Increasing Household Diet Diversity and Food Security in Rural Rwanda Using Small-Scale Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture: A Community-Engaged Proof-of-Concept Study.

Malnutrition and food insecurity remain high in rural Rwanda, where residents consume a low-diversity diet provided through subsistence farming. Agricultural interventions using kitchen gardens may improve diet diversity in some populations. However, little is known about their efficacy when developed using community-based participatory research in combination with nutrition education focused on the empowerment of women.

Observations of parent-adolescent interactions relate to food parenting practices and adolescent disordered eating in adolescents at risk for adult obesity.

Adolescent disordered eating and obesity are interrelated and adversely relate to mental and metabolic health. Parental feeding practices have been associated with adolescent disordered eating and obesity. Yet, observable interactions related to food parenting have not been well characterized.

Mindfulness-based intervention in adolescents at risk for excess weight gain: 1.5-year follow-up of pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: Mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) may offer a novel means of preventing excess weight gain in adolescents, theoretically by decreasing stress-eating through altering executive functioning (EF) and food-reward sensitivity.

Methods: N = 54 12-17y girls and boys at-risk for excess weight gain (i.e.

Associations of adverse childhood experiences with stress physiology and insulin resistance in adolescents at risk for adult obesity.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) heighten the risk for adult obesity and cardiometabolic disease, but physiological factors underlying this connection are not well understood. We determined if ACEs were associated with physiological stress response and insulin resistance in adolescents at risk for adult obesity. Participants were 90 adolescents 12.

The role of mindfulness in associations among depression symptoms, sleep duration, and insulin resistance in adolescents.

Sleep difficulties may be one explanatory factor in the association between depression and insulin resistance; yet, explicit tests of this hypothesis are lacking. We determined if there was an indirect effect of depression symptoms on insulin resistance through sleep duration in adolescents at risk for excess weight gain. We also investigated whether dispositional mindfulness moderated the interconnections among depression, sleep, and insulin resistance.

Effects of a mindfulness-induction on subjective and physiological stress response in adolescents at-risk for adult obesity.

Background: Mindfulness-training may benefit stress response and stress-eating, yet few studies have experimentally tested these effects in adolescents. In this short communication, we report whether a brief mindfulness-induction affected acute stress response and stress-eating in adolescents at-risk for adult obesity. We explored disordered eating as a moderator.

DE111 intake may improve blood lipids and endothelial function in healthy adults.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the US and worldwide. By 2030 it is anticipated that CVD will claim the lives of more than 24 million people. Throughout the last decade, researchers have investigated the role of the gut microbiota in the development of CVD.

Agricultural Food Production Diversity and Dietary Diversity among Female Small Holder Farmers in a Region of the Ecuadorian Andes Experiencing Nutrition Transition.

Some rural areas of Ecuador, including the Imbabura Province of the Andes Highlands, are experiencing a double burden of malnutrition where micronutrient deficiencies persist at the same time obesity is increasing as many traditional home-grown foods are being replaced with more commercially prepared convenience foods. Thus, the relationships among agricultural food production diversity (FPD), dietary diversity (DD), and household food insecurity (HFI) of the rural small holder farmers need further study. Therefore, we examined these associations in small holder farmers residing in this Province in the Andes Highlands (elevation > 2500 m).

Associations of parental feeding practices and food reward responsiveness with adolescent stress-eating.

Rates of adolescent obesity have continued to rise over the past decade. As adolescence is an important time for developing eating habits that endure into adulthood, more information is needed about the potentially modifiable family- and individual-level factors that influence the development of common overeating behaviors such as stress-eating during adolescence. In this study, we conducted secondary data analyses to evaluate how parental feeding practices and adolescents' food reward responsiveness related to adolescents' stress-eating during a laboratory test meal.

Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibition Does Not Favorably Modify the Physiological Responses to Dietary Counselling in Diabetes-Free, Sedentary Overweight and Obese Adult Humans.

Sedentary obesity is associated with increased risk of many cardio-metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Weight loss is therefore a desirable goal for sedentary adults with obesity. Weight loss is also a well-documented side effect of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibition, a pharmaceutical strategy for diabetes treatment.

Impact of Red Beetroot Juice on Vascular Endothelial Function and Cardiometabolic Responses to a High-Fat Meal in Middle-Aged/Older Adults with Overweight and Obesity: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial.

Background: High-fat meal (HFM) consumption may induce transient postprandial atherogenic responses, including impairment of vascular endothelial function, in individuals with overweight/obesity. Red beetroot juice (RBJ) may modulate endothelial function and other measures of cardiometabolic health.

Objective: This study investigated the impact of acute and chronic RBJ consumption, including nitrate-dependent and -independent effects, on postprandial endothelial function and other cardiometabolic responses to a HFM.

Increasing Energy Flux to Maintain Diet-Induced Weight Loss.

Long-term maintenance of weight loss requires sustained energy balance at the reduced body weight. This could be attained by coupling low total daily energy intake (TDEI) with low total daily energy expenditure (TDEE; low energy flux), or by pairing high TDEI with high TDEE (high energy flux). Within an environment characterized by high energy dense food and a lack of need for movement, it may be particularly difficult for weight-reduced individuals to maintain energy balance in a low flux state.

Mindfulness-based group intervention in adolescents at-risk for excess weight gain: A randomized controlled pilot study.

Objectives: To assess feasibility/acceptability of a mindfulness-based approach to excess weight prevention in adolescents at-risk for excess weight gain. To pilot test efficacy of a mindfulness-based intervention for improving food reward sensitivity, stress-eating, executive function (EF), and BMI/adiposity.

Methods: A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted with 12-17y adolescents at-risk for excess weight gain based on above-average weight (body mass index [BMI]≥70%ile) or parental history of obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m).

Influence of Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibition on Physiological Adaptation to Endurance Exercise Training.

Context: The combination of two beneficial antidiabetes interventions, regular exercise and pharmaceuticals, is intuitively appealing. However, metformin, the most commonly prescribed diabetes medication, attenuates the favorable physiological adaptations to exercise; in turn, exercise may impede the action of metformin.

Objective: We sought to determine the influence of an alternative diabetes treatment, sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibition, on the response to endurance exercise training.

Transformative elements of intercultural education for Japanese nursing students.

There has been little research exploring Japanese nursing students' experiences of having Western instructors in their nursing programs. The purpose of the present study was to describe Japanese nursing students' lived experiences of being taught by foreign faculty. A qualitative design using an interpretive phenomenology approach was used with purposeful sampling.

Impact of Childhood Malnutrition on Host Defense and Infection.

The global impact of childhood malnutrition is staggering. The synergism between malnutrition and infection contributes substantially to childhood morbidity and mortality. Anthropometric indicators of malnutrition are associated with the increased risk and severity of infections caused by many pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and helminths.

Attenuating the Biologic Drive for Weight Regain Following Weight Loss: Must What Goes Down Always Go Back Up?

Metabolic adaptations occur with weight loss that result in increased hunger with discordant simultaneous reductions in energy requirements-producing the so-called in which more energy is desired than is required. The increased hunger is associated with elevation of the orexigenic hormone ghrelin and decrements in anorexigenic hormones. The lower total daily energy expenditure with diet-induced weight loss results from (1) a disproportionately greater decrease in circulating leptin and resting metabolic rate (RMR) than would be predicted based on the decline in body mass, (2) decreased thermic effect of food (TEF), and (3) increased energy efficiency at work intensities characteristic of activities of daily living.

Ergogenic properties of metformin in simulated high altitude.

Metformin augments glucose/glycogen regulation and may acutely promote fatigue resistance during high-intensity exercise. In hypobaric environments, such as high altitude, the important contribution of carbohydrates to physiological function is accentuated as glucose/glycogen dependence is increased. Because hypoxia/hypobaria decreases insulin sensitivity, replenishing skeletal muscle glycogen in high altitude becomes challenging and subsequent physical performance may be compromised.

Influence of Nrf2 activators on subcellular skeletal muscle protein and DNA synthesis rates after 6 weeks of milk protein feeding in older adults.

In older adults, chronic oxidative and inflammatory stresses are associated with an impaired increase in skeletal muscle protein synthesis after acute anabolic stimuli. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and Protandim have been shown to activate nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-like 2 (Nrf2), a transcription factor for the antioxidant response element and anti-inflammatory pathways. This study tested the hypothesis that compared to a placebo control (CON), CLA and Protandim would increase skeletal muscle subcellular protein (myofibrillar, mitochondrial, cytoplasmic) and DNA synthesis in older adults after 6 weeks of milk protein feeding.

Nutrition and physical activity transitions in the Ecuadorian Andes: Differences among urban and rural-dwelling women.

Objectives: The nutrition and physical activity transitions, characterized by increased consumption of high energy density foods and more sedentary lifestyles, are associated with increased obesity and hypertension in Ecuador. These transitions have been characterized primarily in urban areas, which may neglect variation in specific rural areas of Ecuador. Therefore we examined the extent of the differences in dietary and activity patterns, obesity prevalence, and blood pressure (BP) in urban and rural-dwelling women in the Ecuadorian central highlands.

Awareness, Comprehension, and Use of Newly-Mandated Nutrition Labels Among Mestiza and Indigenous Ecuadorian Women in the Central Andes Region of Ecuador.

Background: In 2014, Ecuador became the first country in Latin America to adopt the nutritional traffic light labeling system as a public policy aimed at guiding informed food choices.

Objective: To describe the differences in comprehension and use of the new nutrition label in 2 different ethnic populations residing in a limited resource area of central Ecuador.

Methods: A total of 394 women (18-75 years, 54.

Linking dietary patterns with gut microbial composition and function.

Emerging insights have implicated the gut microbiota as an important factor in the maintenance of human health. Although nutrition research has focused on how direct interactions between dietary components and host systems influence human health, it is becoming increasingly important to consider nutrient effects on the gut microbiome for a more complete picture. Understanding nutrient-host-microbiome interactions promises to reveal novel mechanisms of disease etiology and progression, offers new disease prevention strategies and therapeutic possibilities, and may mandate alternative criteria to evaluate the safety of food ingredients.

Relationship of pressure to be thin with gains in body weight and fat mass in adolescents.

Background: Sociocultural pressure to be thin is commonly reported by adolescents; yet, to what extent such pressure is associated with weight gain has not been evaluated longitudinally.

Objective: Examine whether pressure to be thin was positively associated with weight and fat gain in adolescents.

Methods: Participants were 196 healthy adolescent (age 15 ± 1 years old) girls (65%) and boys of varying weights (BMI 25 ± 7 kg/m ) studied at baseline and 1-year follow-up.

Increasing energy flux to decrease the biological drive toward weight regain after weight loss - A proof-of-concept pilot study.

Objective: Weight loss induces compensatory biological adjustments that increase hunger and decrease resting metabolic rate (RMR), which increase propensity for weight regain. In non-obese adults high levels of physical activity coupled with high energy intake (high energy flux) are associated with higher RMR and reduced hunger. We tested the possibility that a high flux state attenuates the increase in hunger and the decrease in RMR characteristic of diet-induced weight loss.