Association of Candidate Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Genotypes With Plasma and Skin Carotenoid Concentrations in Adults Provided a Lycopene-Rich Juice.

Background: Carotenoids are fat-soluble phytochemicals with biological roles, including ultraviolet protective functions in skin. Spectroscopic skin carotenoid measurements can also serve as a noninvasive biomarker for carotenoid consumption. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in metabolic genes are associated with human plasma carotenoid concentrations; however, their relationships with skin carotenoid concentrations are unknown.

Daily Dietary Protein Distribution Does Not Influence Changes in Body Composition During Weight Loss in Women of Reproductive Years with Overweight or Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Preservation of fat-free mass (FFM) during intentional weight loss is challenging yet important to maintain a resting metabolic rate. A balanced protein distribution of 25-30 g per meal improves 24-h muscle protein synthesis, which may promote FFM maintenance and greater reductions in fat mass (FM) during weight loss in women.

Objectives: We aimed to determine whether the daily dietary protein distribution pattern during energy restriction influences changes in body composition in women of reproductive age.

The Role of Dietary Protein in Body Weight Regulation among Active-Duty Military Personnel during Energy Deficit: A Systematic Review.

Active-duty military personnel are subjected to sustained periods of energy deficit during combat and training, leaving them susceptible to detrimental reductions in body weight. The importance of adequate dietary protein intake during periods of intense physical training is well established, where previous research has primarily focused on muscle protein synthesis, muscle recovery, and physical performance. Research on how protein intake may influence body weight regulation in this population is lacking; therefore, the objective of this review was to evaluate the role of dietary protein in body weight regulation among active-duty military during an energy deficit.

Biochemical Validation of a Self-Administered Carotenoid Intake Screener to Assess Carotenoid Intake in Nonobese Adults.

Background: Epidemiological studies have demonstrated an association between carotenoid intake and health. However, an accurate measurement of carotenoid intake is challenging. FFQ is the most commonly used dietary assessment method and is typically composed of 100-200 items.

Sensitivity of Pressure-Mediated Reflection Spectroscopy to Detect Changes in Skin Carotenoids in Adults Without Obesity in Response to Increased Carotenoid Intake: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The sensitivity of commercially available devices to detect changes in skin carotenoids is not known.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the sensitivity of pressure-mediated reflection spectroscopy (RS) to detect changes in skin carotenoids in response to increasing carotenoid intake.

Methods: Nonobese adults were randomly assigned to a control (water; n = 20; females = 15 (75%); mean age: 31 ± 3 (SE) y; mean BMI: 26 ± 1 kg/m) or one of 3 carotenoid intake levels: 1) LOW - 13.

Incorporating the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Vegetable Recommendations into the Diet Alters Dietary Intake Patterns of Other Foods and Improves Diet Quality in Adults with Overweight and Obesity.

Background: Understanding how vegetables are incorporated into the diet, especially in the types and amounts recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and how this alters dietary intake patterns is vital for developing targeted behavior change interventions.

Objective: To determine how a provision of vegetables was incorporated into the diet of adults with overweight and obesity; whether or not the provided vegetables displaced other foods; and what, if any, effect this had on diet quality and body weight and composition.

Design: This study investigated secondary outcomes from the Motivating Value of Vegetables Study, a community-based, randomized, parallel, nonblinded controlled trial.

Consumption of Dietary Guidelines for Americans Types and Amounts of Vegetables Increases Mean Subjective Happiness Scale Scores: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The health benefits of diets rich in fruits and vegetables (FV) are well established. Recent observational and intervention research suggests that FV consumption may also exert a positive effect on psychological well-being.

Objective: This study aimed to assess changes in mean Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) scores in response to consuming 2010-2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommended types and amounts of vegetables.

Postnatal exercise protects offspring from high-fat diet-induced reductions in subcutaneous adipocyte beiging in C57Bl6/J mice.

Maternal low-protein and postnatal high-fat (HF) diets program offspring obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk by epigenetically reducing beige adipocytes (BAs) via increased G9a protein expression (Histone3 Lysine9 dimethyl transferase), an inhibitor of the BA marker fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). Conversely, offspring exercise reduces fat mass and white adipocytes, but the mechanisms are not yet understood. This work investigated whether exercise reduces offspring obesity and T2DM risk caused by a maternal HF diet via regulation of G9a and FGF21 expression that would convert white to BA.

Dietary Fat Chain Length, Saturation, and PUFA Source Acutely Affect Diet-Induced Thermogenesis but Not Satiety in Adults in a Randomized, Crossover Trial.

Structural differences in dietary fatty acids modify their rate of oxidation and effect on satiety, endpoints that may influence the development of obesity. This study tests the hypothesis that meals containing fat sources with elevated unsaturated fats will result in greater postprandial energy expenditure, fat oxidation, and satiety than meals containing fats with greater saturation. In a randomized, 5-way crossover design, healthy men and women ( = 23; age: 25.

Consumption of a Variety of Vegetables to Meet Dietary Guidelines for Americans' Recommendations Does Not Induce Sensitization of Vegetable Reinforcement Among Adults with Overweight and Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Food reinforcement, or the motivation to obtain food, can predict choice and consumption. Vegetable consumption is well below recommended amounts for adults, so understanding how to increase vegetable reinforcement could provide valuable insight into how to increase consumption.

Objectives: We sought to determine whether daily consumption of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendations for vegetable intake induces sensitization of vegetable reinforcement in adults with overweight and obesity.

Identification of Barriers to Adherence to a Weight Loss Diet in Women Using the Nominal Group Technique.

Background: At any given time, a majority of women are engaged in some type of weight loss diet; however, these efforts are difficult to sustain for long-term weight control. Because women are more likely to develop obesity and suffer a greater severity of obesity-related health and economic consequences, we sought to identify the key factors that make adhering to a weight loss diet difficult for overweight/obese women.

Methods: Ten nominal group technique (NGT) sessions aimed at identifying perceived barriers to adherence to a weight loss diet were conducted as part of a weight loss study for overweight/obese women ( = 33) during the controlled feeding weight loss phase.

Impact of beef consumption on saturated fat intake in the United States adult population: Insights from modeling the influences of bovine genetics and nutrition.

We sought to determine the impact of breed and finishing ration that reduces the saturated fat (SFA) content of beef on SFA intake (%E) in adults. Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2001-2016), we replaced the current fatty acid profile of beef with that from two breeds (Angus, Wagyu) and three finishing rations (pasture, 15% flaxseed supplementation, 35% wet distiller's grain (WDG) supplementation). Dietary replacement levels in the model were 10%, 25%, 50%, 100%.

Liking and Acceptability of Whole Grains Increases with a 6-Week Exposure but Preferences for Foods Varying in Taste and Fat Content Are Not Altered: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Since 2005, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans have recommended consuming at least half of total grains as whole grains (WGs) for optimal health benefits; however, consumption of WGs falls far short of recommended amounts.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of mere exposure to WGs on liking, acceptability, and consumption of WG foods and to determine if exposure to WG would influence liking and wanting for other foods varying in fat content and sweet taste.

Methods: Healthy, self-identified low WG consumers ( = 45) were randomly assigned to either a 6-wk WG intervention or a refined grain (RG) control condition during which they received a weekly market basket of grain products to incorporate into daily meals and snacks.

Increasing Chocolate's Sugar Content Enhances Its Psychoactive Effects and Intake.

Chocolate elicits unique brain activity compared to other foods, activating similar brain regions and neurobiological substrates with potentially similar psychoactive effects as substances of abuse. We sought to determine the relationship between chocolate with varying combinations of its main constituents (sugar, cocoa, and fat) and its psychoactive effects. Participants consumed 5 g of a commercially available chocolate with increasing amounts of sugar (90% cocoa, 85% cocoa, 70% cocoa, and milk chocolates).

Impact of Dietary Protein and Gender on Food Reinforcement.

Recent evidence suggests that increasing dietary protein may alter reward-driven eating behavior. However, the link between protein and food reinforcement is not known. We sought to determine the extent to which increasing dietary protein alters food reinforcement in healthy adults.

Postprandial energy metabolism and substrate oxidation in response to the inclusion of a sugar- or non-nutritive sweetened beverage with meals differing in protein content.

Background: The macronutrient composition of the diet may play a more important role in maintaining a healthy body weight and preventing obesity than previously thought. The primary goal of this research was to determine the extent to which the simple addition of a small serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) to meals with different macronutrient compositions impacts appetite, energy metabolism and substrate oxidation.

Methods: Appetite, energy metabolism and substrate oxidation were measured in 27 healthy weight adults (age = 23 ± 5 y; BMI = 23 ± 2 kg/m) on two occasions in a room calorimeter after consuming a SSB or a non-nutritive-sweetened beverage (NNSB) with a standard (15%E) or high- (30%E) protein meal.

The relative reinforcing value of sweet versus savory snack foods after consumption of sugar- or non-nutritive sweetened beverages.

The effects of sugar-sweetened (SSB) and non-nutritive sweetened (NSB) beverages on the regulation of appetite, energy intake and body weight regulation remain controversial. Using a behavioral choice paradigm, we sought to determine the effects of consuming a SSB or NSB on appetite and the reinforcing value of sweet relative to salty/savory snack foods. In a randomized crossover study, 21 healthy weight adults consumed 360 ml of SSB (sucrose; 31 g) or NSB (sucralose; 4 g) with a standardized meal.

A mobile phone food record app to digitally capture dietary intake for adolescents in a free-living environment: usability study.

Background: Mobile technologies are emerging as valuable tools to collect and assess dietary intake. Adolescents readily accept and adopt new technologies; thus, a food record app (FRapp) may be a useful tool to better understand adolescents' dietary intake and eating patterns.

Objective: We sought to determine the amenability of adolescents, in a free-living environment with minimal parental input, to use the FRapp to record their dietary intake.

Dietary protein distribution positively influences 24-h muscle protein synthesis in healthy adults.

The RDA for protein describes the quantity that should be consumed daily to meet population needs and to prevent deficiency. Protein consumption in many countries exceeds the RDA; however, intake is often skewed toward the evening meal, whereas breakfast is typically carbohydrate rich and low in protein. We examined the effects of protein distribution on 24-h skeletal muscle protein synthesis in healthy adult men and women (n = 8; age: 36.

Cancer cachexia and anabolic interventions: a case report.

Background: Standard-of-care (SOC) cancer treatments are primarily aimed at reducing size and progression of a tumor. There is a need for successful supplemental anabolic therapies to combat cancer cachexia in addition to these SOC treatment modalities. Anabolic interventions, including testosterone and amino acid supplements, may be beneficial in reducing and/or reversing muscle wasting in these patient populations.

Leucine supplementation chronically improves muscle protein synthesis in older adults consuming the RDA for protein.

Background & Aim: Protein-energy supplementation is routinely employed to combat muscle loss. However, success is often compromised by increased satiety, poor palatability, high costs and low compliance.

Methods: For 2-weeks we supplemented meals of older individuals with leucine (4 g/meal; 3 meals/day; days 2-14).

Muscle protein metabolism responds similarly to exogenous amino acids in healthy younger and older adults during NO-induced hyperemia.

The combination of increasing blood flow and amino acid (AA) availability provides an anabolic stimulus to the skeletal muscle of healthy young adults by optimizing both AA delivery and utilization. However, aging is associated with a blunted response to anabolic stimuli and may involve impairments in endothelial function. We investigated whether age-related differences exist in the muscle protein anabolic response to AAs between younger (30 ± 2 yr) and older (67 ± 2 yr) adults when macrovascular and microvascular leg blood flow were similarly increased with the nitric oxide (NO) donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP).

A randomized pilot study of monthly cycled testosterone replacement or continuous testosterone replacement versus placebo in older men.

Context: Cycling androgens has been reported by athletes to improve physical performance by enhancing muscle mass and strength, a paradigm that has not been studied, and may have clinical value in older men being treated with testosterone.

Objective: We investigated the efficacy of a monthly cycled testosterone regimen that uses half the testosterone dose as the current standard of care continuous therapy on body composition and muscle strength in older men.

Design, Setting, And Patients: Twenty-four community-dwelling older men 70 ± 2 yr of age with total testosterone levels below 500 ng/dl were randomized at the Institute for Translational Sciences-Clinical Research Center into a 5-month double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Amino acid supplementation increases lean body mass, basal muscle protein synthesis, and insulin-like growth factor-I expression in older women.

Context: Inadequate dietary protein intake has been implicated in sarcopenia.

Objective And Design: The objectives of this study were to determine whether: 1) chronic essential amino acid (EAA) supplementation improves postabsorptive muscle protein fractional synthesis rate (FSR), lean body mass (LBM), and one-repetition maximum muscle strength, and androgen receptor and IGF-I muscle protein expression; and 2) the acute anabolic response to EAA ingestion is preserved after a 3-month supplementation period. Using a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled design, older women (68 +/- 2 yr) were assigned to receive either placebo (n = 7), or 15 g EAA/d [supplemented treatment group (SUP)] (n = 7) for 3 months.