Appetite-related chemical also affects drug-seeking: Hungry rats more resistant to drug relapse in absence of chemical signal

Appetite-Related Chemical Also Affects Drug-Seeking: Hungry Rats More Resistant to Drug Relapse in Absence of Chemical Signal


ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2011) — A behavioral study of food-deprived rats shows that the animals were less likely to return to heroin-seeking habits when given a compound that blocks specific brain receptors.



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HIV and AIDS

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Narcotic
Detox
Drug addiction
Sleep deprivation

These results, which have implications for drug treatments, were presented at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, held in San Diego.
More than 2.4 million Americans are in some sort of rehabilitation program for drug use. Yet 40 to 60 percent of drug addicts relapse when trying to get sober, often because of stressful situations. Scientists use animal models of drug use to further understand addict-like behavior and relapse, training rats to press a lever to self-administer heroin or other illicit drugs. Previous studies employed food deprivation as the stress "trigger" for potential relapse in drug-deprived animals. These studies showed that rats exposed to a short period of intense hunger quickly seek out drugs, mimicking the behavior of a relapsed addict.
The new results suggest that a molecule known as NPY, which is released into the body in times of food restriction, also acts as a trigger for drug-seeking. In this study, Concordia University researchers found that rats given a chemical that blocks the NPY brain receptors don't search for heroin. Moreover, the authors observed no side effects from the drugs in the rats, such as weight loss or behavioral changes.
"Our findings suggest a novel approach to the treatment of drug addiction, at least for addicts who also have eating disorders," said Uri Shalev, PhD, the study's lead author.
Research was supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Council of Canada, funds from the Canada Research Chair to the United States, and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec.

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Eating more fruit and vegetables is linked to a lower risk of dying from ischemic heart disease

Eating More Fruit and Vegetables Is Linked to a Lower Risk of Dying from Ischemic Heart Disease


ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2011) — A European study investigating the links between diet and disease has found that people who consume more fruit and vegetables have a lower risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease -- the most common form of heart disease and one of the leading causes of death in Europe. However, the authors point out that a higher fruit and vegetable intake occurs among people with other healthy eating habits and lifestyles, and that these factors could also be associated with the lower risk of dying from IHD.



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Mediterranean diet
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The study is published online on January 19 in the European Heart Journal.
Data analysed from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Heart study has shown that people who ate at least eight portions of fruit and vegetables a day had a 22% lower risk of dying from IHD than did those who consumed fewer than three portions a day. A portion weighed 80 grams, equal to a small banana, a medium apple, or a small carrot.
Dr Francesca Crowe of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, UK, and the first author of the paper by the EPIC study collaborators, said: "This study involved over 300,000 people in eight different European countries, with 1,636 deaths from IHD. It shows a 4% reduced risk of dying from IHD for each additional portion of fruit and vegetables consumed above the lowest intake of two portions. In other words, the risk of a fatal IHD for someone eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day would be 4% lower compared to someone consuming four portions a day, and so on up to eight portions or more."
Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is characterised by reduced blood supply to the heart; people suffering from it can develop angina, chest pains and have a heart attack.
The EPIC study started in 1992 and recruited participants from a total of ten European countries* until 2000. For the analysis of IHD deaths, data from eight countries for people aged between 40 and 85 were used. Participants answered questions about their diet at the time of entry to the study and other questions about health, socio-economic status and life-style, such as smoking, drinking and exercise habits. They were followed-up for an average of nearly eight and a half years.
The researchers found that the average intake of fruit and vegetables was five portions a day; people in Greece, Italy and Spain ate more, and those in Sweden ate less.
When analysing the data, the researchers made allowances for confounding factors such as differences in lifestyles and eating habits. However, the study could be limited by errors in measuring correctly people's fruit and vegetable intake as well as other aspects of their diet. In addition, the study had a higher proportion of women, which might not be generalisable to the wider European population.
Dr Crowe said: "The main message from this analysis is that, in this study, people who consume more fruits and vegetables have lower risk of dying from IHD. However, we need to be cautious in our interpretation of the results because we are unsure whether the association between fruit and vegetable intake and risk of IHD is due to some other component of diet or lifestyle.
"If we could understand, by means of well-designed intervention studies, the biological mechanisms that could underlie the association between fruits and vegetables and IHD, this might help to determine whether or not the relation between fruit and vegetables with IHD risk is causal."
In an accompanying editorial, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, director of the University College London (UCL) International Institute for Society and Health, head of the UCL Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and chairman of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, writes that it is difficult to reach firm conclusions about causation from results that show a 22% lower risk of dying from IHD (an odds ration of 0.78) in people who eat eight portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
He continues: "Such an odds ratio is, however, of huge practical importance. Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death. A reduction of 22% is huge. But... this reduction in mortality comes with consumption of eight portions a day, or 640g. Such a high consumption was found in only 18% of the men and women in these eight cohorts. There would need to be big shift in dietary patterns to achieve this healthy consumption of eight portions a day. It is worth trying to move in that direction. Reductions in cancers of several sites, in blood pressure and stroke, would add to this reduction in fatal CHD. Moving to a diet that emphasises fruit and vegetables is of great importance to public health."
*The ten countries include: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. For the Heart component of the study, data from France and Norway were excluded due to the small number of IHD deaths at the end of the follow-up period.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by European Society of Cardiology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

Francesca L. Crowe et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and mortality from ischaemic heart disease: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Heart study. European Heart Journal, January 18, 2011 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehq465

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Birth control pills do not cause weight gain, new research suggests

Birth Control Pills Do Not Cause Weight Gain, New Research Suggests


ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2011) — According to research conducted at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University, the commonly held belief that oral contraceptives cause weight gain appears to be false. The results of the study are published online and will appear in next month's edition of the journal Human Reproduction.



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Obesity

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Obstructive Sleep Apnea
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Overweight
Oral contraceptive
Liposuction

"A simple Google search will reveal that contraceptives and the possibility that they may cause weight gain is a very highly debated topic," said Alison Edelman, M.D., a physician and researcher in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at OHSU and lead author of the study.
"Issues surrounding weight are hard to study in humans, and the research thus far has been insufficient to demonstrate whether or not oral contraceptives cause weight gain or loss. But this is an extremely important question as concern about weight gain is one of the main reasons why women may avoid or discontinue birth control, which in turn places them at greater risk for an unplanned pregnancy."
To conduct their research, scientists and physicians studied a group of rhesus macaque monkeys at the OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center for almost a year. Rhesus monkeys were used in this study because their reproductive system is nearly identical to humans. However, unlike human studies, more variables can be controlled and measured -- such as exact food intake -- to provide more meaningful data.
At the beginning of the study, half the animals were obese and half were normal weight. During the eight-month treatment period, animals received doses of oral contraceptives, adjusted to the weight of the animals so that it mimicked dosage in humans. Researchers tracked weight, food intake, activity levels, body fat and lean muscle mass. At the study's conclusion, the normal weight group remained weight stable whereas the obese group lost a significant amount of weight (8.5%) and percent of body fat (12%) due to an increase in basal metabolic rate. No changes were seen in food intake, activity or lean muscle mass for either group.
"This study suggests that worries about weight gain with pill use appear to be based more on fiction than on fact," said Judy Cameron, Ph.D., senior author of the paper and a researcher at the primate center.
"Additionally, there may be a differential affect depending on your starting weight -- heavier individuals who keep their diet stable may see a weight loss with pill use. Most likely, the reason why this belief continues to exist is that the weight gain that seems to occur with age is being attributed to these medications. We realize that research in nonhuman primates cannot entirely dismiss the connection between contraceptives and weight gain in humans, but it strongly suggests that women should not be as worried as they previously were."
The research was funded by the Society for Family Planning.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Oregon Health & Science University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

A. Edelman, J. T. Jensen, M. Bulechowsky, J. Cameron. Combined oral contraceptives and body weight: do oral contraceptives cause weight gain? A primate model. Human Reproduction, 2010; DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deq335

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Appetite-related chemical also affects drug-seeking: Hungry rats more resistant to drug relapse in absence of chemical signal

Appetite-Related Chemical Also Affects Drug-Seeking: Hungry Rats More Resistant to Drug Relapse in Absence of Chemical Signal


ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2011) — A behavioral study of food-deprived rats shows that the animals were less likely to return to heroin-seeking habits when given a compound that blocks specific brain receptors.



See Also:
Health & Medicine

Pharmacology
HIV and AIDS

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Addiction
Illegal Drugs

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Behavioral Science
Bacteria

Reference

Narcotic
Detox
Drug addiction
Sleep deprivation

These results, which have implications for drug treatments, were presented at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, held in San Diego.
More than 2.4 million Americans are in some sort of rehabilitation program for drug use. Yet 40 to 60 percent of drug addicts relapse when trying to get sober, often because of stressful situations. Scientists use animal models of drug use to further understand addict-like behavior and relapse, training rats to press a lever to self-administer heroin or other illicit drugs. Previous studies employed food deprivation as the stress "trigger" for potential relapse in drug-deprived animals. These studies showed that rats exposed to a short period of intense hunger quickly seek out drugs, mimicking the behavior of a relapsed addict.
The new results suggest that a molecule known as NPY, which is released into the body in times of food restriction, also acts as a trigger for drug-seeking. In this study, Concordia University researchers found that rats given a chemical that blocks the NPY brain receptors don't search for heroin. Moreover, the authors observed no side effects from the drugs in the rats, such as weight loss or behavioral changes.
"Our findings suggest a novel approach to the treatment of drug addiction, at least for addicts who also have eating disorders," said Uri Shalev, PhD, the study's lead author.
Research was supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Council of Canada, funds from the Canada Research Chair to the United States, and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Society for Neuroscience.

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Eating more fruit and vegetables is linked to a lower risk of dying from ischemic heart disease

Eating More Fruit and Vegetables Is Linked to a Lower Risk of Dying from Ischemic Heart Disease


ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2011) — A European study investigating the links between diet and disease has found that people who consume more fruit and vegetables have a lower risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease -- the most common form of heart disease and one of the leading causes of death in Europe. However, the authors point out that a higher fruit and vegetable intake occurs among people with other healthy eating habits and lifestyles, and that these factors could also be associated with the lower risk of dying from IHD.



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Health & Medicine

Vegetarian
Heart Disease
Cholesterol

Plants & Animals

Food
Botany
Trees

Reference

Ischaemic heart disease
Coronary heart disease
Mediterranean diet
Food groups

The study is published online on January 19 in the European Heart Journal.
Data analysed from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Heart study has shown that people who ate at least eight portions of fruit and vegetables a day had a 22% lower risk of dying from IHD than did those who consumed fewer than three portions a day. A portion weighed 80 grams, equal to a small banana, a medium apple, or a small carrot.
Dr Francesca Crowe of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, UK, and the first author of the paper by the EPIC study collaborators, said: "This study involved over 300,000 people in eight different European countries, with 1,636 deaths from IHD. It shows a 4% reduced risk of dying from IHD for each additional portion of fruit and vegetables consumed above the lowest intake of two portions. In other words, the risk of a fatal IHD for someone eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day would be 4% lower compared to someone consuming four portions a day, and so on up to eight portions or more."
Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is characterised by reduced blood supply to the heart; people suffering from it can develop angina, chest pains and have a heart attack.
The EPIC study started in 1992 and recruited participants from a total of ten European countries* until 2000. For the analysis of IHD deaths, data from eight countries for people aged between 40 and 85 were used. Participants answered questions about their diet at the time of entry to the study and other questions about health, socio-economic status and life-style, such as smoking, drinking and exercise habits. They were followed-up for an average of nearly eight and a half years.
The researchers found that the average intake of fruit and vegetables was five portions a day; people in Greece, Italy and Spain ate more, and those in Sweden ate less.
When analysing the data, the researchers made allowances for confounding factors such as differences in lifestyles and eating habits. However, the study could be limited by errors in measuring correctly people's fruit and vegetable intake as well as other aspects of their diet. In addition, the study had a higher proportion of women, which might not be generalisable to the wider European population.
Dr Crowe said: "The main message from this analysis is that, in this study, people who consume more fruits and vegetables have lower risk of dying from IHD. However, we need to be cautious in our interpretation of the results because we are unsure whether the association between fruit and vegetable intake and risk of IHD is due to some other component of diet or lifestyle.
"If we could understand, by means of well-designed intervention studies, the biological mechanisms that could underlie the association between fruits and vegetables and IHD, this might help to determine whether or not the relation between fruit and vegetables with IHD risk is causal."
In an accompanying editorial, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, director of the University College London (UCL) International Institute for Society and Health, head of the UCL Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and chairman of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, writes that it is difficult to reach firm conclusions about causation from results that show a 22% lower risk of dying from IHD (an odds ration of 0.78) in people who eat eight portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
He continues: "Such an odds ratio is, however, of huge practical importance. Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death. A reduction of 22% is huge. But... this reduction in mortality comes with consumption of eight portions a day, or 640g. Such a high consumption was found in only 18% of the men and women in these eight cohorts. There would need to be big shift in dietary patterns to achieve this healthy consumption of eight portions a day. It is worth trying to move in that direction. Reductions in cancers of several sites, in blood pressure and stroke, would add to this reduction in fatal CHD. Moving to a diet that emphasises fruit and vegetables is of great importance to public health."
*The ten countries include: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. For the Heart component of the study, data from France and Norway were excluded due to the small number of IHD deaths at the end of the follow-up period.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by European Society of Cardiology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

Francesca L. Crowe et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and mortality from ischaemic heart disease: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Heart study. European Heart Journal, January 18, 2011 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehq465

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Birth control pills do not cause weight gain, new research suggests

Birth Control Pills Do Not Cause Weight Gain, New Research Suggests


ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2011) — According to research conducted at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University, the commonly held belief that oral contraceptives cause weight gain appears to be false. The results of the study are published online and will appear in next month's edition of the journal Human Reproduction.



See Also:
Health & Medicine

Diet and Weight Loss
Fitness
Obesity

Mind & Brain

Dieting and Weight Control
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Consumer Behavior

Reference

General fitness training
Overweight
Oral contraceptive
Liposuction

"A simple Google search will reveal that contraceptives and the possibility that they may cause weight gain is a very highly debated topic," said Alison Edelman, M.D., a physician and researcher in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at OHSU and lead author of the study.
"Issues surrounding weight are hard to study in humans, and the research thus far has been insufficient to demonstrate whether or not oral contraceptives cause weight gain or loss. But this is an extremely important question as concern about weight gain is one of the main reasons why women may avoid or discontinue birth control, which in turn places them at greater risk for an unplanned pregnancy."
To conduct their research, scientists and physicians studied a group of rhesus macaque monkeys at the OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center for almost a year. Rhesus monkeys were used in this study because their reproductive system is nearly identical to humans. However, unlike human studies, more variables can be controlled and measured -- such as exact food intake -- to provide more meaningful data.
At the beginning of the study, half the animals were obese and half were normal weight. During the eight-month treatment period, animals received doses of oral contraceptives, adjusted to the weight of the animals so that it mimicked dosage in humans. Researchers tracked weight, food intake, activity levels, body fat and lean muscle mass. At the study's conclusion, the normal weight group remained weight stable whereas the obese group lost a significant amount of weight (8.5%) and percent of body fat (12%) due to an increase in basal metabolic rate. No changes were seen in food intake, activity or lean muscle mass for either group.
"This study suggests that worries about weight gain with pill use appear to be based more on fiction than on fact," said Judy Cameron, Ph.D., senior author of the paper and a researcher at the primate center.
"Additionally, there may be a differential affect depending on your starting weight -- heavier individuals who keep their diet stable may see a weight loss with pill use. Most likely, the reason why this belief continues to exist is that the weight gain that seems to occur with age is being attributed to these medications. We realize that research in nonhuman primates cannot entirely dismiss the connection between contraceptives and weight gain in humans, but it strongly suggests that women should not be as worried as they previously were."
The research was funded by the Society for Family Planning.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Oregon Health & Science University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

A. Edelman, J. T. Jensen, M. Bulechowsky, J. Cameron. Combined oral contraceptives and body weight: do oral contraceptives cause weight gain? A primate model. Human Reproduction, 2010; DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deq335

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Infants not exempt from obesity epidemic

Infants Not Exempt from Obesity Epidemic


ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2011) — Most people understand that children are part of the obesity epidemic. However, a revealing new study finds that obesity might begin in babies as young as nine months old.



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"With the consistent evidence that the percent of overweight children has steadily increased over the past decade, we weren't surprised by the prevalence rates we found in our study, but we were surprised the trend began at such a young age," said lead study author Brian Moss, at the social work school at Wayne State University in Detroit.
The new study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort to analyze the early weight of 16,400 U.S. children born in 2001. Of these, 8,900 were nine months old and 7,500 were two years old.
The researchers found that 31.9 percent of babies at nine months and 34.3 percent at two years of age were either at risk or obese. The study also found that children who were Hispanic and from lower-income families were at greater risk of being obese than white children, while Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders had lower risk. Female children were at lower risk for obesity than males.
"Being in an undesirable weight category at nine months subsequently predisposed children to remain in a less desirable weight category," said Moss, whose study appears in the January-February 2011 issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Childhood obesity expert Joyce Lee, MD, an assistant professor in pediatric endocrinology and health services research at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, confirmed that obesity is indeed becoming a problem in increasingly younger children.
"At younger ages, it is critical for parents to watch their child's nutritional intake as this will be the main determinant of their weight status," Lee said. "There is no approved 'diet' for children that young, so parents should communicate with their child's health care provider about healthy ways to feed their child."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health.




Journal Reference:

Brian G. Moss, William H. Yeaton. Young Children's Weight Trajectories and Associated Risk Factors: Results From the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2011; 25 (3): 190 DOI: 10.4278/ajhp.090123-QUAN-29

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Big breakfast generally doesn't help weight loss

Big Breakfast Generally Doesn't Help Weight Loss


ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2011) — Does eating a big breakfast help weight loss or is it better to skip breakfast altogether? Available information is confusing but new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition Journal clears a path through these apparently contradictory reports.



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Dr Volker Schusdziarra, from the Else-Kröner-Fresenius Center of Nutritional Medicine, conducted a study on over 300 people who were asked to keep a journal of what they usually ate. Within the group sometimes people ate a big breakfast, sometimes small, and sometimes skipped it all together.
Schusdziarra said that "the results of the study showed that people ate the same at lunch and dinner, regardless of what they had for breakfast," this means that a big breakfast (on average 400kcal greater than a small breakfast) resulted in a total increase in calories eaten over the day of about 400kcal. The only difference seen was the skipping of a mid morning snack when someone ate a really big breakfast, however this was not enough to offset the extra calories they had already eaten.
The group addressed previous research, which suggests that eating a big breakfast reduces total calorie intake over the day, and showed that this data is misleading. This earlier research only looked at the ratio of breakfast calories to daily calories and in Schusdziarra's study this ratio seems to be most affected by people eating less during the day. In other words their breakfast was proportionally, but not absolutely, bigger. So it seems that there is no magic and that, unfortunately, in the fight for weight-loss, eating a large breakfast must be counteracted by eating substantially less during the rest of the day.
In order to lose weight sensibly NHS guidelines (UK) suggest restricting calorie intake, cutting down on saturated fat and sugar, and eating 5-a-day fruit and veg.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by BioMed Central, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

Volker Schusdziarra, Margit Hausmann, Claudia Wittke, Johanna Mittermeier, Marietta Kellner, Aline Naumann, Stefan Wagenpfeil, Johannes Erdmann. Impact of breakfast on daily energy intake -- an analysis of absolute versus relative breakfast calories. Nutrition Journal, (in press) [link]

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Reducing diet early in pregnancy stunts fetal brain development, study finds

Reducing Diet Early in Pregnancy Stunts Fetal Brain Development, Study Finds


ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2011) — Eating less during early pregnancy impaired fetal brain development in a nonhuman primate model, researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio report.



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The researchers found decreased formation of cell-to-cell connections, cell division and amounts of growth factors in the fetuses of mothers fed a reduced diet during the first half of pregnancy. "This is a critical time window when many of the neurons as well as the supporting cells in the brain are born," said Peter Nathanielsz, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Research in the Health Science Center School of Medicine.
The study included collaborators at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio and Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. The team compared two groups of baboon mothers located at SFBR's Southwest National Primate Research Center. One group ate as much as they wanted during the first half of pregnancy while the other group was fed 30 percent less, a level of nutrition similar to what many prospective mothers in the U.S. experience.
Hundreds of genes involved
"Our collaboration allowed us to determine that the nutritional environment impacts the fetal brain at both the cellular and molecular levels," said SFBR's Laura Cox, Ph.D. "That is, we found dysregulation of hundreds of genes, many of which are known to be key regulators in cell growth and development, indicating that nutrition plays a major role during fetal development by regulating the basic cellular machinery."
Moderate versus severe reduction
It is known that marked nutrient restriction, such as in famine conditions, adversely affects development of the fetal brain. Senior author Thomas McDonald, Ph.D., also of the Health Science Center, said the study "is the first demonstration of major effects caused by the levels of food insecurity that occur in sections of U.S. society and demonstrates the vulnerability of the fetus to moderate reduction in nutrients."
Dr. Nathanielsz noted:

In teenage pregnancy, the developing fetus is deprived of nutrients by the needs of the growing mother;
In pregnancies late in reproductive life, a woman's arteries are stiffer and the blood supply to the uterus decreases, inevitably affecting nutrient delivery to the fetus;
Diseases such as preeclampsia or high blood pressure in pregnancy can lead to decreased function of the placenta with decreased delivery of nutrients to the fetus.

'Lifetime effects'
"This study is a further demonstration of the importance of good maternal health and diet," Dr. McDonald said. "It supports the view that poor diets in pregnancy can alter development of fetal organs, in this case the brain, in ways that will have lifetime effects on offspring, potentially lowering IQ and predisposing to behavioral problems."
Developmental programming of lifetime health has been shown to play a role in later development of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. In light of this new finding, research should focus on effects of developmental programming in the context of autism, depression, schizophrenia and other brain disorders.
Mother's protection
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also forces researchers to review the commonly held notion that during pregnancy the mother is able to protect the fetus from dietary challenges such as poor nutrition, Dr. McDonald said.
The nonhuman primate model's brain developmental stages are very close to those of human fetuses, the researchers noted. Most previous research in this area was conducted in rats.

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Infants not exempt from obesity epidemic

Infants Not Exempt from Obesity Epidemic


ScienceDaily (Jan. 4, 2011) — Most people understand that children are part of the obesity epidemic. However, a revealing new study finds that obesity might begin in babies as young as nine months old.



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Body mass index
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Overweight
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"With the consistent evidence that the percent of overweight children has steadily increased over the past decade, we weren't surprised by the prevalence rates we found in our study, but we were surprised the trend began at such a young age," said lead study author Brian Moss, at the social work school at Wayne State University in Detroit.
The new study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort to analyze the early weight of 16,400 U.S. children born in 2001. Of these, 8,900 were nine months old and 7,500 were two years old.
The researchers found that 31.9 percent of babies at nine months and 34.3 percent at two years of age were either at risk or obese. The study also found that children who were Hispanic and from lower-income families were at greater risk of being obese than white children, while Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders had lower risk. Female children were at lower risk for obesity than males.
"Being in an undesirable weight category at nine months subsequently predisposed children to remain in a less desirable weight category," said Moss, whose study appears in the January-February 2011 issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Childhood obesity expert Joyce Lee, MD, an assistant professor in pediatric endocrinology and health services research at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, confirmed that obesity is indeed becoming a problem in increasingly younger children.
"At younger ages, it is critical for parents to watch their child's nutritional intake as this will be the main determinant of their weight status," Lee said. "There is no approved 'diet' for children that young, so parents should communicate with their child's health care provider about healthy ways to feed their child."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health.




Journal Reference:

Brian G. Moss, William H. Yeaton. Young Children's Weight Trajectories and Associated Risk Factors: Results From the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2011; 25 (3): 190 DOI: 10.4278/ajhp.090123-QUAN-29

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'Yo-yo' effect of slimming diets explained

'Yo-Yo' Effect of Slimming Diets Explained


ScienceDaily (Jan. 17, 2011) — If you want to lose the kilos you've put on over Christmas, you may be interested in knowing that the hormones related to appetite play an important role in your likelihood of regaining weight after dieting. A new study confirms that people with the highest levels of leptin and lowest levels of ghrelin are more likely to put the centimetres they lost back on again.



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Doctors often have to deal with patients who, after sticking to a slimming diet, have regained the kilos lost in just a short time -- or weigh even more than they did before they started the diet. This is called the 'yo-yo' effect, and it is noted in some people who follow such weight-loss programmes.
"There are patients who are susceptible to and others who are resistant to the benefits of a diet," Ana Belén Crujeiras, lead author of the study and a doctor at the University Hospital Complex of Santiago (CHUS), said. "It seems that the way each patient responds to treatment is predetermined by their own characteristics."
The researchers analysed the role of the plasma levels of hormones such as ghrelin, leptin and insulin on weight recovery in 104 overweight people following a hypocaloric diet. After eight weeks, the group that had regained more than 10% of the weight lost was found to have higher levels of leptin and lower levels of ghrelin. No differences were observed in their insulin levels.
The results, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, also show that ghrelin has a specific impact on men and leptin on women.
"Some obese or overweight patients who gain more weight following a diet could even be identified before they embark on their weight-loss therapy, just by looking at their plasma levels of these hormones," Crujeiras stresses.
A very useful dietary weapon
According to the authors, this study opens the door to more exhaustive studies on appetite-related hormones as tools for developing individually-tailored weight-loss programmes that would guarantee success for obese and overweight patients in keeping the weight lost off.
"Endocrinologists and nutritionists should design a special programme for patients with the highest plasma levels of leptin and the lowest ghrelin levels before they start on a hypocaloric diet, knowing that these patients are the most likely to regain the weight they have lost over the short term," concludes the expert.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Plataforma SINC, via AlphaGalileo.




Journal Reference:

A. B. Crujeiras, E. Goyenechea, I. Abete, M. Lage, M. C. Carreira, J. A. Martinez, F. F. Casanueva. Weight Regain after a Diet-Induced Loss Is Predicted by Higher Baseline Leptin and Lower Ghrelin Plasma Levels. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2010; 95 (11): 5037 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2009-2566

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Big breakfast generally doesn't help weight loss

Big Breakfast Generally Doesn't Help Weight Loss


ScienceDaily (Jan. 16, 2011) — Does eating a big breakfast help weight loss or is it better to skip breakfast altogether? Available information is confusing but new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition Journal clears a path through these apparently contradictory reports.



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Health & Medicine

Diet and Weight Loss
Obesity
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Plants & Animals

Food
Cats
Microbiology

Reference

South Beach diet
Bran
Food groups
Healthy diet

Dr Volker Schusdziarra, from the Else-Kröner-Fresenius Center of Nutritional Medicine, conducted a study on over 300 people who were asked to keep a journal of what they usually ate. Within the group sometimes people ate a big breakfast, sometimes small, and sometimes skipped it all together.
Schusdziarra said that "the results of the study showed that people ate the same at lunch and dinner, regardless of what they had for breakfast," this means that a big breakfast (on average 400kcal greater than a small breakfast) resulted in a total increase in calories eaten over the day of about 400kcal. The only difference seen was the skipping of a mid morning snack when someone ate a really big breakfast, however this was not enough to offset the extra calories they had already eaten.
The group addressed previous research, which suggests that eating a big breakfast reduces total calorie intake over the day, and showed that this data is misleading. This earlier research only looked at the ratio of breakfast calories to daily calories and in Schusdziarra's study this ratio seems to be most affected by people eating less during the day. In other words their breakfast was proportionally, but not absolutely, bigger. So it seems that there is no magic and that, unfortunately, in the fight for weight-loss, eating a large breakfast must be counteracted by eating substantially less during the rest of the day.
In order to lose weight sensibly NHS guidelines (UK) suggest restricting calorie intake, cutting down on saturated fat and sugar, and eating 5-a-day fruit and veg.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by BioMed Central, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

Volker Schusdziarra, Margit Hausmann, Claudia Wittke, Johanna Mittermeier, Marietta Kellner, Aline Naumann, Stefan Wagenpfeil, Johannes Erdmann. Impact of breakfast on daily energy intake -- an analysis of absolute versus relative breakfast calories. Nutrition Journal, (in press) [link]

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Taking more steps every day can help ward off diabetes

Taking More Steps Every Day Can Help Ward Off Diabetes


ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2011) — Simply taking more steps every day not only helps ward off obesity but also reduces the risk of diabetes, finds a study published on the British Medical Journal website.



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Health & Medicine

Diabetes
Obesity
Vitamin D
Fitness
Hormone Disorders
Chronic Illness

Reference

Diabetes mellitus type 2
Blood sugar
Glycemic index
South Beach diet

While several studies have shown that physical activity reduces body mass index and insulin resistance -- an early stage in the development of diabetes -- this is the first study to estimate the effects of long-term changes in daily step count on insulin sensitivity.
A popular guideline is to do 10,000 steps every day, though a more recent recommendation is 3,000 steps, five days a week.
The research, by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, involved 592 middle aged adults who took part in a national study to map diabetes levels across Australia between 2000 and 2005.
At the start of the study, participants completed a detailed diet and lifestyle questionnaire and underwent a thorough health examination. They were also given a pedometer and instructed how to use it. Participants were monitored again five years later.
Other lifestyle factors, such as diet, alcohol and smoking were taken into account.
A higher daily step count over five years was associated with a lower body mass index, lower waist to hip ratio, and better insulin sensitivity.
These associations were independent of dietary energy intake and appeared to be largely due to a change in adiposity (fatness) over the five years, say the authors.
The authors estimate that, in their setting, a sedentary person who takes a very low number of daily steps but who was able to change behaviour over five years to meet the popular 10,000 daily step guideline would have a threefold improvement in insulin sensitivity compared with a similar person who increased his or her steps to meet the more recent recommendation of 3,000 steps for five days a week.
They conclude: "These findings, confirming an independent beneficial role of higher daily step count on body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and insulin sensitivity, provide further support to promote higher physical activity levels among middle aged adults."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

T. Dwyer, A.-L. Ponsonby, O. C. Ukoumunne, A. Pezic, A. Venn, D. Dunstan, E. Barr, S. Blair, J. Cochrane, P. Zimmet, J. Shaw. Association of change in daily step count over five years with insulin sensitivity and adiposity: population based cohort study. BMJ, 2011; 342 (jan13 1): c7249 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.c7249

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Microbes in our gut regulate genes that control obesity and inflammation

Microbes in Our Gut Regulate Genes That Control Obesity and Inflammation


ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2011) — If you are looking to lose weight in the coming year, you may need help from an unexpected place: the bacteria in your gut. That's because scientists have discovered that the bacteria living in your intestines may play a far more significant role in weight loss and gastrointestinal problems than ever imagined.



See Also:
Health & Medicine

Diet and Weight Loss
Colitis
Gastrointestinal Problems

Plants & Animals

Bacteria
Microbiology
Microbes and More

Reference

Appetite
Heat shock protein
Colostrum
Vitamin K

In a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal, researchers show that a deficiency of Toll-like receptor 2 (Tlr2) -- used by mammals (including humans) to recognize resident microbes in the intestines -- leads to changes in gut bacteria that resemble those of lean animals and humans. This discovery builds on previous research demonstrating that a deficiency of TLR2 protects against obesity, while at the same time promoting gastrointestinal problems like excessive inflammation. It also shows that genes controlling TLR2 expression play a very important role in one's gastrointestinal health and weight management.
"Our work highlights the remarkable capacity for an orchestrated reprogramming of the intestinal inflammatory network to overcome significant genetic challenges in the mammalian bowel," said Richard Kellermayer, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "The appropriate exploitation of this remarkable capacity may provide means for the prevention and optimized treatment of common metabolic (such as obesity and diabetes) and gastrointestinal disorders."
To make this discovery, Kellermayer and colleagues studied normal mice and mice deficient in TLR2 using the large intestinal lining of these mice. They compared the TLR2-deficient ones to the normal group, as well as the bacteria, the epigenome (more specifically DNA methylation, a molecular change in the DNA associated with decreased gene expression), and the gene expression of the animals. The researchers found that the absence of TLR2 leads to microbial changes in the gut that resemble lean animals and humans, as well as immunologic changes similar to those observed in ulcerative colitis.
"Every New Year, a significant percentage of us resolve ourselves to lose weight," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "but national statistics on obesity show that we're failing fast. This research linking gut bacteria to TLR2 expression opens entirely new doors for weight control solutions, first by cementing TLR2 as a drug target for obesity, and second by providing further evidence that managing gut bacteria may be an important and effective way to control weight. The challenge, of course, is to find a way to tip the scales just enough to keep weight under control without causing serious gastrointestinal problems."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

R. Kellermayer, S. E. Dowd, R. A. Harris, A. Balasa, T. D. Schaible, R. D. Wolcott, N. Tatevian, R. Szigeti, Z. Li, J. Versalovic, C. W. Smith. Colonic mucosal DNA methylation, immune response, and microbiome patterns in Toll-like receptor 2-knockout mice. The FASEB Journal, 2011; DOI: 10.1096/fj.10-172205

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Big breakfast generally doesn't help weight loss

Big Breakfast Generally Doesn't Help Weight Loss


ScienceDaily (Jan. 16, 2011) — Does eating a big breakfast help weight loss or is it better to skip breakfast altogether? Available information is confusing but new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition Journal clears a path through these apparently contradictory reports.



See Also:
Health & Medicine

Diet and Weight Loss
Obesity
Fitness

Plants & Animals

Food
Cats
Microbiology

Reference

South Beach diet
Bran
Food groups
Healthy diet

Dr Volker Schusdziarra, from the Else-Kröner-Fresenius Center of Nutritional Medicine, conducted a study on over 300 people who were asked to keep a journal of what they usually ate. Within the group sometimes people ate a big breakfast, sometimes small, and sometimes skipped it all together.
Schusdziarra said that "the results of the study showed that people ate the same at lunch and dinner, regardless of what they had for breakfast," this means that a big breakfast (on average 400kcal greater than a small breakfast) resulted in a total increase in calories eaten over the day of about 400kcal. The only difference seen was the skipping of a mid morning snack when someone ate a really big breakfast, however this was not enough to offset the extra calories they had already eaten.
The group addressed previous research, which suggests that eating a big breakfast reduces total calorie intake over the day, and showed that this data is misleading. This earlier research only looked at the ratio of breakfast calories to daily calories and in Schusdziarra's study this ratio seems to be most affected by people eating less during the day. In other words their breakfast was proportionally, but not absolutely, bigger. So it seems that there is no magic and that, unfortunately, in the fight for weight-loss, eating a large breakfast must be counteracted by eating substantially less during the rest of the day.
In order to lose weight sensibly NHS guidelines (UK) suggest restricting calorie intake, cutting down on saturated fat and sugar, and eating 5-a-day fruit and veg.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by BioMed Central, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

Volker Schusdziarra, Margit Hausmann, Claudia Wittke, Johanna Mittermeier, Marietta Kellner, Aline Naumann, Stefan Wagenpfeil, Johannes Erdmann. Impact of breakfast on daily energy intake -- an analysis of absolute versus relative breakfast calories. Nutrition Journal, (in press) [link]

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Mandatory menu labeling didn't change behavior at fast food chain

Mandatory Menu Labeling Didn't Change Behavior at Fast Food Chain


ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2011) — An effort in King County, Washington, to add nutrition facts labeling to fast food menus had no effect on consumer behavior in its first year.



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Health & Medicine

Nutrition
Diet and Weight Loss
Staying Healthy
Health Policy
Obesity
Diseases and Conditions

Reference

Fast food
Calorie
Soft drink
Weight Watchers

As part of a comprehensive effort to stem the rise in obesity, the county, which includes Seattle and environs, imposed a mandatory menu labeling regulation on all restaurant chains with 15 or more locations beginning in January, 2009. Restaurants had to disclose calorie information at the point of purchase.
Researchers from Duke-National University of Singapore (NUS) Graduate Medical School and the public health department of Seattle & King County found, in the 13 months after the legislation went into effect, food-purchasing behavior at the Taco Time locations in King County was identical to that in Taco Time locations where menu boards remained unchanged.
The total number of sales and average calories per transaction were unaffected by the menu labeling.
"Given the results of prior studies, we had expected the results to be small, but we were surprised that we could not detect even the slightest hint of changes in purchasing behavior as a result of the legislation," said lead author Eric Finkelstein, Ph.D., associate professor of health services at Duke-NUS. "The results suggest that mandatory menu labeling, unless combined with other interventions, may be unlikely to significantly influence the obesity epidemic."
As part of health care reform, the federal government has plans for a nationwide launch of mandatory nutrition information at the point of purchase for fast-food chains with 20 or more outlets.
"However, it may be that detailed nutritional information is not the best way to convey the health content of fast foods," said coauthor Kiersten Strombotne of Duke-NUS. "For example, if you know a store offers diet and regular soda, does showing how many calories are in regular soda really offer any relevant information? Those who want a lower calorie drink already know to drink the diet soda."
Finkelstein said that the lack of effects at Taco Time may be because the restaurant was already identifying the healthier options via "Healthy Highlights" logos on the menu board before the legislation went into effect.
"A simple logo identifying which foods are healthiest may be all it takes to convey that information to those consumers who wish to choose a healthier alternative," Finkelstein said. "The additional information appears not to have made a difference."
Finkelstein pointed out that the obesity epidemic continued to increase after the Nutrition Facts Panel was required nationally for pre-packaged foods. He suggested that further studies should be done to quantify which sources of information are most likely to encourage consumers to switch to healthier options.
Such information, however, would be too late for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use because its regulations on fast-food menu labeling are due out by March 23, 2011, he said.
The study was published in the February issue of the American Journal for Preventive Medicine on January 14. Other authors on the study were Nadine L. Chan and James Krieger of Public Health -- Seattle and King County.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Duke University Medical Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Microbes in our gut regulate genes that control obesity and inflammation

Microbes in Our Gut Regulate Genes That Control Obesity and Inflammation


ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2011) — If you are looking to lose weight in the coming year, you may need help from an unexpected place: the bacteria in your gut. That's because scientists have discovered that the bacteria living in your intestines may play a far more significant role in weight loss and gastrointestinal problems than ever imagined.



See Also:
Health & Medicine

Diet and Weight Loss
Colitis
Gastrointestinal Problems

Plants & Animals

Bacteria
Microbiology
Microbes and More

Reference

Appetite
Heat shock protein
Colostrum
Vitamin K

In a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal, researchers show that a deficiency of Toll-like receptor 2 (Tlr2) -- used by mammals (including humans) to recognize resident microbes in the intestines -- leads to changes in gut bacteria that resemble those of lean animals and humans. This discovery builds on previous research demonstrating that a deficiency of TLR2 protects against obesity, while at the same time promoting gastrointestinal problems like excessive inflammation. It also shows that genes controlling TLR2 expression play a very important role in one's gastrointestinal health and weight management.
"Our work highlights the remarkable capacity for an orchestrated reprogramming of the intestinal inflammatory network to overcome significant genetic challenges in the mammalian bowel," said Richard Kellermayer, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "The appropriate exploitation of this remarkable capacity may provide means for the prevention and optimized treatment of common metabolic (such as obesity and diabetes) and gastrointestinal disorders."
To make this discovery, Kellermayer and colleagues studied normal mice and mice deficient in TLR2 using the large intestinal lining of these mice. They compared the TLR2-deficient ones to the normal group, as well as the bacteria, the epigenome (more specifically DNA methylation, a molecular change in the DNA associated with decreased gene expression), and the gene expression of the animals. The researchers found that the absence of TLR2 leads to microbial changes in the gut that resemble lean animals and humans, as well as immunologic changes similar to those observed in ulcerative colitis.
"Every New Year, a significant percentage of us resolve ourselves to lose weight," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "but national statistics on obesity show that we're failing fast. This research linking gut bacteria to TLR2 expression opens entirely new doors for weight control solutions, first by cementing TLR2 as a drug target for obesity, and second by providing further evidence that managing gut bacteria may be an important and effective way to control weight. The challenge, of course, is to find a way to tip the scales just enough to keep weight under control without causing serious gastrointestinal problems."

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More

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

R. Kellermayer, S. E. Dowd, R. A. Harris, A. Balasa, T. D. Schaible, R. D. Wolcott, N. Tatevian, R. Szigeti, Z. Li, J. Versalovic, C. W. Smith. Colonic mucosal DNA methylation, immune response, and microbiome patterns in Toll-like receptor 2-knockout mice. The FASEB Journal, 2011; DOI: 10.1096/fj.10-172205

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Taking more steps every day can help ward off diabetes

Taking More Steps Every Day Can Help Ward Off Diabetes


ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2011) — Simply taking more steps every day not only helps ward off obesity but also reduces the risk of diabetes, finds a study published on the British Medical Journal website.



See Also:
Health & Medicine

Diabetes
Obesity
Vitamin D
Fitness
Hormone Disorders
Chronic Illness

Reference

Diabetes mellitus type 2
Blood sugar
Glycemic index
South Beach diet

While several studies have shown that physical activity reduces body mass index and insulin resistance -- an early stage in the development of diabetes -- this is the first study to estimate the effects of long-term changes in daily step count on insulin sensitivity.
A popular guideline is to do 10,000 steps every day, though a more recent recommendation is 3,000 steps, five days a week.
The research, by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, involved 592 middle aged adults who took part in a national study to map diabetes levels across Australia between 2000 and 2005.
At the start of the study, participants completed a detailed diet and lifestyle questionnaire and underwent a thorough health examination. They were also given a pedometer and instructed how to use it. Participants were monitored again five years later.
Other lifestyle factors, such as diet, alcohol and smoking were taken into account.
A higher daily step count over five years was associated with a lower body mass index, lower waist to hip ratio, and better insulin sensitivity.
These associations were independent of dietary energy intake and appeared to be largely due to a change in adiposity (fatness) over the five years, say the authors.
The authors estimate that, in their setting, a sedentary person who takes a very low number of daily steps but who was able to change behaviour over five years to meet the popular 10,000 daily step guideline would have a threefold improvement in insulin sensitivity compared with a similar person who increased his or her steps to meet the more recent recommendation of 3,000 steps for five days a week.
They conclude: "These findings, confirming an independent beneficial role of higher daily step count on body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and insulin sensitivity, provide further support to promote higher physical activity levels among middle aged adults."

Email or share this story:

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More

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

T. Dwyer, A.-L. Ponsonby, O. C. Ukoumunne, A. Pezic, A. Venn, D. Dunstan, E. Barr, S. Blair, J. Cochrane, P. Zimmet, J. Shaw. Association of change in daily step count over five years with insulin sensitivity and adiposity: population based cohort study. BMJ, 2011; 342 (jan13 1): c7249 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.c7249

Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:


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citation();




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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Mandatory menu labeling didn't change behavior at fast food chain

Mandatory Menu Labeling Didn't Change Behavior at Fast Food Chain


ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2011) — An effort in King County, Washington, to add nutrition facts labeling to fast food menus had no effect on consumer behavior in its first year.



See Also:
Health & Medicine

Nutrition
Diet and Weight Loss
Staying Healthy
Health Policy
Obesity
Diseases and Conditions

Reference

Fast food
Calorie
Soft drink
Weight Watchers

As part of a comprehensive effort to stem the rise in obesity, the county, which includes Seattle and environs, imposed a mandatory menu labeling regulation on all restaurant chains with 15 or more locations beginning in January, 2009. Restaurants had to disclose calorie information at the point of purchase.
Researchers from Duke-National University of Singapore (NUS) Graduate Medical School and the public health department of Seattle & King County found, in the 13 months after the legislation went into effect, food-purchasing behavior at the Taco Time locations in King County was identical to that in Taco Time locations where menu boards remained unchanged.
The total number of sales and average calories per transaction were unaffected by the menu labeling.
"Given the results of prior studies, we had expected the results to be small, but we were surprised that we could not detect even the slightest hint of changes in purchasing behavior as a result of the legislation," said lead author Eric Finkelstein, Ph.D., associate professor of health services at Duke-NUS. "The results suggest that mandatory menu labeling, unless combined with other interventions, may be unlikely to significantly influence the obesity epidemic."
As part of health care reform, the federal government has plans for a nationwide launch of mandatory nutrition information at the point of purchase for fast-food chains with 20 or more outlets.
"However, it may be that detailed nutritional information is not the best way to convey the health content of fast foods," said coauthor Kiersten Strombotne of Duke-NUS. "For example, if you know a store offers diet and regular soda, does showing how many calories are in regular soda really offer any relevant information? Those who want a lower calorie drink already know to drink the diet soda."
Finkelstein said that the lack of effects at Taco Time may be because the restaurant was already identifying the healthier options via "Healthy Highlights" logos on the menu board before the legislation went into effect.
"A simple logo identifying which foods are healthiest may be all it takes to convey that information to those consumers who wish to choose a healthier alternative," Finkelstein said. "The additional information appears not to have made a difference."
Finkelstein pointed out that the obesity epidemic continued to increase after the Nutrition Facts Panel was required nationally for pre-packaged foods. He suggested that further studies should be done to quantify which sources of information are most likely to encourage consumers to switch to healthier options.
Such information, however, would be too late for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use because its regulations on fast-food menu labeling are due out by March 23, 2011, he said.
The study was published in the February issue of the American Journal for Preventive Medicine on January 14. Other authors on the study were Nadine L. Chan and James Krieger of Public Health -- Seattle and King County.

Email or share this story:

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More

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Duke University Medical Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Microbes in our gut regulate genes that control obesity and inflammation

Microbes in Our Gut Regulate Genes That Control Obesity and Inflammation


ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2011) — If you are looking to lose weight in the coming year, you may need help from an unexpected place: the bacteria in your gut. That's because scientists have discovered that the bacteria living in your intestines may play a far more significant role in weight loss and gastrointestinal problems than ever imagined.



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In a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal, researchers show that a deficiency of Toll-like receptor 2 (Tlr2) -- used by mammals (including humans) to recognize resident microbes in the intestines -- leads to changes in gut bacteria that resemble those of lean animals and humans. This discovery builds on previous research demonstrating that a deficiency of TLR2 protects against obesity, while at the same time promoting gastrointestinal problems like excessive inflammation. It also shows that genes controlling TLR2 expression play a very important role in one's gastrointestinal health and weight management.
"Our work highlights the remarkable capacity for an orchestrated reprogramming of the intestinal inflammatory network to overcome significant genetic challenges in the mammalian bowel," said Richard Kellermayer, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "The appropriate exploitation of this remarkable capacity may provide means for the prevention and optimized treatment of common metabolic (such as obesity and diabetes) and gastrointestinal disorders."
To make this discovery, Kellermayer and colleagues studied normal mice and mice deficient in TLR2 using the large intestinal lining of these mice. They compared the TLR2-deficient ones to the normal group, as well as the bacteria, the epigenome (more specifically DNA methylation, a molecular change in the DNA associated with decreased gene expression), and the gene expression of the animals. The researchers found that the absence of TLR2 leads to microbial changes in the gut that resemble lean animals and humans, as well as immunologic changes similar to those observed in ulcerative colitis.
"Every New Year, a significant percentage of us resolve ourselves to lose weight," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "but national statistics on obesity show that we're failing fast. This research linking gut bacteria to TLR2 expression opens entirely new doors for weight control solutions, first by cementing TLR2 as a drug target for obesity, and second by providing further evidence that managing gut bacteria may be an important and effective way to control weight. The challenge, of course, is to find a way to tip the scales just enough to keep weight under control without causing serious gastrointestinal problems."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




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R. Kellermayer, S. E. Dowd, R. A. Harris, A. Balasa, T. D. Schaible, R. D. Wolcott, N. Tatevian, R. Szigeti, Z. Li, J. Versalovic, C. W. Smith. Colonic mucosal DNA methylation, immune response, and microbiome patterns in Toll-like receptor 2-knockout mice. The FASEB Journal, 2011; DOI: 10.1096/fj.10-172205

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Taking more steps every day can help ward off diabetes

Taking More Steps Every Day Can Help Ward Off Diabetes


ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2011) — Simply taking more steps every day not only helps ward off obesity but also reduces the risk of diabetes, finds a study published on the British Medical Journal website.



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While several studies have shown that physical activity reduces body mass index and insulin resistance -- an early stage in the development of diabetes -- this is the first study to estimate the effects of long-term changes in daily step count on insulin sensitivity.
A popular guideline is to do 10,000 steps every day, though a more recent recommendation is 3,000 steps, five days a week.
The research, by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, involved 592 middle aged adults who took part in a national study to map diabetes levels across Australia between 2000 and 2005.
At the start of the study, participants completed a detailed diet and lifestyle questionnaire and underwent a thorough health examination. They were also given a pedometer and instructed how to use it. Participants were monitored again five years later.
Other lifestyle factors, such as diet, alcohol and smoking were taken into account.
A higher daily step count over five years was associated with a lower body mass index, lower waist to hip ratio, and better insulin sensitivity.
These associations were independent of dietary energy intake and appeared to be largely due to a change in adiposity (fatness) over the five years, say the authors.
The authors estimate that, in their setting, a sedentary person who takes a very low number of daily steps but who was able to change behaviour over five years to meet the popular 10,000 daily step guideline would have a threefold improvement in insulin sensitivity compared with a similar person who increased his or her steps to meet the more recent recommendation of 3,000 steps for five days a week.
They conclude: "These findings, confirming an independent beneficial role of higher daily step count on body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and insulin sensitivity, provide further support to promote higher physical activity levels among middle aged adults."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




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T. Dwyer, A.-L. Ponsonby, O. C. Ukoumunne, A. Pezic, A. Venn, D. Dunstan, E. Barr, S. Blair, J. Cochrane, P. Zimmet, J. Shaw. Association of change in daily step count over five years with insulin sensitivity and adiposity: population based cohort study. BMJ, 2011; 342 (jan13 1): c7249 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.c7249

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Taking more steps every day can help ward off diabetes

Taking More Steps Every Day Can Help Ward Off Diabetes


ScienceDaily (Jan. 13, 2011) — Simply taking more steps every day not only helps ward off obesity but also reduces the risk of diabetes, finds a study published on the British Medical Journal website.



See Also:
Health & Medicine

Diabetes
Obesity
Vitamin D
Fitness
Hormone Disorders
Chronic Illness

Reference

Diabetes mellitus type 2
Blood sugar
Glycemic index
South Beach diet

While several studies have shown that physical activity reduces body mass index and insulin resistance -- an early stage in the development of diabetes -- this is the first study to estimate the effects of long-term changes in daily step count on insulin sensitivity.
A popular guideline is to do 10,000 steps every day, though a more recent recommendation is 3,000 steps, five days a week.
The research, by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, involved 592 middle aged adults who took part in a national study to map diabetes levels across Australia between 2000 and 2005.
At the start of the study, participants completed a detailed diet and lifestyle questionnaire and underwent a thorough health examination. They were also given a pedometer and instructed how to use it. Participants were monitored again five years later.
Other lifestyle factors, such as diet, alcohol and smoking were taken into account.
A higher daily step count over five years was associated with a lower body mass index, lower waist to hip ratio, and better insulin sensitivity.
These associations were independent of dietary energy intake and appeared to be largely due to a change in adiposity (fatness) over the five years, say the authors.
The authors estimate that, in their setting, a sedentary person who takes a very low number of daily steps but who was able to change behaviour over five years to meet the popular 10,000 daily step guideline would have a threefold improvement in insulin sensitivity compared with a similar person who increased his or her steps to meet the more recent recommendation of 3,000 steps for five days a week.
They conclude: "These findings, confirming an independent beneficial role of higher daily step count on body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and insulin sensitivity, provide further support to promote higher physical activity levels among middle aged adults."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.




Journal Reference:

T. Dwyer, A.-L. Ponsonby, O. C. Ukoumunne, A. Pezic, A. Venn, D. Dunstan, E. Barr, S. Blair, J. Cochrane, P. Zimmet, J. Shaw. Association of change in daily step count over five years with insulin sensitivity and adiposity: population based cohort study. BMJ, 2011; 342 (jan13 1): c7249 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.c7249

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Family, friends, social ties influence weight status in young adults

Family, Friends, Social Ties Influence Weight Status in Young Adults


ScienceDaily (Jan. 13, 2011) — Does obesity tend to "cluster" among young adults? And if so, what impact does it have on both their weight and weight-related behaviors? That's what researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center set out to answer to better understand how social influences affect both weight status and weight loss intentions in this difficult-to-reach age group.



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According to the study, published online by the journal Obesity, overweight and obese young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 were more likely to have overweight romantic partners and best friends and also had more overweight casual friends and family members compared to normal weight peers. Also, overweight and obese young adults who reported having social contacts trying to lose weight had greater weight loss intentions.
Why is this an important issue? Forty percent of young adults age 18-25 are considered overweight or obese, and young adults experience the highest rate of weight gain per year -- typically one to two pounds -- of any age group. While previous research has consistently demonstrated the powerful impact of social influence on health behaviors, especially for younger individuals, no previous study has examined whether social ties influence weight status and weight loss intentions among young adults.
Lead author Tricia Leahey, PhD, a researcher with The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center, also points out that young adults are less likely to participate in behavioral weight loss interventions, and when they do, they tend to lose less weight than older adults. "Identifying the factors that influence both weight status and weight control in this high-risk age group can help us develop appealing and effective obesity treatment and prevention programs for this population," she said.
The study included 288 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25; 151 individuals were of normal weight, while 137 were considered overweight or obese (BMI of 25 or greater). The majority of participants were female and Caucasian. All participants completed questionnaires to determine their weight and height, number of overweight social contacts (including best friends, romantic partners, casual friends, relatives and colleagues/classmates) and perceived social norms for obesity and obesity-related behaviors.
Overweight and obese study participants completed additional questionnaires to assess how many of their overweight social contacts were currently trying to lose weight, perceived social norms for weight loss (such as how frequently social contacts encouraged them to lose weight or whether the people closest to them would approve if they were to lose weight), and intentions to lose weight within the next three months.
Compared to normal weight young adults, those who were overweight or obese were more likely to have an overweight romantic partner (25 percent vs. 14 percent) and an overweight best friend (24 percent vs. 14 percent). "Our data suggests that obesity 'clusters' in this population. But interestingly, social norms for obesity did not differ between the two groups and did not account for the clustering," said Leahey. "Both groups reported similarly low levels of social acceptability for being overweight, eating unhealthy foods and being inactive."
The study also showed overweight and obese young adults who had more social contacts trying to lose weight were more likely to want to lose weight themselves. Social norms for weight loss, such as encouragement and approval from social contacts, account for this association, researchers say.
Leahey is also assistant professor of psychiatry/human behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. The study was funded by grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Co-authors included Rena Wing, PhD, Jessica LaRose, PhD, and Joseph Fava, PhD, all of the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at The Miriam Hospital and Alpert Medical School.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Lifespan, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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