Background and objectivesMalnutrition is a silent emergency and it is one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among children and adolescent throughout the world. The present study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of malnutrition among 10 to 17 years old adolescent and its association with socio-demographic factors.Design and settingThis community based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between May 2014 to April 2015 on 839 subjects.Subjects and methodsAnthropometric measures were measured in 560 adolescents in rural areas of West Bengal state, India, by using standard technique. Different socio-demographic variables were studied by questioner method.ResultsIn the present investigation, about 54% of adolescents were stunted and 49% were thin. The adolescents belonged to lower social class were significantly more likely to be stunted (OR = 2.68) and thin (OR = 2.44). Other variables like father's occupation, mother's education, economic status and sanitation showed significant and negative association with undernutrition. However, mother's working status showed significant and positive association with undernutrition. Adolescents of working mothers were more likely to be stunted and thin than those who do not worked outside of the home. The adolescents of women with higher education were less likely to be undernourished than adolescents of poor and uneducated women. Adolescents of nuclear families (family size <4) were more likely to be stunted and thin.ConclusionsPoverty is found to be an important factor of undernutrition among the adolescents. So there is a require to implement well-thought poverty reduction actions along with providing mass education regarding nutrition and health with a special focus on economically and socially deprived sections of the society.

Purpose: To find out the effect of training on selected physiological and biochemical variables of Indian soccer players of different age groups. Results: A significant increase (P<0.05) in lean body mass (LBM), VO 2max , anaerobic power, grip and back strength, urea, uric acid and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C); and a significant decrease (P<0.05) in body fat, hemoglobin (Hb), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were detected in some groups in PP and CP phases of the training when compare to BD. However, no significant change was found in body mass and maximal heart rate of the players after the training program. Methods Conclusion:This study would provide useful information for training and selection of soccer players of different age groups.

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Using footwear often becomes troublesome and creates many problems. Most of these problems are associated with the wearing of ill-fitting footwear, as it leads to biomechanical imbalance and ultimately give rise to different foot problems. In the present investigation different foot problems, viz., discomfort, pain and other hazards related to the use of footwear have been evaluated and attempts have been made to study different foot dimensions of men and women that are related to the design of footwear. For the present study different foot dimensions of both right and left feet of the subjects were measured on 300 Bengalee (Indian) subjects having the age range of 20-35 years. The subjects reported that they had got discomfort, pain, blister and corn due to using different footwear. It was noted that the occurrence of these problems in right foot was greater than that in left foot. There was no significant correlation between foot troubles and type of footwear. Results also showed that there was no significant difference in most of the foot dimensions between left foot and right foot. However, significant difference (P < 0.001) in all foot dimensions was observed between male and female subjects. Correlation coefficient among different foot dimensions has also been evaluated and it was noted that foot length was highly correlated with stature and foot volume, particularly in left foot. Footwear should be made according to the foot dimensions of the user population. The database collected from the Bengalee (Indian) population may be a helpful guide for manufacturing different footwear.

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is a challenging multifaceted public health problem as it associated with infant mortality. Present study was undertaken to assess magnitude and risk factors associated with LBW in West Bengal, India. A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 2611 birth episodes in different districts of West Bengal using multi-stage stratified cluster sampling, followed by systematic random sampling methodology. Participants were interviewed by semi-structured questionnaires containing socio-demographic, pregnancy, and mothers' health-related variables.Results: This study revealed that 21.49% infants were born LBW. The risk of LBW was higher among women those age < 20 years and BMI < 18.5 kg/m 2 . The odd of giving LBW baby were higher among women having weight < 45 kg and height < 150 cm. Anemic (AOR 3.33) and hypertensive (AOR 1.69) women were more likely to give LBW baby. Preterm delivery (AOR 1.93) and history of chronic illness (AOR 2.09) were the determinants of LBW. The odd of LBW was higher among women who never followed ANC visit (AOR 1.35). The likelihood of giving LBW baby was higher among women who did not consume iron folic acid tablet and additional diet during pregnancy. More LBWs were observed among women who were from low socioeconomic family, rural residence, and illiterate. Conclusions: This study provided scientific recommendations during preconception period which will help to target women who may potentially benefit from lifestyle and dietary interventions. To reduce LBW community specific strategies such as improving awareness of the community and utilization of existing maternal health services is essential.