Although numerous studies have indicated the utility of waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in early screening for individuals with adverse cardiometabolic health, there is controversy on using WHtR as a one-size-fits-all approach, including in older adults. Our study aims to identify the pooled diagnostic accuracy of WHtR in screening for metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components among older adults. A systematic review of observational studies was performed using 4 databases. A diagnostic meta-analysis with a random effects model was conducted, and the pooled area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratio (dOR) of each outcome compared with WHtR, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) were calculated, with sex-stratified analysis. A total of 17 studies with 74,520 participants were included. As reflected by the dOR, WHtR (7.65; 95% CI: 6.00, 9.75) performed better than BMI (5.17; 95% CI: 4.75, 5.62) and WC (5.77; 95% CI: 4.60, 7.25) in screening for MetS among older adults and was potentially better among males. For hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, the performances of WHtR, BMI, and WC were comparable. More studies focusing on older adults are still needed to determine the cutoff values of WHtR to screen for MetS. The search strategy was registered in PROSPERO as CRD42022350379.

Changes in an individual’s digestive system, hormones, senses of smell and taste, and energy requirement accompanying aging could lead to impaired appetite, but older adults may not notice their risk of nutrient deficiency. When assessing the dietary intake of older adults, it was found that they had more difficulties with short-term recall and open-ended recall and would experience greater fatigue and frustration when compared to younger individuals when completing a lengthy questionnaire. There is a need to develop a brief dietary assessment tool to examine the nutritional needs of older adults. In this study, we aimed to assess the diet of Hong Kong older adults using the short FFQ and examine its reproducibility and relative validity as a dietary assessment tool. Dietary data of 198 older adults were collected via FFQs and three-day dietary records. Correlation analyses, cross-tabulation, one-sample t-tests, and linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the relative validity of the short FFQ. In general, the short FFQ was accurate in assessing the intake of phosphorus, water, grains, and wine, as shown by a significant correlation (>0.7) between values reported in the FFQs and dietary records; good agreement (more than 50% of observations belonged to the same quartile) and insignificant differences detected with the one-sample t-tests and linear regression analyses were observed for the above four variables. Additionally, the intake of proteins, carbohydrates, total fat, magnesium, and eggs in terms of the values reported in the FFQs and dietary records showed good agreement.

The efficacy of intermittent fasting (IF), as an emerging weight management strategy, in improving cardiometabolic health has been evaluated in various populations, but that among Chinese individuals has not been systematically studied. A comprehensive search on multiple databases was performed to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) up to October 2022. The primary outcome was post-intervention weight loss, and secondary outcomes included changes in cardiometabolic indicators. Effect estimates were meta-analyzed using a random-effects model. In total, nine RCTs with 899 Chinese participants were included. Time-restricted eating was the most adopted IF protocol in this study (six out of nine), followed by alternate-day fasting. The IF intervention significantly reduced body weight, body mass index, body fat mass, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides when compared with control groups. However, no statistically significant reductions in waist circumference, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting glucose, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure were found. To sum up, IF can be a weight management strategy and may improve the cardiometabolic health of Chinese adults, but more long-term trials using different IF strategies are required to generate robust evidence of its efficacy.

Objectives: To evaluate the accuracy of platelet counts from various hematology analyzers using a reference immunologic method. Methods: We tested 403 samples with platelet counts less than 50 × 10⁹/L with the Advia (Siemens, Tarrytown, NY), Sysmex (Mundelein, IL), and Abbott (Santa Clara, CA) analyzers. Results: All methods showed a positive bias, especially at less than 20 × 10⁹/L and less than 10 × 10⁹/L. Undertransfusion risk ranged from 9.1% to 43.3 % in the groups below 20 × 10⁹/L and below 10 × 10⁹/L, respectively. For patients with optical counts more than 10 × 10⁹/L and CD61 less than 10 × 10⁹/L, 64.5% were transfused within 24 hours of the reported count, while 35.5% were transfused in more than 24 hours, after a subsequent optical platelet count of 10 × 10⁹/L or less was reported. Conclusions: Although optical and impedance methods were shown to be falsely increased in severely thrombocytopenic samples, further studies are needed to determine if more accurate methods would be clinically useful.

Individuals with lower socioeconomic status are more vulnerable in securing good nutritional quality. It was also found that people who had received a lower education level had greater difficulty in completing the conventional dietary assessment such as a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Previous studies have demonstrated the validity of a short FFQ in Hong Kong’s pregnant women, but its validity among a wider community was still unknown. For the present study, we aimed to validate a short FFQ among disadvantaged communities in Hong Kong. Amongst 103 individuals participating in a dietary intervention programme, their dietary data were collected by FFQs and three-day dietary records. Relative validity was assessed by correlation analysis, cross-tabulation, one-sample t-test, and linear regression. In general, water and total energy intake had significant correlations (0.77 for crude water intake and 0.87 for crude total energy intake) between values reported by FFQ and dietary records, good agreement (both with over 50% of observations falling into the same quartile), and insignificant differences between assessment methods reported by one-sample t-test and linear regression. Meanwhile, several nutrients had good agreement in terms of the values reported by FFQ and dietary records, such as energy from total fat, carbohydrates, total fat, cholesterol, phosphorus, and potassium. The results of this study demonstrated that the short version FFQ could be a convenient assessment tool of multiple dietary behaviors, especially in total energy and water intakes.

Background/Objectives: Excessive social media usage in the current times and high rates of food advertising can impact the health status of individuals by increasing food cues related to perceived hunger and, thus, dietary behaviour. This study examined the association between social media usage patterns, food-related advertising, and dietary choices among Gen Z individuals. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out amongst 314 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 in Surat city, Gujarat. Data was collected for social media usage, the most used platforms, preferred content, and eating patterns. Anthropometric measurements (height and weight) were also recorded. Perceived hunger responses to 12 social media-based food images were assessed using a ten-point Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (version 26.0), with the significance level set at p < 0.05. Results: YouTube and Instagram were the most used social media apps. There were no significant differences observed between the BMI of participants using social media for 2 h a day and those using it 3+ hours a day. However, a significant association between the BMI of those who viewed advertisements for ready-to-eat foods (p = 0.004) and the BMI of those who viewed advertisements for food delivery platforms (p = 0.001) was seen. A significant difference between usage of Pinterest (p = 0.02), Instagram (p = 0.047), and BMI was also found. Conclusions: Social media marketing and food content are shaping the dietary choices of young adults, and more studies need to be conducted in Pan India to understand the reasons. Such evidence will be crucial for guiding nutrition policies, digital marketing regulations, and youth-focused awareness programmes.