Publications by authors named "Peter J Aggett"

In May 2021, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published a risk assessment on lower carbohydrate diets for adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The purpose of the report was to review the evidence on 'low'-carbohydrate diets compared with the current UK government advice on carbohydrate intake for adults with T2D. However, since there is no agreed and widely utilised definition of a 'low'-carbohydrate diet, comparisons in the report were between lower and higher carbohydrate diets.

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Characterizing the U-shaped exposure response relationship for manganese (Mn) is necessary for estimating the risk of adverse health from Mn toxicity due to excess or deficiency. Categorical regression has emerged as a powerful tool for exposure-response analysis because of its ability to synthesize relevant information across multiple studies and species into a single integrated analysis of all relevant data. This paper documents the development of a database on Mn toxicity designed to support the application of categorical regression techniques.

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Background: Codex documents may be used as educational and consensus materials for member governments. Also, the WTO SPS Agreement recognizes Codex as the presumptive international authority on food issues. Nutrient bioavailability is a critical factor in determining the ability of nutrients to provide beneficial effects.

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Demonstrating single and multiple functions attributable to foods or specific food components is a challenge. The International Life Sciences Institute Europe co-ordinated EU concerted actions, Functional Food Science in Europe (FUFOSE) and the Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support for Claims on Food (PASSCLAIM), respectively, addressed the soundness of the evidence and its coherence with a mechanistic schema comprising valid markers of exposure, intermediate and final outcomes and the quality and integrity of the evidence overall. Demonstrating causality often relies on randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

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Objective: The objective was to define the term evidence based nutrition on the basis of expert discussions and scientific evidence.

Methods And Procedures: The method used is the established Hohenheim Consensus Conference. The term "Hohenheim Consensus Conference" defines conferences dealing with nutrition-related topics.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A study created a database assigning severity scores to health outcomes from high and low Cu intake, using a generalized linear model to analyze the impact of various factors like dose, duration, and species differences.
  • * The optimal daily intake of Cu was found to be 2.6 mg, which is higher than the current recommended level (0.9 mg) but lower than the upper limit (10 mg), offering a more nuanced view for risk managers about safe intake levels and potential health risks.
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The present report summarises a meeting held by the Food & Health Forum at the Royal Society of Medicine, London, on 27 May 2010. The objective of the meeting was to review the problems associated with the use of evidence-based nutrition and to discuss what constitutes the efficacy for foods and food constituents and how the strength and consistency of the evidence can be assessed and adapted to circumstances in which health claims are to be used on food products. The meeting highlighted the limitations with the present evidence-based nutrition models with the prospect that this may have long-term consequences for nutrition science and ultimately the consumer who may not benefit from new science that could have an impact on health.

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Article Synopsis
  • The processes for determining population reference intakes in the EU reveal a lack of sufficient data, emphasizing the need for clear and physiological methods for setting safe nutrient levels.
  • Confusion over these processes has spurred initiatives aimed at rationalizing how reference levels and safe upper intake limits are established.
  • A proposed biologically based method for nutrient risk assessment could enhance the development of nutrient reference values, while efforts for international harmonization of dietary standards could lead to universally accepted criteria for nutrient assessments.
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  • - The potential exposure-response relationship for copper (Cu) is believed to be U-shaped, indicating that both too little and too much Cu can lead to negative health effects.
  • - A working group of experts was formed in 2002 to compile literature on Cu's impact and develop a database for better analysis of exposure-response, which will help in assessing both current and future methods.
  • - The study details the criteria for selecting studies for the Cu database, explains how a common dose metric was established, and categorizes various responses to Cu exposure into severity levels for comparative analysis.
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Toxicity due to excess and deficiency.

J Toxicol Environ Health A

February 2010

Customary approaches to setting safe upper levels for the intake of nutrients use, as critical events, adverse health that which, when adjusted using uncertainty factors (UF), produce values that, when they are applied to population risk analysis, along with dietary reference values that have been independently derived using a different approach by nutritionists, may provide narrow and unrealistic safe ranges of dietary intake. This study describes the evolving concept of the risk assessment of nutrients in which the critical events are based on homeostatic health effects that occur at the upper extreme of the physiological range of intakes. These events can be envisaged as markers of failing adaptation to high exposures and as heralds of potential later adverse events.

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Article Synopsis
  • - PASSCLAIM proposes criteria for evaluating scientific evidence supporting food claims to ensure a consistent international standard.
  • - The assessment involves seven key criteria, including characterizing the food, analyzing human data from relevant studies, establishing a dose-response relationship, and accounting for confounding factors.
  • - Expert judgment is essential in evaluating claims, emphasizing the importance of both existing and new evidence to fill knowledge gaps.
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Criteria for substantiating claims.

Novartis Found Symp

October 2007

Claims are used to support public health advocacy and marketing. Their evidence base is variable. Claims are made on (i) nutrient content, (ii) comparative merits, (iii) health benefits, and (iv) medical benefits.

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Aim: This paper is a report of a study to compare the perceptions of adult patients, family carers, nurses and dietitians regarding home percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding.

Background: Healthcare professionals have a major role in patient selection for gastrostomy placement and the provision of aftercare but it is not clear if patients, their carers and healthcare professionals have similar perceptions of the initiation and delivery of feeding and of the care in general.

Method: A cross-sectional mixed-method study using purposive sampling, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires was performed.

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Article Synopsis
  • Upper levels of nutrient intake are estimates for safe daily consumption over a lifetime, derived from a rigorous risk assessment process similar to that for foreign chemicals in food.
  • The assessment considers uncertainties in data and how they apply to human populations, with a focus on the unique metabolic pathways of nutrients versus xenobiotics.
  • The differences in nutrient risk assessment standards across various national and international organizations lead to confusion in public health policies and can hinder trade, suggesting a need for a unified approach developed by global health entities.
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Survival of small premature infants has markedly improved during the last few decades. These infants are discharged from hospital care with body weight below the usual birth weight of healthy term infants. Early nutrition support of preterm infants influences long-term health outcomes.

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The knowledge base underpinning the setting of nutrient requirements for children and adolescents is not very secure. The advent of the concepts of optimal nutrition and functional foods has encouraged the possible use of functional effects as criteria for adequate nutrition in this age group. Target functions have been identified for growth development and differentiation and for behavioural and cognitive development.

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The consumption of nondigestible carbohydrates is perceived as beneficial by health professionals and the general public, but the translation of this information into dietary practice, public health recommendations, and regulatory policy has proved difficult. Nondigestible carbohydrates are a heterogeneous entity, and their definition is problematic. Without a means to characterize the dietary components associated with particular health benefits, specific attributions of these cannot be made.

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