Effects of a low-glycemic load diet in overweight and obese pregnant women: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: The optimal diet for pregnancy that is complicated by excessive weight is unknown.

Objective: We aimed to examine the effects of a low-glycemic load (low-GL) diet in overweight and obese pregnant women.

Design: We randomly assigned 46 overweight or obese pregnant women to receive a low-GL or a low-fat diet.

Long-term effects of dietary glycemic index on adiposity, energy metabolism, and physical activity in mice.

A high-glycemic index (GI) diet has been shown to increase adiposity in rodents; however, the long-term metabolic effects of a low- and high-GI diet have not been examined. In this study, a total of 48 male 129SvPas mice were fed diets high in either rapidly absorbed carbohydrate (RAC; high GI) or slowly absorbed carbohydrate (SAC; low GI) for up to 40 wk. Diets were controlled for macronutrient and micronutrient content, differing only in starch type.

Hepatic steatosis and increased adiposity in mice consuming rapidly vs. slowly absorbed carbohydrate.

Objective: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is fast becoming a major public health concern, coincident with the increasing prevalence of obesity. Although lifestyle greatly influences development of NAFLD, the specific dietary causes remain largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a diet high in rapidly absorbed carbohydrate (RAC) vs.

Effects of dietary glycaemic index on adiposity, glucose homoeostasis, and plasma lipids in animals.

Background: Clinical studies suggest a role for dietary glycaemic index (GI) in bodyweight regulation and diabetes risk. However, partly because manipulation of GI can produce changes in potentially confounding dietary factors such as fibre content, palatability, and energy density, its relevance to human health remains controversial. This study examined the independent effects of GI in animals.

Cardiovascular responses evoked by leptin acting on neurons in the ventromedial and dorsomedial hypothalamus.

Leptin, a circulating hormone produced by adipose tissue, is believed to act on the hypothalamus to increase sympathetic vasomotor activity, in addition to its well-known effects on appetite and energy expenditure. In this study, we determined the cardiovascular effects of direct application of leptin to specific cell groups within the hypothalamus that are known to be activated by circulating leptin. In rats anesthetized with urethane, microinjections of leptin (16 ng in 20 nL solution) were made into the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus, and paraventricular nucleus.

Childhood obesity: public-health crisis, common sense cure.

During the past two decades, the prevalence of obesity in children has risen greatly worldwide. Obesity in childhood causes a wide range of serious complications, and increases the risk of premature illness and death later in life, raising public-health concerns. Results of research have provided new insights into the physiological basis of bodyweight regulation.

Glycemic index and obesity.

Although weight loss can be achieved by any means of energy restriction, current dietary guidelines have not prevented weight regain or population-level increases in obesity and overweight. Many high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets may be counterproductive to weight control because they markedly increase postprandial hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. Many high-carbohydrate foods common to Western diets produce a high glycemic response [high-glycemic-index (GI) foods], promoting postprandial carbohydrate oxidation at the expense of fat oxidation, thus altering fuel partitioning in a way that may be conducive to body fat gain.