Nutrition education in Southeast Sulawesi Province,Indonesia: A cluster randomized controlled study

This study evaluated the impact of a nutrition education intervention on child feeding practices and children's nutritional status. Using a randomized controlled trial, we conducted an intervention for 6 months among caregivers with children aged 6–17 months in two subdistricts of Kendari, SE Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. In all, 22 integrated health posts were randomly assigned to an educational intervention or control group with 266 participants in both groups. Participants in the intervention group attended four nutrition classes and received a monthly home visit by cadres (community volunteers), whereas participants in the control group only received standard monthly health care at the health post. The primary study outcome was children's dietary diversity scores (DDSs). Mixed model analysis was conducted to examine the intervention effects on DDS and children's growth adjusting for clustering within subvillages. The study showed the educational intervention had a significant effect on children's DDS. Children in the intervention group had a larger DDS compared with children in the control group (Beta [mean difference] = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.66, P = 0.038). The intervention effect on height‐for‐age z‐score (HAZ) could not be shown (Beta = 0.24, 95% CI: ?0.06 to 0.56, P = 0.112). However, stunting prevalence remained stable in the intervention group but increased in the control group. These results indicated nutrition education delivered through nutrition classes combined with regular home visits by cadres as influencers provided a great potential to be adopted to complement other nutrition programmes in community health centres.     

The Effects of Crocodile Blood Supplementation on Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness

Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is associated with increases in acute inflammatory and biochemical markers, muscle swelling, pain, and reduced functional performance. This study aimed to investigate the preventative effects of crocodile blood supplementation on DOMS induced by eccentric exercise. Sixteen healthy males were randomly allocated to either a crocodile blood (CB, n = 8) or a placebo (PL, n = 8) treatment. Participants receiving the CB treatment consumed four capsules of freeze–dried CB powder (1 g day⁻¹) over 18 days. Participants receiving the other treatment were administered a placebo over the same period. An eccentric exercise protocol was performed, and functional performance, visual analogue scale (VAS)-measured pain, knee range of movement (ROM), thigh circumference (swelling), and cytokines, enzymes, and biochemical parameters were assessed immediately after exercise as well as after 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. CB supplementation could significantly maintain maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) at 24 h (p = 0.001) and 48 h after exercise (p = 0.001) when comparing values at different times for the CB group. In the CB group, thigh circumference decreased only immediately after eccentric exercise (p = 0.031) in comparison with pre-eccentric exercise values. An 18-day supplementation (1 g day⁻¹) of crocodile blood does aid in the maintenance of functional performance and muscle swelling after eccentric exercise. Our data indicate that 1 g day⁻¹ of crocodile blood supplementation should be safe for human consumption.