Background: In current society adolescents are concerned about body image. The relationship between body dissatisfaction and obesity is not clear in developing countries. This study sought to describe body image size perception and dissatisfaction, and their relationship with body weight status in adolescents. Methods: Objective measures of weight and height were undertaken on 1109 schoolchildren aged 10-18 (504 girls and 605 boys). BMI z-scores, and weight status were calculated based on the 2007 WHO growth reference charts. Figure rating scales were used to assess perceptions of current and ideal body size and dissatisfaction difference between these perceptions. Multivariate analyses were used to assess the relationship between the perceptions and dissatisfaction with body weight status. Results: Perceived body image size was positively associated with weight status (partial regression coefficient for overweight/obese vs non-overweight/obese was 0.63 (95% CI 0.26-0.99) and for BMI z-score was 0.21 (95% CI 0.10-0.31), adjusted for sex and age). Body dissatisfaction was also associated with weight status, with overweight and obese children more likely to select thinner ideal body size than healthy weight children (adjusted partial regression coefficient for overweight/obese vs non-overweight/ obese was 1.47 (95% CI 0.99-1.96) and for BMI z-score was 0.54 (95% CI 0.40-0.67)). Conclusions: Awareness of body image size and increasing body dissatisfaction with the higher weight status is established at a young age in this population. This needs to be considered when designing interventions to reduce obesity in young children, in terms of both benefits and harms.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease with growing public health concern globally. Finding remedies to assist this health issue requires recruiting appropriate animal model for experimental studies. This study was designated to evaluate metabolic and immunologic changes in streptozotocin-nicotinamide induced diabetic rats as a model of type 2 diabetes. Male rats were induced diabetes using nicotinamide (110 mg/kg) and streptozotocin (65 mg/kg). Following 42 days, biochemical and immunological tests showed that diabetic rats had higher levels of blood glucose, WBC, certain abnormalities in lipid profile and insufficient mitogenic responses of lymphocytes (p<0.05). However, the status of the total antioxidant, inflammatory biomarkers and other parameters of full blood count (except HCT) were not significantly altered. Phenotyping assay indicated insignificant lymphocyte subtype imbalances excluding a significant rise in the level of CD4+CD25+ marker (p<0.05). This model of diabetic animals may represent some but not all symptoms of human type 2 diabetes.

In this study, the effect of palm oil based vitamin E was evaluated on lymphocyte`s proliferation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Diabetic rats were supplemented with alphatocopherol (AT) and/or mixed-tocotrienols (TT) at two dosages 6 and 12mg/kg for 8 weeks. Treated rats were sacrificed and their spleens isolated for lymphocyte proliferation assay in response to two mitogens namely lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Our results indicated that in the resting state, the lymphocytes of untreated diabetic rats had a marked increase in cell proliferation compared with the treated rats; however, upon stimulation with PHA or LPS, the untreated diabetic lymphocytes failed to respond. Lymphocytes from animals treated with AT (12 mg/kg) alone and the combination of two supplements (AT and TT for 6 mg/kg) showed a significant proliferation when challenged with mitogens where the particular supplementations ameliorate lymphocyte impairment by reconstituting the cellular proliferation in diabetic rats. This study suggested that the supplementation of AT alone at higher concentration or combination with TT even at lower doses can restore the lymphocyte proliferation which is an important phase in immune cell responses.