Category: Health

Interior Health has expanded its effort to protect young people against a meningococcal disease outbreak.

New moms are increasingly using expressed breast milk (either pumped or expressed by hand) instead of directly breastfeeding their babies, according to a UBC study. The study also found that moms who use expressed breast milk typically transition their babies to infant formula feeding sooner than their breastfeeding peers, a trend that may impact the health of our next generation. “Breastfeeding is the unequalled method for feeding infants,” says Marie Tarrant, director of nursing at UBC’s Okanagan campus. “It has been previously determined that breastfeeding is important for the nutrition, immunology, growth and development of infants and toddlers. Anything that contributes to shortening the recommended six months of exclusive breastfeeding is a concern.” UBC Professor Marie Tarrant Tarrant and her research team, including co-author Dorothy Bai of the University of Hong Kong, studied the infant feeding practices of more than 2,000 moms living in Hong Kong. They found that during a five-year stretch, mothers moved away from directly breastfeeding their infants to using expressed breast milk, which is usually delivered via a bottle. “New mothers may believe there is no difference between expressed breast-milk feeding and direct feeding at the breast,” says Tarrant. “Although expressed breast-milk feeding provides greater benefits than infant formula, bottle-feeding may increase the risk of respiratory issues, asthma, rapid weight gain and oral diseases.” The study demonstrated that those moms who expressed breast milk were...

UBC researchers have demonstrated that simple, cost-effective email messages can help improve the calcium intake of Canadians. Mary Jung, an assistant professor of health and exercise sciences at UBC's Okanagan campus, recently completed a nationwide study with more than 730 Canadians who were not meeting Canada’s recommended dietary intake for calcium. Participants received an email—with evidence-based daily tips and strategies on how to increase calcium intake—four days in a row. Jung, a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Professor, wanted to determine if targeted messaging—making particular outcomes relevant to the population of interest—could be a feasible public health strategy for improving calcium intake. “Just four targeted messages made a remarkable difference in the consumption of calcium-rich foods,” says Jung. “The majority of our participants increased their calcium intake by one serving of dairy a day—pretty good results.” Rather than tailoring messages to each individual, which can be costly and intrusive, the messages in this study highlighted outcomes Jung had found relevant to her targeted audience. Specifically, she used evidence-based information including the suggestion of being a positive role model for one’s children, understanding the health benefits of consuming enough calcium as we age, and strategies to keep up the required daily consumption. Despite the known health benefits of getting enough calcium, such as bone health, less than 40 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 30 and...