BackgroundMaternal and child under nutrition is highly prevalent in low-income and middle-income countries, resulting in substantial increases in mortality and overall disease burden. The aim of this baseline survey was to determine the association between selected maternal characteristics, maternal nutritional status and children’s nutritional status.Methods and FindingsA survey with a cross sectional design was conducted between September and October 2012 in Hula, Ethiopia. The study subjects were 197 mothers of children between the ages of 6 and 23 months. Weight and height (mothers) or recumbent length (children) were measured using calibrated, standardized techniques. Seven percent of children were below -2 weight for height Z score (WHZ), 11.5% were below -2 height for age Z score (HAZ) and 9.9% were below -2 weight for age Z score (WAZ). Maternal anthropometrics were associated with child nutritional status in the bivariate analysis. Maternal BMI (r = 0.16 P = 0.02) and educational status (r = 0.25 P = 0.001) were correlated with WHZ of children while maternal height (r = 0.2 P = 0.007) was correlated with HAZ of children. After multivariate analysis, children whose mothers had salary from employment had a better WHZ score (P = 0.001) and WAZ score (P<0.001). Both maternal BMI and maternal height were associated with WHZ (P = 0.04) and HAZ (P = 0.01) score of children.ConclusionHaving a mother with better nutritional status and salaried employment is a benefit for the nutritional status of the child. The interrelationship between maternal and child nutritional status stresses the value of improving maternal nutritional status as this should improve both maternal and child health outcomes. Therefore strategies to improve nutritional status of children should also include improving the nutritional status of the mother and empowering her financially.

Objective: The aim of this umbrella review was to summarize the evidence from existing systematic reviews on the association between different dietary patterns and overweight or obesity outcomes in adults. Design: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, and searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science for systematic reviews reporting on dietary patterns and weight gain or overweight/obesity outcomes. Result: We identified 16 systematic reviews with 143 unique studies published between 2001 and 2019. Overall quality scores ranged from four to 10. Six reviews in 2/11 cohort and 6/19 cross-sectional studies reported (statistically significant) decreased odds ratios (ORs) for obesity (range: 0.53 to 0.73 and 0.35 to 0.88, respectively) associated with the Mediterranean diet. Five reviews in 5/15 cohort and 10/45 cross-sectional studies reported an inverse association between diet quality and weight gain or body mass index (β range: -1.3 to -0.09). Two reviews in 1/3 cohort and 1/2 cross-sectional studies reported a decreased risk of obesity (OR=0.76) and weight gain (OR=0.26), respectively, with fruit and vegetable intake. Five reviews of mixed dietary patterns in 3/40 cross-sectional studies reported an increased prevalence of obesity (OR=1.19) or abdominal obesity (OR range: 1.07 to 1.27) with the Korean diet pattern. Conclusions: Our umbrella review confirms the hypothesis that Mediterranean-type dietary patterns reduce the risk of obesity in adults. Although population-specific evidence of effective interventions is needed, characteristics of Mediterranean-type dietary patterns are important considerations for national obesity prevention strategies.

BackgroundAlthough unintended pregnancy rate is declining in both developed and developing countries, it remains higher in developing countries. Ethiopia is one country with a high prevalence of unintended pregnancy. In spite of this fact, very little is known about utilization of emergency contraception (EC) among young women. Therefore, this study aims to assess sexual experiences and emergency contraception use among female students at Wachamo University in Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2013 at Wachamo University in Ethiopia. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to assess sexual experiences and emergency contraception use among female students. The study participants (n = 424) were selected using a multistage sampling procedure. A simple random sampling technique was applied to select the study participants from a list obtained in registrar’s office. Data was entered into EpiInfo and exported to SPSS for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine factors associated with emergency contraception use.ResultThe majority of respondents (62.0%) were 20–24 years old and 31.4% were sexually active. Among sexually active, the mean (standard deviation) age at first sex was 18.22 (SD = 1.69). About one-half participants had high levels of knowledge about EC (49.8%) and positive attitudes towards EC (47.6%). Moreover, 44.4% of sexually active participants used EC at least once after unprotected sexual intercourse. The bivariate logistic regression revealed that age, marital status, religion, previous & current residence, parent’s educational status, knowledge about and attitude towards EC has a significant (P < 0.005) association with EC use. Furthermore, the multivariate analysis indicated that female students who have good knowledge, and ever got married were more likely to use EC than their counterparts (P < 0.05).ConclusionsEmergency Contraception use, knowledge about and attitude on Emergency Contraception were very low among female students. Overall, knowledge on EC and marital status were predictors for EC use. Thus, it is an indication that there is a need for health education and promotion programs in university set-up to improve EC use to prevent unintended pregnancies.

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