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Background & Objective: Malnutrition is one of the main nutritional problems among children under 5 years especially in developing countries. The effects of malnutrition in this range of age group includes ; disorder of mental and physical growth and development, increase in the morbidity and mortality, decrease of the learning capacity. A detailed epidemiological picture of the prevalent malnutrition status among children under 5 years in different regions of Iran enables health policy makers to identify priorities, establish political commitment and design appropriate interventional programs to prevent and control malnutrition and improve nutritional status of children. To determine the prevalence rate of malnutrition among children under 5 years. Methods: Demographic data, weight and height of 34200 Iranian children between 0-72 months old in 28 provinces of the country in 2005 year based on a cluster sampling were gathered. The subjects' weight and height were measured by trained staff. Prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting indicators was determined by measuring the weight and height of subjects in urban and rural areas. EPI6 statistical software, version b6/04, was used for all statistical analyses. Results: 4.7% of the children aged less than five years suffered from stunting (95% CI: 4.5- 4.9%) The prevalence of this type of malnutrition among urban children is significantly less than rural children (95% CI: 3.1- 3.5% and 6.5-7.1% respectively). Meanwhile the prevalence of underweight was 5.2% in the country (95% CI: 5.1-5.4% while the prevalence of this type of malnutrition was significantly less among urban children than those in rural ones. Moreover, the prevalence of wasting was 3.7% (95%CI: 3.5-3.9%) and there was a significant difference in this regard between the urban and rural children. Thus this indicator was significantly higher among urban children than those in rural areas (95%CI: 3.8-4.3% and 3.0-3.5% respectively). Conclusion: The results of the study show that the prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition was low among Iranian children under five years old. In comparison with previous studies, it is felt that there has been a prudent decrease in all malnutrition in all levels. However, there were significant differences in the prevalence of malnutrition in different provinces, which has resulted in the differences in their developmental stages as well. It appears that subjective strategies are required to improve the nutritional and health status among children under five in all provinces.

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Background and Objectives: Despite several national surveys in the country, there has been no food and nutrition surveillance (FNS) system by far to integrate and analyze data obtained from different related sources for root finding of nutrition problems and help decision-making at the national level. Materials and Methods: FNS conceptual framework was developed encompassing from food production through health and nutrition outcome. The scientific committee selected the needed indicators using SMART method, as recommended by WHO. To obtain the pre-defined indicators, two sets of data sources must be used, including routine data from health service providers and national surveys. These data sources were fully evaluated to determine the data gaps. To obtain those data that are not available through secondary data sources, repeated small-scale surveys will be conducted. Each year, 6 provinces are enrolled so that in a 5 year period, all provinces will be covered by FNS. In the sixth year, the first year provinces wi ll be evaluated again. In each province, multistage cluster random proportional to size (PPS) sampling will be done. The data obtained from each participant will include: demographic, physical activity, dietary intake, anthropometric, biochemical and food security (household). Finally, primary and secondary data will be integrated to obtain a comprehensive picture of the food and nutrition status of the community. Conclusions: The current article may be used by nutrition and health researchers and policy-makers especially those in Eastern Mediterranean region as an FNS template that can be customized according to the local needs and priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is an annual plant of Lamiaceae family and native to tropical regions. The plant is the most commonly used fresh in recipes. Many diverse activities such as antifungal, antibacterial, anticancer, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antiinflammatory, antiarthritis and anti-stress have also been observed in O. basilicum (Shahrajabian et al., 2020(. Nutrient deficiencies in soil culture crops and impossibility of appropriate managements are the important reasons for low crop productivity in farm. Micronutrients (e.g. iron, boron, manganese, zinc and copper) are required in very small amounts by the plant, but play an iprominent role in plant growth and development (Nayak et al., 2020). In hydroponic system, the yield and quality of horticultural plants can be significantly improved compared to conventional soil culture (Putra and Yuliando,2015). Development of new agricultural systems for horticultural crop cultivation is necessary. The present study was conducted to compare the growth, biomass and morpho-physiological characteristics of Iranian purple basil in farm and greenhouse cultivation (soil and hydroponics cultivaion). In addition, the effect of foliar application of five micronutrients on the plant was investigated. Material and methods: In this research, three cultivation systemes (conventional soil culture in farm, soil pot culture in greenhouse and hydroponics cultivaion) was compared. The experiment was done in the research farm and greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Lorestan University in 2019. In all cultivation systems, a randomized complete block design with three replications was performed. Foliar application of micronutrients was applied in six levels (control, foliar application of iron, zinc, copper, manganese and boron). Iron sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, and boric acid were used as micronutrient sources. In studied cultivation systems, micronutrients were sprayed three times (eraly vegegative stage, late vegegative stage and early flowering stage). Results and discussion: Resuls showed that plants grown in the field had higher crown diameter, number of nodes, number of leaves, stem dry weight, number of lateral branches and carotenoid content. However, cultivation in hydroponic system led to growing plants with higher plant height, internode length, plant fresh weight, plant dry weight, leaf area, chlorophyll content, stomatal conductivity and photosynthesis rate. Generally, basil plants had shown the highest growth and yield in hydroponic system, followed by greenhouse soil culture. In comparison between foliar application of nutrients, the results showed that the application of zinc resulted in obtaining the highest leaf dry weight, but there was no significant difference with the treatment by application of copper, iron and boron. However, foliar application of nutrients led to different results in each cultivation system. In field cultivation, maximum of plant height, internode length, crown diameter, number of lateral branches, leaf area and stem dry weight were observed in iron spraying. In greenhouse soil cultivation, the highest plant height and internode length were obtained using boron and iron application. In hydroponic system, the highest plant height and internode length was obtained by application of boron. In field cultivation and soil cultivation in greenhouse, the highest photosynthesis rate and stomatal conductivity was observed in iron spraying treatment. In hydroponic culture, however, the photosynthesis rate and stomatal conductivity was higher in copper and iron foliar application in compare to other nutrients. Conclusions: In the present study, basil plants grew up in the fields not only showed lower growth and yield, but also had rough leaves that lower their edible quality as vegetable. While, leaf to stem ratio and freshness of leaf tissue was the highest in the hydroponic system. The response of plants to the micronutrients application was different in each cultivation system. Application of zinc in all three cultivation systems resulted in the highest leaf dry weight. In the field cultivation, the best results were obtained by foliar application of iron. In soil greenhouse cultivation, the use of iron and boron had more positive effects on plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food insecurity is prevalent in both developed and developing countries, which has considerable health impacts on the social, physical, and psychological status. This study aimed to examine the food security status and its related sociodemographic factors among the households living in Baft city of Iran. A sample of 702 households was selected by a simple random sampling method from January to March 2017. Using U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Security questionnaire, 34.3% of households showed some degree of food insecurity. Lower household size (OR = 0.84, CI: 0.73–0.97, P =.02), higher welfare facilities (OR = 1.55, CI: 1.32–1.81, P <.001), educational levels of the mothers and their spouse (being diploma as compared to under-diploma) (OR = 1.57, CI: 0.98–2.53, P =.04 and OR = 1.65, CI: 1.05–2.57, P =.02), governmental employment as compared to unemployment of the spouse (OR = 1.85, CI: 1.14–2.99, P =.01), and house ownership (rent compared to owner house; OR = 0.41, CI: 0.21–0.81, P =.01) were significantly associated with food security. The findings showed food insecurity was associated with some sociodemographic factors among households in Baft. These findings demonstrate that the government needs to continue its efforts to provide appropriate funding for population-based programs and policies, to enhance food security of the people living in this city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveTo assess key experts’ opinion regarding essential competencies required for effective public health nutrition practice within the health-care system of Iran.DesignQualitative study using the modified Delphi technique through an email-delivered questionnaire.SettingIran.SubjectsFifty-five experts were contacted through email. The inclusion criterion for the study panel was being in a relevant senior-level position in nutrition science or public health nutrition in Iran.ResultsIn the first round, forty-two out of fifty-five experts responded to the questionnaire (response rate=76 %). A sixty-five-item questionnaire was designed with nine competency areas, including ‘nutrition science’, ‘planning and implementing nutritional interventions’, ‘health and nutrition services’, ‘advocacy and communication’, ‘assessment and analysis’, ‘evaluation’, ‘cultural, social and political aspects’, ‘using technology’ and ‘leadership and management’. All experts who had participated in the first round completed a modified version of the questionnaire with seventy-seven items in the second round. The experts scored ‘nutrition science’ as the most essential competency area, while more applied areas such as ‘management and leadership’ were less emphasized. In both rounds, the mean difference between the opinions of the necessity of each area was 5·6 %.ConclusionsThe Iranian experts had general agreement on most of the core competency areas of public health nutritionists. The results indicated the need for capacity building and revisions to educational curricula for public health nutritionist programmes, with more emphasis on skill-based competency development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]