Person:
Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María

Birth Date

1983-01-23

ORCID

0000-0001-7926-3644

Scopus Author ID

55385603500

Afiliación

Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador
Universidad de Cuenca, Departamento de Biociencias, Cuenca, Ecuador
Universidad de Cuenca, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Cuenca, Ecuador

País

Ecuador

Organizational Units

Organizational Unit

Facultad de Ciencias Químicas

Fundada en 1955 como la Escuela de Química Industrial, la facultad ha sido un pilar fundamental en la formación de profesionales altamente capacitados, comprometidos con el desarrollo de la ciencia, la educación y el bienestar social. La Facultad de Ciencias Químicas pone a consideración su trabajo académico, investigativo y de vinculación con la sociedad, desarrollado a través de la práctica de una docencia de calidad, investigación e innovación en su área de estudio. Desde su oficio de conocimiento se permite contribuir a la sociedad con cuatro carreras: Bioquímica y Farmacia, Ingeniería Química, Ingeniería Ambiental e Ingeniería Industrial. Su carta de presentación en la Academia, la coloca como una dependencia dinámica, donde confluye la solidez de una trayectoria de más de sesenta años. Aquí se trabaja en una continua formación de pregrado y posgrado de la más alta calidad, mediante la mejora continua con la innovación y a la vanguardia de las ciencias químicas.

Job Title

Profesor (T)

Last Name

Ochoa Avilés

First Name

Angélica María

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 21

Sugar-sweetened beverage intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries
(2023) Ortiz Ulloa, Silvia Johana; Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María
Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with cardiometabolic diseases and social inequities. For most nations, recent estimates and trends of intake are not available; nor variation by education or urbanicity. We investigated SSB intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries, stratified subnationally by age, sex, education, and rural/urban residence, using data from the Global Dietary Database. In 2018, mean global SSB intake was 2.7 (8 oz = 248 grams) servings/week (95% UI 2.5-2.9) (range: 0.7 (0.5-1.1) in South Asia to 7.8 (7.1-8.6) in Latin America/Caribbean). Intakes were higher in male vs. female, younger vs. older, more vs. less educated, and urban vs. rural adults. Variations by education and urbanicity were largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Between 1990 and 2018, SSB intakes increased by +0.37 (+0.29, +0.47), with the largest increase in Sub-Saharan Africa. These findings inform intervention, surveillance, and policy actions worldwide, highlighting the growing problem of SSBs for public health in Sub-Saharan Africa
A school-based intervention improves physical fitness in Ecuadorian adolescents: a cluster-randomized controlled trial
(2014) Andrade Tenesaca, Dolores Susana; Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María; Andrade Muñoz, Diana Jesús; Rojas Reyes, Rosendo Iván; Donoso Moscoso, Silvana Patricia; Kolsteren, Patrick
Background: Effective lifestyle interventions are needed to prevent noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. We analyzed the effects of a school-based health promotion intervention on physical fitness after 28 months and explored if the effect varied with important school characteristics. We also assessed effects on screen time, physical activity and BMI. Methods and results: We performed a cluster-randomized pair matched trial in schools in urban Ecuador. The intervention included an individual and environmental component tailored to the local context and resources. Primary outcomes were physical fitness (EUROFIT battery), screen time (questionnaires) and physical activity (accelerometers). Change in BMI was a secondary outcome. A total of 1440 grade 8 and 9 adolescents (intervention: n = 700, 48.6%) and 20 schools (intervention: n = 10, 50%) participated. Data of 1083 adolescents (intervention: n = 550, 50.8%) from 20 schools were analyzed. The intervention increased vertical jump (mean effect 2.5 cm; 95% CI 0.8-4.2; P = 0.01). Marginally insignificant, adolescents from the intervention group needed less time for speed shuttle run (intervention effect = −0.8 s, 95% CI −1.58-0.07; P = 0.05). The proportion of students achieving over 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity/day decreased over time with the change in proportion significantly less in the intervention schools (6 vs. 18 percentage points, P < 0.01). The intervention effect on speed shuttle run was significant in larger schools while the effect on vertical jump was larger in mixed gender school compared to small and female schools. The proportion of schools that met the recommendations for physical activity increased with 37% in intervention schools with half-day schedule compared to the controls in the pair. No significant effects were found on screen time and BMI. Measurement of physical activity in a subsample was a limitation. No adverse effects were reported. Conclusions: A school-based intervention with an individual and environment component can improve physical fitness and can minimize the decline in physical activity levels from childhood into adolescence in urban Ecuador.
Effects of diabetes definition on global surveillance of diabetes prevalence and diagnosis: a pooled analysis of 96 population-based studies with 331 288 participants
(2015) Danaei, Goodarz; Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María; Ezzati, Majid; Andrade Tenesaca, Dolores Susana; Zheng, Yao
Background Diabetes has been defi ned on the basis of diff erent biomarkers, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-h plasma glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test (2hOGTT), and HbA1c. We assessed the eff ect of diff erent diagnostic defi nitions on both the population prevalence of diabetes and the classifi cation of previously undiagnosed individuals as having diabetes versus not having diabetes in a pooled analysis of data from population-based health examination surveys in diff erent regions. Methods We used data from 96 population-based health examination surveys that had measured at least two of the biomarkers used for defi ning diabetes. Diabetes was defi ned using HbA1c (HbA1c ≥6·5% or history of diabetes diagnosis or using insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs) compared with either FPG only or FPG-or-2hOGTT defi nitions (FPG ≥7·0 mmol/L or 2hOGTT ≥11·1 mmol/L or history of diabetes or using insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs). We calculated diabetes prevalence, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights. We compared the prevalences of diabetes using diff erent defi nitions graphically and by regression analyses. We calculated sensitivity and specifi city of diabetes diagnosis based on HbA1c compared with diagnosis based on glucose among previously undiagnosed individuals (ie, excluding those with history of diabetes or using insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs). We calculated sensitivity and specifi city in each survey, and then pooled results using a random-eff ects model. We assessed the sources of heterogeneity of sensitivity by meta-regressions for study characteristics selected a priori. Findings Population prevalence of diabetes based on FPG-or-2hOGTT was correlated with prevalence based on FPG alone (r=0·98), but was higher by 2–6 percentage points at diff erent prevalence levels. Prevalence based on HbA1c was lower than prevalence based on FPG in 42·8% of age–sex–survey groups and higher in another 41·6%; in the other 15·6%, the two defi nitions provided similar prevalence estimates. The variation across studies in the relation between glucose-based and HbA1c-based prevalences was partly related to participants’ age, followed by natural logarithm of per person gross domestic product, the year of survey, mean BMI, and whether the survey population was national, subnational, or from specifi c communities. Diabetes defi ned as HbA1c 6·5% or more had a pooled sensitivity of 52·8% (95% CI 51·3–54·3%) and a pooled specifi city of 99·74% (99·71–99·78%) compared with FPG 7·0 mmol/L or more for diagnosing previously undiagnosed participants; sensitivity compared with diabetes defi ned based on FPGor-2hOGTT was 30·5% (28·7–32·3%). None of the preselected study-level characteristics explained the heterogeneity in the sensitivity of HbA1c versus FPG. Interpretation Diff erent biomarkers and defi nitions for diabetes can provide diff erent estimates of population prevalence of diabetes, and diff erentially identify people without previous diagnosis as having diabetes. Using an HbA1c-based defi nition alone in health surveys will not identify a substantial proportion of previously undiagnosed people who would be considered as having diabetes using a glucose-based test.
Physical fitness among urban and rural ecuadorian adolescents and its association with blood lipids: a cross sectional study
(2014) Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María; Lachat, Carl K.; Andrade Tenesaca, Dolores Susana; Kolsteren, Patrick Wilfried; Cardon, Greet Maria; Rojas Reyes, Rosendo Ivan; Donoso Moscoso, Silvana Patricia; Van Camp, John Hendrik; Verstraeten, Roosmarijn
Background: Physical fitness has been proposed as a marker for health during adolescence. Currently, little is known about physical fitness and its association with blood lipid profile in adolescents from low and middle-income countries. The aim of this study is therefore to assess physical fitness among urban and rural adolescents and its associations with blood lipid profile in a middle-income country. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2008 and April 2009 in 648 Ecuadorian adolescents (52.3% boys), aged 11 to 15 years, attending secondary schools in Cuenca (urban n = 490) and Nabón (rural n = 158). Data collection included anthropometric measures, application of the EUROFIT battery, dietary intake (2-day 24 h recall), socio-demographic characteristics, and blood samples from a subsample (n = 301). The FITNESGRAM standards were used to evaluate fitness. The associations of fitness and residential location with blood lipid profile were assessed by linear and logistic regression after adjusting for confounding factors. Results: The majority (59%) of the adolescents exhibited low levels of aerobic capacity as defined by the FITNESSGRAM standards. Urban adolescents had significantly higher mean scores in five EUROFIT tests (20 m shuttle, speed shuttle run, plate tapping, sit-up and vertical jump) and significantly most favorable improved plasma lipid profile (triglycerides and HDL) as compared to rural adolescents. There was a weak association between blood lipid profile and physical fitness in both urban and rural adolescents, even after adjustment for confounding factors. Conclusions: Physical fitness, in our sample of Ecuadorian adolescents, was generally poor. Urban adolescents had better physical fitness and blood lipid profiles than rural adolescents. The differences in fitness did not explain those in blood lipid profile between urban and rural adolescents.
Resultados de la investigación del programa “Alimentación Nutrición y Salud” efectuado en Nabón en los años 2008-2009
(2014) Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María; Andrade Tenesaca, Dolores Susana; Donoso Moscoso, Silvana Patricia
Factors affecting physical activity in ecuadorian adolescents: a focus group study
(2015) Van Royen, Kathleen; Verstraeten, Roosmarijn; Andrade Tenesaca, Dolores Susana; Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María; Donoso Moscoso, Silvana Patricia; Maes, Lea; Kolsteren, Patrick
Background: Physical inactivity levels are increasingly prevalent among Ecuadorian adolescents. School-based interventions can be potentially effective in promoting physical activity but must be informed by cultural-specific factors. Methods: Twelve focus groups were carried out with adolescents (n = 80) in rural and urban Ecuador to identify factors influencing physical activity. In addition, 4 focus group discussions with parents (n = 32) and 4 with school staff (n = 32) were conducted. Individual and environmental factors were questioned using the ‘Attitude, Social influences and Self-efficacy’ model and the socioecological model as theoretical frameworks. Results: Factors influencing physical activity varied between groups. In the rural area farming and norms for girls impeded leisure-time physical activity, whereas urban groups emphasized traffic and crime concerns. Groups from a low socioeconomic status more frequently mentioned a fear of injuries and financial constraints. Several factors were common for all groups including preferences for sedentary activities, poor knowledge, time constraints and laziness, as well as a lack of opportunities at home and school, unsupportive parental rules and lack of role models. Conclusion: A conceptual framework including the identified factors emerged to inform the design of a cultural-sensitive school-based intervention to improve physical activity among Ecuadorian adolescents. Future interventions should be tailored to each setting.
Two years of school-based intervention program could improve the physical fitness among Ecuadorian adolescents at health risk: Subgroups analysis from a cluster-randomized trial
(2016) Andrade Tenesaca, Dolores Susana; Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María; Donoso Moscoso, Silvana Patricia; Ortiz Ulloa, Silvia Johana
Background Adolescents with overweight and poor physical fitness have an increased likelihood of developing cardiovascular diseases during adulthood. In Ecuador, a health promotion program improved the muscular strength and speed-agility, and reduced the decline of the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity of adolescents after 28 months. We performed a sub-group analysis to assess the differential effect of this intervention in overweight and low-fit adolescents. Methods We performed a cluster-randomized pair matched trial in schools located in Cuenca–Ecuador. In total 20 schools (clusters) were pair matched, and 1440 adolescents of grade 8 and 9 (mean age of 12.3 and 13.3 years respectively) participated in the trial. For the purposes of the subgroup analysis, the adolescents were classified into groups according to their weight status (body mass index) and aerobic capacity (scores in the 20 m shuttle run and FITNESSGRAM standards) at baseline. Primary outcomes included physical fitness (vertical jump, speed shuttle run) and physical activity (proportion of students achieving over 60 min of moderate–to-vigorous physical activity/day). For these primary outcomes, we stratified analysis by weight (underweight, normal BMI and overweight/obese) and fitness (fit and low fitness) groups. Mixed linear regression models were used to assess the intervention effect. Results The prevalence of overweight/obesity, underweight and poor physical fitness was 20.3 %, 5.8 % and 84.8 % respectively. A higher intervention effect was observed for speed shuttle run in overweight (β = −1.85 s, P = 0.04) adolescents compared to underweight (β = −1.66 s, P = 0.5) or normal weight (β = −0.35 s, P = 0.6) peers. The intervention effect on vertical jump was higher in adolescents with poor physical fitness (β = 3.71 cm, P = 0.005) compared to their fit peers (β = 1.28 cm, P = 0.4). The proportion of students achieving over 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity/day was not significantly different according to weight or fitness status. Conclusion Comprehensive school-based interventions that aim to improve diet and physical activity could improve speed and strength aspects of physical fitness in low-fit and overweight/obese adolescents.
Evaluación del consumo de macronutrientes, sodio, calcio y azúcares añadidos de acuerdo a las recomendaciones de la OMS en adolescentes de 9 a 18 años de Cuenca y Nabón
(2016) Andrade Tenesaca, Dolores Susana; Garcia Garcia, Ana Angelica; Zuñiga Carpio, Gabriela Alexandra; Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María; Cordova Jimbo, Diana Paola; Andrade Muñoz, Diana Jesus; Ramirez Jimbo, Patricia Liliana; Donoso Moscoso, Silvana Patricia
Background: The Adolescence is a period of accele-rated growth in which a series of physical changes oc-cur, leading to a greater demand for nutritional needs, energy, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and mi-nerals. These characteristics determine the possibility of nutritional deficiencies that occur at this age if the in-take is not adequate.ObjEctivE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the intake of macronutrients, sodium, calcium and added sugar in adolescents of Cuenca and Nabón according to the recommendations established by the WHO. Materials And Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from January 2008 to April 2009 in 765 adolescents from 8th, 9th and 10th grade basic education in Cuenca and Nabón (Ecuador). The collec-tion of dietary intake was through a reminder of 24-hours that was applied in 2 non-consecutive days. The Softwa-re Lucille 0.1 was used for the intake and calculation of ingested food. Data analysis was performed using the statistical program STATA 12, which determined the daily intake of nutrients that were adjusted for the total energy and calculated according to the percentage of adolescents that follows the WHO recommendations.rEsults: The intake of carbohydrates (80%), fats (76%) and proteins (67%) in most adolescents are within the range recommended by the WHO; however, in the case of consumption of sodium and added sugar, the values of more than half of adolescents are above re-commendations. Thus, only about 1% of the population studied meets the daily requirements of calcium con-sumption.cOnclusiOn: This population of adolescents presents an imbalance in dietary intake, especially of micronu-trients and added sugar. Therefore, intervention programs in healthy eating and prevention of obesity and hypertension are necessary especially in educational institutions.
Results from Ecuador’s 2018 report card on physical activity for children and youth
(2018) Andrade Tenesaca, Dolores Susana; Romero Sandoval, Natalia Cristina; Orellana Vintimilla, Daniel Augusto; Contreras Calle, Wilson Teodoro; Pillco Chuqui, Jose Luis; Andrade Muñoz, Diana Jesús; Martín, Miguel; Donoso Moscoso, Silvana Patricia; Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María
International initiatives like the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (AHKGA) have emerged to support monitoring and surveillanceofphysicalactivity,physical ﬁtness,sedentarybehavioranditssocialandenvironmentalinﬂuencesamongchildrenand adolescents.1,2 The standardized methodology proposed by AHKGA focuses on the development of a Report Card, allows the compilation of knowledge gaps and highlights the most urgent needsandproblemsthat shouldbeconsidered by policymakersto promote an active healthy lifestyle among children and youth withineachcountry.2 Thispapersummarizesthe ﬁrstresultsofthe Ecuadorian 2018 Report Card (Figure 1) based on the AHKGA methodology.
Indoor Environmental Quality In Preschool Buildings In an Andean City In Ecuador
(2024) Ochoa Avilés, Angélica María; Escandón Dután, Samuel Adrián; Ochoa Avilés, María Cristina
Indoor environmental quality has been associated with the health and wellbeing of building occupants; nevertheless, there is limited evidence in this regard for Latin American schools. This research aimed to characterize indoor environmental quality in public and private preschools in an Andean city in Ecuador. Data collection com-prised onsite monitoring for the thermal-humidity microclimate of 90 classrooms in 30 preschools in Cuenca-Ecuador (March-August 2018). Infrared thermography and direct observation were applied to determine dampness. Classrooms seemed to be inadequate thermal-humidity microclimates; only a few maintained a comfortable temperature (6%) and relative humidity (11%) throughout the shift. When compar-ing public and private schools, in private schools, temperatures below the comfort range (61.3% in private schools vs 31.4% in public schools, p<0.001) and relative humidity measures above the comfort range were more frequent (74.3% in private schools vs. 58.6% in public schools, p<0.001). Hollow blocks were the primary construction material in private and public schools. Sixty-four per cent of private schools operated in adaptive, reused buildings, vs 19% in public schools (p<0.05). Infrared thermography confirmed dampness in 26% (n=23) of the classrooms in the covering structures indoors (15% in public vs 33% in private schools, p<0.05). This research reveals the urgent need to develop specific regulations and control mechanisms for building sustainable and healthy environments for preschools in Ecuador.