Benefits of calorie restriction in mice are mediated via energy imbalance, not absolute energy or protein intake.

Caloric restriction (CR) results in reduced energy and protein intake, raising questions about protein restriction's contribution to CR longevity benefits. We kept ad libitum (AL)-fed male C57BL/6J mice at 27°C (AL27) and pair-fed (PF) mice at 22°C (22(PF27)). The 22(PF27) group was fed to match AL27 while restricted for calories due to cold-induced metabolism.

Sex and Race Differences in Obesity-Related Genetic Susceptibility and Risk of Cardiometabolic Disease in Older US Adults.

Importance: The fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) is associated with obesity phenotypes, but the association is inconsistent across populations. Within-population differences may explain some of the variability observed.

Objective: To investigate sex differences in the association between FTO single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and obesity traits among self-identified non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White US adults, to examine whether the SNVs were associated with cardiometabolic diseases, and to evaluate whether obesity mediated the association between FTO SNVs and cardiometabolic diseases.

Reducing the residue of retractions in evidence synthesis: ways to minimise inappropriate citation and use of retracted data.

The incorporation of publications that have been retracted is a risk in reliable evidence synthesis. Retraction is an important mechanism for correcting the literature and protecting its integrity. Within the medical literature, the continued citation of retracted publications occurs for a variety of reasons.

The effect of a pharmaceutical ghrelin agonist on lifespan in C57BL/6J male mice: A controlled experiment.

Interventions for animal lifespan extension like caloric restriction (CR) have identified physiologic and biochemical pathways related to hunger and energy-sensing status as possible contributors, but mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Prior studies using ghrelin agonists show greater food intake but no effect on lifespan in rodent models. This experiment in male C57BL/6J mice tested the influence of ghrelin agonism for perceived hunger, in the absence of CR, on longevity.

CITY Health II - using entertainment education and social media to reduce HIV among emerging adults: A protocol paper for the Beat HIVe project.

Background: Despite multiple efforts to reduce HIV rates among African American young adults, a significant racial disparity persists and continues to grow among this population. New approaches are needed to reach this at-risk group and engage them in prevention efforts. The Community Influences Transitions of Youth Health (CITY Health II) study aims to increase HIV preventive behaviors to decrease HIV rates among 18-25 year old African American emerging adults living in resource-poor southern urban communities.

Exceptional Reported Effects and Data Anomalies Merit Explanation from "A randomized controlled trial of coordination exercise on cognitive function in obese adolescents" by.

We read the recent article in Psychology of Sport and Exercise by Liu et al. ("A randomized controlled trial of coordination exercise on cognitive function in obese adolescents") with great interest. Our interest in the article stemmed from the extraordinary differences in obesity-related outcomes reported in response to a rope-jumping intervention.

Biobehavioural approaches to prevention and treatment: A call for implementation science in obesity research.

Much progress has been made in the last 30 years in understanding the causes and mechanisms that contribute to obesity, yet widely available and successful strategies for prevention and treatment remain elusive at population levels. This paper discusses the biobehavioural framework and provides suggestions for applying it to enable greater progress in the science of obesity prevention and treatment, including an increased focus on implementation of science strategies. The objective is to promote a re-evaluation of current views about preventing and treating obesity within a unified biobehavioural framework.

Science dialogue mapping of knowledge and knowledge gaps related to the effects of dairy intake on human cardiovascular health and disease.

Dairy has been described as everything from a superfood to a poison; yet, arguments, assumptions, and data justifying these labels are not always clear. We used an issue-based information system, "dialogue mapping™," to summarize scientific points of a live panel discussion on the putative effects of dairy on cardiovascular diseases (CVD) from a day-long session among experts in nutrition and CVD. Dialogue mapping captures relations among ideas to explicitly, logically, and visually connect issues/questions, ideas, pro/con arguments, and agreements, even if discussed at different times.

A Systematic Scoping Review of Surgically Manipulated Adipose Tissue and the Regulation of Energetics and Body Fat in Animals.

Objective: Surgical manipulations of adipose tissue by removal, or partial lipectomy, have demonstrated body fat compensation and recovered body weight, suggesting that the body is able to resist changes to body composition. However, the mechanisms underlying these observations are not well understood. The purpose of this scoping review is to provide an update on what is currently known about the regulation of energetics and body fat after surgical manipulations of adipose tissue in small mammals.

Love with No Exceptions: A Statewide Faith-Based, University-Community Partnership for Faith-Based HIV Training and Assessment of Needs in the Deep South.

This project established a faith-based, university-community partnership with the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in Alabama to develop a statewide training model to address HIV knowledge and stigma, promote discussion and generate action plans to address HIV in the Deep South. A community-engaged research team consisting of church leadership and university researchers developed and implemented the model, "Love with No Exceptions." Mixed methods were used to evaluate the model delivered in 3-h sessions in five state regions (N = 146 clergy and laity).

Effect of Food Predictability on Life Span in Male Mice.

The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of unpredictable (U) or predictable (P) food delivery on health and longevity in mice. From 2 months of age until end of life, singly-housed male C57BL/6 mice were fed a semisynthetic diet either ad libitum (AL), or as imposed meals delivered as small pellets at either P or U times, frequencies, or amounts. The total daily food consumed by all groups was the same.

Issues with data and analyses: Errors, underlying themes, and potential solutions.

Some aspects of science, taken at the broadest level, are universal in empirical research. These include collecting, analyzing, and reporting data. In each of these aspects, errors can and do occur.

Body Mass Index and Subjective Social Status: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study.

Objective: Subjective social status (SSS), or perceived social status, may explain, in part, the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity. The objective of this study was to test whether SSS mediates the relationship between two indicators of SES (income and education) and body mass index (BMI).

Methods: A cross-sectional, structural equation path analysis was applied to the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study (n = 2,624).

Analysis of the time and workers needed to conduct systematic reviews of medical interventions using data from the PROSPERO registry.

Objectives: To summarise logistical aspects of recently completed systematic reviews that were registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) registry to quantify the time and resources required to complete such projects.

Design: Meta-analysis.

Data Sources And Study Selection: All of the 195 registered and completed reviews (status from the PROSPERO registry) with associated publications at the time of our search (1 July 2014).

Comparisons of Fatty Acid Taste Detection Thresholds in People Who Are Lean vs. Overweight or Obese: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Given the increasing evidence that supports the ability of humans to taste non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), recent studies have sought to determine if relationships exist between oral sensitivity to NEFA (measured as thresholds), food intake and obesity. Published findings suggest there is either no association or an inverse association. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to determine if differences in fatty acid taste sensitivity or intensity ratings exist between individuals who are lean or obese.

Common scientific and statistical errors in obesity research.

This review identifies 10 common errors and problems in the statistical analysis, design, interpretation, and reporting of obesity research and discuss how they can be avoided. The 10 topics are: 1) misinterpretation of statistical significance, 2) inappropriate testing against baseline values, 3) excessive and undisclosed multiple testing and "P-value hacking," 4) mishandling of clustering in cluster randomized trials, 5) misconceptions about nonparametric tests, 6) mishandling of missing data, 7) miscalculation of effect sizes, 8) ignoring regression to the mean, 9) ignoring confirmation bias, and 10) insufficient statistical reporting. It is hoped that discussion of these errors can improve the quality of obesity research by helping researchers to implement proper statistical practice and to know when to seek the help of a statistician.

Re: Errors in Zhao et al (2015), Impact of enteral nutrition on energy metabolism in patients with Crohn's disease.

We report invalidating errors related to the statistical approach in the analysis and data inconsistencies in a published single cohort study of patients with Crohn's disease. We provide corrected calculations from the available data and request that a corrected analysis be provided by the authors. These errors should be corrected.

Best (but oft-forgotten) practices: designing, analyzing, and reporting cluster randomized controlled trials.

Cluster randomized controlled trials (cRCTs; also known as group randomized trials and community-randomized trials) are multilevel experiments in which units that are randomly assigned to experimental conditions are sets of grouped individuals, whereas outcomes are recorded at the individual level. In human cRCTs, clusters that are randomly assigned are typically families, classrooms, schools, worksites, or counties. With growing interest in community-based, public health, and policy interventions to reduce obesity or improve nutrition, the use of cRCTs has increased.

Baseline participant characteristics and risk for dropout from ten obesity randomized controlled trials: a pooled analysis of individual level data.

Introduction: Understanding participant demographic characteristics that inform the optimal design of obesity RCTs have been examined in few studies. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of individual participant characteristics and dropout rates (DORs) in obesity randomized controlled trials (RCT) by pooling data from several publicly available datasets for analyses. We comprehensively characterize DORs and patterns in obesity RCTs at the individual study level, and describe how such rates and patterns vary as a function of individual-level characteristics.

Increased fruit and vegetable intake has no discernible effect on weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: A common dietary recommendation for weight loss, especially in lay public outlets, is to eat more fruit and vegetables (F/Vs). Without a compensatory reduction in total energy intake, significant weight loss would be unlikely.

Objective: We aimed to synthesize the best available evidence on the effectiveness of the general recommendation to eat more F/Vs for weight loss or the prevention of weight gain.

Estimating the range of obesity treatment response variability in humans: methods and illustrations.

Background/aims: The rising prevalence of human obesity worldwide has focused research on a variety of interventions that result in highly varied degrees of weight loss (WL). The advent of genomic testing has quantified estimates of both the contribution of genetic factors to the development of obesity as well as racial/ethnic variation of risk alleles across subpopulations. More recent studies have examined genetic associations with effectiveness of WL interventions, but to date are unable to explain a large proportion of the variance observed.