Effect of Statins and Aerobic Physical Exercise on Liver Function in Dyslipidemic Rats - Morphometric Study

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of statins associated with physical exercise (PE) in liver cells in dyslipidemic rats through cariometry. The animals were divided into six groups: animals subjected to a hypercholesterolemic diet (HD), simvastatin, with (G1) and without (G2) physical exercise (PE); HD submitted (G3) or not (G4) to PE, and commercial food diet (F) with (G5) and without (G6) PE. Histological analysis of the liver was performed by staining the slides with hematoxylin and eosin. The cariometric study included measuring the major and minor diameters of the hepatocytes nuclei. The Shapiro-Wilk test was also performed. To determine the differences among the groups, the Kruskal-Wallis Test with Dunn's post-test were conducted. The significance level was set at 5%. No difference was found in the hepatocytes nuclei between G5 and G6. When these groups were related with G3 and G4, reduced nuclei were observed. There was no difference between G1 and G6. The comparison between G6 and G2 showed that the nuclei in G2 were smaller. No difference was detected between G5 and G1. Changes were observed in the nuclei shape in G2 in comparison to G1. Considering G2 and G3, a decrease in the size of nuclei was observed in G3. On the other hand, G2 showed changes in shape in the comparative analysis with G4. The size and shape of G1 nuclei were larger than G3 as well as changes in shape were observed when compared to G4. G4 showed smaller nuclei than G3. Therefore, F, associated or not with the practice of PE, does not alter the size and shape of the hepatocytes nuclei; HD combined with sedentarism influences changes in the morphometric parameters of hepatocytes; and the association of simvastatin and PE seems to protect the hepatocytes nuclei with regard to HD.

Verso il consumo sostenibile: i prodotti biologici nelle abitudini alimentari degli italiani

Scegliere di consumare in modo sostenibile significa passare ad un nuovo modello di consumo. Tale modello richiede una maggiore consapevolezza e responsabilità da parte dei consumatori, unite all'adozione di nuovi stili di vita e di scelte d’acquisto, che permettano il raggiungimento di elevati livelli di benessere nel rispetto dell'ambiente. Un notevole sforzo è stato compiuto recentemente dai policy maker per incoraggiare il consumo sostenibile quali implementazioni dello sviluppo sostenibile. Ancora lunga, tuttavia, è la strada da percorrere per raggiungere pienamente questo obiettivo. Tra i prodotti sostenibili, il biologico si è rivelato di gran lunga il più rappresentativo: le statistiche di questo mercato mostrano, infatti, tendenze positive, sebbene il consumo risulti ancora eterogeneo e contenuto rispetto al consumo di alimenti convenzionali. Ciò mostra che il comportamento dei consumatori non è ancora abbastanza reattivo alle suddette politiche. Il presente studio si propone di contribuire alla ricerca sul consumo sostenibile approfondendo i fattori che incoraggiano o impediscono il consumo di prodotti alimentari biologici in Italia. Adottando un nuovo approccio si cerca di capire come i diversi segmenti di diete alimentari affrontino gli alimenti biologici in termini di consumi e di atteggiamenti. Un'analisi multivariata a più fasi è stata condotta su un campione di 3.004 consumatori. Un’analisi delle componenti principali non lineare è stata applicata alle variabili ordinali che misurano il consumo di ventuno categorie di alimenti. Successivamente è stata applicata la cluster analysis che ha dato luogo a quattro segmenti di abitudini alimentari. I prodotti biologici sono diventati parte delle abitudini alimentari in Italia in quasi un terzo della popolazione. Il consumo sembra essersi affermato soprattutto nel segmento con abitudini alimentari sane. Una scarsa attenzione ad una dieta sana, gli stili di vita, il reddito, l'accessibilità, la mancanza di consapevolezza condizionano le abitudini alimentari a scapito di un consumo più sostenibile.

The psychology of eating,

Bibliography: p. 292-305.

Dietary of health and disease,

Includes bibliographies.

The dietary of health and disease, for the use of dietitians, nurses and instructors in the sciences that pertain to nutrition,

Bibliography at end of some of the chapters.

Human nutrition.

Mode of access: Internet.

East Pakistan, possibilities for cereal fortification.

Daniel Rosenfield, team leader.

What's in your Indian Takeaway?

Eating food prepared outside of the home has become the norm for adults on the island of Ireland. On 24% of eating or drinking occasions in the Republic of Ireland, food is cooked and prepared "out of the home". Bought-in cooked food makes up an average of 11% of a person’s energy intake in the United Kingdom. "Convenient" and "fast" cheap food has also become increasingly available to people. However, food prepared outside of the home has been found to contain considerably more dietary fat and less fibre and micronutrients than food prepared within the home. Traditionally, Indian diets are low in fat and high in fibre and rich in fruit and vegetables. However, these traditional meals have been adapted to suit Western palates and, as such, different ingredients in various quantities are added, potentially increasing their fat and salt content. Given the diversity of Indian takeaway dishes available on the island of Ireland, this survey has been designed to provide an insight into the energy (calorie), total fat, saturated fat, protein and salt content of the most popular starters, main courses and side dishes from various Indian takeaways and Indian restaurants with a takeaway service, as well as supermarkets or shop-bought equivalents. With two out of every three adults on the island of Ireland currently classified as overweight or obese, excess body weight is now one of the most important nutritional issues of our times. In addition to this, salt and fat intake is high and consumption of fruit, vegetables and fibre on the island of Ireland is low, increasing the risk of common chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers. The consumption of excess calories and nutrient-poor foods contributes to our current obesity epidemic.  

Alimentos com e sem glúten: análise comparativa de preços de mercado

A doença celíaca é uma doença autoimune que se traduz numa sensibilidade alimentar crónica ao glúten, que ocorre em indivíduos geneticamente suscetíveis. Em consequência da ingestão de glúten o organismo desenvolve uma reação imunológica contra o próprio intestino. A dieta isenta de glúten é o único tratamento conhecido para esta patologia, adotada para toda a vida, deve ser rigorosa, completa, equilibrada e variada. O presente estudo pretende comparar preços entre categorias de produtos alimentares sem glúten e produtos equiparáveis com glúten. É também objetivo do estudo avaliar o impacto desta despesa no rendimento familiar associado ao cumprimento de uma dieta sem glúten e comparar os resultados da presente recolha de dados com um estudo anterior.

Diversidad alimentaria en los niños entre 6 y 23 meses de edad en el área de hospitalización de clínica y cirugía pediátrica del Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso en la ciudad de Cuenca. Ecuador 2015

ANTECEDENTES: Los dos primeros años de vida constituyen un período crítico para la nutrición de los niños. Según la Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición 2011-2013 cerca de la mitad de niños de 6 a 11 meses no acceden a una variedad adecuada de alimentos. OBJETIVO GENERAL: Establecer la diversidad alimentaria en los niños y niñas de 6 a 23 meses de edad por un lapso de 5 meses en el año 2015 ingresados en el área de Clínica y Cirugía Pediátrica del Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso. METODOLOGÍA: Estudio descriptivo, en el levantamiento de datos se utilizó entrevistas, revisión de historias clínicas. La tabulación y análisis de los datos se efectuó en SPSS 19 empleando medidas de tendencia central y de distribución en variables cuantitativas; frecuencias y porcentajes en variables cualitativas. La muestra fue de 171 niños de 6 a 23 meses hospitalizados en el área de cirugía y clínica pediátrica del Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso. RESULTADOS: Se demostró que menos del 23% de los infantes tienen su peso normal, predominando los emaciados y emaciados severos, más marcado en las niñas. La Diversidad Alimentaria, Frecuencia Mínima de Comidas y Dieta Mínima Alimentaria en relación al sexo no arrojaron relación estadística significativa, pero se evidenció un aumento estadísticamente significativo con el incremento de la edad; siendo todos los alimentos consumidos en más del 80% de los infantes a excepción de las legumbres y nueces. Las frutas y verduras ricas en Vitamina A, lácteos y carnes son los más empleados

A school-based intervention incorporating smartphone technology to improve health-related fitness among adolescents : rationale and study protocol for the NEAT and ATLAS 2.0 cluster randomised controlled trial and dissemination study

INTRODUCTION: Physical inactivity has been described as a global pandemic. Interventions aimed at developing skills in lifelong physical activities may provide the foundation for an active lifestyle into adulthood. In general, school-based physical activity interventions targeting adolescents have produced modest results and few have been designed to be 'scaled-up' and disseminated. This study aims to: (1) assess the effectiveness of two physical activity promotion programmes (ie, NEAT and ATLAS) that have been modified for scalability; and (2) evaluate the dissemination of these programmes throughout government funded secondary schools. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study will be conducted in two phases. In the first phase (cluster randomised controlled trial), 16 schools will be randomly allocated to the intervention or a usual care control condition. In the second phase, the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (Re-AIM) framework will be used to guide the design and evaluation of programme dissemination throughout New South Wales (NSW), Australia. In both phases, teachers will be trained to deliver the NEAT and ATLAS programmes, which will include: (1) interactive student seminars; (2) structured physical activity programmes; (3) lunch-time fitness sessions; and (4) web-based smartphone apps. In the cluster RCT, study outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 6 months (primary end point) and 12-months. Muscular fitness will be the primary outcome and secondary outcomes will include: objectively measured body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, resistance training skill competency, physical activity, self-reported recreational screen-time, sleep, sugar-sweetened beverage and junk food snack consumption, self-esteem and well-being.

Maternal self-efficacy regarding children's eating and sedentary behaviours in the early years : Associations with children's food intake and sedentary behaviours

Introduction. This cross-sectional study aimed to describe parents' views regarding self-efficacy to influence children's eating and sedentary behaviours at two time points in early childhood, and to examine associations between these views and children's eating and sedentary behaviours.

Methods. Mothers of 1-year (n=60) and 5-year-old children (n=80) were recruited through Maternal and Child Health Centres and kindergartens in Victoria, Australia. Mothers reported children's dietary intake, television viewing and perceptions of their self-efficacy regarding children's eating and sedentary behaviours.

Results. Overall, 5-year-old children consumed significantly more energy-dense food and drink and spent significantly more time viewing TV/DVD and video. Mothers of 1-year-olds were significantly more likely to report they felt confident to limit child's consumption of non-core foods/drinks, and to limit screen access (p<0.001). Measures of maternal self-efficacy were directly associated with 5-year-old children's water (p<0.05), and fruit and vegetable consumption (p<0.005), and with 1-year-old children's vegetable consumption (p<0.05), and were inversely associated with cordial and cake consumption (p<0.05). Maternal self-efficacy to limit viewing time was inversely associated with screen-time exposure in both age groups (p<0.01).

Conclusion. This study suggests that mother's self-efficacy regarding limiting non-core foods/drinks and limiting screen-time exposures may decline during the first few years of a child's life. Higher maternal self-efficacy was associated with children having more obesity protective eating and sedentary behaviours at both ages. Interventions to support the development of healthy lifestyle behaviours may be most effective if they target mothers' self-efficacy in these domains early in their child's life.

Lower protein-to-carbohydrate ratio in maternal diet is associated with higher childhood systolic blood pressure up to age four years

The prenatal environment can influence development of offspring blood pressure (BP), which tracks into adulthood. This prospective longitudinal study investigated whether maternal pregnancy dietary intake is associated with the development of child BP up to age four years. Data are from 129 mother-child dyads enrolled in the Women and Their Children's Health study. Maternal diet was assessed using a validated 74-item food frequency questionnaire at 18 to 24 weeks and 36 to 40 weeks, with a reference period of the previous three months. Child systolic and diastolic BP were measured at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months, using an automated BP monitor. Using mixed-model regression analyses adjusted for childhood growth indices, pregnancy intakes of percentage of energy (E%) polyunsaturated fat (β coefficient 0.73; 95% CI 0.003, 1.45; p = 0.045), E% omega-6 fatty acids (β coefficient 0.89; 95% CI 0.09, 1.69; p = 0.03) and protein-to-carbohydrate (P:C) ratio (β coefficient -14.14; 95% CI -27.68, -0.60; p = 0.04) were associated with child systolic BP trajectory up to 4 years. Child systolic BP was greatest at low proportions of dietary protein (<16% of energy) and high carbohydrate (>40% of energy) intakes. There may be an ideal maternal macronutrient ratio associated with optimal infant BP. Maternal diet, which is potentially modifiable, may play an important role in influencing offspring risk of future hypertension.

Feto-placental development in the rabbit is altered by maternal food restriction from early pregnancy

Feto-placental development in the rabbit is altered by maternal food restriction from early pregnancy Maternal under-nutrition can induce Intrauterine Growth Restriction by placental insufficiency. To determine the consequences in the rabbit feto-placental unit, 32 pregnant rabbits were allocated in three feeding groups: ad libitum diet (Group C; n=9); restricted to 50% of their ad libitum intake during the pre-implantational period (Day 0 to Day 7) (Group PR; n=11) or restricted from Day 0 to Day 28 (Group TR; n=12).