Publications by authors named "Jimmy Chun Yu Louie"

This commentary critiques current sugar intake guidelines, suggesting they oversimplify a complex issue and may lead to unintended outcomes. It advocates for reducing sugar-sweetened beverages, promoting healthy dietary patterns, and recognizing the diverse roles of sugars in foods. The piece calls for a more practical and sustainable approach to public health messaging, aiming for more effective dietary strategies that reflect the complexity of nutritional needs and food sources.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explored the relationship between coffee consumption and metabolic syndrome, alongside the effects of additives like milk, sugar, and artificial sweeteners.
  • An analysis of over 351,000 UK Biobank participants found that drinking up to two cups of coffee per day was linked to lower odds of metabolic syndrome, although more than that showed little effect.
  • Notably, while coffee drinking was associated with an increased risk of central obesity (especially with more than four cups), the use of artificial sweeteners combined with coffee had a positive association with metabolic syndrome, indicating a need for further research on these additives.
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Objective: To evaluate the impact of carbohydrate quantity and quality on maternal and pregnancy outcomes in gestational diabetes mellitus.

Methods: Using a pre-defined search strategy, two researchers systematically searched MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, and PubMed for randomized controlled trials comparing low-carbohydrate, low-glycaemic index, or low-glycaemic load diets with usual care in gestational diabetes mellitus. Mean differences and risk ratios were extracted.

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Many women of reproductive age have poor diet quality and are at higher risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes. Triglycerides are a critical risk factor for chronic diseases, and although they can be influenced by diet, there are minimal dietary intervention studies identifying key foods/food groups that reduce triglycerides. We performed data simulation modelling to estimate the potential reductions in fasting triglycerides that could be achieved by different dietary strategies in reproductive age women.

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Objective: To systematically review the effects of the ketogenic diet on glycaemic control, body weight, cardiovascular risk factors, and liver and kidney function in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library and CINAHL were searched for randomised controlled trials published between 2001 and 2021 that compared the ketogenic diet to a control diet for effects on glycaemic control, body weight, cardiovascular risk factors, liver and renal function markers in adults with type 2 diabetes for >14 days. Meta-analyses using fixed or random effects models were conducted.

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Introduction: The consumption of gluten-free foods has continued to increase in recent years. Given their higher intake among individuals both with and without a medically diagnosed gluten allergy or sensitivity, it is important to understand how the nutritional quality of these foods compares against non-gluten-free foods. As such, we aimed to compare the nutritional quality of gluten-free and non-gluten-free pre-packaged foods sold in Hong Kong.

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Background: Sex differences in the pathogenesis of hypertension exist. While gut microbiota (GM) has been associated with hypertension, it is unclear whether there are sex-linked differences in the association between GM and hypertension.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the sex differences in associations between GM characterized by shotgun sequencing, GM-derived short-chain fatty acids, and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure in 241 Hong Kong Chinese (113 men and 128 women; mean age, 54±6 years).

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Introduction: Controversies surround the issue if chronic consumption of a high-sugar diet is detrimental to health or not. This study investigates whether lifelong consumption of a higher sucrose diet will induce overeating, and obesity, and cause metabolic dysfunctions such as hyperglycemia and dyslipidaemia in C57BL/6N mice, compared to a lower sucrose diet.

Methods: Male C57BL/6N mice at 3 weeks of age were randomized into consuming a diet with 25 or 10% kcal from sucrose for the rest of their lives.

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Background: Consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with increased risk of obesity and non-communicable diseases. Little is known about current patterns of ultra-processed foods intake in Australia. The aim of this study was to examine the amount and type of ultra-processed foods purchased by Australian households in 2019 and determine whether purchases differed by socio-economic status (SES).

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Objective: To examine the labelling status of -fat of pre-packaged foods sold in Hong Kong.

Design: Data from 19 027 items in the 2019 FoodSwitch Hong Kong database were used. Ingredient lists were screened to identify specific (e.

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The present study aimed to assess the longitudinal associations of coffee and tea consumption with metabolic syndrome and its component conditions in a group of Australian older adults who participated in the Blue Mountains Eye Study ( 2554, mean age: 64 years, 43 % female). Participants' coffee and tea intake were measured using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Hazard ratios (HRs) over a 10-year period were estimated using Cox hazard regression models adjusting for lifestyle factors.

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Sugar is widely consumed over the world. Although the mainstream view is that high added or free sugar consumption leads to obesity and related metabolic diseases, controversies exist. This narrative review aims to highlight important findings and identify major limitations and gaps in the current body of evidence in relation to the effect of high sugar intakes on health.

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Background: In parallel with growing consumer interest in reducing sugar intake, manufacturers have increased availability of food and beverage products containing nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs). However, emerging evidence indicates that specific NNS types have differential effects on cardiometabolic health.

Objective: This study examined overall changes in the presence of NNSs, sugar alcohols, and free sugars in the Australian food supply and the use of specific NNS types.

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Background: Countries around the world are putting in place sugar reformulation targets for packaged foods to reduce excess sugar consumption. The Australian government released its voluntary sugar reformulation targets for nine food categories in 2020. We estimated the potential impact of these targets on household sugar purchases and examined differences by income.

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There is limited information regarding the free sugar content of pre-packaged foods in Hong Kong. This study aims to assess the free sugar content and identify the most frequently used free sugar ingredients (FSI) in pre-packaged foods in Hong Kong. Data from 18,784 products from the 2019 FoodSwitch Hong Kong database were used in this analysis.

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Underconsumption of dietary fiber is prevalent worldwide and is associated with multiple adverse health conditions. Despite the importance of fiber, the labeling of fiber content on packaged foods and beverages is voluntary in most countries, making it challenging for consumers and policy makers to monitor fiber consumption. Here, we developed a machine learning approach for automated and systematic prediction of fiber content using nutrient information commonly available on packaged products.

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Background: Dietary guidelines recommend limiting the intake of added sugars. However, despite the public health importance, most countries have not mandated the labeling of added-sugar content on packaged foods and beverages, making it difficult for consumers to avoid products with added sugar, and limiting the ability of policymakers to identify priority products for intervention.

Objective: The aim was to develop a machine learning approach for the prediction of added-sugar content in packaged products using available nutrient, ingredient, and food category information.

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Background: The Australian Government will soon be releasing a series of sugar reformulation targets for packaged foods.

Objective: To estimate the amount of added sugar purchased from packaged food and beverages and the relative contribution that food categories and food companies made to these purchases in 2018. The secondary objective was to examine differences in purchases of added sugar across income levels.

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Objectives: To examine the potential effect on Fe intake of 7-8 months old infants if pre-packaged baby foods (PBF) were used as the sole source of complementary foods.

Design: Based on the 7-d recommended feeding plan for 7-8 months old infants in Hong Kong (moderate Fe-fortified rice cereal with home-cooked meals), twenty-four modelling scenarios were created which comprised of two milk use modes (breastmilk v. infant formula), three modes of rice cereal use (no-rice cereal; non-Fe-fortified rice cereal and Fe-fortified rice cereal) and four baby foods usage modes (home-cooked meals; low-Fe PBF only; high-Fe PBF only and mixed PBF).

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