Cue-elicited anxiety and craving for food using virtual reality scenarios

Cue exposure therapy has been reported to be an effective intervention for reducing binge eating behavior in patients with eating disorders and obesity. However, in vivo food exposure conducted in the therapist's office presents logistical problems and lacks ecological validity. This study proposes the use of virtual reality technology as an alternative to in vivo exposure, and assesses the ability of different virtual environments to elicit anxiety and craving for food in a non-clinical sample. The results show that exposure to virtual environments provokes changes in reported craving for food. High-calorie food cues are the ones that elicit the highest increases in craving.

Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ) para el estudio del consumo de cacao en estudiantes de ciencias de la salud

Tot i que el cacau i la xocolata són una gran font de polifenols, aquests aliments no es troben entre les fonts alimentàries de polifenols més consumides. Algunes dades suggereixen un aport inferior al 10% de polifenols a través d’aquests. Aquest fet podria ser causa de les diferents metodologies i l'enfocament dels qüestionaris de freqüència de consum d'aliments (FFQ) utilitzats en aquests estudis. La majoria de FFQ validats utilitzen una extensa llista d'aliments per a les fruites i verdures, però no distingeixen adequadament les diverses fonts de xocolata i cacau. Aquests fets recolzen la necessitat d'una avaluació del consum de productes de cacau per tal de poder conèixer la ingesta real de cacau, especialment en la població jove, on la xocolata és un aliment consumit freqüentment.

Expressional regulation of key hepatic enzymes of intermediary metabolism in European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) during food deprivation and refeeding

We hypothesized that the analysis of mRNA level and activity of key enzymes in amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism in a feeding/fasting/refeeding setting could improve our understanding of how a carnivorous fish, like the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), responds to changes in dietary intake at the hepatic level. To this end cDNA fragments encoding genes for cytosolic and mitochondrial alanine aminotransferase (cALT; mALT), pyruvate kinase (PK), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH) were cloned and sequenced. Measurement of mRNA levels through quantitative real-time PCR performed in livers of fasted seabass revealed a significant increase in cALT (8.5-fold induction)while promoting a drastic 45-fold down-regulation of PK in relation to the levels found in fed seabass. These observations were corroborated by enzyme activity meaning that during food deprivation an increase in the capacity of pyruvate generation happened via alanine to offset the reduction in pyruvate derived via glycolysis. After a 3-day refeeding period cALT returned to control levels while PK was not able to rebound. No alterations were detected in the expression levels of G6PDH while 6PGDH was revealed to be more sensitive specially to fasting, as confirmed by a significant 5.7-fold decrease in mRNA levels with no recovery after refeeding. Our results indicate that in early stages of refeeding, the liver prioritized the restoration of systemic normoglycemia and replenishment of hepatic glycogen. In a later stage, once regular feeding is re-established, dietary fuel may then be channeled to glycolysis and de novo lipogenesis.

Expressional regulation of key hepatic enzymes of intermediary metabolism in European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) during food deprivation and refeeding

We hypothesized that the analysis of mRNA level and activity of key enzymes in amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism in a feeding/fasting/refeeding setting could improve our understanding of how a carnivorous fish, like the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), responds to changes in dietary intake at the hepatic level. To this end cDNA fragments encoding genes for cytosolic and mitochondrial alanine aminotransferase (cALT; mALT), pyruvate kinase (PK), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH) were cloned and sequenced. Measurement of mRNA levels through quantitative real-time PCR performed in livers of fasted seabass revealed a significant increase in cALT (8.5-fold induction)while promoting a drastic 45-fold down-regulation of PK in relation to the levels found in fed seabass. These observations were corroborated by enzyme activity meaning that during food deprivation an increase in the capacity of pyruvate generation happened via alanine to offset the reduction in pyruvate derived via glycolysis. After a 3-day refeeding period cALT returned to control levels while PK was not able to rebound. No alterations were detected in the expression levels of G6PDH while 6PGDH was revealed to be more sensitive specially to fasting, as confirmed by a significant 5.7-fold decrease in mRNA levels with no recovery after refeeding. Our results indicate that in early stages of refeeding, the liver prioritized the restoration of systemic normoglycemia and replenishment of hepatic glycogen. In a later stage, once regular feeding is re-established, dietary fuel may then be channeled to glycolysis and de novo lipogenesis.

Is contextual-potentiated eating dependent on caloric density of food?

One experiment tested whether a specific context could elicit eating in rats as a result of Pavlovian conditioning and whether this effect depended on the caloric density of food. Thirty two deprived rats experienced two contexts. They had access to food in context A, but no food was available in context B. During conditioning, half of the animals received high density caloric food (HD groups) whereas the other half, low density caloric food (LD groups). Then, half of the rats in each type of food group was tested in context A and the other half in context B. The results demonstrated an effect of context conditioning only in HD groups. These findings suggest the relevance of both contextual conditioning and caloric density of food in eating behaviour. Implications for the aetiology of binge eating will be discussed.