL) and its contributory food groups (fruit and vegetables, meats, cereal and dairy foods). There were 22 034 men and women aged 39–78 years living in Norfolk (UK) with casual urine samples and dietary intakes from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Norfolk FFQ. A sub-study (n 363) compared pH in casual samples and 24 h urine and intakes from a 7 d diary and the FFQ. A more alkaline diet (low PRAL), high fruit and vegetable intake and lower consumption of meat was significantly associated with a more alkaline urine pH before and after adjustment for age, BMI, physical activity and smoking habit and also after excluding for urinary protein, glucose, ketones, diagnosed high blood pressure and diuretic medication. In the sub-study the strongest relationship was found between the 24 h urine and the 7 d diary. In conclusion, a more alkaline diet, higher fruit and vegetable and lower meat intake were related to more alkaline urine with a magnitude similar to intervention studies. As urine pH relates to dietary acid–base load its use to monitor change in consumption of fruit and vegetables, in individuals, warrants further investigation.

It is often the case in dietary assessment that it is not practicable to weigh individual intakes of foods eaten. The aim of the work described was to estimate typical food portion weights for children of different ages. Using the data available from the British National Diet and Nutrition Surveys of children aged 1½–4½ years (1992–1993) and young people aged 4–18 years (1997), descriptive statistics were obtained, and predicted weights were calculated by linear, quadratic and exponential regression for each age group. Following comparison of energy and nutrient intakes calculated from actual (from an earlier weighed intake study) and estimated portion weights, the final list of typical portion sizes was based on median portion weights for the 1–3- and 4–6-year age groups, and age-adjusted means using linear regression for the 7–10-, 11–14- and 15–18-year age groups. The number of foods recorded by fifty or more children was 133 for each of the younger age groups (1–3 and 4–6 years) and seventy-five for each of the older age groups. The food portion weights covered all food groups. All portion sizes increased with age with the exception of milk in tea or coffee. The present study draws on a unique source of weighed data on food portions of a large sample of children that is unlikely to be repeated and therefore provides the best possible estimates of children's food portion sizes in the UK.

The present study assessed the relationship between coffee consumption and mortality in a home-dwelling elderly population. A population-based cohort of 817 men and women born in 1920 or earlier and living in northern Finland provided complete data on daily coffee consumption and other variables at the baseline examination in 1991–1992. Deaths were monitored through to the end of 2005 by national death certificates, resulting in 6960 person-years of follow-up. Hazard rate ratios for mortality by daily coffee intake were estimated by Poisson regression models adjusted for some known predictors of mortality. During 14·5 years of follow-up, 623 deaths occurred. The total mortality rate was inversely related to the number of cups (average volume, 125 ml) of coffee consumed daily. After adjustment for age, sub-period of follow-up, sex, marital status, basic educational level, previous occupational group, current smoking, BMI, history of myocardial infarction, self-rated health and presence of diabetes, cognitive impairment or physical disability, the estimated relative risk reduction of total mortality per an increment of one more cup of coffee per d reported at baseline was 4 (95 % CI 0, 8) %. The observed associations between coffee consumption and mortality from CVD, cancer, and other or unknown causes, respectively, were qualitatively similar to that of total mortality but the estimates were less precise. The effect of coffee consumption at baseline appeared to attenuate after 10 years since the start of follow-up. The present study provides evidence for daily (caffeine-containing) coffee intake being inversely associated with mortality in the elderly.

The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with increased incidence of overweight and obesity, and a factor underlying this putative link could be the relatively low levels of satiety that may be induced by these beverages. Although many sugar-sweetened beverages are carbonated, little attention has been given to the potential effects of level of carbonation on satiety and subsequent intakes. We hypothesized that increasing the level of carbonation in a sugar-sweetened beverage would increase satiety and decrease intakes in the short term. Using a randomized, within-subject cross-over design, thirty non-obese subjects (fifteen women, fifteen men) participated on three occasions, 1 week apart. Following a standard breakfast, subjects consumed a beverage preload 10 min before consuming a lunch ad libitum. Preloads were the same sugar-sweetened beverage (400 ml, 639 kJ) with three levels of carbonation, which were low (1·7 volumes), medium (2·5 volumes) and high (3·7 volumes). Satiety was assessed using visual analogue scales and intakes were measured at the lunch and for the rest of the day. Compared with the beverage with low carbonation, consumption of the beverages with medium and high carbonation led to significantly (P < 0·05) higher satiety until lunch, when intakes of food and energy were significantly (P < 0·05) lower. There were no significant effects on satiety following lunch or on intakes for the rest of the day. This short-term study suggests that the level of carbonation may need to be taken into account when assessing potential effects of beverages on satiety and intake.

In the present study the relationship between the consumption of different beverage groups and body-weight status in 5 years of study participation in German adolescents was investigated. We used anthropometric and dietary data from 3 d weighed records of 244 subjects between 9 and 18 years of age participating in the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) study. Only subjects with at least four out of six possible weighed dietary records were considered. A repeated-measures regression model (PROC MIXED) was used to analyse the effect of beverage consumption on body-weight status. BMI standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) and body fat percentage (%BF) were chosen as the dependent variables. In boys, energetic beverage consumption was not associated with BMI-SDS or %BF, neither cross-sectionally nor prospectively. In girls, baseline consumption of energetic beverages did not predict baseline BMI-SDS, baseline %BF, or change in either variable over the study period. However, an increase in energetic beverage consumption over the study period was associated with an increase in BMI-SDS (+0.070 SDS/MJ increase in energetic beverage consumption; P = 0·01). Separate consideration of regular soft drinks and fruit juices revealed that, in girls, BMI-SDS increased with increased fruit juice consumption (+0·096 SDS/MJ increase in fruit juice consumption; P = 0·01), and to a lesser extent with regular soft drink consumption (+0·055 SDS/MJ increase in regular soft drink consumption; P = 0·08). In conclusion, these results suggest that an increase in energetic beverage consumption may result in weight gain, at least in adolescent girls.

The aim of the study was to compare the effect of the administration of a mixture of fibres on body weight-loss, satiety, lipid profile and glucose metabolism. We included 200 overweight or obese patients in a parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, who were randomised to receive, in the context of an energy-restricted diet for a period of 16 weeks, a mixed fibre dose (3 g Plantago ovata husk and 1 g glucomannan) twice (b.i.d. group) or three times daily (t.i.d. group) or placebo. Weight change was the primary efficacy endpoint. Satiety, dietary compliance, lipid profile, glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were secondary endpoints. Weight loss tended to be higher after both doses of fibre ( − 4·52 (sd 0·56) and − 4·60 (sd 0·55) kg) than placebo ( − 0·79 (sd 0·58) kg); the differences in changes between groups were not statistically significant. Postprandial satiety increased in both fibre groups compared to the placebo. The differences between groups in LDL-cholesterol levels were significant (P = 0·03), with greater reductions in the two fibre-supplemented groups ( − 0·38 (sd 0·10) and − 0·24 (sd 0·09) mmol/l in the b.i.d. and t.i.d. groups v. − 0·06 (sd 0·09) mmol/l in placebo group). A similar pattern was observed for changes in total cholesterol:HDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol:LDL-cholesterol ratios. Interventions were well tolerated and had no effects on HDL-cholesterol, glucose and insulin concentrations, glucose tolerance or high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. In conclusion, a 16-week dietary supplement of soluble fibre in overweight or obese patients was well tolerated, induced satiety and had beneficial effects on some CVD risk factors, the most important of which was a significant decrease in plasma LDL-cholesterol concentrations.