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Issue addressed Despite the growth of Australian men's sheds, the body of evidence regarding the health status of members, their health concerns, interests, help- or health-seeking behaviour and their preferred format for receiving health information is limited. Methods The study involved a cross-sectional study design with data collected from 11 rural South Australian (SA) men's sheds. The survey collected information across 5 domains: demographics; health history, status, concerns and interests; health knowledge; help-seeking behaviours and health information format preferences. Results Data from 154 shed members were available for analysis. Rural SA sheds primarily cater for older, retired, lesser educated men from lower socioeconomic strata. The key health issues were age-related chronic conditions yet self-reported health status remained high. The GP was the preferred source of health advice. Key knowledge deficits were in the areas of reproductive and psychological health. The preferred mode for health education was hands-on or kinaesthetic approaches as opposed to seminars or internet based information. Conclusions Priority topics for health promotion programs should include prostate disorders, reproductive and sexual health issues, psychological health, risk factors for common chronic disease and bowel cancer. Programs should incorporate hands-on education approaches. Shed and shed member diversity should be considered when designing programs. So what? A better understanding of what ails men's shed members, what concerns and interests them in terms of health, where they go for health advice and their preferred format for receiving health information increases the likelihood of developing health promotion programs that better engage with this target group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To assess the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and service use for people with a chronic disease in rural and regional Australia, where reported prevalence of CAM use is higher. Methods. Data were from the Whyalla Intergenerational Study of Health, a population representative cross sectional study of 1146 people recruited in 2008-2009. Self-reported chronic disease diagnosis and health service use including CAM use were collected. Complementary and other medicines were recorded at a clinic visit in a reduced sample (n = 722) and SF36 data were collected by questionnaire. Results. Around 32% of respondents reported complementary medicine use and 27% CAM service use. There was no difference in the overall prevalence of CAM use among those with and without a chronic disease (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.7-1.3). Greater age- and sex-adjusted use of complementary medicines was associated with the ability to save money (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.17-2.63), but not with any other socioeconomic position indicator. Those who reported using prescribed medication were more likely to report using complementary medicines (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.35-3.24). Conclusions. The prevalence of CAM use in this regional community appeared lower than reported in similar communities outside of South Australia. Mainstream medicine use was associated with complementary medicine use, increasing the risk of an adverse drug interaction. This suggests that doctors and pharmacists should be aware of the possibility that their clients may be using complementary medicines, and the need for vigilance regarding potential side effects and interactions between complementary and mainstream therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individualised highly prescriptive lifestyle programs for obesity management tend to be limited by resource constraints and difficulty with uptake., Aim: To evaluate the health benefits of a minimally prescriptive group-based lifestyle intervention in participants with the metabolic syndrome (MetS)., Methods: 153 obese adults with MetS were randomised to intervention (INT) or control (CON) for 16 weeks. INT was provided with education, practical strategies and group-based support to achieve diet and physical activity (PA) modifications based on Australian national guidelines. Anthropometric, cardio-metabolic, physical fitness and diet assessments were undertaken at baseline and 16 weeks., Results: Compared with CON, INT demonstrated greater improvements in weight, BMI, body fat mass and percent, abdominal fat mass (AbdoFat) and waist circumference; systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure; total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; physical work capacity (PWC) and handgrip strength (p < 0.01, group × time for all). Energy intake and % energy from saturated fat (%Sfat) decreased in both groups (p < 0.05 for time). Dietary glycemic index (GI) decreased more in INT (p < 0.01, group × time). Reductions in weight, waist and AbdoFat were associated with reductions in %Sfat (r = 0.379, 0.306, 0.319, respectively; p < 0.01) and GI (r = 0.308, 0.411, 0.296, respectively; p < 0.01). Reductions in AbdoFat were inversely related to increased PWC (r = -0.385; p < 0.001). Withdrawals were similar in INT (6%) and CON (14%) (p = 0.48)., Conclusions: A group-based minimally prescriptive lifestyle modification program with a high retention rate achieved significant improvements in body composition, physical and cardio-metabolic fitness. Group-based programs may provide an achievable and effective, but less resource intensive, method for obesity and MetS management than individualised approaches., (� 2009 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity . Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and identify relationships between clustering and severity of cardio-metabolic risk factors in abdominally obese adults., Methods: Cardio-metabolic risk factors were assessed in a sample of 300 abdominally obese volunteers (233 females, 67 males, mean age 43.7 years) who were not being treated for diabetes, hypertension or dyslipidemia. Waist circumference (WC), blood pressure, fasting lipids, and glucose were measured and prevalence of metabolic syndrome was determined according to International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Correlation analysis and Poisson regression were used to examine associations between the presence of a particular risk factor and the propensity for clustering and derangement of other risk factors, using continuous data for risk factors and categorical data for number of metabolic syndrome components., Results: In all, 53% had metabolic syndrome and only 16% were free of cardio-metabolic abnormalities. In order of importance, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and triglycerides (TGs) were most strongly associated with greater clustering of risk factors, with a one standard deviation difference being associated with a respective difference of 9.65, 1.23, and 0.12 in the number of risk factors present. A greater number of risk factors was associated with an increased derangement for any given risk factor, with this effect being greatest for dyslipidemia, as represented by the TG:HDL ratio., Discussion: In abdominally obese individuals, DBP was strongly associated with metabolic syndrome component clustering, which may reflect the pathogenic progression of metabolic syndrome, as DBP is likely to be elevated following establishment of other risk factors. Also, dyslipidemia was strongly related to the magnitude of derangement of cardio-metabolic risk factors which may indicate that increases in dyslipidemia may drive the pathogenic progression of metabolic syndrome once acquired.