Food intake

The rising prevalence of obesity has reached pandemic proportions, with an associated cost estimated at up to 7% of health expenditures worldwide. Bariatric surgery is currently the only effective long-term treatment for obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities in clinically severely obese patients. However, the precise physiological mechanisms underlying the postsurgical reductions in caloric intake and body weight are poorly comprehended. It has been suggested that changes in hormones involved in hunger, food intake and satiety via the neurohormonal network may contribute to the efficacy of bariatric procedures. In this review, we consider how gastrointestinal hormone concentrations, involved in appetite and body weight regulation via the gut-brain axis, are altered by different bariatric procedures. Special emphasis is placed on neurohormonal changes following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, which is the most common and effective procedure used today.

Diabetes" and related "Health Beliefs Concerning Diabetes" (Bradley's questionnaires, 1984), a fully randomized short-of structured outpatient education for Functional Insulin Treatment (FIT: selective insulin dosages for eating, fasting or term controlled Study 1 (four weeks, 32 patients), and longterm uncontrolled pilot Study 2 (three years, 68 patients) were correcting hyperglycaemia) on perceived control over diabetes and related health beliefs. FIT was thought to influence the performed. Results: The short-term study revealed that FIT induced the feeling of independence from situational control perception of self-efficacy in diabetes, in contrast to conventional treatment, based on scheduled, rigid food intake and while self-managing diabetes. In the long-term study, the patients were increasingly freed from the feeling of being under insulin delivery-it allows flexible eating, provided independent control of glycemia. Methods: Structured, comprehen-the control of physician and treatment-related restrictions, which-together with higher perceived self-efficacy-con-sive, outpatient group training in FIT for selective use of insulin either for eating, fasting or correction included practi-tributed to the feeling of "empowerment." This was associated with high treatment satisfaction and significant improvement cal "insulin games." The FIT program focused on everyday criteria for choices of insulin dosages and thus on the patient's of glycemic control. Conclusion: Structured out-patient group training for FIT results in measurable improvement of pa-ability to execute his/her newly gained flexible treatment to his/her everyday life while preventing acute and late complica-tients' perceived control over diabetes and self-efficacy.

Recent evidence highlights the important role of the brain in the control of glucose homeostasis. Hypothalamic centers sense the availability of peripheral nutrients via redundant and overlapping nutrient-induced peripheral signals such as leptin and insulin and via direct metabolic signaling. Responding to nutrient availability, these hypothalamic regions in turn exert a negative feedback not only on food intake but also on endogenous glucose production. Disruptions in the mechanisms of central nervous system nutrient sensing alter these homeostatic responses and contribute to the pathophysiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes. In this review, we discuss the neural and molecular pathways so far identified as possible targets for therapeutic intervention.

Using data from the Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals, this paper describes the shape of consumption profiles over the month for Social Security benefit recipients. Individuals with income mostly made up of Social Security benefits and who have some savings smooth consumption over the pay period, while individuals with little savings consume 25 percent fewer calories the week before checks are received relative to the week after checks are received. The findings for individuals with little savings are inconsistent with the Permanent Income/Lifecycle Hypothesis, but are consistent with hyperbolic discounting.

Leptin decreases food intake, body weight and fat mass while sparing lean mass. Although mouse leptin (ML) and rat leptin (RL) are 95.9% identical, our impression from previous studies was that they were not equally potent in rats. Thus, in the present study, 0 g (vehicle) or 10 g of ML or RL was injected into the lateral ventricle of rats (eight per treatment) once a day for four consecutive days. Body temperature, body weight, food intake and water intake were measured daily. Intrascapular and perirenal brown fat pads, white fat tissues (retroperitoneal, epididymal and inguinal fat pads) and the gastrocnemius muscle were collected and weighed 24 h after the last treatments. Body temperature was not affected by either ML or RL. Both ML and RL caused significant reductions in food intake (P < 0.05), and there was no difference between them. ML and RL also similarly inhibited water intake on days 2 and 3 (P < 0.05). By day 5 both ML-and RL-treated rats had lost weight (11.6 and 15.4 g, respectively), while vehicle-treated rats gained weight (6.8 g). Weights of retroperitoneal and epididymal fat pads, but not other tissues, were reduced similarly by both leptin treatments (P < 0.05). However, an increased apoptotic response was detected in the retroperitoneal fat tissue of RL-but not ML-treated rats (P < 0.05). These results suggest that RL is more effective than ML in inducing apoptosis in retroperitoneal fat tissue after i.c.v. injection in rats.

Recent data reported that inulin-type fructans extracted from chicory roots regulate appetite and lipid/glucose metabolism, namely, by promoting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) production in the colon. The Agave genus growing in different regions of Mexico also contains important amounts of original fructans, with interesting nutritional and technological properties, but only few data report their physiological effect when added in the diet. Therefore, we decided to evaluate in parallel the effect of supplementation with 10 % agave or chicory fructans on glucose and lipid metabolism in mice. Male C57Bl/6J mice were fed a standard (STD) diet or diet supplemented with Raftilose P95 (RAF), fructans from Agave tequilana Gto. (TEQ) or fructans from Dasylirion spp. (DAS) for 5 weeks. The body weight gain and food intake in mice fed fructans-containing diets were significantly lower than the ones of mice fed the STD diet, TEQ leading to the lowest value. Serum glucose and cholesterol were similarly lower in all fructans-fed groups than in the STD group and correlated to body weight gain. Only RAF led to a significant decrease in serum TAG. As previously shown for RAF, the supplementation with agave fructans (TEQ and DAS) induced a higher concentration of GLP-1 and its precursor, proglucagon mRNA, in the different colonic segments, thus suggesting that fermentable fructans from different botanical origin and chemical structure are able to promote the production of satietogenic/incretin peptides in the lower part of the gut, with promising effects on glucose metabolism, body weight and fat mass development. Agave tequilana Gto: Dasylirion spp: Fructans: Incretins: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (7-36) amide: Diabetes: Obesity * Corresponding authors: Mercedes G. López, fax 52-462-624-5997, email [email protected] and Nathalie M. Delzenne, fax 003227647359, email [email protected] Abbreviations: DAS, Dasylirion spp.; DP, degree of polymerisation; GLP, glucagon-like peptide; RAF, Raftilose; STD, standard; TEQ, Agave tequilana Gto.

In mammals, the orexigenic and anorexigenic neuronal systems are morphologically and functionally connected, forming an interconnected network in the hypothalamus to govern food intake and body weight. However, there are relatively few studies on the brain control of feeding behavior in fish. Recent studies using mammalian neuropeptides or fish homologs of mammalian neuropeptides indicate that brain orexigenic signal molecules include neuropeptide Y, orexins, galanin and b-endorphin, whereas brain anorexigenic signal molecules include cholecystokinin, bombesin, corticotropin-releasing factor, cocaine-and amphetamine-regulated transcript, and serotonin. Tachykinins may also have an anorectic action in fish. The brain hypothalamic area is associated with regulation of food intake, while sites outside the hypothalamus are also involved in this function. There is correlation between short-term changes in serum growth hormone levels and feeding behavior, although possible mechanisms integrating these functions remain to be defined.

We propose that deletion of pro-melanin-concentrating hormone (pMCH) would increase energy expenditure and further improve glucose tolerance in mice lacking stearoyl-coA desaturase-1 (SCD1). To test our hypothesis, we bred and metabolically challenged Pmch-/-; Scd1-/- double-knockout mice, with comparison to Pmch-/- mice; Scd1-/- mice and C57Bl/6J controls. Deletion of both Pmch and Scd1 increased both food intake and energy expenditure relative to control mice. Pmch-/-; Scd1-/- double-knockout mice had improved glucose tolerance relative to control mice. The majority of the metabolic effects were contributed by inactivation of the Scd1 gene. We conclude that the increased food intake and increased energy expenditure of Scd1-/- mice are independent of the neuropeptide melanin-concentrating hormone.

The product of meal number x meal size, over time, is food intake. Because estrogens modulate feeding activity via their action on the hypothalamus, and because there is a diurnal rhythm in the expression of cytoplasmic estrogen receptors and in estrogen binding activity, the present study examined the effects of ovariectomy and later hormone therapy on acute changes in body weight, and on the meal number-to-meal size relationship as reflected by food intake in the dark/light feeding patterns, in adult female rats in the intact state and after ovariectomy. Twelve female Fischer rats were randomized into ovariectomy and sham operation groups. A rat eater meter measured the feeding indexes for 15 days before and 25 days after ovariectomy, and later for 35 days with hormone therapy. We report: (a) mean body weight gain was linear before and up to ovariectomy, while exponential after ovariectomy; (b) increase in daily food consumption is mainly via an increase in food intake during the ...

The study investigated the influence of prolonged physical stress during survival training with food and fluid deprivation on the serum concentrations of erythropoietin (EPO). A group of 29 male subjects [mean age 22.2 (SD 2.8) years, height 1.78 (SD 0.06) m, and body mass (rob) 73.5 (SD 8.6) kgl were studied for 5 days of multifactorial stress including restricted water intake (11 H20"day-1) and food intake (628 kJ' day-1) combined with physical exercise (estimated energy expenditure approximately 24 000 kJ" day-l) and sleep deprivation (20 h within 5 days). Blood samples were taken before (T1), after 72 h (T2) and 120h (T3) of physical stress, and after 48 h, (T4) and 72 h (T5) of recovery. The samples were analysed for EPO, and concentrations of serum iron (Fe), haptoglobin (Hapto), transferrin (Trans), ferritin (Fer), haemoglobin (Hb) and packed cell volume (PCV). The mb had decreased by 6.77kg at T3 (P<0.01) and 0.68 kg at T5. The EPO and Hapto decreased during the survival training (P <0.01) and increased during the recovery period (P < 0.01). The Fe increased during the survival training (P <0.01) and remained above the control concentrations during recovery (P <0.01). The Hapto decreased during the survival training (P < 0.01) and remained below control concentration at T4 and T5 (P <0.01). The Trans decreased continuously over the week (P <0.01). The Fer increased during the survival training (P <0.01) and

Based on community surveys of the elderly of their nutritional habits in big cities throughout Indonesia and in urban and rural areas, the following observations are reported: (i) the elderly tend to reduce their food intake by themselves, in calories, carbohydrate, fat, protein content (15−30% less); (ii) they even reduce their traditional fatty food by themselves in spite of their already low fat intake daily (30−40% less); (iii) they very seldom eat snacks between meals (6.7−25.5%) of the respondents only; (iv) they tend to eat (very seldom − never) new ‘trendy foods’ (78−95%) such as hamburger, pizza, fried chicken etc., which are available in big cities; (v) the elderly usually eat just enough before satiety (84.3%); (vi) the majority of the elderly usually eat rice or other local staple foods, with mostly vegetables every day (50−80%), especially the traditional témpé (soybean cake) and tahu (soybean curd) and green vegetables (80%); fruits are consumed less than vegetables (40%); (vii) milk consumption still needs to be improved; (viii) fish consumption, the best healthy animal protein source, still needs to be promoted to the whole country, especially to the elderly on Java island; and (ix) an urban−rural difference was noted, the urban elderly having a higher intake of calories, fat and protein. Gender differences were practically not observed, except the higher calorie intake in men. The following findings support the aforementioned observations. The elderly have a lower mean body mass index (BMI); only 15.9% are overweight and only 4.5% are obese, although it is admitted that there are many elderly people who are underweight and malnourished. They also have lower mean cholesterol, triglyceride and haemoglobin values, but a higher prevalence of glucose intolerance, hypertension, coronary heart disease etc. is reported in many studies. In conclusion, the elderly in general have good eating habits, and they adjust their food intake to the reduced daily physical activities they perform. However, the consumption of eggs and fish (as low-cost protein sources) needs to be improved. Hence overeating and obesity are not a problem for the Indonesian elderly people, although it is admitted that undernutrition will be a problem unless properly anticipated. They usually prefer to eat the already healthy traditional food, especially the still popular vegetable source of protein and anti-oxidants. They eat the traditional food, témpé and tahu, making them a stronghold against diet ‘westernization’, and they should be used as a good example for the younger generation. Reduced calorie intake among the elderly is also observed in Japan, but not yet in most European elderly populations.

Cocaine-and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) is expressed in the hypothalamus, and putative peptides encoded by CART potently inhibit feeding when administered centrally. CART is strongly down-regulated in the lateral hypothalamic area and the arcuate nucleus in animal models of obesity with disrupted leptin signaling. Here we have used in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to study CART expression in mice homozygous for the anorexia (anx) mutation which are characterized by a much reduced food intake and premature death. anx /anx mice had significantly decreased levels of CART mRNA label and peptide-immunoreactive cell bodies and fibers in the arcuate nucleus and a lower number of detectable CART-expressing cells in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus / lateral hypothalamic area. Moreover, serum leptin levels were significantly lower in anx /anx mice compared to normal littermates, most likely due to the prominent depletion of body fat in these animals. The decrease in the anorexigenic agents leptin and CART, may reflect a compensatory down-regulation in response to the energy-deprived state of anx /anx mice. Alternatively, the reduced arcuate CART expression may be a consequence of a molecular defect in the arcuate nucleus of these animals.

Objective: We aimed to examine the association between adolescents' sleep time and a cardiometabolic risk score. A second aim was to examine associations between sleep time and individual cardiometabolic risk factors. Methods: Adolescents (N = 699; ages, 12.5-17.5 years) participating in the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study were examined. Sleep time was reported by a questionnaire. Physical activity (PA) was assessed by accelerometry (n = 497). Cardiometabolic risk factors measurements included insulin resistance, blood pressure, adiposity markers, cardiorespiratory fitness, and blood lipids. A cardiovascular disease risk score was computed. Associations were examined by a multilevel regression analysis (linear for individual risk factors and Poisson for the clustered risk score). Results: For school days no association was found between sleep time and cardiometabolic risk factors. At weekend days, the prevalence ratio (PR) of having a clustered risk score increased by 15% for each additional hour of sleep controlling for age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES); however, the prevalence disappeared when adjusting for PA. Conclusions: In European adolescents sleep time is not associated with cardiometabolic risk factors when important confounders are considered. Future research about sleep cardiovascular risk factors should register other sleep dimensions (sleep patterns or disturbances) to provide a better insight in this scientific field.

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used to examine whether the processing of food pictures is selectively modulated by changes in the motivational state of the observer. Sixteen healthy male volunteers were tested twice 1 week apart, either after 24 hr of food deprivation or after normal food intake. ERPs were measured while participants viewed appetitive food pictures as well as standard emotional and neutral control pictures. Results show that the ERPs to food pictures in a hungry, rather than satiated, state were associated with enlarged positive potentials over posterior sensor sites in a time window of 170 -310 ms poststimulus. Minimum-norm analysis suggests the enhanced processing of food cues primarily in occipito-temporo-parietal regions. In contrast, processing of standard emotional and neutral pictures was not modulated by food deprivation. Considered from the perspective of motivated attention, the selective change of food cue processing may reflect a state-dependent change in stimulus salience.

In social foraging, scroungers take a disproportionately large share of the food found relative to their own food-searching efforts, while producers find more food than they manage to monopolize. We present a model of social foraging acknowledging the finder's advantage and foraging role asymmetries among individuals but incorporating the possibility that producers and scroungers differ in vigilance level and in vulnerability to predators. This allows simultaneous examination of both foraging benefits and anti-predatory aspects of grouping behaviour. Instead of seeking for equal payoff conditions, we first look for groups in which foraging character combinations and anti-predatory properties of producers and scroungers minimize the phenotype-specific predation hazard over food-intake rate, R i /I i , that is, fixed phenotype R i /I i minima. In the second approach, we allow individuals to change their foraging status to achieve lower R i /I i and look for combinations where it no longer pays for either producers or scroungers to change their roles, that is, evolutionarily stable group compositions, ESS. Various character combinations allow the phenotype-specific minima. In most cases, however, producers' and scroungers' minima are achievable only in different group compositions. The ESS combinations of producers and scroungers deviate widely from those combinations yielding phenotype-specific minima of R i /I i. If individuals are allowed to be flexible in adopting either a producer or a scrounger role, ESS group compositions will emerge, even though they are more expensive for both producers and scroungers in terms of R i /I i than group compositions yielding the phenotype-specific R i /I i minima.

White adipose tissue is known to contain the components of the renin-angiotensin system, which gives rise to angiotensin II from angiotensinogen (AGT). Recent evidence obtained in vitro and ex vivo is in favor of angiotensin II acting as a trophic factor of adipose tissue development. To determine whether AGT plays a role in vivo in this process, comparative studies were performed in AGT-deficient (agt ؊/؊) mice and control wild-type mice. The results showed that agt ؊/؊ mice gain less weight than wild-type mice in response to a chow or high fat diet. Adipose tissue mass from weaning to adulthood appeared altered rather specifically, as both the size and the weight of other organs were almost unchanged. Food intake

Low-fat cookies prepared by partial replacement of butter oil with different types of carbohydrate-based fat replacers were organoleptically evaluated. The best two types were selected to determine optimum fat replacement levels. The best four treatments as well as the control were evaluated in rats to ascertain their effects on serum lipids (total cholesterol, LDLcholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides), fatty acid composition of rat liver and kidney lipids, food intake, body weight, weight gain and organ weights. High quality, low-fat cookies were produced by partial replacement of butter oil of the control with 250 or 500 g/kg of N-Oil or N-Flate plus Firm-Tex (1:1). Feeding rats low-fat cookie diets prepared with either N-Oil or N-Flate plus Firm-Tex (1:1) at 250 or 500 g/kg fat replacement levels resulted in a significant decrease in total serum cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-cholesterol), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-cholesterol) and triglycerides (TG) compared to rats fed the control diet. Liver and kidney lipids in rats fed the low-fat cookie diets had lower percentages of palmitic, stearic, myristic and palmitoleic acids compared to the control. In contrast, percent compositions of oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids were greater in rats fed low-fat cookie diets. Food intake, body weight and weight gain were not influenced by diets formulated with fat replacers. On the other hand, liver, spleen, and testa weights in rats fed the low-fat cookie diets were significantly higher than those fed the control diet.

As in Lymnaea stagnalis NPY plays a key role in regulating energy flows but has no effect on food intake, two important questions arise: 1) How is the amount of food consumed related to energy storage? 2) Can we give a molecular explanation for this alteration in function of NPY during evolution? Recent data have shown that also in Lymnaea a leptin-like factor is produced by glycogen storing cells which inhibits food intake, a Lymnaea storage feedback factor (LySFF). So, food consumption seems in balance with the amount of energy stored in this animal. We suppose that NPY neurons in Lymnaea have receptors for LySFF so that their activity in regulating energy homeostasis reflects the amount of stored energy. By comparing the molecular structure of NPYs in invertebrates it became clear that only molluscan and arthropod NPY are synthesized from a prohormone similar to vertebrate NPYs and should be considered as real invertebrate homologs of NPY. Based on pharmacological data we suppose that the identified Lymnaea NPY receptor is a Y1 subtype. This might explain that LyNPY has no effect on food intake in Lymnaea as this function of NPY in mammals is regulated through the Y5 subtype receptor.

As portion size (PS) increases, so does food intake. The effect of decreasing PS on food intake in a non-laboratory setting is unknown. This 5-week study sought to determine if decreasing PS resulted in decreased intake of the same food, and if so, at what point further PS reductions might lack benefit. It also assessed effects of PS reduction on food production and waste in a university all-you-can-eat dining facility (DF). Subjects were primarily freshmen who regularly ate lunch at the DF, and self-selected French fries (FF) presented in individual paper bags, portioned originally at 88 g, and decreased ~15 g/wk for 3 weeks. Diners were covertly observed choosing 1 or more bags. Total FF production and plate waste (PW) were determined daily. Decreasing PS resulted in significant decreases in consumption per diner (P < 0.05) and PW (P < 0.05), and non-significant decreases in total FF consumption and production. PS was 2 positively correlated with consumption per diner (r = 0.897, P = 0.001) and PW (r = 0.852, P = 0.001), but inversely correlated with number of diners choosing > 2 bags (r = -0.809, P = 0.003).

Effects of sweetness and energy in drinks on food intake following exercise. PHYSIOL BEHAV 66 (2) [375][376][377][378][379] 1999.-Exercise is known to cause physiological changes that could affect the impact of nutrients on appetite control. This study was designed to assess the effect of drinks containing either sucrose or high-intensity sweeteners on food intake following exercise. Using a repeated-measures design, three drink conditions were employed: plain water (W), a low-energy drink sweetened with artificial sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame-K (L), and a high-energy, sucrose-sweetened drink (H). Following a period of challenging exercise (70% VO 2 max for 50 min), subjects consumed freely from a particular drink before being offered a test meal at which energy and nutrient intakes were measured. The degree of pleasantness (palatability) of the drinks was also measured before and after exercise. At the test meal, energy intake following the artificially sweetened (L) drink was significantly greater than after water and the sucrose (H) drinks ( p Ͻ 0.05). Compared with the artificially sweetened (L) drink, the high-energy (H) drink suppressed intake by approximately the energy contained in the drink itself. However, there was no difference between the water (W) and the sucrose (H) drink on test meal energy intake. When the net effects were compared (i.e., drink ϩ test meal energy intake), total energy intake was significantly lower after the water (W) drink compared with the two sweet (L and H) drinks. The exercise period brought about changes in the perceived pleasantness of the water, but had no effect on either of the sweet drinks. The remarkably precise energy compensation demonstrated after the higher energy sucrose drink suggests that exercise may prime the system to respond sensitively to nutritional manipulations. The results may also have implications for the effect on short-term appetite control of different types of drinks used to quench thirst during and after exercise.

Twin studies are useful designs for decomposing genetic and environmental influences on traits, with the basic goal being to map variations in phenotypic similarity onto variances in genetic similarity. In this review, we provide an overview of twin studies that have been used to decompose the genetic and environmental influences behind body composition, eating style, and their covariation. Although many published reports have established that genes contribute anywhere from 50-90% of the variance in body mass index (BMI, kg/m 2 ), fewer studies have used laboratory-based body composition measures. Moreover, comparable studies of human eating style are even more scarce.

The objectives of the present study were to characterize the benthic life strategies of Aristeus antennatus (Crustacea: Penaeidea), Parapenaeus longirostris (Crustacea: Penaeidea) and Nephrops norvegicus (Crustacea: Astacidea) on the basis of biochemical composition (proximate chemical composition, total lipids, glycogen and cholesterol contents), and its response to biological and environmental factors (sex, maturation, reproduction, food availability and depth) into account. The specimens were collected at depths between 200 and 600 m off the Portuguese south coast (Algarve). The nektobenthic species (A. antennatus and P. longirostris) showed higher protein, lipid, cholesterol and glycogen contents, and lower moisture content in the muscle than the benthic-endobenthic species (N. norvegicus). Consequently, the energy content of the nektobenthic species was also higher. Principal component analyses were used to assess the relationship between the different biochemical contents and to relate them to the biotic and abiotic factors. Depth seems to have the most important role in the observed trends of the biochemical composition. The increase of the ovarian lipid levels occurs as a result of the maturation process. The highest values were obtained in mature N. norvegicus females. The differences can be due to maternal investment (lipid metabolism of the female is geared to the provision of egg lipid), since N. norvegicus produce large lecithotrophic eggs. The biochemical differences observed in the three species did not seem to be due to distinct trophic strategies, but instead were a consequence of depth, which may have a significant interspecific effect on food intake. It was also evident that reproductive cycle has profound effects upon the biochemistry of the three species. Gonadal maturation has large associated energy costs due to the increase in biosynthetic work. Moreover, the biochemical composition would be influenced by or synchronized with seasonal feeding activity or food availability. r

A new theory of eating regulation is presented to account for the over-responsiveness of restrained eaters to external food-relevant cues. According to this theory, the food intake of restrained eaters is characterized by a conflict between two chronically accessible incentives or goals: eating enjoyment and weight control. Their difficulty in weight control is due to their behavioral sensitivity to eating enjoyment and its incompatibility with the eating control goal. Accordingly, exposure to food-relevant stimuli primes the goal of eating enjoyment in restrained (but not unrestrained) eaters, resulting in an inhibition of weight control thoughts.

Objective: To analyze the effect of the juice obtained from two varieties of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck), Moro (a blood orange) and Navelina (a blond orange), on fat accumulation in mice fed a standard or a high-fat diet (HFD). Methods: Obesity was induced in male C57/Bl6 mice by feeding a HFD. Moro and Navelina juices were provided instead of water. The effect of an anthocyanin-enriched extract from Moro oranges or purified cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G) was also analyzed. Body weight and food intake were measured regularly over a 12-week period. The adipose pads were weighted and analyzed histologically; total RNA was also isolated for microarray analysis. Results: Dietary supplementation of Moro juice, but not Navelina juice significantly reduced body weight gain and fat accumulation regardless of the increased energy intake because of sugar content. Furthermore, mice drinking Moro juice were resistant to HFD-induced obesity with no alterations in food intake. Only the anthocyanin extract, but not the purified C3G, slightly affected fat accumulation. High-throughput gene expression analysis of fat tissues confirmed that Moro juice could entirely rescue the high fat-induced transcriptional reprogramming. Conclusion: Moro juice anti-obesity effect on fat accumulation cannot be explained only by its anthocyanin content. Our findings suggest that multiple components present in the Moro orange juice might act synergistically to inhibit fat accumulation.

The oleoresin of the copaiba tree (Copaifera sp., Fabaceae) is traditionally used in Brazilian herbal medicine to treat a variety of illnesses and symptoms. This study, conducted according to the OECD Guideline 414, provides data on the developmental toxicity of oleoresin from C. reticulata (COPA-R) in rats. Pregnant Wistar rats (25 per dose group) were treated by gavage with COPA-R (0, 500, 1000 and 1250 mg/kg bw/day) on gestation days (GD) 6-19 and Caesarean sections performed on GD20. Implantations, living and dead fetuses and resorptions were recorded. Half of the fetuses from each litter were examined for visceral abnormalities and the remaining were cleared and stained for skeleton evaluation. COPA-R was maternally toxic (reduced food intake and weight gain) and embryotoxic (lower fetal body weight and increased occurrence of fetal skeleton variations) at the two highest doses, but did not cause embryo deaths or fetal malformations at any dose level. The study derived an oral no-observed-adverse-effectlevel (NOAEL) for maternal and developmental toxicity induced by COPA-R of 500 mg/kg bw/day. The results suggest that copaiba oleoresin does not pose a health risk to pregnant women when used according to the recommended doses (up to five drops, three times a day).

Mongrel dogs from weaning to 6 months of age were fed on one of two diets that differed only in the type of fat content (virgin olive oil or sunflower seed oil) to compare plasma levels of peptide YY (PYY) and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) in the basal period and in response to food. Under resting conditions, blood concentrations of both peptides, measured by specific radioimmunoassays, were significantly higher in the olive oil group. Food intake was not followed by any marked or significant changes in PYY or PP circulating levels, although some rises were observed. On the other hand, plasma PYY reached significantly greater values throughout the postprandial period in the dogs fed on the diet containing olive oil, whereas no differences were recorded between the groups as far as PP is concerned. Our results demonstrate that long-term intake of diets enriched in monounsaturated fatty acids (olive oil) produces significantly higher basal levels of PYY and PP, as well as significantly higher PYY levels in response to food compared with diets containing sunflower oil. The differences, traceable to the composition of the two types of dietary fat supplied, explain the attenuated pancreatic secretory activity observed by us previously in this animal species. This mechanism may be responsible, at least in part, for the adaptation of pancreatic secretion to the quality of dietary fat.

Human obesity is associated with greater-than-average energy intake, although relatively few studies have tested the heritability of food intake. The present study examined the genetic architecture of measured caloric intake during laboratory test meals in 36 monozygotic and 18 dizygotic twin pairs. A series of analyses tested the hypotheses that (1) there would be a genetic influence on total caloric intake,(2) there would be genes influencing total caloric intake above and beyond those influencing body composition,(3) ...

Background Adequate nutrition is a public health challenge due to the increase in the incidence of diet-related diseases. The aim of this study was to examine food and nutrient intakes in the light of the current dietary guidelines of Poland and Norway. This is a suitable model for studying the diet quality in countries with different degrees of government intervention in the food market, which may affect food diversity available for citizens. Methods The food diversity on the market was assessed using national food balance sheets. To show the actual food and nutrient intake within countries, data from 24-h recalls from the national surveys, NORKOST 3 from Norwegians and WOBASZ II from Poles, were used. In order to evaluate whether dietary patterns comply with nutritional and dietary recommendations, the Norwegian and Polish recommendations for nutrition and the national food based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) were analyzed. Results Significant differences between the national supplie...

Background and objectives: Recent studies have emphasized that a size-contrast illusion leads unknowingly consumers to serve and eat more food when using larger dinner plates and serving spoons. Such a size-contrast illusion would not, however, be operating when one serves from a common serving bowl. Exploring if and how serving bowls might bias intake offers the potential to uncover other mechanisms through which environmental cues influence behavior.
Methods: In this between-subjects experiment, eighty six participants served themselves pasta either from a large serving bowl (about 6.9 liter capacity) or from a medium-sized serving bowl (about 3.8 liter capacity). After eating their fill, they completed a questionnaire, and their remaining pasta was weighted.
Results: When given a larger serving bowl, diners served 78% more pasta (425.9 versus 283.9, p< 0.001), even though they did not rate the food as any tastier, or otherwise notable (all ps>0.24). In contrast to studies involving large-sized plates and spoons, people serving from larger bowls appeared to realize they served more and rated themselves as marginally more full afterwards.
Discussion: These findings again highlight the role that external cues play in food consumption and show the importance of considering the size of serving bowls containing multiple portions in relation to nutrition education on weight loss and maintenance. Instead of a size-contrast illusion driving the results, a different mechanism, such as consumption norms may operate on such occasions.

Weight gain is a frequent side effect observed during drug treatment of psychiatric disorders. 1) It often contributes towards patient non-compliance and discontinuation of the pharmacological treatment. 2) Weight gain may also contribute to comorbidities such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. 3,4) Weight gain is also a relatively common problem during both acute and long-term treatment with antidepressants. It appears that tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) may be more likely to cause weight gain as compared to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of antidepressant widely used in clinical practice. 5,6) Among them amitriptiline, doxepin, imipramine, trimipramine, maprotiline, nortriptyline, and clomipramine are reported to cause marked weight gain. 2) TCA may affect appetite by blocking the reuptake of serotonin and noradrenaline. Serotonin is recognized to have an influence on food intake and macronutrient selection. 7,8) Noradrenaline has also been shown to have an effect on food intake that opposes the effects of serotonin, but its effects on macronutrient selection are not clear. 7,9,10) TCA may also affect appetite by blocking histaminergic (H1) pathways. 11) However, the mechanisms underlying the weight gain induced by antidepressants treatment have yet to be understood. In clinical studies, it has been found that antidepressant drugs alter nutrient selection, inducing in particular a preference for high-carbohydrate or sweet foods. 12-14) Early efforts to model these effects in rats have led to contradictory results. For example, it has been shown that acute systemic injections of clomipramine selectively enhance carbohydrate intake. 15) On the other hand, it has been reported that food intake was initially and significantly decreased by desmethylimipramine treatment but this effect progressively returned towards pretreatment levels over the course of the drug administration (30 d). 16) Such discrepancies may be related to brain monoamine receptor neuroadaptations following chronic treatment with antidepressants. 17-21) Nobrega and Coscina 22) evaluated the effects of the chronic treatment with two other TCA, amitriptyline and desipramine on food selection. They showed that desipramine decreased food intake and body weight, while amitriptiline did not change food intake and body weight or slightly reduced them in comparison to vehicle-treated controls. However, strict macronutrient protocols (using separate sources of pure macronutrients) have rarely been tested in rats following the chronic treatment with TCA. Therefore, it remains unclear whether this class of antidepressants change macronutrient selection and weight gain in rats. Given that and there is only limited evidence on the effects of TCA on macronutrient selection especially over long periods of drug treatment, the present study was carried out to explore the effects of chronic treatment with clomipramine (CMI) on food intake, macronutrient selection and body weight in male rats allowed to self-select among macronutrients. The development of animal models is crucial to investigate the underlying neural mechanisms involved the weight gain produced by antidepressants drugs. Clomipramine was chosen for the present study due to the following reasons: (i) it has high potential to induce weight gain 2) ; (ii) it is a reference drug for treatment of emotional disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder 23) and (iii) it has been widely used for treatment of psychiatric disorders as well as in clinical researches in Brazil 24-28) and recent evidence from our research group has indicated that CMI induces weight gain in healthy volunteers (results not published).

The decline of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands may be the result of them eating too much pollock (a gadid fish) instead of a more balanced and diverse diet containing fattier fishes, such as herring or sandlance. We sought to test this junk-food hypothesis by feeding six captive Steller sea lions (ages 0.9-4.5 years) only pollock or herring. All sea lions gained mass while eating herring. However, eating only pollock for short periods (11-23 d) caused the study animals to lose an average of 6.5% of their initial body mass (0.6 kg/d) over an average feeding trial of 16 d (initial mass averaged 125 kg). The animals were allowed to eat as much pollock as they wanted but did not increase their food intake to compensate for the low energy they were receiving. The sea lions showed progressive metabolic depression while losing body mass on a pollock-only diet. The loss of body mass while eating pollock was due to the lower gross energy content of pollock versus herring, the higher cost of digesting pollock, and the increased energy loss from digesting the larger quantity of fish needed to compensate for the lower energy content of pollock. Thus, our sea lions would have had to eat 35-80% more pollock than herring to maintain similar net energy intakes. Results from our captive-feeding studies are consistent with the junk-food hypothesis and have serious implications for Steller sea lions that have been eating primarily pollock in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.

The current set of studies describe the in vivo metabolic actions of the novel amylin-mimetic peptide davalintide (AC2307) in rodents and compares these effects with those of the native peptide. The anti-obesity effects of davalintide were examined after intraperitoneal injection or sustained peripheral infusion through subcutaneously implanted osmotic pumps. The effect of davalintide on food intake after lesioning of the area postrema (AP) and neuronal activation as measured by c-Fos, were also investigated. Similar to amylin, davalintide bound with high affinity to amylin, calcitonin and calcitonin gene-related peptide receptors. Acutely, davalintide displayed greater suppression of dark-cycle feeding and an extended duration of action compared with amylin (23 versus 6 h). Davalintide had no effect on locomotor activity or kaolin consumption at doses that decreased food intake. Davalintide-induced weight loss through infusion was dose dependent, durable up to 8 weeks, fat-specific...

Leptin controls food intake by regulating the transcription of key neuropeptides in the hypothalamus. The mechanism by which leptin regulates gene expression is unclear, however. Here we show that delivery of adenovirus encoding a constitutively nuclear mutant FoxO1, a transcription factor known to control liver metabolism and pancreatic beta-cell function, to the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus of rodents results in a loss of the ability of leptin to curtail food intake and suppress expression of Agrp. Conversely, a transactivation-deficient FoxO1 mutant prevents induction of Agrp by fasting. We also find that FoxO1 and the transcription factor Stat3 exert opposing actions on the expression of Agrp and Pomc through transcriptional squelching. FoxO1 promotes opposite patterns of coactivator-corepressor exchange at the Pomc and Agrp promoters, resulting in activation of Agrp and inhibition of Pomc. Thus, FoxO1 represents a shared component of pathways integrating food intake and peripheral metabolism.

Although several aspects of the digestive physiology of the hippopotamidae-non-ruminating foregut fermenters-have been described, ingesta kinetics and passage characteristics of these species are not well understood. The most outstanding feature of the hippo digestive physiology reported so far is the very long mean ingesta retention times (MRTs) measured by Foose . Trophic strategies of ruminant versus nonruminant ungulates. PhD dissertation, University of Chicago, Chicago.]. Since those data had been investigated with animals without water access, we intended to measure MRT in hippos which were allowed to enter water pools during the night. MRT parameters as well as dry matter (DM) digestibility were determined in four common (Hippopotamus amphibius) and four pygmy hippos (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) on two different diets each using cobalt ethylendiamintetraacetate (Co-EDTA) as a fluid, chromium (Cr)mordanted fibre (b2 mm) as a particle and acid detergent lignin (ADL) as an internal digestibility marker. Four of the animals additionally received cerium (Ce)-mordanted fibres (2-10 mm) as particle markers. Total MRTs for fluids and particles ranged between 20-35 and 48-106 h in the common and between 13-39 and 32-107 h in the pygmy hippos. The difference between fluid and particle retention was greater than usually reported in ruminants. Excretion patterns of the markers differed from those usually observed in ruminants but resembled those reported for macropods (kangaroos), indicating a plug-flow reactor-like physiology in the hippo forestomach (FRST). This finding complements other described similarities between the macropod and the hippo forestomach. The measurements of larger particle retention profiles suggest that in the hippo, larger particles might be excreted either faster or at the same rate as smaller particles, indicating a general difference between ruminants and hippos with respect to differential particle retention. The digestive physiology of hippos is characterised by a generally low food intake, long ingesta retention times and dry matter digestibilities lower than reported in ruminants. Moderate digestibilities in spite of long retention times might be the result of the generally high average ingesta particle size in hippos. The comparatively easy management of pygmy hippos, together with the significant correlations between food intake, MRT and digestibility in the pygmy hippos of this study, recommends this species for further studies on the interplay of these parameters in herbivore digestive physiology.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether memories of parental rules about food during childhood are linked to adult eating behaviors. Method: An adult community sample (N = 122) (56% female, 44% male) with a mean age of 44.6 years completed self-report measures of weight and dieting history, current eating patterns, and recollection of different types of rules about food from their parents. Three types of food rules were assessed: (a) rules which restrict intake of certain foods, (b) rules which encourage food intake, and (c) rules where food is used to reward or punish behavior. Results: Binge eating and dietary restraint in adulthood are significantly related to participants' recollection of their parents using food to control their behavior in childhood. These results held true regardless of body mass index (BMI), ethnicity, age, or childhood weight status. Discussion: This study suggests that some childhood food rules may have a long-lasting impact on eating behaviors. Further research on the impact of using food to reward and punish children's behavior is needed to inform recommendations to parents regarding the use of food for behavioral control. D

Responses to acute or chronic stress may include behaviors, such as alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and altered eating patterns. In connection with the stress-eating relation, some researchers have suggested that certain stressors (e.g., psychological or emotional) may influence the direction (i.e., increase or decrease) of a person's eating response. In a recent study, Connors and Morse (Int J Eat Disord 13:1-11, 2006) indicated that the physical and psychological stress associated with sexual trauma could result in an increase in food intake and nonstandard eating patterns. In consequence, this study describes a multifaceted intervention for a 24-year-old woman who experienced chronic stress and received a diagnosis of Binge Eating Disorder (American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. DSM-IV. Washington, DC: APA) following a series of unwanted sexual experiences. The behavior analytic intervention emphasized self-control, self-regulation, and physical activity. The treatment package resulted in a 19% reduction in the participant's body weight, a 96% reduction in binge eating, and long-term adherence to an exercise routine.

Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) and monoamine oxidases (MAO) are highly expressed in adipocytes and generate hydrogen peroxide when activated. Consequently, high concentrations of MAO-or SSAO-substrates acutely stimulate glucose transport and inhibit lipolysis in isolated adipocytes in a hydrogen peroxide-dependent manner. Chronic treatments with MAO and SSAO substrates also increase in vitro adipogenesis and in vivo glucose utilization and fat deposition in diabetic rodents. To further investigate the interplay between amine oxidases, energy balance and fat deposition, prolonged MAO and/or SSAO blockade was performed in obese rats. Pargyline (P, MAO inhibitor), semicarbazide (S, SSAO inhibitor), alone or in combination (P + S), were daily i.p. administered for 3-5 weeks to obese Zucker rats at doses ranging from 20 to 300 mol/kg. P + S treatments abolished MAO and SSAO activities in any tested tissue. P and S led to a 12-17% reduction of food intake when given in combination but were inactive when given separately. Despite a similar body weight gain reduction in P + S-treated and pair-fed rats, the mitigation of fat deposition was greater in rats receiving both inhibitors. Adipocytes from P + S-treated rats responded as control to insulin but exhibited impaired responses to tyramine, benzylamine or methylamine plus vanadate when considering glucose transport activation or lipolysis inhibition. Although our results did not directly demonstrate that amines are able to spontaneously produce in vivo the insulin-like effects described in vitro, we propose that P + S-induced reduction of fat deposition results from decreased food intake and from impaired MAOand SSAO-dependent lipogenic and antilipolytic actions of endogenous or alimentary amines.

Exercise benefits a variety of organ systems in mammals, and some of the best-recognized effects of exercise on muscle are mediated by the transcriptional coactivator PGC1α Here we show that PGC1α expression in muscle stimulates an increase in expression of Fndc5, a membrane protein that is cleaved and secreted as a new hormone, irisin. Irisin acts on white adipose cells in culture and in vivo to stimulate UCP1 expression and a broad program of brown fat-like development.

Nationwide surveys of food and nutrient intake in China have revealed geographical variation between urban and rural areas. This study developed a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (SQFFQ) for cancer risk assessment suitable for both urban and rural populations by conducting a survey of food intake in Chongqing, China. We recruited 100 urban and 104 rural healthy residents aged from 35 to 55 years in Chongqing, and collected dietary data with 3-day weighed records to assist in the development of the SQFFQ. The intake of 35 nutrients was calculated according to Standard Food Composition Tables for China and Japan. For each nutrient estimated by percentage contribution analysis (CA) and multiple regression analysis (MRA), foods with up to a 90% contribution or a 0.90 cumulative R 2 were selected as items for SQFFQs. The food items of the combined SQFFQ were selected from all items listed in either urban or rural SQFFQs. Mean intake of energy, protein and carbohydrate did not differ between the urban and rural residents. The latter consumed more fat than their urban counterparts. We selected 119 food items for the combined SQFFQ, comprising 22 specific items for the urban SQFFQ, 6 for the rural, and 78 common and 13 additional items. The combined SQFFQ covered 33 nutrients with up to a 90% contribution in each area. We were able to develop a data-based SQFFQ that can estimate nutrient intake of both urban and rural populations, with suitable coverage rates. Further reliability and reproducibility tests are now needed to assess its applicability.

Objective: Fructose has been implicated in obesity, partly due to lack of insulin-mediated leptin stimulation and ghrelin suppression. Most work has examined effects of pure fructose, rather than high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the most commonly consumed form of fructose. This study examined effects of beverages sweetened with HFCS or sucrose (Suc), when consumed with mixed meals, on blood glucose, insulin, leptin, ghrelin, and appetite. Methods: Thirty lean women were studied on two randomized 2-d visits during which HFCS-and Suc-sweetened beverages were consumed as 30% of energy on isocaloric diets during day 1 while blood was sampled. On day 2, food was eaten ad libitum. Subjects rated appetite at designated times throughout visits. Results: No significant differences between the two sweeteners were seen in fasting plasma glucose, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin (P Ͼ 0.05). The within-day variation in all four items was not different between the two visits (P Ͼ 0.05). Net areas under the curve were similar for glucose, insulin, and leptin (P Ͼ 0.05). There were no differences in energy or macronutrient intake on day 2. The only appetite variable that differed between sweeteners was desire to eat, which had a higher area under the curve the day after Suc compared with HFCS. Conclusion: These short-term results suggest that, when fructose is consumed in the form of HFCS, the measured metabolic responses do not differ from Suc in lean women. Further research is required to examine appetite responses and to determine if these findings hold true for obese individuals, males, or longer periods.

The gastrointestinal peptide hormone ghrelin promotes food intake and increases body weight and adiposity through activation of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR1a). To promote its biological action ghrelin is acylated at its serine 3 residue by the recently discovered ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT, a.k.a. membrane-bound O-acyltransferase 4, MBOAT4). Plasma levels of total and acylghrelin are negatively correlated with body-mass-index (BMI); as lower the BMI as higher plasma levels of total and acylated ghrelin and vice versa. Accordingly, plasma levels of total and acyl-ghrelin are elevated in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and decline upon weight regain. The importance of the endogenous Goat/ghrelin system in the neuroendocrine adaptation to fasting was recently highlighted by the observation that acyl-ghrelin mediated elevation of growth hormone (GH) release prevents starvation induced hypoglycemia in Goat À/À mice. The aim of this study was to test if genetic variation of GOAT is implicated in the etiology of AN. We therefore assessed association of 6 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs), which were predicted to cover 96% the common genetic variability of GOAT plus 50 kb of the 5 0 and 3 0 flanking region, in 543 German patients with AN and 612 German normal and underweight healthy controls. Based on a recessive mode of inheritance we observed some evidence for association of the G/G genotype at SNP rs10096097 with AN (nominal two-sided p ¼ 0.031). Based on our results we conclude that genetic variation in GOAT might be implicated in the etiology of AN.