India is in a state of transition epidemiological, economic, and demographic and nutrition transition. And all these transitions are leading to non communicable diseases like obesity, hypertension and insulin resistance. The study was aimed to estimate the Prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors among adults of rural Uttrakhand. It is a cross sectional community based study. Survey was conducted in rural areas of Uttrakhand, to make a sample size of 300 adults (18-45yr), using WHO STEPS questionnaire. Waist Circumference, Blood pressure, Body Mass Index of the participants was calculated. P value < 0.05 was considered significant. In the sample population based on systolic BP, 61.3% were non-hypertensive, 29.7% were pre-hypertensive and 9% were hypertensive. Based on diastolic BP, 43.3% were non-hypertensive, 32.7% were pre-hypertensive and 24% were hypertensive. Subjects with hypertension and pre-hypertension have higher BMI and waist circumference. A high prevalence rate of pre-hypertension and hypertension was depicted in rural areas of Uttrakhand region.4.8% of the female participants had systolic high blood pressure compared to the 11.9% of the male participants. On the other hand, 21.8% of the female participants had diastolic high blood pressure compared to the over 25% of the male participants.

Improper young child and infant feeding practices are key to malnourishment, associated with high rates of mortality during childhood. The World Health Organization proposes the initiation of breastmilk within the first hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding for six months and the commencement of complementary feeding after six months. Complementary feeding involves the introduction of highly nutritious food that will cover the gap created when breastmilk becomes insufficient to cater for the child’s nutritional needs. Complementary feeding practices directly affect the nutritional status of the child; hence there is a need to explore the factors associated with complementary feeding practices. The main objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of mothers regarding complementary feeding and its impact on the nutritional status of children. This study was a cross-sectional study which recruited 200 mothers and 200 children using a convenience sampling technique. Data was collected using a KAP questionnaire. Data analysis was done using Microsoft Excel for frequency and percentage. For statistical analysis, Spearman’s rank correlation was used to find associations between variables. The results showed that the mothers had average knowledge and practice and a good attitude on complementary feeding. Statistical analysis showed a significant positive correlation between the mother’s education status, monthly family income, mother’s knowledge and the nutritional status of children. A positive non-significant association was also observed between the mother’s attitude, practice and nutritional status of children. A high prevalence of malnutrition was observed in the study as a result of insufficient levels of knowledge, attitude and practice of mothers regarding complementary feeding. The low education status of the mother and low family monthly income also contributed to high levels of malnourishment in the study. Keywords: Complementary feeding, malnutrition, nutritional status, knowledge, attitude, practice, feeding practices

Kefir is a naturally fermented milk drink with rich probiotic content. This study aimed to develop and optimize homemade cow milk kefir (HCMK) and evaluate its microbial, chemical, nutritional, and antioxidant properties. HCMK was optimized using response surface methodology, where the independent variables were kefir grain inoculum (2–4%) and fermentation time (20 h–28 h), and the dependent variables were total bacterial count, pH, and overall acceptability. HCMK was prepared using 3% w/v Indian kefir grains inoculated into cow milk and fermented at 25 °C for 24 h. Optimized dependent variables were 2.08 × 10⁸ ± 0.34 CFU/mL, pH 4.52 ± 0.05, and overall acceptability of 6.55 ± 0.21. Nutritional analysis revealed protein 3.6 g/100 mL, carbohydrates 2.66 g/100mL, fat 3.4 g/100 mL, iron 2.99 mg/100 mL, and calcium 29.3 mg/100 mL. Antioxidant profiling elucidated 54% radical scavenging activity and 18 mgGAE/100 mL total phenolic content. GC-MS revealed the presence of bioactive compounds with documented antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities. This study highlights HCMK as a healthy probiotic functional food with significant antioxidant potential.