The American journal of clinical nutrition
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
In Ivorian school-age children, infection with hookworm does not reduce dietary iron absorption or systemic iron utilization, whereas afebrile Plasmodium falciparum infection reduces iron absorption by half.
In sub-Saharan Africa, parasitic diseases and low bioavailable iron intake are major causes of anemia. Anemia results from inflammation, preventing iron recycling and decreasing dietary iron absorption. Hookworm, Plasmodium, and Schistosoma infections contribute to anemia, but their influence on dietary iron absorption and recycling is unknown. ⋯ In school-age children, hookworm infection does not produce inflammation or increase serum hepcidin, and it does not influence iron absorption or utilization. In contrast, afebrile malaria causes inflammation, increases hepcidin, and reduces iron absorption but not utilization. These findings provide insights into the iron metabolism and the etiology of anemia in parasitic infections.
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Marked increases in mean body mass index (BMI) and prevalence of obesity and overweight in the United States are well known. However, whether these average increases were accompanied by changing dispersion (or SD) remains understudied. ⋯ Mean BMI and the percentage of overweight and obese individuals do not fully describe population changes in BMI. Increases in within-group inequality in BMI represent an underrecognized characteristic of population-level weight gain. Crucially, similar increases in dispersion within groups suggest that growing inequalities in BMI at the population level are not driven by these socioeconomic and demographic factors. Future research should focus on understanding factors driving inequalities in weight gain between individuals.
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Observational Study
Deranged endocannabinoid responses to hedonic eating in underweight and recently weight-restored patients with anorexia nervosa.
A dysregulation of reward mechanisms was suggested in the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa (AN), but the role of the endogenous mediators of reward has been poorly investigated. Endocannabinoids, including anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, and the endocannabinoid-related compounds oleoylethanolamide and palmitoylethanolamide modulate food-related and unrelated reward. Hedonic eating, which is the consumption of food just for pleasure and not homeostatic need, is a suitable paradigm to explore food-related reward. ⋯ These data confirm that endocannabinoids and endocannabinoid-related compounds are involved in food-related reward and suggest a dysregulation of their physiology in AN. This trial was registered at ISRCTN.org as ISRCTN64683774.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Aerated drinks increase gastric volume and reduce appetite as assessed by MRI: a randomized, balanced, crossover trial.
Compared with nonaerated, isocaloric controls, aerated foods can reduce appetite throughout an entire dieting day. Increased gastric volumes and delayed emptying are possible but unexplored mechanisms. ⋯ With this MRI trial, we provide novel insights on the gastrointestinal behavior of aerated drinks by measuring separate volumes of foam, liquid, and air layers in the stomach. Appetite suppression induced by foams could largely be explained by effects on gastric volumes and emptying, which may be further enhanced by foam stability. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01690182.
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Previous studies have suggested that nut consumption is associated with beneficial cardiovascular outcomes. However, limited data are available on the association between nut intake and all-cause mortality. ⋯ Our data are consistent with an inverse association between nut consumption and the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in US male physicians.