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Public concern about childhood obesity and associated health problems calls for the identification of modifiable factors that could halt this epidemic. Parental perceptions of their children’s weight status could be associated to how parents influence children’s eating patterns. We aimed to identify the perceptions Puerto Rican parents have of their children’s weight and children’s own perceptions of weight status as compared to real weight. A cross sectional survey was performed in a representative sample of 1st–6th grade students. Only half of the children correctly identified their weight, and only 62.4% of the parents correctly classified their children’s weight. Most obese/overweight children did not perceive themselves as such. Almost half of obese/overweight children were identified by the parents as normal weight while over half of the underweight children were perceived by their parents at normal weight. More girls than boys perceived themselves as obese/overweight and more parents of girls than of boys perceived them as such. Higher-educated parents were better at recognizing overweight/obesity among their children compared to less-educated parents. This study suggests an influence of parents’ SES characteristics on their perceptions of children’s weight status as well as on children’s own perceptions of their weight status.

Objective. To assess the self-reported impact of hurricane Maria on the perceived academic performance of student pharmacists at Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) Puerto Rico Regional Campus. Methods. A 37-item electronic instrument, the Hurricane Impact Survey, was created and sent by email to all student pharmacists $21 years old enrolled at NSU-COP Puerto Rico Campus during the fall 2017 semester. The electronic survey was available through Redcap platform for four weeks. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and logistic regression were used to analyze students' responses. Qualitative analysis was used to identify emerging themes in the open-ended comments. Results. A total of 150 student pharmacists completed the survey for a response rate of 69% (150/215). More than 70% of student pharmacists perceived that their academic performance was affected after the hurricane. About one third of students reported not being able to function mentally at the same level as they had prior to the storm (n553, 35%) and reported having difficulty sleeping (n554, 36%). Female student pharmacists were more likely than male student pharmacists to report not being able to function at the same level mentally as they had before the hurricane (41% vs 17%). In the multivariate analysis, first-and second-year student pharmacists were more likely to perceive a negative impact on their academic performance compared to third-and fourth-year student pharmacists. Lack of preparedness, gratefulness, and campus management were the themes that emerged from the qualitative analysis. Conclusion. Hurricane Maria had a significant impact on the lives of student pharmacists in Puerto Rico. This led to a perception of diminished academic performance, especially among first-and second-year students. The results can be used to guide preparedness and response to natural disasters in academic settings.

Objetivo: describir el perfil alimentario-nutricional de dominicanos residentes en Puerto Rico (PR) y su asociación con el tiempo de residencia en ese país y la seguridad alimentaria. Métodos: estudio transversal descriptivo con una muestra no probabilística por conveniencia de 100 sujetos entre las edades de 21-64 años. Se administró un cuestionario socio-demográfico, antropométrico, perfil alimentario y prevalencia de seguridad alimentaria. Se realizaron análisis descriptivos (frecuencias, porcientos, promedios y desviación estándar) y de asociación (correlación Pearson y ji cuadrada). Resultados: la mayoría de participantes fueron mujeres (68 %), con aproximadamente 50 años de edad (46.9 ± 10.9 años). El tiempo promedio de residencia en PR fue de 16.8 ± 10 años. El consumo promedio diario de frutas y vegetales fue de 5.8 ± 2.7 veces/día. La prevalencia de sobrepeso y obesidad fue de 39 % y 37 %, respectivamente. Un 79 % reportó tener seguridad alimentaria. No se encontró asociación estadísticamente significativa entre tiempo de residencia en Puerto Rico y la frecuencia de consumo de frutas y vegetales o con el índice de masa corporal. Tampoco se encontró asociación entre seguridad alimentaria y el índice de masa corporal o el consumo de frutas y vegetales. Conclusión: alto consumo en frecuencia de frutas y vegetales entre los dominicanos entrevistados y una alta seguridad alimentaria; sin embargo, se encontró una alta prevalencia de sobrepeso y obesidad. No se encontró asociación estadísticamente significativa entre el tiempo de residencia en Puerto Rico y el IMC o el consumo de frutas y vegetales, ni entre la seguridad alimentaria y el IMC o el consumo de frutas y vegetales.

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