Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Diet'

Trabalho Complementar apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de licenciada em Ciências da Nutrição
Com o passar do tempo, os padrões alimentares sofreram processos de ramificação de modo a adequarem-se a diferentes necessidades, surgindo abordagens dietéticas díspares. Como tal, o objetivo desta investigação é identificar consequências metabólicas de duas destas vertentes: a dieta paleolítica e a dieta vegetariana/vegan. Assim, foi feita uma pesquisa bibliográfica com as expressões “paleolithic diet AND metabolism” e “vegetarian diet AND metabolism” na base de dados PubMed e Scielo. Por um lado, a dieta paleolítica tenta reproduzir um padrão alimentar mais próximo do dos nossos ancestrais, preferindo alimentos provenientes da terra, da caça e da pesca. Alguns estudos levantam a hipótese desta dieta apresentar benefícios na síndrome metabólica. No entanto, pode promover um aumento do risco de deficiências vitamínicas e minerais devido às restrições específicas inerentes a esta dieta. Por outro lado, o vegetarianismo é um termo bastante vasto pois inclui diferentes vertentes dependendo dos alimentos de origem animal que exclui sendo, de uma forma geral, uma dieta à base de alimentos de origem vegetal. É estudada por diversos investigadores que admitem a possibilidade da mesma diminuir o risco de desenvolvimento de doenças cardiovasculares. Contudo, a adoção de uma dieta vegetariana/vegan desequilibrada acarreta um aumento do risco de carências de alguns micronutrientes derivadas da exclusão de grupos alimentares. Assim, apesar de serem necessários mais estudos que clarifiquem os possíveis benefícios e riscos de cada dieta, é possível concluir que qualquer uma delas deve ser devidamente acompanhada nutricionalmente para permitir um aporte adequado de todos os nutrientes necessários para a saúde.
Over time, the dietary patterns undergone branching process to adapt to dissimilar needs, hence arising different dietary approaches. As such, the purpose of this investigation is to identify the metabolic consequences of two of said strands: the Paleolithic diet and the vegetarian/ vegan diet. On this account, a literature research was made applying the expressions “paleolithic diet AND metabolism” and “vegetarian diet AND metabolism” in the PubMed and Scielo database. On one hand, the Paleolithic diet tries to reproduce a dietary pattern closer to those of our ancestors, mainly adopting foods from the land, hunting and fishing. Some studies suggest that the metabolic syndrome benefits from this diet, however, it can also promote an increased risk of vitamin and mineral deficiencies due to its specific dietary restrictions. On the other hand, vegetarianism is an extremely broad term, as it includes different regards depending on which animal products are being excluded, however being, in general, a plant-based diet. Researchers admit the possibility of it decreasing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases; nevertheless, embracing an unbalanced vegetarian/ vegan diet leads to an increased risk of some micronutrient’s deficiencies due to the exclusion of certain food groups. As follows, granting more studies should be carried out to elucidate the possible benefits and downsides of each diet, embracing any of these should go along with a well considered plan that includes all nutrients indispensable for one’s health.
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8 pp.
With the growing popularity of the gluten-free diet, there are many misconceptions surrounding gluten, carbohydrates, celiac disease, and gluten-sensitivity. This article explains the definitions of and differences between celiac disease, gluten-sensitivity, and other gluten-related conditions. The article also addresses the risks of adopting a gluten-free diet without a medical necessity to do so. Lastly, the article provides a healthy gluten-free recipe.

El presente plan de negocios se ha elaborado con la finalidad de responder ante una actual situación que afronta la población referente a la creciente enfermedad de sobre peso y obesidad que a través de los años se ha multiplicado y viene siendo una de las principales causas de decesos a nivel mundial. Nuestro proyecto consiste en la creación de un servicio de nutrición por intermedio de un aplicativo orientado en brindar atención personalizada a través de nutricionistas profesionales quienes interactúan vía online con los usuarios registrados, los cuales siguen una dieta alimenticia basados en la particularidad de adaptarse a su rutina diaria. Para la inversión a realizar se necesitarán 124,000 nuevos soles para el desarrollo del aplicativo y página web, así como adquisición de equipos informáticos, publicidad y marketing, finalmente también disponer de suficientes fondos propios durante los seis primeros meses. Nuestro equipo de emprendedores comprometido con el proyecto aportara 60% de la cantidad requerida, pero se necesita contar con inversionistas externos para el restante. En tres años y medio se llegará al punto de equilibrio en rentabilidad, alcanzado una facturación mensual de 71,500 nuevos soles y atendiendo en proporción a 625 suscriptores. Los emprendedores contamos con experiencias laborales las cuales nos permitirá aportar en este proyecto especialmente en las áreas: Operaciones, Comercial, Recursos Humanos y Sistemas. Asimismo, estamos comprometidos con el desarrollo y crecimiento del negocio, así como mantener y preservar un nivel de satisfacción alto de nuestros clientes.
This business plan has been developed in order to respond to a current situation faced by the population concerning the growing disease of envelope weight and obesity which over the years has grown and has become one of the main causes of deaths around the world. Our project consists in the creation of a nutrition service through an application oriented in providing personalized attention through professional nutritionists who interact online with registered users, which are still a diet based on the peculiarity of adapting to your daily routine. 124,000 new soles for the application and website development will be needed for investment to be carried out, as well as acquisition of computer equipment, advertising and marketing, finally also have sufficient own funds during the first six months. Our team of entrepreneurs committed to the project would contribute 60% of the required amount, but is needed for the remaining external investors. In three and a half years you will reach the break-even point in profitability, reached a monthly turnover of 71,500 new soles and attending 625 subscribers in proportion. Entrepreneurs have work experiences which will allow us to contribute in this project especially in areas: operations, sales, human resources and systems. In addition, we are committed to the development and growth of the business, as well as maintain and preserve a high level of satisfaction of our customers.
Trabajo de investigación

El presente trabajo evalúa la viabilidad del negocio, el desarrollo comercial y analiza financieramente la puesta en marcha de un servicio de asesoría, preparación y reparto de comida saludable en Lima. Para el debido desarrollo del proyecto se analizó las tendencias de la comida saludable en la zona de alcance de la propuesta y se estimó la demanda de acuerdo al comportamiento de ofertas similares, estudios primarios y secundarios que fortalezcan y contribuyan a la propuesta de valor del servicio. Se realizó la idea de negocio y los procesos que hagan posible la puesta en marcha de la idea de negocio, tales como planeamiento estratégico, investigación del mercado, plan de marketing, operaciones, gestión del capital humano y plan financiero. De acuerdo a un estudio de la OMS, la obesidad es problema público de salud, que se presenta de forma crónica, causado por diferentes factores relacionados a temas de mala alimentación y estilos de vida adoptados dentro del desarrollo social, los cuales devienen en enfermedades que representan riesgo para la salud. Ante las tendencias analizadas se genera la idea de integrar un servicio de asesoría nutricional personalizado y la prestación de alimentos preparados en base a dietas desarrolladas de acuerdo a las necesidades de los clientes. La idea de negocio comprende un servicio holístico de alimentación para personas que desean mejorar su estilo de vida en nutrición.
The present work evaluates the viability of the business, the commercial development and financially analyzes the start-up of a service of advice, development and distribution of healthy food in Lima. For the due development of the project, the trends of healthy food were analyzed in the area of scope of the proposal and the demand was estimated according to the behavior of similar offers, primary and secondary studies that strengthen and contribute to the proposal of value of the service. The idea of business and the processes that make possible the implementation of the business idea were made, such as strategic planning, market research, marketing plan, operations, human capital management and financial plan. According to a OMS study, obesity is a public health problem, which occurs chronically, caused by different factors related to issues of poor diet and lifestyles adopted within social development, which result in diseases that they represent a risk to health. In view of the analyzed trends, the idea of integrating a personalized nutritional advisory service and the provision of foods prepared based on diets developed according to the needs of customers is generated. The business idea includes a holistic food service for people who want to improve their lifestyle in nutrition.
Trabajo de investigación

The media has highlighted a proposed link between a gluten free diet (GFD) and weight loss. However, research related to weight gain and a GFD for persons with celiac disease (CD) has shown the opposite effect. A GFD is the only known treatment for persons with CD. If a patient with CD consumes a diet high in GF processed foods, weight management may be difficult to achieve. Participants with self-reported CD completed a modified GF food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess typical dietary consumption of whole grains, sweets, fruits, vegetables and regular soda. Additionally, body mass index (BMI) and exercise were assessed. The results of this study found that whole grain, fruit and vegetable intakes were low among celiac patients. Additionally, BMI was on the high end of the normal weight range. The results of this study indicate that a greater emphasis should be placed on nutritional quality when counseling patients with CD. Registered dietitians should focus their diet counseling sessions with CD patients on a nutritious naturally GF diet in order to better manage weight.

The Unimak Island caribou herd is in the midst of a population decline associated with low birth rates and calf survival. I evaluated the spatial and temporal complexity of caribou landscape use and the availability and nutritional quality of key forage species. First, I examined seasonal landscape use and movement using GPS collar data. Second, I determined seasonal diets to the species-level for spring, summer, and fall using a novel n-alkane and long-chain fatty acid (LCOH) method. Finally, I compared diet quality with needs for maintenance and to the quality of available plant species. Caribou home ranges were largest and movements least in the winter, and movements appeared dependent on plant phenology and weather conditions. Diets were complex and seasonally variable but generally contained higher proportions of forbs than other caribou herds likely due to their higher relative availability as compared to other preferred forages. Finally, animals foraged selectively each season, obtaining a diet that was higher in digestible dry matter and nitrogen than the average of plants available. Nutritional quality appeared to be well above requirements during the three seasons investigated. Overall, I concluded that spring, summer, and fall forage quality and availability do not impose strong constraints on Unimak Island caribou. However, I recommend that diet composition and quality be determined in the winter, the time when forage often limits the productivity of caribou herds.

The purpose of this thesis is to efficiently solve real life problems. We study LPs. We study an NLP and an MINLP based on what is known as the generalised pooling problem (GPP), and we study an MIP that we call the cattle mating problem. These problems are often very large or otherwise difficult to solve by direct methods, and are best solved by decomposition methods. During the thesis we introduce algorithms that exploit the structure of the problems to decompose them. We are able to solve row-linked, column-linked and general LPs efficiently by modifying the tableau simplex method, and suggest how this work could be applied to the revised simplex method. We modify an existing sequential linear programming solver that is currently used by Format International to solve GPPs, and show the modified solver takes less time and is at least as likely to find the global minimum as the old solver. We solve multifactory versions of the GPP by augmented Lagrangian decomposition, and show this is more efficient than solving the problems directly. We introduce a decomposition algorithm to solve a MINLP version of the GPP by decomposing it into NLP and ILP subproblems. This is able to solve large problems that could not be solved directly. We introduce an efficient decomposition algorithm to solve the MIP cattle mating problem, which has been adopted for use by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation. Most of the solve methods we introduce are designed only to find local minima. However, for the multifactory version of the GPP we introduce two methods that give a good chance of finding the global minimum, both of which succeed in finding the global minimum on test problems.

The soldierâ s diet in the Civil War has been known as poor, and a number of illnesses and disorders have been associated with it. However, a nutritional analysis placed within the context of mid-nineteenth century American nutrition has been lacking. Such an approach makes clear the connection between illness and diet during the war for the average soldier and defines the importance of nutritionâ s role in the war. It also provides a bridge from the American diet to the soldier diet, outlining correlations between the two and examining the influence of physicians, chemists, and health reformers on the Civil War diet.
Master of Arts

Trabalho Complementar apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciado em Ciências da Nutrição
Obesity is a global epidemy and in children the number of individuals with obesity increased 2,28 times in the last three decades. Obesity comes with a massive amount of complications such as type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. Obesity is a multifactorial disease and there many risk factors interacting in its development, genetic, behavioral and environmental factors. This paper aims to understand the genetic factors behind this disease and the interactions between the genes and diet that prompts childhood obesity. For the purpose of this paper the literature was searched in English language in the PubMed Central® search engine, totaling 110 papers. During the last decade, research has tried to understand the gene(s) responsible for the predisposition for childhood obesity, so many studies were conducted such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Childhood obesity appear to result from the presence of many risk gene variants, and their response to obesogenic environments. There is evidence that genes like FTO, MC4R, POMC, LEP and LEP receptor have an influence in weight gain and in the development of related complications since early ages. Diet is one of the most important environmental factors believed to contribute to obesity development. Currently, there are two approaches trying to understand interactions between genes and diet, nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics. Both are based in the premise that nutrients/diet components can influence the gene expression process and affect different metabolic pathways that finally will origin the individual’s phenotype. Most of the studies accomplished are related to fatty acids metabolism, so to further understand other metabolic pathways more studies are needed. FTO, APOA2 and NPC1 genes are some of the genes that already have some evidence supporting their interaction with dietary fat intake in weight gain, including in children for whom less evidence exists. Genome-wide association studies have increased the knowledge in this area, but they have some limitations, which means that more studies and with different approaches are needed to further understand the relation between genes and environmental factors in obesity. A more personalized diet (under prior knowledge of obesity-related polymorphisms) is currently under discussion in the scientific arena.
A obesidade é ume epidemia global; o número de crianças com obesidade aumentou cerca 2.28 vezes nas últimas três décadas. A obesidade tem associadas inúmeras complicações como diabetes tipo 2, dislipidemia e resistência à insulina. A obesidade é uma doença multifatorial que possui vários fatores de risco que interagem no seu desenvolvimento, como genéticos, comportamentais e ambientais. Este artigo ambiciona perceber os fatores genéticos inerentes a esta doença bem como as interações entre os genes e a alimentação que potenciam a obesidade infantil. Para a realização deste artigo procedeu-se a uma revisão bibliográfica da literatura em língua Inglesa no motor de busca PubMed Central®, totalizando 110 artigos. Durante a última década, a investigação tem tentado perceber quais os genes responsáveis por uma maior predisposição à obesidade infantil. Nesse sentido vários estudos foram conduzidos, como por exemplo os genome-wide association studies (GWAS). A obesidade infantil parece resultar da presença de genes de risco, bem como da sua resposta face a ambientes obesogénicos. Existe já evidência da influência de genes como o FTO, MC4R, POMC, LEP e recetor de LEP no aumento de peso e no desenvolvimento de complicações associadas desde idades precoces. A alimentação é um dos fatores ambientais mais importantes para o desenvolvimento da obesidade. Atualmente, existem duas abordagens para perceber as interações entre os genes e a alimentação, a nutrigenética e a nutrigenómica. Ambas se baseiam na premissa de que os nutrientes/componentes da alimentação podem influenciar a expressão génica e afetar diferentes vias metabólicas, que finalmente irão originar o fenótipo do indivíduo. A maioria dos estudos conduzidos até hoje estão relacionados com o metabolismo dos ácidos gordos, pelo que para melhor compreender outras vias metabólicas são necessários mais estudos. A interação com a ingestão de gordura no aumento de peso já está evidenciada para genes como o FTO, APOA2 e NPC1, incluindo estudos realizados em crianças para as quais a evidência é mais escassa. Os genome-wide association studies permitiram o aumento de conhecimento nesta área, mas apresentam algumas limitações, o que significa que são necessários mais estudos e com diferentes abordagens para melhor entender a relação entre os genes e os fatores ambientais no desenvolvimento da obesidade. Uma dieta mais personalizada (com prévio conhecimento de polimorfismos relacionados com a obesidade) está atualmente sob discussão nos fóruns científicos.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge regarding the gluten-free diet among non-celiacs following the diet. Specifically, this study examined how knowledge differed among gluten-free diet followers by reason(s) for following a gluten-free diet, source(s) from which information on the gluten-free diet is obtained, level of education attained, age, and sex.

A convenience sample of 129 usable knowledge assessment surveys completed by non-celiac gluten-free diet followers was utilized in this study. Participants were recruited via Facebook groups or pages, or by announcement flyers that were posted on community information boards at health food stores. It was found that participants, ages 40-49, had a greater knowledge of the gluten-free diet than those ages 20-29. Subjects who were 50 or over also had greater knowledge than those of ages 20-29 years. Results indicated that greater knowledge of the gluten-free diet is associated with older age.

Ketogenic diets (KDs) are diets in which the net carbohydrate intake, calculated by subtracting fibres from total carbohydrates, is between 20 and 50 g/day (<10% of total energy intake) with a variable proportion of proteins and fats (Noakes, Windt 2017). In these conditions, glycogen stores are depleted (Paoli, Canato et al. 2011), insulin level is low and energy metabolism is mainly dependent from fat oxidation. KDs lead a significant increase in circulating levels of ketone bodies (KBs) β-hydroxybutyrate (βOHB), acetoacetate (AcAc) and acetone (Veldhorst, Westerterp et al. 2010). While AcAc and βOHB are used as energy, acetone is a volatile compound and is eliminated through expiration, giving the “sweet” breath odour typical of ketosis, or via renal excretion (Paoli, Canato et al. 2011). The concentration of KBs in the blood of healthy individuals during the carbohydrate fed state is about 0.1 mmol/L and increases to about 0.3 mmol/L after an overnight fast, but after prolonged fasting up to 20 days KBs can increase to more than 10 mmol/L. A diet is considered “ketogenic” when produces a stable increase in the level of βOHB higher than 0.6 mmol/L (Wiggam, O'Kane et al. 1997) or when the molar ratio of blood glucose to blood ketone body βOHB is less than or equal to 1 (Meidenbauer, Mukherjee et al. 2015). Since KBs AcAc and βOHB are acids, the ketosis state implies a condition of acidosis. Given the fact that the pH of the blood is 7.4 and that the pKa of AcAc is 3.8 and that of βOHB is 4.8, these acids circulate in the blood in a completely dissociated form and are eliminated together with sodium and potassium ions (Siliprandi & Tettamanti 2011). This loss of cations implies a decrease of pH, which is normally balanced from the body apart when potassium and sodium intake are impaired (Phinney 2004) or in pathological overproduction of KBs during untreated diabetes type 1 which leads to diabetic ketoacidosis, characterized by a KBs level higher than 20 mmol/L with a decrease of pH. Biochemistry Hans Krebs was the first who diversified physiologic from pathologic ketosis (Krebs 1966). For skeletal and cardiac muscle, which usually oxidize fats, the use of KBs is a relative advantage, while for the central nervous system, in which the entrance of fatty acids is prevented from the blood-brain-barrier (BBB), the availability of KBs is an important surrogate of glucose, which is the habitual substrate of nervous tissue. During starvation, under a ketogenic diet or in new-born infants, the brain can utilize KBs as primary fuel instead of glucose (Laeger, Metges et al. 2010) in proportion to the degree of ketosis (Hartman, Gasior et al.). βOHB is the most abundant circulating ketone body and its transport across the blood-brain barrier is mediated both by diffusion and by several monocarboxylic acid transporters as MCT1 and MCT2, the former being upregulated during a ketogenic diet (Newman, Verdin 2014). This complementary action between the liver, which produces KBs in periods of shortage of carbs, and the CNS which use them, it’s a very important event which was determinant for the survival of the human species over the millennia. My research focused on three important aspects of KDs and weight loss, which needed further investigation: 1. long-term successful weight loss after a KD: the maintenance of weight loss over long time is challenging and the fear of weight regain is common, so that this phenomenon is named “yo-yo” effect. In this regard, low-carbohydrate diets are known to bring better results compared to low-fat diets in terms of weight loss (Shai, Schwarzfuchs et al. 2008) but not of compliance (Greenberg, Stampfer et al. 2009). Recently, Sumithran and colleagues have demonstrated that the increase in circulating ghrelin and in subjective appetite, which accompanied a hypocaloric diet, was reduced with a ketogenic approach (Sumithran, Prendergast et al. 2013). Thus, we hypothesized that certain aspects of the KD such as muscle mass retention, RMR (resting metabolic rate) and orexigenic hormone stability combined with the acknowledged health benefits of traditional Mediterranean nutrition may favour long-term weight loss. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect on weight and body composition of two short periods of a modified KD, i.e., a very low carbohydrate ketogenic diet with phytoextracts (KEMEPHY) (Paoli, Cenci et al. 2010, Paoli 2011, Paoli 2012) interspersed between longer periods of maintenance nutrition, based on the traditional Mediterranean diet, over a total period of 12 months in obese/overweight healthy subjects and was designed as a retrospective study. We analysed 89 male and female subjects, aged between 25 and 65 years who were overall healthy apart from being obese (mean BMI 35.82 ± 4.11 kg/m2). Data from this study demonstrate that the majority of subjects showed significant weight loss (10%) as a result of a two-phase KD and were compliant both during the six month weight loss phase and the six month normocaloric maintenance phase, with no weight regain. Moreover, the proposed protocol led improvements in health risk factors (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose levels) in the majority of subjects. Compliance was very high which was a key determinant of the results seen; 2. formulation of new low-carbohydrate ultraprocessed foods to overcome the lack of sweet taste during a KD: a point of interest, which has always been a detrimental aspect of KDs, is the lack of sweet taste, which could be difficult to sustain for long periods, especially for people with a high sweet food preference. During consumption of a KD, it is mandatory to maintain a low level of glycaemia (about 80–90 mg/dL) to avoid insulin spikes (Paoli, Canato et al. 2011). This condition allows subjects to improve their fat oxidation as demonstrated by Paoli et al. (Paoli, Grimaldi et al. 2012) and by Tagliabue et al. (Tagliabue, Bertoli et al. 2012). Today the new food technology, which is able to build ultra-processed products very low in sugar content and high in protein and fibres, can help to solve this problem, formulating products with a high palatability and ready-to-consume format, useful both in ketosis and in easier low carb diets. Usually, ultra-processed products lack in proteins and fibres and produce postprandial glucose and insulin spikes (PAHO WHO 2015). This effect is known to elicit food craving and overeating, with a preference for high-glycaemic index carbohydrates (high-GI CHO) (Lennerz, Alsop et al. 2013), a phenomenon defined as CHO-craving effect (Ventura, Santander et al. 2014). In order to analyse the effect of 10 different high-protein low-CHO proprietary foods on glycaemia, we recruited 14 healthy females, which were tested for their glycaemic response through the glycaemic score (GS) method. All test foods, compared with glucose, produced a significantly lower glycaemic response and their GS resulted lower than 25 (compared to the reference GS value of glucose which is 100). We concluded that the reformulation of ultraprocessed ready-to-consume foods in a low-CHO, high-protein version can produce a significantly lower glycaemic response whilst maintaining the valued ready-to-use format and high palatability demanded by consumers, facilitating the adherence to a KD of individuals who tend to have a high preference for sweet foods; 3. effect of KDs on cognitive functions: the range of variation of glucose and ketone bodies (KBs) in the blood of non-diabetic individuals is wide and both of them can be used as energy from the brain. Data on glycaemia and ketonemia effects on cognitive functions on healthy humans following different diets are scarce. The purpose of this study was then to compare the effects of glycaemia and ketonemia variation after ten days of two different ketogenic diets and a calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet (MD) on working memory and executive functions in 63 sedentary healthy overweight (BMI>25) young women (age: 20-35), which were recruited in the university area. Subjects were divided in groups according to the day of the beginning of their follicular phase in order to minimize hormonal effects on mood and came for the basal measurements five days before the start of the dietary protocol. The following controls were set on the starting day of the diet (t1), on the third (t3), on the fifth (t5), on the seventh (t7) and on the last day (t10). On the basal control day, the weight of the subjects was measured and a body impedance analysis was performed. Subjects took a standard high carb breakfast and afterwards they completed the psychological tests. At t1, t3, t5, t7 and t10 ketone bodies levels and glycaemia were measured, as well as appetite levels. On the last control day (t10) subjects repeated the body impedance analysis, the body weight measure and, after breakfast (each group had a different breakfast according to the prescribed diet), the psychological tests. Psychological tests consisted in a mood test, two cognitive tasks, one to investigate working memory (visuo-spatial n back) and the second to stress executive functions (inhibitory control task) and in a VAS scale to test the appetite level. 45 subjects completed the study. Considering all participants together, pre-diet glucose levels were positively correlated with reaction time in the go-trial of the executive function test (r(43) = 0.358, p = 0.018), but this relation was not found in the post-diet measure both when subjects were analysed all together and when subjects were divided according to the type of diet followed. In the same psychological test, in the post-diet measure ketonemia showed a negative correlation with accuracy of the no-go trials (r(29) = -0.455, p = 0.027). We can conclude that healthy young overweight subjects with fasting glycaemia below prediabetes level were negatively affected by a high-carb breakfast during an executive function test. Moreover, the effect of mild KBs levels (2 ± 1.3 mmol/L) negatively affected accuracy of the no-go trials of the executive functions test.
Le diete chetogeniche sono diete in cui l’introito netto di carboidrati, calcolato sottraendo la quantità di fibre dai carboidrati totali, è tra 20 e 50 g/gg (<10% dell’apporto energetico totale) con una proporzione variabile di proteine e grassi (Noakes, Windt 2017). In queste condizioni le riserve di glicogeno sono esaurite (Paoli, Canato et al. 2011), il livello di insulina è basso e il metabolismo energetico dipende prevalentemente dall’ossidazione dei grassi. Le diete chetogeniche portano un aumento significativo dei livelli circolanti dei corpi chetonici β-idrossibutirrato, acetoacetato e acetone (Veldhorst, Westerterp et al. 2010). Mentre sia l’acetoacetato che il β-idrossibutirrato vengono utilizzati come energia, l’acetone è volatile ed è eliminato attraverso l’espirazione, dando all’alito quella nota “fruttata” tipica della chetosi, oppure attraverso i reni (Paoli, Canato et al. 2011). La concentrazione ematica dei corpi chetonici in individui sani che seguono una dieta costituita prevalentemente da carboidrati è 0,1 mmol/L e può salire fino a 0,3 mmol/L dopo il digiuno notturno, ma dopo venti giorni di digiuno il livello di corpi chetonici può salire oltre 10 mmol/L. Una dieta è considerata “chetogenica” quando produce un aumento del livello di β-idrossibutirrato superiore a 0,6 mmol/L (Wiggam, O'Kane et al. 1997) oppure se il rapporto molare tra il glucosio e il β-idrossibutirrato ematici è uguale o minore di 1 (Meidenbauer, Mukherjee et al. 2015). Dato che i chetoni acetoacetato e β-idrossibutirrato sono acidi, lo stato di chetosi implica una condizione di acidosi. Siccome il pH del sangue è 7,4 e la pKa dell’acetoacetato è 3,8 e quella del β-idrossibutirrato è 4,8, questi acidi circolano nel sangue in forma dissociata e sono eliminati insieme agli ioni sodio e potassio (Siliprandi & Tettamanti 2011) . Questa perdita di cationi porta una diminuzione del pH che viene normalmente tamponata dal corpo tranne quando l’assunzione di sodio e potassio è impedita (Phinney 2004) oppure in caso di diabete scompensato, quando c’è una sovrapproduzione di corpi chetonici con livelli superiori a 20 mmol/L e conseguente riduzione del pH. Il biochimico Hans Krebs fu il primo a distinguere la chetosi fisiologica da quella patologica (Krebs 1966). Per i muscoli scheletrici e cardiaco, che utilizzano normalmente i grassi, l’utilizzo dei corpi chetonici a scopo energetico è un vantaggio relativo, mentre per il sistema nervoso centrale, in cui l’accesso degli acidi grassi è impedito dalla barriera ematoencefalica, la disponibilità dei corpi chetonici è un importante surrogato del glucosio, che è il substrato abituale dei neuroni. Durante il digiuno, in dieta chetogenica e nei neonati, il cervello utilizza i corpi chetonici come combustibili principali al posto del glucosio (Laeger, Metges et al. 2010), proporzionalmente al grado di chetosi (Hartman, Gasior et al.). Il β-idrossibutirrato è il principale corpo chetonico circolante e il suo trasporto attraverso la barriera ematoencefalica avviene sia mediante diffusione che attraverso i trasportatori MCT1 e MCT2, dei quali i primi aumentano durante una dieta chetogenica (Newman, Verdin 2014). Quest’azione complementare tra il fegato, che produce i corpi chetonici in assenza di carboidrati, e il sistema nervoso centrale che li può utilizzare, è un evento molto importante che fu determinante per la sopravvivenza della specie umana nei millenni. La mia ricerca si è focalizzata su tre importanti aspetti delle diete chetogeniche - connesse alla perdita di peso - che richiedevano di essere approfonditi: 1. il mantenimento del peso perso dopo una dieta chetogenica: il mantenimento del peso perso a lungo nel tempo è impegnativo e la paura di ritornare velocemente al peso iniziale è comune, tanto che questo fenomeno viene chiamato “effetto yo-yo". A questo proposito, le diete a basso contenuto di carboidrati sono note per portare risultati migliori rispetto alle diete a basso contenuto di grassi in termini di perdita di peso (Shai, Schwarzfuchs et al. 2008c), ma non di “compliance” (adesione al protocollo) (Greenberg, Stampfer et al. 2009). Recentemente, Sumithran e collaboratori hanno dimostrato che l'aumento dei livelli circolanti di grelina e del livello di appetito tipici di una dieta ipocalorica erano minori durante un protocollo chetogenico (Sumithran, Prendergast et al. 2013). Abbiamo quindi ipotizzato che alcuni aspetti della dieta chetogenica come il mantenimento della massa muscolare, del metabolismo energetico basale e la stabilità del principale ormone oressigenico (grelina) combinati con gli effetti benefici della nutrizione tradizionale mediterranea, potessero favorire la perdita di peso a lungo nel tempo. Lo scopo del nostro studio è stato quindi quello di indagare l'effetto sul peso e sulla composizione corporea di due brevi periodi di una dieta chetogenica modificata, cioè una dieta fitochetogenica mediterranea (KEMEPHY) (Paoli, Cenci et al. 2010a, Paoli 2011, Paoli 2012) intervallata da 2 periodi più lunghi di dieta di mantenimento basata sulla dieta mediterranea tradizionale per un periodo totale di 12 mesi. I soggetti reclutati erano obesi o in sovrappeso e lo studio è stato retrospettivo. Abbiamo analizzato 89 soggetti (uomini e donne) di età compresa tra i 25 e i 65 anni che erano in uno stato di buona salute generale benchè fossero obesi (IMC medio 35.82 ± 4.11 kg/m2). I risultati di questo studio hanno dimostrato che la maggioranza dei soggetti ha ottenuto una significativa perdita di peso (10%) a seguito delle due fasi di dieta chetogenica e l’aderenza al protocollo è stata alta sia durante i sei mesi di perdita di peso sia nei successivi sei mesi di mantenimento, senza riacquisto del peso. Inoltre, il protocollo proposto ha portato miglioramenti nella maggior parte dei soggetti dei livelli di parametri importanti per la salute (colesterolo totale, colesterolo LDL, trigliceridi e livelli di glucosio). L’alta “compliance” è stato un fattore determinante per i risultati ottenuti; 2. la formulazione di nuovi prodotti a basso contenuto di carboidrati per sopperire alla mancanza del sapore dolce durante una dieta chetogenica: un aspetto delle diete chetogeniche difficile da tollerare nel lungo tempo, soprattutto per chi ha una spiccata preferenza per i dolci, è la mancanza di questo sapore. In dieta chetogenica è necessario mantenere un basso livello di glicemia (circa 80-90 mg/dL) per evitare i picchi di insulina (Paoli, Canato et al. 2011) e permettere così ai soggetti di migliorare l'ossidazione dei grassi come dimostrato da Paoli et al. (Paoli, Grimaldi et al. 2012) e da Tagliabue et al. (Tagliabue, Bertoli et al. 2012). Oggi la nuova tecnologia alimentare, che è in grado di costruire prodotti ultra-processati con un contenuto di zucchero molto basso e un alto contenuto di proteine e fibre, può aiutare a risolvere questo problema, formulando prodotti di elevata appetibilità in un formato pronto per il consumo, utili sia in chetosi che in diete ipoglucidiche più moderate. Di solito i prodotti ultra-processati mancano di proteine e fibre e producono picchi post-prandiali di glucosio e insulina (OPS WHO 2015) . Questo effetto provoca un forte desiderio di cibo con una preferenza per i carboidrati ad alto indice glicemico (Lennerz, Alsop et al. 2013), fenomeno definito come "carb-craving" (Ventura, Santander et al. 2014). Al fine di analizzare l'effetto di 10 diversi alimenti ultra-processati ad alto contenuto proteico e basso contento di carboidrati sulla glicemia, abbiamo reclutato 14 donne sane e abbiamo testato la loro risposta glicemica attraverso il metodo del punteggio glicemico (“glucose-score”, GS). Tutti gli alimenti testati hanno prodotto, rispetto al glucosio, una risposta glicemica significativamente inferiore e il loro GS è risultato inferiore a 25 (rispetto al valore di riferimento del GS del glucosio che è 100). Abbiamo quindi concluso che la riformulazione di prodotti ultra-processati pronti al consumo in una versione ad alto contenuto proteico e basso contenuto di carboidrati è in grado di produrre una risposta glicemica significativamente più bassa, pur mantenendo l'alto valore del pratico formato pronto per l'uso e l'alta appetibilità richiesta dai consumatori, facilitando quindi l'adesione a una dieta chetogenica di individui che tendono ad avere una forte preferenza per i cibi dolci; 3. l’effetto delle diete chetogeniche sulle funzioni cognitive: il range di variazione della glicemia o dei corpi chetonici nel sangue di soggetti non diabetici è ampia e ciascuno di essi può essere utilizzato come energia dal cervello. I dati sugli effetti della variazione dei livelli di glicemia e chetonemia sulle funzioni cognitive di esseri umani sani dopo diversi tipi di dieta sono scarsi. Lo scopo di questo studio è stato confrontare gli effetti della variazione di glicemia e chetonemia dopo dieci giorni di due differenti diete chetogeniche e di una dieta mediterranea ipocalorica (MD) sulla memoria di lavoro e sulle funzioni esecutive in 63 giovani donne sovrappeso, sedentarie e in buona salute (IMC> 25, età: 20-35) che sono state reclutate nella zona universitaria. I soggetti sono stati divisi in gruppi in base al giorno di inizio della loro fase follicolare per minimizzare gli effetti ormonali sull'umore e le misurazioni basali sono state effettuate cinque giorni prima dell'inizio del protocollo dietetico. I seguenti controlli sono stati fissati al giorno di inizio della dieta (t1), al terzo (t3), al quinto (t5), al settimo (t7) e all'ultimo giorno (t10). Al controllo iniziale è stato misurato il peso dei soggetti ed è stata eseguita un'analisi impedenziometrica. I soggetti hanno poi assunto una colazione ad alto contenuto di carboidrati e hanno completato i test psicologici. Al t1, T3, T5, T7 e t10 sono stati misurati il livello dei corpi chetonici e la glicemia, così come i livelli di appetito. Nel giorno dell'ultimo controllo (T10) i soggetti hanno ripetuto l'analisi impedenziometrica, la misura del peso corporeo e, dopo la colazione (ogni gruppo ha assunto una colazione diversa a seconda della dieta prescritta), hanno completato i test psicologici. I test psicologici consistevano in un test sull'umore, due compiti cognitivi, uno per indagare la memoria di lavoro (“visuo-spatial n back”) e uno per analizzare le funzioni esecutive (“inhibitory control task”) e in una scala VAS per testare il livello di appetito. 45 soggetti hanno completato lo studio. Considerando tutti i partecipanti insieme, i livelli di glucosio pre-dieta correlavano positivamente con il tempo di reazione nel “go-trial” del test delle funzioni esecutive (r(43) = 0,358, p = 0,018), ma questa relazione non è stata trovata nel post-dieta, sia quando i soggetti sono stati analizzati tutti insieme che quando i soggetti sono stati divisi in base al tipo di dieta seguita. Nello stesso test psicologico, nel post-dieta la misura della chetonemia ha mostrato una correlazione negativa con l'accuratezza ai compiti “no-go” (r(29) = -0,455, p = 0,027). Possiamo quindi concludere che giovani soggetti in sovrappeso con livelli di glicemia inferiori al livello di pre-diabete sono stati influenzati negativamente da una colazione ad alto contenuto di carboidrati nel corso di un test di funzioni esecutive. Inoltre, l'effetto di moderati livelli di corpi chetonici (2 ± 1,3 mmol / L) ha nfluenzato negativamente l'accuratezza nelle prove “no-go” del test sulle funzioni esecutive.

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Uma das dietas mais procuradas para perda de peso é a dieta Atkins, caracterizada como hiperproteica, hiperlipídica e hipoglicídica. O consumo em excesso de proteínas leva a produção de ácidos provenientes do metabolismo protéico e para manter a homeostase sanguínea são recrutados íons, principalmente o cálcio proveniente do osso, levando ao comprometimento deste tecido. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da dieta hiperproteica no tecido ósseo em ratas Wistar. O estudo teve duração de 60 dias. Animais com 90 dias de idade foram divididas em 4 grupos (n=7); Grupo controle Caseína 1 (C1) e Caseína 2 (C2), Grupo Hiperproteico 1 (HP1) e Hiperproteico 2 (HP 2). O grupo C2 e HP2 foram submetidos a 30% de restrição alimentar. O experimento teve a duração de 60 dias. O peso e a ingestão hídrica eram verificados uma vez por semana. Utilizando absorciometria por dupla emissão de raios X (DXA) foi avaliada a densidade mineral óssea (DMO g/cm2), o conteúdo mineral ósseo (CMO g), a Área (cm2), tecido gordo total e do tronco. A análise densitométrica foi realizada no início e ao final do experimento com o animal anestesiado. Após o sacrifício foram coletadas amostras de sangue e o fêmur direito. No fêmur foi realizado densitometria óssea, biometria e com as cinzas ósseas análises de cálcio, magnésio e fósforo. Do sangue coletado foi obtido o soro e analisados cálcio, magnésio, fósforo, insulina, osteocalcina e paratormônio. Os resultados são apresentados com média e erro padrão. Os animais com alimentação em livre demanda apresentaram maior ganho de massa corporal do que os animais com restrição calórica. Os grupos hiperproteicos apresentaram maior ingestão hídrica, quando comparados com o grupo C1 (P<0,05). Na ingestão alimentar, os grupos experimentais consumiram quantidades similares e menor em comparação com o Controle 1 (P<0,05). As concentrações de cálcio sérico foram menores entre os grupos experimentais e C2 (P<0,05). Os valores da osteocalcina sérica foram menores nos grupos hiperproteicos (P<0,05). A insulina foi significativamente menor no grupo HP2 (P<0,05), e sem diferença significativa entre os grupos controles e HP1, sendo que o grupo C2 apresentou redução de mais de 50% em relação ao grupo C1. Houve redução da largura do ponto médio da diáfise do fêmur nos grupos experimentais quando comparados com seus respectivos grupos controle. As concentrações de cálcio ósseo foram menores nos grupos hiperproteicos (P<0,05). No geral, os resultados densitométricos ósseos total, da pelve e da coluna vertebral foram semelhantes entre os grupos com consumo em livre demanda e entre os grupos com restrição alimentar. A DMO do fêmur do grupo HP2 foi menor (P<0,05). O tecido gordo do tronco nos grupos com consumo em livre demanda foi maior e o tecido magro total desses grupos foram similares. A dieta da proteína não promoveu maior perda de peso que a dieta controle. Os grupos hiperproteicos apresentaram redução da largura do ponto médio da diáfise do fêmur, diminuição do cálcio ósseo e sérico e da osteocalcina, sendo que o grupo HP2 apresentou também diminuição na concentração sérica de insulina
One of the most sought diet for weight loss is the Atkins’, characterized as a high protein, lipid and low glycemic diet. The excessive intake of proteins leads to the production of acids from it’s metabolism. In order to maintain homeostasis, blood ions are recruited, mainly calcium from the bone, leading to impairment of the tissue. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a high protein diet on the bone tissue in Wistar rats. 90-day-old animals were divided into 4 groups (n = 7): Casein 1 group control (C1), Casein 2 (C2), High Protein 1 (HP1) and High Protein 2 (HP 2). Groups C2 and HP2 were subjected to 30% of food restriction ( 60 days). Weight and water intake were checked once a week. Bone mineral density (BMD g/cm2), bone mineral content (BMC g), total fat tissue and area (cm2) of the thorax were determined by Dual Emission X-rays (DXA). Anesthetized animals were subjected to densitometric analysis at the beginning and at the end of the experiment with anesthetized animals. Then the animals were terminated, and the blood and right femur collected. Femur densitometry and biometrics were made. Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus were determined from bone ashes. Serum calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, insulin, PTH and osteocalcin were measured. Results are presented as mean and standard error. Animals fed ad libitum gained more body weight than the animals on restricted diet. High protein groups had higher (P <0.05) water intake when compared with C1. Food intake in experimental groups was similar and lower (P <0.05) when compared with C1. Serum calcium concentration were lower (P <0.05) between the high protein groups and C2. Values of serum osteocalcin were low (P <0.05) in high protein groups. Insulin was significantly low (P <0.05) in group HP2. C2 group insulin was reduced by over 50% compared to C1. Groups HP1 and control were statistically similar. High protein groups showed a width at the midpoint of the diaphysis when compared with their respective control groups. Bone calcium concentrations were low (P <0.05) in high protein groups. Overall, the results of bone, pelvis and spine densitometries were similar between groups ad libitum and with restricted diets. HP2 group femurs exhibited reduced bone mass density (BMD). Trunk fat and lean tissues in ad libitum groups were higher (P<0.05) and similar, respectively. The protein diet did not promote greater weight loss than the restricted diet. High protein groups showed a width reduction at the midpoint of the diaphysis, decreased bone and serum calcium and osteocalcin. HP2 group also showed lower serum insulin

In the Ottawa Hospital Weight Management Clinic, we have previously identified subpopulations of patients in the upper and lower quintiles for rate of weight loss, and characterized them as ‘obese diet sensitive’ (ODS) and ‘obese diet resistant’ (ODR) patient groups, respectively. Skeletal muscle is a major contributor to basal metabolic rate and mitochondrial proton leak in skeletal muscle can account for up to 50 % of resting oxygen consumption. The overall aim of this research is to explore differences in mitochondrial function in human primary myotubes from ODS and ODR subjects. Subsets of ODS and ODR subjects (n = 9/group) who followed a hypocaloric clinical weight loss program at the Ottawa Weight Management Clinic consented to a muscle (vastus lateralis) biopsy. Human primary myoblasts obtained from biopsies were immunopurified and differentiated into myotubes. Mitochondrial function and distribution were compared in intact myotubes from ODS and ODR subjects. Mitochondrial proton leak was significantly lower (p< 0.05) in ODR myotubes compared to ODS myotubes, independent of whether cells were differentiated in low or high glucose medium. In addition, in low glucose medium, ODR myotubes had higher MnSOD protein levels compared to ODS myotubes (p< 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in mitochondrial content, mitochondrial membrane potential, cellular ROS levels or ATP content between ODS and ODR myotubes. Overall, our in vitro mitochondrial proton leak results are consistent with our previous ex vivo results. Future research should examine the possibility that differences in proton leak between ODS and ODR groups may be related to mechanisms of cellular ROS regulation.

Os sulfitos, representados pelo SO2, fazem parte de um importante grupo de aditivos utilizados, há séculos, como conservantes em frutas secas, sucos de frutas, vinhos. No Brasil não existem dados sobre sua utilização pelas indústrias de alimentos e pesquisas sobre o seu consumo pela população. Assim, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi estimar a ingestão de sulfitos em dois grupos de alunos do ensino médio, respectivamente de escola particular e pública. Os dados foram coletados por meio de R24, que permitiu relacionar as fontes de sulfitos presentes na dieta. Para o cálculo do consumo deste aditivo foi utilizado o MPL, definido pela legislação brasileira para cada uma das fontes. Nenhum dos escolares ultrapassou a IDA de 0,70 mg SO2/kg pc/dia, com média de consumo de 0,07 mg SO2/kg pc/dia (p<0,001), sem diferença estatisticamente significante (p = 0,643) entre as escolas particular e pública. Os grandes consumidores (consumo de mais de 50% da IDA, ou seja, 0,35 mg SO2/kg pc/dia, até o limite 0,52 mg SO2/kg pc/dia) representaram 4,5% da amostra pesquisada e alcançaram estes níveis de ingestão devido ao consumo acima de 500 mL/dia de sucos industrializados e similares, e, na escola particular, por associar ao seu consumo bebidas alcoólicas, como cerveja e vinho.
The sulphites, represented for the SO2, are part of an important group of additives, have used for centuries as preservatives in dry fruits, fruit juices, wines. In Brazil there are no data on use of sulphites by the food industry and research on their consumption by population. Thus, the objective of this research was to estimate the ingestion of sulphites in two groups of high school students, one of privative school and another of public school. The data were collected through 24-hour dietary recall, that allowed to relate the sources of sulphites in the diet. For calculation of the consumption of this additive the MPL, stabilished by the Brazilian legislation was used for each sources. None of students exceeded the ADI of 0.70 mg SO2/kg bw/day, with average of consumption of 0.07 mg SO2/kg bw/day (p < 0.001), without statistical difference (p = 0.643) between privative and public school. Heavy consumers (consumption of more than 50% of the ADI, or either, 0.35 mg SO2/kg bw/day, until 0.52 mg SO2/kg bw/dia) represented 4.5% of the searched sample and reached these levels of ingestion due to the consumption above 500 mL/day of fruit industrialized juices, and, in privative school, for associating with its consumption alcoholic beverages, as beer and wine.

Objetivo: Evaluar la calidad de la dieta por región natural del Perú en adolescentes y adultos. Materiales y métodos: El presente es un análisis secundario de la base de datos del Estudio Latinoamericano de Nutrición y Salud (ELANS). La muestra estuvo compuesta por 1113 sujetos de diferentes regiones del país (Lima, resto de costa, sierra y selva). Para medir la calidad de la dieta se calculó el HEI (Índice de Alimentación Saludable), a través de la información del consumo de alimentos por recordatorio de consumo de 24 horas de dos días no consecutivos. El HEI se clasificó en no saludable (<60 puntos HEI), medianamente saludable (60-79 puntos) y saludable (> 80 puntos). Resultados: La media del puntaje HEI fue 71.0 (DE: 10,0), las mujeres tuvieron mayor puntaje que los hombres (72,2 (DE: 10,0) vs 69,5 (DE: 9,7); p<0.001, respectivamente). El consumo de lácteos obtuvo un mayor puntaje en la Sierra y menor en la Selva (6,76 (DE: 4,53) vs 2,86 (DE: 4,24); p<0.001, respectivamente). Asimismo, las carnes tuvieron mayor puntaje en la Costa y Selva y menor en la Sierra (4,76 (DE: 0,89), 4,76 (DE: 0,84) vs 4,24 (DE: 1,49); p<0.001, respectivamente). La regresión lineal ajustada mostró que la Sierra tiene mayor puntaje de HEI (coef: 1.89 EE: 0.75; p=0.012) y la selva el menor puntaje (coef: -5.31, EE: 1.01; p<0.001) en relación a Lima y Resto de costa. Conclusión: El lugar de residencia afecta el índice de calidad, siendo la Sierra la que presenta un mayor índice de alimentación saludable y la selva el menor en comparación a las otras regiones.
Objective: To evaluate the diet quality in Peru by region in adolescents and adults. Materials and methods: This is a secondary analysis of the Latin American Nutrition and Health Study (ELANS) database. To measure diet quality, the HEI was calculated using information from a 24-hour food consumption reminder on two non-consecutive days. The HEI was classified as unhealthy (<60 HEI points), medium healthy (60-79 points) and healthy (>80 points). The sample was composed of 1113 subjects from four different regions of Peru: Lima Metropolitana, Costa, Sierra and Selva. A multiple linear regression was performed to analyze the effect of region, adolescents and adults. HEI score. Results: The mean HEI score was 71,0 (SD: 10,0), women scored higher than men (72,2 (10,0) vs 69,5 (9,7); p<0.001). Dairy products scored higher in the Sierra region and lower in the Selva region (6,76 (4,53) vs 2,86 (4,24); p<0. 001). Similarly, meats scored higher on the Costa region and the Jungle region and lower in the Sierra region (4,76 (0,89) vs. 4,76 (0,84) vs. 4,24 (1,49); p<0.001). The adjusted linear regression showed that the Sierra region has the highest HEI score (coef: 1.89, EE:0.75; p=0.012) and the Selva region the lowest score (coef: -5.31, EE:1.01; p<0.001). Conclusion: The region of residence affects the quality index, with the population of the Sierra having a higher index of healthy eating and the forest having the lowest score compared to the other regions. It is important to improve the quality of the population's diet across regions in Peru.
Tesis

The aim of this thesis was to examine the role of diet in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Patients were examined in: i) a postal questionnaire survey of dietary habits and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms; ii) a study on biomarkers of diet and disease activity; iii) a comparison of cardiovascular risk factors with the general population using data from the Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP), and; iv) a 21-week omega-3 fatty acid supplementation study regarding the effects on disease activity. The postal survey (111 respondents) revealed no correlation between dietary habits and disease activity measured by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI). However, GI problems, and in particular GI pain, were prevalent in patients with AS irrespective of NSAID usage.Gastrointestinal pain was predicted by higher BASDAI and a higher consumption of vegetables. Overall, 30 (27%) of the patients experienced an aggravation of gastric symptoms when consuming certain foods. In the study of biomarkers (n=66) no correlation was found between diet and disease activity as assessed by BASDAI. There were, however, positive correlations between BASDAI and the content of arachidonic acid (AA) in plasma phospholipids (rs=0.39, p<0.01) and the estimated activity of the enzyme delta-5-desaturase (rs=0.37, p<0.01). This may reflect a process involved in the inflammation associated with AS that requires further investigation. Comparing data from the VIP for patients (n=89) and controls showed no significant differences regarding diet, physical activity or smoking. Nonetheless, more pronounced correlations between blood lipids and diet were identified among patients than in controls. Furthermore, the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides were lower in patients compared with controls. Lastly, in the supplementation study, a high-dose of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (4.55 grams/day) was found to lower disease activity, as measured by BASDAI, whereas low-dose treatment (1.95 grams/day) caused no change. In conclusion, within a group of Swedish AS patients we found no correlation between ordinary dietary habits and disease activity. Diet in western populations of patients with AS may, however, be of importance for gastric symptoms and for cardiovascular risk factors. The finding of a lowered disease activity in patients on high-dose supplementation with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids indicates that a radical dietary shift may influence disease activity. The findings of a positive correlation between disease activity and plasma AA, and the decreased levels of blood lipids imply the need for further studies into fatty acid metabolism in AS.

Various potential nutrient deficiencies associated with the vegan diet have been thoroughly investigated, but limited research has been undertaken to assess the iodine intake of vegans. Moreover, such research may be considered unreliable. Therefore, the aims of the current work were to firstly ascertain the main sources of iodine in the vegan diet, both dietary and pharmacological, and their frequency of consumption. Secondly, it was intended, by way of a prospective cross-sectional study, to determine the iodine intake of vegans consuming their habitual diet, and their iodine status. The current sources of iodine in the vegan diet and the frequency of consumption were assessed in 378 replies to a questionnaire advertised in 'The Vegan' - the official magazine of the Vegan Society. The main sources of iodine were identified as seaweed and seaweed products, iodised salt and iodine supplements. Over 1 in 4 of the volunteers were not consuming any of these sources and 54% were consuming only one source. Conversely, 19% were consuming at least two of the three identified sources. The preliminary findings suggested that vegans may be at risk of both iodine deficiency and toxicity and that iodine consumption was largely dependent on the iodine content of the food, the portion size and the frequency of consumption. Thirty 'healthy' vegans were recruited to the prospective study. Duplicate portions and 24 hour urine specimens were collected concurrently over four consecutive days and the iodine intake and status determined by chemical analysis. Dietary intake was also recorded and iodine intakes were determined by Comp-Eat, a computerised nutritional analysis program, to assess the reliability of this dietary survey technique. The iodine intake of the majority of the subjects was below the RNI and even below the LRNI. Moreover, the iodine status of the majority of the group investigated was low. Conversely iodine intakes of those who consumed seaweed approached levels which may be considered toxic. These findings indicate that iodine intakes may be low, however it is uncertain as to whether or not the body is able to adapt to such intakes. Furthermore, the potential effect on thyroid function of possibly toxic, but infrequent, intakes of the trace element is unclear. Finally, the study exposed a need for the availability of reliable information on iodine for vegans.

Trabalho Complementar apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de licenciada em Ciências da Nutrição
O estudo dos padrões alimentares capta o efeito cumulativo e de interação dos vários alimentos e nutrientes e podem ser mais facilmente interpretados pela população, assumindo assim particular importância em Saúde Pública. A Dieta Mediterrânica (DM) e a Dieta Atlântica (DA) são padrões alimentares definidos por uma abordagem orientada por hipóteses prévias (a priori) e são representativos de uma determinada região e dos seus costumes culturais e sociais, reforçados ao longo de vários anos. Cada um apresenta na sua composição propriedades que lhes conferem o estatuto de alimentação saudável. Em termos de efeitos benéficos na saúde, a DM e os seus componentes têm sido exaustivamente associados a um menor risco cardiovascular, conferindo também um papel protetor sobre a incidência e mortalidade por cancro, em especial cancro da mama, da próstata, gástrico e colo-retal. A DM também apresenta evidência de ter um papel favorável na prevenção e tratamento da obesidade, diabetes, doenças inflamatórias reumáticas, osteoporose e a nível cognitivo. Em relação ao papel da DA na saúde, este tem muito menor evidência fruto da sua definição muito mais recente, tendo sido já associada a melhor perfil cardiovascular. Quer a DM quer a DA parecem sofrer atualmente uma espécie de descaracterização, havendo uma aproximação do seu padrão tradicional a outros padrões de regiões carateristicamente diferentes. Esta ocidentalização dos padrões preocupa a comunidade científica em geral.
The study of dietary patterns captures the cumulative and interaction effect of various foods and nutrients and can be more easily interpreted by the population, thus assuming particular importance in Public Health. The Mediterranean Diet (MD) and Atlantic Diet (AD) are dietary patterns defined by a hypothesis oriented approach (a priori) and are representative of a particular region and its cultural and social customs, reinforced over several years. Each one has properties that give them the status of healthy diets. In terms of benefits to health, the MD and its components have been extensively associated with a lower cardiovascular risk, and also a protective effect on cancer incidence and mortality, especially breast cancer, prostate, gastric and colorectal cancer has been described. The MD also presents evidence of having a favorable role in the prevention and treatment of obesity, diabetes, inflammatory rheumatic diseases, osteoporosis and at the cognitive level. The role of the AD in health, has much less evidence due to its much more recent definition, but it has already been associated with a better cardiovascular profile. Both the MD and AD seem to suffer a kind of decharacterization, with an approximation of the traditional pattern to other patterns of regions that are characteristically different. This westernization of dietary patterns concerns the scientific community in general.
N/A

A surpreendente descoberta de uma assembléia de anuros terrícolas extremamente abundante, sintópica à fauna peculiar de lagartos, serpentes e anfisbenas, numa localidade dos mares de areia do médio Rio São Francisco (estado da Bahia, Brasil) motivou: (1) o estudo do uso de alimento e eletividades na dieta dos anuros locais, (2) a investigação de evidências de adaptação na sua dieta ao ambiente desafiador das dunas e (3) a avaliação do possível impacto que os anuros causam na assembléia sintópica de Squamata anteriormente estudada. O uso de alimento e as eletividades na dieta das três espécies de anuros mais abundantes, assim como suas variações ontogenéticas, foram descritas e premissas sobre adequação das estimativas de uso e disponibilidade de recursos alimentares foram testadas. Evidências de adaptação nas dietas dos anuros às dunas foram feitas comparando-se sua dieta com as de espécies filogeneticamente próximas. As estimativas de uso e de disponibilidade utilizadas foram consideradas adequadas. Bufo granulosus apresentou eletividade positiva por formigas. Pleurodema diplolistris e Physalaemus albifrons apresentaram ambos eletividade positiva por besouros e eletividade negativa por cupins e por formigas, respectivamente. Não houve variação ontogenética nos tipos de presa consumidas por nenhuma das espécies estudadas e isso não pôde ser atribuído à avaliação de uma pequena extensão de tamanhos dos anuros. Variações ontogenéticas no tamanho das presas foram observadas apenas para B. granulosus e P. diplolistris. Não houve evidência de apomorfia na dieta de B. granulosus e não houve dados disponíveis suficientes para realizar essa análise para P. diplolistris. As apomorfias registradas na dieta de P. albifrons podem ser explicadas por interações competitivas com outros componentes da herpetofauna local. Os anuros não parecem causar impacto forte sobre a assembléia de Squamata sintópica, devido a divergências nas eletividades por alimento e nos horários de atividade entre a maioria deles e grande parte desse padrão divergente parece ter se estabelecido antes da formação dessa assembléia. A eletividade positiva por formigas de B. granulosus e do tropidurídeo Tropidurus psammonastes pode apontar interação competitiva contemporânea entre eles, devido a suas grandes abundâncias locais. No entanto, é necessário haver indícios de limitação de recursos para levantar tal hipótese, porque a divergência nos horários de atividade deles impede competição por interferência. Mas formigas são abundantes na área.
The discovery of an extremely abundant anuran terrestrial assemblage, that is syntopic to a peculiar fauna of lizards, snakes, and worm snakes, in a locality at the sand dune fields of the Middle São Francisco River (Bahia state, Brazil) motivated: (1) the study of food use and electivities of local anurans, (2) investigations about evidences of adaptation in anurans’ diet to the challenges of a semi-arid environment, and (3) the assessment of the impact caused by anurans on the Squamata syntopic assemblage already studied. Food use, food electivities, and ontogenetic variation in diet of the three most abundant anuran species were described, and premises about the adequacy of the used estimates of food use and food availability were tested. Evidences of adaptation in diet were assessed by comparison of the diet of anurans from the dunes and that of phylogenetically related species. Estimates of food use and availability were considered suitable. Bufo granulosus showed positive electivity for ants. Pleurodema diplolistris and Physalaemus albifrons had both positive electivities for beetles and negative electivities for termites and ants, respectively. No species changed the types of prey it consumed during ontogeny and this was not a spurious result of a narrow range of anurans size analyzed. B. granulosus and P. diplolistris ate bigger preys as they grew. There was no evidence of adaptation in B. granulosus diet and insufficient data precluded this analysis with P. diplolistris diet. Apomorphies registered in P. albifrons diet can be explained by ecological contemporary interactions with local herpetofauna components. Anurans do not seem to cause a big impact on Squamata syntopic species, because in general anurans and squamates show divergent food electivities and/or activity times. Moreover, most of this divergent pattern has probably evolved before the establishment of the current assemblage. Coincident positive electivities for ants of B. granulosus and the tropidurid Tropidurus psammonastes can be an indicative of contemporary competitive interactions between them, principally because they are very abundant at the dunes. But evidence of limiting resources are necessary to rise this hypothesis because divergent activity times preclude interference competition, but ants are very abundant at the dunes.

The aim of this thesis is clear up patient access to diabetes mellitus. The studied areas are eating habits, access to physical activity and health treatment, which are directly related to the disease. The chapter on diabetic diet will bring knowledge about the monthly cost of food in these patients. This analysis answers the question, whether the amount of the monthly cost of diabetic diets is higher than the cost of food of a person with a rational diet.

The ability of rainbow trout to efficiently utilize plant-based diets for growth and the genetic variation for that trait have not been thoroughly examined. In this study, growth of a pedigreed population from the commercial Kamloop strain was assessed while feeding plant-based or traditional fishmeal-based diets. Both fish oil (5.00%) and soybean oil (8.43%) were included in the plant-based diet, and only fish oil was used in the fishmeal diet (10.10%). Ninety-five full-sib families nested within 47 half-sib families were reared in a common environment. Parentage assignment was performed on approximately 1,000 fish fed each diet using eight microsatellite markers chosen for non-duplication, a minimum of five alleles with no known null alleles, at least 50% heterozygosity, and unambiguous scoring. Progeny were assigned to parental pairs using two allocation programs, PAPA and FAP, to increase accuracy and to test assignment efficiency. The fish fed the fishmeal/oil diet were approximately 8% larger than the fish fed the plant-based diet (P < 0.05). A significant genotype x diet effect accounted for 5% of the random variation. The genetic correlation for growth on the two diets was 73%, with a heritability of 30% across the diets. With this, I conclude that substantial genetic variation for utilizing pant-based diets containing soybean meal and oil exists in this widely used commercial rainbow trout strain. The genetic variation can be explored to detect and select for genes involved in proved utilization of plant-based diets containing soybean meal and oil if growth on plant-based meals becomes a long-term breeding goal in rainbow trout production.
Master of Science

Introduction Des études épidémiologiques ont montré qu'une restriction nutritionnelle pendant la grossesse pouvait conduire à une réponse adaptative du fœtus conduisant à une altération durable du métabolisme. Ainsi, les enfants nés avec un petit poids de naissance sont plus à risque de développer des maladies cardiovasculaires à l'âge adulte. L'exposition à des contaminants obésogènes pourrait également jouer un rôle dans l'augmentation du risque d'obésité. L’alimentation est une des principales voies d'exposition à ces contaminants. Après une description de la qualité de l’alimentation pendant la grossesse, l’objectif était d'étudier l'association entre l'exposition prénatale aux contaminants alimentaires et la croissance des enfants.MéthodesLes données de trois cohortes de naissance ont été utilisées : deux études françaises (EDEN et ELFE), et une étude norvégienne (MoBa). Les femmes de ces cohortes, ont rempli un questionnaire de fréquence alimentaire (QFA) portant sur l’alimentation pendant la grossesse. L'évaluation des contaminants a été réalisée en combinant le QFA et des bases de données de contamination, la deuxième Etude de l’Alimentation Total (EAT2) française pour EDEN et plusieurs bases de données de contamination pour MoBa. Premièrement dans ELFE, nous avons créé un score de qualité de l'alimentation et un score spécifique à la grossesse, puis nous avons étudié les facteurs associés à une meilleure qualité alimentaire. Ensuite, nous avons examiné l’association entre la qualité de l'alimentation et la croissance prénatale. Deuxièmement, nous avons étudié la relation entre un contaminant alimentaire : l'acrylamide (AA), et la croissance prénatale, dans EDEN, et la croissance postnatale, dans MoBa. Troisièmement, nous avons étendu nos analyses à tous les contaminants alimentaires de l’EAT2, en analysant les composés pris individuellement, puis considérés en mélange.RésultatsPremièrement, nous avons montré que les recommandations générales et spécifiques étaient globalement bien suivies par les femmes enceintes. Certaines caractéristiques socioéconomiques ou démographiques étaient associées à la fois au score de qualité de l’alimentation et au score spécifique de la grossesse telles que l’âge à l’accouchement, niveau d’étude et revenu du foyer et le tabagisme. Un score élevé de qualité de l’alimentation était associé à un poids de naissance plus élevé et un risque plus faible d'avoir un enfant petit pour l’âge gestationnel (PAG).Deuxièmement, nous avons montré que plus l'exposition pendant la grossesse à l’AA est importante, plus la taille de naissance était faible et plus le risque de PAG est élevé. Dans MoBa, nous avons constaté que l'exposition prénatale à l'AA était associée à une prévalence accrue d'enfants en surpoids ou obèses et à une plus grande vitesse de croissance du poids durant l’enfance.Dans EDEN, sur les 99 composés chimiques sélectionnés, le poids de naissance était associé négativement à l’exposition à quatre contaminants alimentaires et positivement à l’exposition à quatre autres. L'IMC à 5 ans était associé négativement à un contaminant. Aucune de ces associations étaient statistiquement significative après prise en compte de la multiplicité des tests. Lorsque les composés chimiques étaient considérés en mélanges, un mélange de contaminants était positivement associé au poids de naissance et aucun mélange n’était associé à l'IMC à 5 ans.ConclusionUne qualité de l’alimentation élevée est associée à un poids de naissance plus élevé et une diminution du risque de PAG, alors que l'exposition alimentaire à l'AA est associée à une altération de la croissance fœtale. L’exposition prénatale aux contaminants alimentaires, évaluée à partir des données d’EAT, ne semble pas préoccupante vis-à-vis de la croissance prénatale et postnatale précoce car les effets retrouvés sont de faible amplitude et ne sont plus significatifs après prise en compte des tests multiples
Introduction Maternal diet is the only prenatal source of nutrients and the major source for non-nutrients and can influence foetal growth and offspring’s long-term health. Chemicals known as “obesogens” might also play a role in increasing obesity risk and one of the main route of exposure to these chemicals is through foods. After a description of diet quality during pregnancy, the aim of this thesis was to study the association between prenatal exposure to food chemicals and prenatal and postnatal growth among children.MethodsWe used the data of three birth cohort studies: two French studies (EDEN and ELFE), and a Norwegian study (MoBa). We first described the compliance to dietary guidelines of French pregnant women and the impact of a better diet quality on birth outcomes using the data of the ELFE study. Secondly, we studied the relationship of a specific food contaminant, acrylamide, on birth size in the EDEN and postnatal growth in MoBa. Finally, we extended analyses to all available food chemicals in the second French Total Diet Study (TDS).ResultsThe nutritional guidelines for pregnant women were rather well followed in ELFE. The diet quality score was associated with higher birth weight and lower risk of having a small for gestational (SGA) baby. We showed that prenatal dietary exposure to acrylamide was associated with reduced birth size in EDEN, and to increased postnatal growth in MoBA. In EDEN, on the 99 selected food chemicals, birth weight was associated with eight chemicals (four negatively and four positively). BMI at 5 years was associated with one food chemical. These results were not significant after correction for multiple testing. When using the mixture approach, one mixture of chemical was positively associated with postnatal growth.ConclusionsThe diet quality score was associated with higher birth size. Whereas dietary exposure to acrylamide was associated with impaired foetal growth, when looking at a larger number of food chemicals, we did not find concerning association on child prenatal or postnatal growth. Exposure to food chemical assessed by TDS did not appear to be of major concern for growth but other windows of susceptibility, such as early childhood, and other outcomes, such as cognitive development, should be considered in future studies

The purpose of this study was to determine attitudes toward low carbohydrate diets among consumers and the attributes that influence their purchase decision. A growing number of diet trends are spreading across the nation in an effort to improve health and lose weight such as the Atkins diet and the South Beach diet.

Adjust and apply the Revised Children s Diet Quality Index (RC-DQI) to evaluate the quality of pre-school student s diet in Aracaju /SE. Cross-sectional ) study with 910 pre-school students of both genders with age between 2 years and 6 years and 11 months, registered in municipal schools of Aracaju/SE. The charactheristics of the population were obtained through questionaries and food consumption was determined by 24 hours recording method. The diet quality was evaluated by an adjusted RC-DQI. The statistical test of Kolmogorov-Smirnov verified the normal distribution of variables, and the Pearson correlation checked the relation between the components of RC-DQI and the nutrient ingestion and the Kruskal Wallis verified the difference between the quartile. The statistical significance stabilished was of p <0,05. The RC-DQI average was of 58,95 points. The quartiles with best diet quality presented the higher ingestion of nutrients. A minimal score was found for fruits (61,2%), vegetables (75,1%) and children that were older and had more individuals per family presented the lowest diet quality. Families with higher incomes presented higher diet quality. The index showed that the diet quality needs enhancements (total score 58,95) and also showed a correlation between family income, structure, children s age and number of individuals in the same family.
O presente trabalho tem por objetivo adaptar e aplicar o Revised Children's Diet Quality Index (RC-DQI) para avaliar a qualidade da dieta de pré-escolares do município de Aracaju/SE. Estudo transversal de uma amostra de 910 pré-escolares, de ambos os gêneros com idade de dois a seis anos e onze meses, matriculados nas escolas da rede municipal de Aracaju-SE. As informações sobre as características da população de pré-escolares foram obtidas através de questionário e o consumo alimentar pelo método recordatório de 24h. A qualidade da dieta foi avaliada através RC-DQI adaptado. Foi utilizado o teste estatístico de Kolmogorov-Smirnov para verificar o grau de aderência da distribuição das variáveis à distribuição normal. Apenas a variável do RC-DQI apresentou distribuição normal. Para verificar correlação entre os componentes do RC-DQI e ingestão de alguns nutrientes foi utilizado correlação de Pearson e teste Kruskal Wallis para verificar a diferença entre os quartis. A significância estatística foi estabelecida em p < 0,05. Encontrou-se consumo inadequado (zero porções) de frutas em 35,6% da população, de legumes e verduras em 45,7% e consumo insuficiente (zero porções) de leite e derivados e alimentos fontes de ferro em 15,7% e 5,49% respectivamente. Além disso, observou-se também que as crianças apresentaram consumo excessivo de açúcar e suco, principalmente artificial e que as mesmas eram sedentárias. Foi verificado que as crianças com maior idade, inseridas em família de menor renda e com maior número de pessoas, apresentaram pior qualidade da dieta. O índice dietético identificou que a qualidade da dieta dos pré-escolares necessita de melhoras e as crianças que apresentaram dietas de melhor qualidade foram aquelas cujas famílias possuíam maior renda, menor número de pessoas e as crianças mais jovens.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Cincinnati, 2008.
Advisor: Shanil Juma . Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed feb.5, 2009). Includes abstract. Keywords: Nutrition Guide; Productivity; Absenteeism: Obesity. Includes bibliographical references.

Epidemiological and observational evidence suggests that obesity is related to poor Fe status. To determine interactions between obesity, dietary Fe intake and Fe status; male, weanling C57BL/6J mice were fed either high fat diets to induce obesity or a standard diet for 16 weeks. Fe concentrations of both the high fat or control diet (4.5 vs 3.8 kcal/g) were set at: 5, 50 or 500 mg Fe/kg diet. Mice fed the high fat diets had significantly higher percentage body fat (17.9%) compared to mice fed control diets (5.3%, P<0.001). Among obese mice, dietary Fe levels did not significantly influence body composition. Conversely among lean mice, mice fed the iron excessive diet had significantly less fat mass when compared to mice fed the iron deficient diet (P<0.05). Obesity and/or dietary Fe concentration did not significantly affect plasma Fe levels. ANOVA analysis showed significant effects of diet-induced obesity, dietary Fe and an interaction between both factors on liver Fe levels (P< 0.05). Obese mice had significantly lowered liver Fe levels compared to lean cohorts fed the same amount of dietary Fe (P<0.05 for all comparisons). Moreover, lean mice fed the Fe deficient diet (5 mg Fe/kg diet) had similar liver Fe levels (127 mg Fe/kg ± 0.04) compared to obese mice fed the 50 mg Fe/kg diet (132 mg Fe/kg ± 0.05). These data suggest that obesity, independent of dietary Fe intake, influences liver Fe stores.

This thesis aimed to compare self-reported and measured hearing loss by pure-tone audiometry and to determine what factors were associated with dietary intake, hearing loss and hearing-aid uptake and use in older people. This thesis analysed data from two large cohort studies- the Caerphilly Prospective Study and the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The main methods involved dietary pattern (DP) analysis, statistical analysis and both quantitative and qualitative analysis of interviews. This thesis found low but significant correlations between self-reported and audiometric measures of hearing loss. Poor dental health was significantly associated with reduced appetite. Diet quality was lower in males, younger older adults, those who were unmarried, widow(er)s, those with lower education and those with a higher BML In general, healthy DPs were associated with a decreased risk of chronic conditions and may be associated with a lower risk of hearing loss, although further work is required to confirm these findings. Hearing loss was significantly associated with a greater risk of depression and loneliness. Being older, having more severe hearing loss and owning a hearing-aid for a longer period of time were associated with greater hearing-aid uptake and use. Qualitative analysis revealed three main themes; factors affecting hearing-aid use. attitudes towards hearing-aids and audiology service. Self-reported measures of hearing loss were found to be acceptable measures of hearing loss, but only when audiological assessment is not feasible. A wide range of factors can adversely affect dietary intake in older people. Further work is necessary to determine the effect of dietary assessment method on DP analysis and the effect of examining a priori and a posteriori methods on observed associations with morbidity risk. More information, follow-up support and scheduled reviews are essential to increase hearing-aid uptake and use in older people.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a metabolic disease in which depletion of hepatic phenylalanine hydroxylase results in incomplete conversion of the essential amino acid phenylalanine to tyrosine. All protein contains phenylalanine which in PKU is toxic to the immature nervous system. Brain damage and mental handicap generally ensue but can be averted by restriction of dietary phenylalanine. Cognitive tests are used to monitor development and thus treatment outcome. Diet therapy prevents intellectual retardation, but mean IQ falls below age-standards and neuropsychological deficits are found in the executive domain. Questions thus remain about how to optimise treatment. This thesis summarises the history of PKU, reviews the neuropsychological literature, presents an empirical analysis of the IQ subtest profile in children representative of the treated classical PKU population and compares subjects from this group with healthy controls on measures of executive function. The historical and neuropsychological overviews concluded that early treatment practices almost certainly compromised cognitive development. The empirical studies replicated the finding that IQ in treated PKU is significantly depressed, but also indicated that adherence to present United Kingdom treatment guidelines normalises verbal but not spatial ability. Evidence from attentional measures suggested that impaired decision-making speed and poor response inhibition might underlie cognitive deficits found in treated PKU such as poor performance on executive tasks and certain measures of spatial skill. This idea is consistent with the hypothesis that executive functioning is specifically deficient, possibly as a consequence of dopamine depletion in prefrontal cortex. Support for the prefrontal executive hypothesis is at present patchy and circumstantial. Further research is required to establish its validity and whether executive deficit in treated PKU has a bearing on everyday adjustment in the individual patient. Until this is done, national treatment guidelines should not be revised downward.

Wolf (Canis lupus) diet can be estimated from undigested remains of prey in scats or through stable isotope analysis (SIA) of wolf hair when distinct δ13C and δ15N values of potential diet sources are known. Our objectives were to compare diet analysis methods, to estimate intra-population diet variability, and to determine proportions of prey consumed by wolves. We collected scats of 4 wolf packs in northwestern Montana from June to August 2008, and guard hairs of 45 wolves from 12 packs, May to August 2009. We calculated percent biomass consumed of deer (Odocoileus spp.), elk (Cervus canadensis), moose (Alces alces), and other items from scats, and used Pearsons chi-squared tests of proportions to measure differences among packs. We used hierarchical Bayesian stable isotope mixing models to determine diet and scales of diet variation from δ13C and δ15N values of wolves and prey. We used bootstrapped scat data, and Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation data from stable isotopes to estimate confidence intervals of difference between results from each technique for 4 packs with matched samples. Diet results were not consistent between techniques. Deer was the most common prey item based on scats, and moose the most common based on SIA. Wolf diet was significantly different among packs based on scats, and differences among packs explained most variability in diet based on stable isotopes. We sampled 3 times as many packs for less than half the cost with SIA compared to scat analysis. Experimental data on wolf hair growth period and wolf-specific δ13C and δ15N fractionation values would provide important information for recommending the better technique.

Athletes appear healthy according to weight for height and body fat standards. Though athletes appear to be healthy, little is known about their diets. Research states there is a connection between athletic performance and nutrition. The objective of this study was to determine the diet quality of 138 collegiate athletes. Data were collected in a laboratory. Demographics were collected via survey. Anthropometrics were assessed using a free standing stadiometer and the BodPod® for body fat assessment. Block 2005 Food Frequency Questionnaire© was used to assess diets. The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) 2005 was used to calculate diet quality scores. The average BMI was 23.2 (2.3) kg/m2 and the average body fat was17.8 % (6.5). The average HEI score was 51.2 (8.8). Higher HEI scores were correlated with higher body fat percentage in this sample. Diets were adequate in: calcium, iron, and vitamin C. Diets were inadequate in: fiber, fruits and vegetables intakes. The athletes had excessive intakes of sodium and total percent fats. These findings demonstrate the need for nutrition education for collegiate athletes.