Martin Sebera

The role of nutrition and genetics as key determinants of the positive height trend

The aim of this study was to identify the most important variables determining current differences in physical stature in Europe and some of its overseas offshoots such as Australia, New Zealand and USA. We collected data on the height of young men from 45 countries and compared them with long-term averages of food consumption from the FAOSTAT database, various development indicators compiled by the World Bank and the CIA World Factbook, and frequencies of several genetic markers. Our analysis demonstrates that the most important factor explaining current differences in stature among nations of European origin is the level of nutrition, especially the ratio between the intake of high-quality proteins from milk products, pork meat and fish, and low-quality proteins from wheat. Possible genetic factors such as the distribution of Y haplogroup I-M170, combined frequencies of Y haplogroups I-M170 and R1b-U106, or the phenotypic distribution of lactose tolerance emerge as comparably important, but the available data are more limited. Moderately significant positive correlations were also found with GDP per capita, health expenditure and partly with the level of urbanization that influences male stature in Western Europe. In contrast, male height correlated inversely with childrens mortality and social inequality (Gini index). These results could inspire social and nutritional guidelines that would lead to the optimization of physical growth in children and maximization of the genetic potential, both at the individual and national level.

Major correlates of male height: A study of 105 countries.

The purpose of this study is to explore the main correlates of male height in 105 countries in Europe & overseas, Asia, North Africa and Oceania. Actual data on male height are compared with the average consumption of 28 protein sources (FAOSTAT, 1993-2009) and seven socioeconomic indicators (according to the World Bank, the CIA World Factbook and the United Nations). This comparison identified three fundamental types of diets based on rice, wheat and milk, respectively. The consumption of rice dominates in tropical Asia, where it is accompanied by very low total protein and energy intake, and one of the shortest statures in the world (∼162-168cm). Wheat prevails in Muslim countries in North Africa and the Near East, which is where we also observe the highest plant protein consumption in the world and moderately tall statures that do not exceed 174cm. In taller nations, the intake of protein and energy no longer fundamentally rises, but the consumption of plant proteins markedly decreases at the expense of animal proteins, especially those from dairy. Their highest consumption rates can be found in Northern and Central Europe, with the global peak of male height in the Netherlands (184cm). In general, when only the complete data from 72 countries were considered, the consumption of protein from the five most correlated foods (r=0.85) and the human development index (r=0.84) are most strongly associated with tall statures. A notable finding is the low consumption of the most correlated proteins in Muslim oil superpowers and highly developed countries of East Asia, which could explain their lagging behind Europe in terms of physical stature.

Food consumption and the actual statistics of cardiovascular diseases: an epidemiological comparison of 42 European countries

Background The aim of this ecological study was to identify the main nutritional factors related to the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Europe, based on a comparison of international statistics. Design The mean consumption of 62 food items from the FAOSTAT database (1993–2008) was compared with the actual statistics of five CVD indicators in 42 European countries. Several other exogenous factors (health expenditure, smoking, body mass index) and the historical stability of results were also examined. Results We found exceptionally strong relationships between some of the examined factors, the highest being a correlation between raised cholesterol in men and the combined consumption of animal fat and animal protein (r=0.92, p<0.001). The most significant dietary correlate of low CVD risk was high total fat and animal protein consumption. Additional statistical analyses further highlighted citrus fruits, high-fat dairy (cheese) and tree nuts. Among other non-dietary factors, health expenditure showed by far the highest correlation coefficients. The major correlate of high CVD risk was the proportion of energy from carbohydrates and alcohol, or from potato and cereal carbohydrates. Similar patterns were observed between food consumption and CVD statistics from the period 1980–2000, which shows that these relationships are stable over time. However, we found striking discrepancies in mens CVD statistics from 1980 and 1990, which can probably explain the origin of the ‘saturated fat hypothesis’ that influenced public health policies in the following decades. Conclusion Our results do not support the association between CVDs and saturated fat, which is still contained in official dietary guidelines. Instead, they agree with data accumulated from recent studies that link CVD risk with the high glycaemic index/load of carbohydrate-based diets. In the absence of any scientific evidence connecting saturated fat with CVDs, these findings show that current dietary recommendations regarding CVDs should be seriously reconsidered.

Global Correlates of Cardiovascular Risk: A Comparison of 158 Countries

The aim of this study was a large-scale ecological analysis of nutritional and other environmental factors potentially associated with the incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in the global context. Indicators of CVDs from 158 countries were compared with the statistics of mean intake (supply) of 60 food items between 1993 and 2011, obesity rates, health expenditure and life expectancy. This comparison shows that the relationship between CVD indicators (raised blood pressure, CVD mortality, raised blood glucose) and independent variables in the global context is influenced by various factors, such as short life expectancy, religiously conditioned dietary customs, the imprecision of some statistics and undernutrition. However, regardless of the statistical method used, the results always show very similar trends and identify high carbohydrate consumption (mainly in the form of cereals and wheat, in particular) as the dietary factor most consistently associated with the risk of CVDs. These findings are in line with the changing view of the causes of CVDs. Because only the statistics of raised blood glucose include people using medications and reflect true prevalence that is independent of healthcare, more objective data on the prevalence of CVDs are needed to confirm these observed trends.

Cancer Incidence in Europe: An Ecological Analysis of Nutritional and Other Environmental Factors

The aim of this work was to offer an ecological alternative to conventional observational studies and identify factors potentially associated with cancer incidence in Europe. The incidence of 24 types of cancer in 39 European countries (2012) was compared with a long-term mean supply of 68 food items from the FAOSTAT database (1993–2011) and some other variables such as smoking, body mass index, raised cholesterol, and socioeconomic indicators. In addition to simple Pearson linear correlations, the data were analyzed via factor analyses and penalized regression methods. This comparison identified two main groups of cancers that are characteristically associated with the same variables. The first group consists of cancers of the prostate, breast, white blood cells, and melanoma. Their incidence increases with rising gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, a prevalence of raised cholesterol and a high intake of animal products. The second group includes primarily cancers of the digestive tract and is most consistently correlated with alcoholic beverages, lard, and eggs. In addition, we found specific correlations between certain variables and some other types of cancer (smoking—lung and larynx cancer; low GDP per capita and high carbohydrate consumption—stomach and cervical cancer; tea drinking—esophageal cancer; maize consumption and wine drinking—liver cancer). The documented findings often remarkably agree with the current scientific consensus, and when combined with evidence based on different methodologies, they can further extend our knowledge of the etiology of cancer. In addition, our study also identifies several foods with possible preventive effects and indicates that various dairy products may markedly differ in their relationship to cancer incidence. All these data can potentially be of fundamental importance for clinical practice and the survival of cancer patients.

Distribuce plantárního tlaku v průběhu těhotenství a po něm a vliv biomechanické obuvi

Uvod: Nas výzkum byl zaměřen na objektivni data týkajici se změn plantarniho tlaku v průběhu těhotenstvi a po porodu, jakož i na možnost ovlivnit tyto změny pomoci specialni biomechanicke obuvi, vyvinute ve spolupraci Masarykovy univerzity s firmou J Hanak R, s.r.o.; Výzkumne metody: Výzkumu se zucastnilo 38 těhotných žen, kterým byl na plantograficke desce Emed®-at měřen plantarni tlak v prvnim a třetim trimestru těhotenstvi a po porodu. Dvacet jedna z těchto žen (experimentalni skupina) nosilo v danem obdobi specialni biomechanickou obuv. Při měřeni byly zjisťovany hodnoty plantarniho tlaku a jeho casoveho integralu v 10 oblastech prave a leve nohy. Data byla pote zpracovana pomoci ANOVA a Tukeyho post-hoc testů; Výsledky: Hlavnimi zjistěnimi byly statisticky významne narůsty plantarniho tlaku pod podelnou nožni klenbou a medialnim přednožim v průběhu těhotenstvi v obou výzkumných skupinach a nasledný pokles větsiny hodnot po porodu. Statisticky významne rozdily mezi hodnotami v experimentalni a kontrolni skupině nebyly zjistěny; Zavěr: Zatiženi nohy se v průběhu těhotenstvi přesouva dopředu a medialně, což představuje větsi zatěž předevsim pro podelnou nožni klenbu, medialni metatarzalni hlavy a palec. Po porodu se vzorec distribuce plantarniho tlaku převažně vraci do stavu pozorovaneho na zacatku těhotenstvi. Vliv biomechanicke obuvi na nohu se v tomto výzkumu nepodařilo prokazat.

Specific Rating Scale for Evaluating Back Roll Fall

PURPOSE: To create created iconic-symbolic model of back roll fall and specific rating scale that was verified for content validity and inter-rater reliability. METHODS: We used Delphi method for making descriptive model and specific binomic rating scale. Descriptive model was verified and re-builded to iconic-symbolic model. 116 students falls were videotaped and evaluated by both experts (n=5) and physical education teachers (n=51). Kendall rank correlation coefficient and t-test were used to test inter-rater reliability among experts and between experts and physical education teachers. RESULTS: We regard agreement of all five experts using Delphi method in the ten items rating scale as corroboration of content validity. Order of recorded falling techniques set by sum of correctly performed selected items is in the every expert rating the same. CONCLUSION: We regard specific rating scale as objective diagnostic tool according to the martial arts/combat sports experts and physical education teachers inter-rater reliability on the stipulated significance.