Context:Nutrition plays a vital role in the quality of life in postmenopausal women.Aim:The aim is to determine the dietary intake, physical activity, and assess the body mass index (BMI) among postmenopausal women.Settings and Design:A community-based sample survey.Materials and Methods:The present study included 140 postmenopausal women (40–70 years) from Udupi, Manipal areas of Karnataka. The study was carried out between July and December 2013. Sociodemographic data were collected using a questionnaire. Anthropometric data included height, weight, waist, and hip circumference. Dietary intake was determined using 24 h dietary recall. Physical activity information was collected.Statistical Analysis Used:Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 software. Paired t-test was performed to determine the dietary adequacy.Results:Obesity was 42.1% among the study participants. Increased WHR and waist circumference were 82.1% and 77.1%. Mean daily intake of calcium and saturated fatty acids were significantly higher than recommended dietary allowance (RDA) (P < 0.001). Mean intake of energy, protein, carbohydrate, mono and poly unsaturated fatty acid, fiber and sodium were significantly lower than RDA (P < 0.001). Average daily intake of cereals, pulses, roots and tubers, meat and products, fats and oils, green leafy, and other vegetables were significantly (P < 0.001) lower than RDA. Intake of fruits, milk and milk products, and sugar was significantly higher (P < 0.001) than RDA. Only 37.1% of women performed moderate or active exercises regularly.Conclusions:Even though, nutrient and food group deficiencies were observed among postmenopausal women physical inactivity and effects of menopausal transition instigate increased BMI imposing a need to educate on nutrition and physical activity.

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Background: Culinary medicine (CM), an emerging discipline, is a novel approach that focuses on the art of food and cooking to prevent or improve health outcomes among chronic patients suffering from lifestyle diseases. The concept originated in the USA, gaining interest from scholars in medicine, nutrition, nursing, and the gastronomic discipline. Notably, in the last five years, there has been exponential growth in CM literature. In this regard, this study sought to examine the growth, performance and distinct research themes of CM literature over time. Methods: To achieve the study’s objectives, this study employs descriptive, performance and bibliometric analysis. The descriptive analysis was applied to examine the growth of the CM literature since its emergence. The performance analysis was used to identify the most influential journals, articles, and authors in the CM domain. The bibliographic coupling analysis was adopted to discover the various research themes of the CM knowledge base. Results:  This study identifies three stages of literature development: Early stage, modest growth stage, and emerging stage. Further, the results indicate that most of the studies on CM had been conducted in developed countries. Our findings reveal a clear interest in integrating the CM curriculum into medical/nutrition education programs in recent years. Additionally, the study discovers four distinct main research themes: knowledge assessment, impact measurement, acceptance and efficacy, and implementation of CM. Conclusions: These findings are helpful for scholars in medicine, nutrition, nursing, and gastronomy as they provide an overview of CM's development and research focus. Future studies could focus on expanding the geographical distribution of research on CM and further exploring the identified research themes to gain a deeper understanding of the potential of this approach for improving health outcomes among chronic disease patients.

Malnutrition is common in patients with head and neck cancer due to cancer cachexia, anti-cancer therapies, impairment in food intake due to the tumor etc. This study aims at studying the effect of diet counseling intervention on dietary intake and anthropometric indices. Experimental design with only one experimental group was conducted on 14 head and neck cancer patients who were admitted for chemo-radiotherapy. Detailed assessment of anthropometry and diet was done in the before, during and after the diet counseling intervention of 7 weeks. There was mean weight improvement of 2 kg (p<0.001) during the intervention period that can be attributed to a significant increase in the dietary intake of energy (p=0.034), protein (p=0.011), calcium (p<0.001), zinc (p=0.041), vitamin C (p=0.046) and vitamin A (p=0.019). However there was no statistically significant improvement in the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). This increase may be a sign of improvement of nutritional status as normally cancer patients tend to show a decrease in MUAC. This indicates the success of the diet counseling intervention. An even greater improvement in these parameters can be achieved if intervention is provided before the initiation of chemoradiotherapy and has to be continued even after the therapy is complete.

Background: Parity is positively associated with body size and other weight related conditions. Predominant breastfeeding has a positive impact on the body mass index during post menopause. Aims and objectives:To study the influence of parity and breastfeeding practices on body mass index (BMI) among post-menopausal women. Method: A community-based study was carried out for 6 months. Total of 140 post-menopausal women from Udupi and Manipal areas in Karnataka were selected. Their anthropometric measurements (height and weight) were taken to derive the body mass index. Gynaecological (menarche age, parity), medical history, breastfeeding practices, personal habits were recorded using a structured questionnaire. Regression and correlation were used as applicable for data analysis using SPSS v16. Results: There were 58.7% of post-menopausal women in the normal BMI class, 29% and 12.3% in grade I and II obese classes. A statistically significant (p < 0.01) negative correlation was observed between body mass index (BMI) and breastfeeding duration. Parity was positively correlated to body mass index (p < 0.01). Majority of the subjects 78.6% had breastfed for more than 12 months. Conclusions: The influence of child bearing practices such as parity, breastfeeding duration on body mass index was significant. With increasing parity and decrease in breastfeeding duration post-menopausal women were at an increased risk of being obese.