Children who eat more fruit and veggies have better mental health

September 28, 2021

Science Daily/University of East Anglia

Children who eat a better diet, packed with fruit and vegetables, have better mental wellbeing -- according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

A new study published today is the first to investigate the association between fruit and vegetable intakes, breakfast and lunch choices, and mental wellbeing in UK school children.

It shows how eating more fruit and veg is linked with better wellbeing among secondary school pupils in particular. And children who consumed five or more portions of fruit and veg a day had the highest scores for mental wellbeing.

The study was led by UEA Health and Social Care Partners in collaboration with Norfolk County Council.

The research team say that public health strategies and school policies should be developed to ensure that good quality nutrition is available to all children before and during school to optimise mental wellbeing and empower children to fulfil their full potential.

Lead researcher Prof Ailsa Welch, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "We know that poor mental wellbeing is a major issue for young people and is likely to have long-term negative consequences.

"The pressures of social media and modern school culture have been touted as potential reasons for a rising prevalence of low mental wellbeing in children and young people.

"And there is a growing recognition of the importance of mental health and wellbeing in early life -- not least because adolescent mental health problems often persist into adulthood, leading to poorer life outcomes and achievement.

"While the links between nutrition and physical health are well understood, until now, not much has been known about whether nutrition plays a part in children's emotional wellbeing. So, we set out to investigate the association between dietary choices and mental wellbeing among schoolchildren."

The research team studied data from almost 9,000 children in 50 schools across Norfolk (7,570 secondary and 1,253 primary school children) taken from the Norfolk children and Young People's Health and wellbeing Survey.

This survey was commissioned by the Public Health department of Norfolk County Council and the Norfolk Safeguarding Children Board. It was open to all Norfolk schools during October 2017.

Children involved in the study self-reported their dietary choices and took part in age-appropriate tests of mental wellbeing that covered cheerfulness, relaxation, and having good interpersonal relationships.

Prof Welch said: "In terms of nutrition, we found that only around a quarter of secondary-school children and 28 per cent of primary-school children reported eating the recommended five-a-day fruits and vegetables. And just under one in ten children were not eating any fruits or vegetables.

"More than one in five secondary school children and one in 10 primary children didn't eat breakfast. And more than one in 10 secondary school children didn't eat lunch.

The team looked at the association between nutritional factors and mental wellbeing and took into account other factors that might have an impact -- such as adverse childhood experiences and home situations.

Dr Richard Hayhoe, also from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "We found that eating well was associated with better mental wellbeing in children. And that among secondary school children in particular, there was a really strong link between eating a nutritious diet, packed with fruit and vegetables, and having better mental wellbeing.

"We also found that the types of breakfast and lunch eaten by both primary and secondary school pupils were also significantly associated with wellbeing.

"Children who ate a traditional breakfast experienced better wellbeing than those who only had a snack or drink. But secondary school children who drank energy drinks for breakfast had particularly low mental wellbeing scores, even lower than for those children consuming no breakfast at all.

"According to our data, in a class of 30 secondary school pupils, around 21 will have consumed a conventional-type breakfast, and at least four will have had nothing to eat or drink before starting classes in the morning.

"Similarly, at least three pupils will go into afternoon classes without eating any lunch. This is of concern, and likely to affect not only academic performance at school but also physical growth and development.

"Another interesting thing that we found was that nutrition had as much or more of an impact on wellbeing as factors such as witnessing regular arguing or violence at home.

Prof Welch said: "As a potentially modifiable factor at an individual and societal level, nutrition represents an important public health target for strategies to address childhood mental wellbeing.

"Public health strategies and school policies should be developed to ensure that good quality nutrition is available to all children both before and during school in order to optimise mental wellbeing and empower children to fulfil their full potential."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210928075004.htm

Study finds body mass index for children greatest in Midwest, least in West

September 1, 2021

Science Daily/University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

A study examining the body mass index (BMI) of over 14,000 children from birth to age 15 shows those in the Midwest have the highest BMI levels while kids in the West have the lowest, suggesting regional influences may play a role in the development of childhood obesity.

The study, published today in the journal Obesity, also showed a higher birthweight and lower levels of formal education among mothers was associated with higher BMI in children. Black and Hispanic children had a higher BMI than non-Hispanic white children in some, but not all, parts of the country.

"We know that home and school environments are important drivers of children's nutritional status," said the study's lead author Traci Bekelman, PhD, MPH, a research assistant professor in the Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center at the Colorado School of Public Health at CU Anschutz. "But we don't know as much about regional influences."

Obesity is a persistent problem in adults and increasingly in children. At least 35% of children are overweight or suffer from obesity. Interventions often fail so investigators in this study wanted to see if regional differenchttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210903132656.htmes could account for varying BMI levels.

"If we know the factors that affect children's body size, we can help prevent them from becoming overweight or obese," said the study's senior author Dana Dabelea, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health and director of the LEAD Center. "This study looked at factors related to children's body size, like where children live, how much they weighed at birth, and their ethnic background."

The study population was drawn from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. ECHO investigates the effects of environmental exposures on child health. In this study, that included a large sample of children from 25 community and clinic-based cohorts with longitudinal data across the US.

Researchers studied the Northeast, Midwest, South and the West. Children of differing racial groups were included and about half were girls. They measured children's height and weight between the years 2000 and 2018, then calculated BMI based on this data. The researchers also had information on race, ethnicity, neighborhood and the mother's level of education.

Overall, they found that children in the Midwest had the highest BMI followed by the Northeast, the South and the West. These differences mostly remained even after researchers took into consideration the type of people living in each region.

Bekelman said the features of the environment in each area could impact BMI. She said the team was surprised that they only found racial and ethnic differences in BMI in certain areas.

"This finding and future studies could help researchers understand the causes of health disparities," she said.

According to the study, the connection between geographical regions and BMI are not well understood, especially BMI in children. Adult data show diet quality and time doing moderate-to-vigorous exercise are higher in the West and Northeast compared to the South and Midwest, suggesting lifestyle behaviors play a role. But other studies show no regional variation in physical activity.

Then there are environmental factors including density of fast food restaurants, supermarkets and recreation facilities that have all been linked to childhood BMI. State and regional regulations for the kinds of food and drinks offered at schools and in childcare also vary widely and have been linked to BMI. But there is little evidence of regional variation.

The findings set the stage for additional studies to determine why BMI varies from place to place.

"For example, researchers could study whether children's eating habits and their physical activity levels also vary based on the area they live in," Bekelman said. "Another next step is to find out why there are racial and ethnic differences in BMI in some areas but not others."

Understanding regional influences on BMI, she said, may boost efforts to head off health disparities among populations.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210901142710.htm

Eating more plant foods may lower heart disease risk in young adults, older women

August 4, 2021

Science Daily/American Heart Association

Eating more nutritious, plant-based foods is heart-healthy at any age, according to two research studies published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association.

In two separate studies analyzing different measures of healthy plant food consumption, researchers found that both young adults and postmenopausal women had fewer heart attacks and were less likely to develop cardiovascular disease when they ate more healthy plant foods.

The American Heart Association Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations suggest an overall healthy dietary pattern that emphasizes a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, skinless poultry and fish, nuts and legumes and non-tropical vegetable oils. It also advises limited consumption of saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, red meat, sweets and sugary drinks.

One study, titled "A Plant-Centered Diet and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease during Young to Middle Adulthood," evaluated whether long-term consumption of a plant-centered diet and a shift toward a plant-centered diet starting in young adulthood are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in midlife.

"Earlier research was focused on single nutrients or single foods, yet there is little data about a plant-centered diet and the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease," said Yuni Choi, Ph.D., lead author of the young adult study and a postdoctoral researcher in the division of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis.

Choi and colleagues examined diet and the occurrence of heart disease in 4,946 adults enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Participants were 18- to 30-years-old at the time of enrollment (1985-1986) in this study and were free of cardiovascular disease at that time. Participants included 2,509 Black adults and 2,437 white adults (54.9% women overall) who were also analyzed by education level (equivalent to more than high school vs. high school or less). Participants had eight follow-up exams from 1987-88 to 2015-16 that included lab tests, physical measurements, medical histories and assessment of lifestyle factors. Unlike randomized controlled trials, participants were not instructed to eat certain things and were not told their scores on the diet measures, so the researchers could collect unbiased, long-term habitual diet data.

After detailed diet history interviews, the quality of the participants diets was scored based on the A Priori Diet Quality Score (APDQS) composed of 46 food groups at years 0, 7 and 20 of the study. The food groups were classified into beneficial foods (such as fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and whole grains); adverse foods (such as fried potatoes, high-fat red meat, salty snacks, pastries and soft drinks); and neutral foods (such as potatoes, refined grains, lean meats and shellfish) based on their known association with cardiovascular disease.

Participants who received higher scores ate a variety of beneficial foods, while people who had lower scores ate more adverse foods. Overall, higher values correspond to a nutritionally rich, plant-centered diet.

"As opposed to existing diet quality scores that are usually based on small numbers of food groups, APDQS is explicit in capturing the overall quality of diet using 46 individual food groups, describing the whole diet that the general population commonly consumes. Our scoring is very comprehensive, and it has many similarities with diets like the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Healthy Eating Index (from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service), the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and the Mediterranean diet," said David E. Jacobs Jr., Ph.D., senior author of the study and Mayo Professor of Public Health in the division of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis.

Researchers found:

• During 32 years of follow-up, 289 of the participants developed cardiovascular disease (including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, heart-related chest pain or clogged arteries anywhere in the body).

• People who scored in the top 20% on the long-term diet quality score (meaning they ate the most nutritionally rich plant foods and fewer adversely rated animal products) were 52% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, after considering several factors (including age, sex, race, average caloric consumption, education, parental history of heart disease, smoking and average physical activity).

• In addition, between year 7 and 20 of the study when participants ages ranged from 25 to 50, those who improved their diet quality the most (eating more beneficial plant foods and fewer adversely rated animal products) were 61% less likely to develop subsequent cardiovascular disease, in comparison to the participants whose diet quality declined the most during that time.

• There were few vegetarians among the participants, so the study was not able to assess the possible benefits of a strict vegetarian diet, which excludes all animal products, including meat, dairy and eggs.

"A nutritionally rich, plant-centered diet is beneficial for cardiovascular health. A plant-centered diet is not necessarily vegetarian," Choi said. "People can choose among plant foods that are as close to natural as possible, not highly processed. We think that individuals can include animal products in moderation from time to time, such as non-fried poultry, non-fried fish, eggs and low-fat dairy."

Because this study is observational, it cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship between diet and heart disease.

Other co-authors are Nicole Larson, Ph.D.; Lyn M. Steffen, Ph.D.; Pamela J. Schreiner, Ph.D.; Daniel D. Gallaher, Ph.D.; Daniel A. Duprez, M.D., Ph.D.; James M. Shikany, Dr.P.H.; and Jamal S. Rana, M.D., Ph.D.

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health; Healthy Food Healthy Lives Institute at the University of Minnesota; and the MnDrive Global Food Ventures Professional Development Program at the University of Minnesota.

In another study, "Relationship Between a Plant-Based Dietary Portfolio and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: Findings from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Prospective Cohort Study," researchers, in collaboration with WHI investigators led by Simin Liu, M.D., Ph.D., at Brown University, evaluated whether or not diets that included a dietary portfolio of plant-based foods with U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved health claims for lowering "bad" cholesterol levels (known as the "Portfolio Diet") were associated with fewer cardiovascular disease events in a large group of postmenopausal women.

The "Portfolio Diet" includes nuts; plant protein from soy, beans or tofu; viscous soluble fiber from oats, barley, okra, eggplant, oranges, apples and berries; plant sterols from enriched foods and monounsaturated fats found in olive and canola oil and avocadoes; along with limited consumption of saturated fats and dietary cholesterol. Previously, two randomized trials demonstrated that reaching high target levels of foods included in the Portfolio Diet resulted in significant lowering of "bad" cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), more so than a traditional low-saturated-fat National Cholesterol and Education Program diet in one study and on par with taking a cholesterol-lowering statin medication in another.

The study analyzed whether postmenopausal women who followed the Portfolio Diet experienced fewer heart disease events. The study included 123,330 women in the U.S. who participated in the Women's Health Initiative, a long-term national study looking at risk factors, prevention and early detection of serious health conditions in postmenopausal women. When the women in this analysis enrolled in the study between 1993 and 1998, they were between 50-79 years old (average age of 62) and did not have cardiovascular disease. The study group was followed until 2017 (average follow-up time of 15.3 years). Researchers used self-reported food-frequency questionnaires data to score each woman on adherence to the Portfolio Diet.

The researchers found:

• Compared to women who followed the Portfolio Diet less frequently, those with the closest alignment were 11% less likely to develop any type of cardiovascular disease, 14% less likely to develop coronary heart disease and 17% less likely to develop heart failure.

• There was no association between following the Portfolio Diet more closely and the occurrence of stroke or atrial fibrillation.

"These results present an important opportunity, as there is still room for people to incorporate more cholesterol-lowering plant foods into their diets. With even greater adherence to the Portfolio dietary pattern, one would expect an association with even less cardiovascular events, perhaps as much as cholesterol-lowering medications. Still, an 11% reduction is clinically meaningful and would meet anyone's minimum threshold for a benefit. The results indicate the Portfolio Diet yields heart-health benefits," said John Sievenpiper, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study at St. Michael's Hospital, a site of Unity Health Toronto in Ontario, Canada, and associate professor of nutritional sciences and medicine at the University of Toronto.

The researchers believe the results highlight possible opportunities to lower heart disease by encouraging people to consume more foods in the Portfolio Diet.

"We also found a dose response in our study, meaning that you can start small, adding one component of the Portfolio Diet at a time, and gain more heart-health benefits as you add more components," said Andrea J. Glenn, M.Sc., R.D., lead author of the study and a doctoral student at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and in nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto.

Although the study was observational and cannot directly establish a cause-and-effect relation between diet and cardiovascular events, researchers feel it provides a most reliable estimate for the diet-heart relation to-date due to its study design (included well-validated food frequency questionnaires administered at baseline and year three in a large population of highly dedicated participants). Nevertheless, the investigators report that these findings need to be further investigated in additional populations of men or younger women.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210804123607.htm

Benefits of time-restricted eating depend on age and sex

Not everyone benefits equally from TRE, but TRE has important health benefits for all

August 17, 2021

Science Daily/Salk Institute

Time-restricted eating (TRE), a dietary regimen that restricts eating to specific hours, has garnered increased attention in weight-loss circles. A new study by Salk scientists further shows that TRE confers multiple health benefits besides weight loss. The study also shows that these benefits may depend on sex and age.

Most TRE studies focus on weight loss in young male mice, but Salk scientists wanted to determine whether TRE confers additional benefits on other populations. Their findings, published in Cell Reports on August 17, 2021, show that while age and sex do affect the outcomes of TRE, the eating strategy delivers multiple health benefits for young and old of both sexes, and indicates that TRE may be a valuable intervention for type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and liver cancer, and even infectious diseases such as COVID-19, in humans.

"For many TRE clinical interventions, the primary outcome is weight loss, but we've found that TRE is good not only for metabolic disease but also for increased resilience against infectious diseases and insulin resistance," says Satchidananda Panda, a professor in Salk's Regulatory Biology Laboratory and holder of the Rita and Richard Atkinson Chair.

Glucose intolerance is the first step on a slippery slope to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and liver cancer -- one of the few cancers whose incidence and death rates have increased, rather than declined, in the past 25 to 30 years. Further, over 40 percent of Americans are already diabetic or prediabetic, with the American Diabetes Association predicting 1.5 million new cases each year. These trends make finding a simple treatment for glucose intolerance a major priority.

Breaking the conventional young-male-mice mold, the researchers fed a high-fat, high-sugar diet to male and female mice of two age groups (equivalent to 20- and 42-year-old humans), restricting eating to nine hours per day. The team ran tests to ascertain how age and sex affect the outcomes of TRE on a variety of health parameters: fatty liver disease; glucose regulation; muscle mass, performance and endurance; and survival of sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection. They also took the rare step of matching their lab conditions to the animals' circadian clocks (mice sleep during the day and rise at night), often working via night-vision goggles and specialized lighting.

Analyzing the tissues of mice on TRE to ascertain their chemical makeup and processes, the researchers found that regardless of age, sex or weight loss profile, TRE strongly protected against fatty liver disease, a condition that affects up to 100 million Americans and for which no medicine has been approved.

"This was our first time studying female mice, and we weren't sure what to expect," says first author Amandine Chaix, a former staff scientist in the Panda lab and now an assistant professor at the University of Utah. "We were surprised to find that, although the females on TRE were not protected from weight gain, they still showed metabolic benefits, including less-fatty livers and better-controlled blood sugar."

Oral glucose tolerance tests given to mice after 16 hours of fasting indicated that TRE was associated with a lower increase in blood glucose and a faster return to normal blood sugar levels in both young and middle-aged males, with a significant improvement in glucose tolerance in young and middle-aged females. Similarly, middle-aged females and males on TRE were able to restore normal blood sugar levels more efficiently than control mice, who had food available at all times. This finding indicates that TRE may be a low- or no-cost, user-friendly way to prevent or treat diabetes, and supports the results of the lab's 2019 study on TRE for metabolic syndrome in humans.

The researchers also found that TRE may protect both males and females from sepsis-induced death -- a particular danger in ICUs, especially during the pandemic. After administering a toxin that induced a sepsis-like condition in the mice, the researchers monitored survival rates for 13 days and found that TRE protected both male and female mice from dying of sepsis.

TRE didn't just protect against fatty liver disease, diabetes, and death from sepsis; it even enabled male mice to preserve and add muscle mass and improve muscle performance (the effect did not hold for females). This finding is particularly significant for the elderly, for whom improved muscle performance can help guard against falls.

This surprising discovery points to next steps and new questions for Panda's lab: Does muscle mass increase because TRE helps muscles repair and regenerate better? What is the impact of TRE on muscle metabolism and regeneration?

"These are very exciting questions for us, and we look forward to studying them in more detail," says Panda.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210817111456.htm

Adding color to your plate may lower risk of cognitive decline

July 29, 2021

Science Daily/American Academy of Neurology

A new study shows that people who eat a diet that includes at least half a serving per day of foods high in flavonoids like strawberries, oranges, peppers and apples may have a 20% lower risk of cognitive decline. The research is published in the July 28, 2021, online issue of Neurology the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study looked at several types of flavonoids, and found that flavones and anthocyanins may have the most protective effect.

Flavonoids are naturally occurring compounds found in plants and are considered powerful antioxidants. It is thought that having too few antioxidants may play a role in cognitive decline as you age.

"There is mounting evidence suggesting flavonoids are powerhouses when it comes to preventing your thinking skills from declining as you get older," said study author Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, of Harvard University in Boston, Mass. "Our results are exciting because they show that making simple changes to your diet could help prevent cognitive decline."

The study looked at 49,493 women with an average age of 48 and 27,842 men with an average age of 51 at the start of the study. Over 20 years of follow up, people completed several questionnaires about how often they ate various foods. Their intake of different types of flavonoids was calculated by multiplying the flavonoid content of each food by its frequency. Study participants evaluated their own cognitive abilities twice during the study, using questions like, "Do you have more trouble than usual remembering recent events?" and "Do you have more trouble than usual remembering a short list of items?" This assessment captures early memory problems when people's memory has worsened enough for them to notice, but not necessarily enough to be detected on a screening test.

The people in the group that represented the highest 20% of flavonoid consumers, on average, had about 600 milligrams (mg) in their diets each day, compared to the people in the lowest 20% of flavonoid consumers, who had about 150 mg in their diets each day. Strawberries, for example, have about 180 mg of flavonoids per 100 gram serving, while apples have about 113.

After adjusting for factors like age and total caloric intake, people who consumed more flavonoids in their diets reported lower risk of cognitive decline. The group of highest flavonoid consumers had 20% less risk of self-reported cognitive decline than the people in the lowest group.

Researchers also looked at individual flavonoids. Flavones, found in some spices and yellow or orange fruits and vegetables, had the strongest protective qualities, and were associated with a 38% reduction in risk of cognitive decline, which is the equivalent of being three to four years younger in age. Peppers have about 5 mg of flavones per 100 gram serving. Anthocyanins, found in blueberries, blackberries and cherries, were associated with a 24% reduced risk of cognitive decline. Blueberries have about 164 mg of anthocyanins per 100 gram serving.

"The people in our study who did the best over time ate an average of at least half a serving per day of foods like orange juice, oranges, peppers, celery, grapefruits, grapefruit juice, apples and pears," Willett said. "While it is possible other phytochemicals are at work here, a colorful diet rich in flavonoids -- and specifically flavones and anthocyanins -- seems to be a good bet for promoting long-term brain health. And it's never too late to start, because we saw those protective relationships whether people were consuming the flavonoids in their diet 20 years ago, or if they started incorporating them more recently."

A limitation of the study is that participants reported on their diets and may not recall perfectly what they ate or how much.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210729122215.htm

Could ketogenic diet be helpful with brain cancer?

July 7, 2021

Science Daily/American Academy of Neurology

A modified ketogenic diet may be worth exploring for people with brain tumors, according to a new study published in the July 7, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The diet is high in fat and low in carbohydrates.

The small study found that the diet was safe and feasible for people with brain tumors called astrocytomas. All of the people had completed radiation treatment and chemotherapy. The diet led to changes in the metabolism in the body and the brain. The study was not designed to determine whether the diet could slow down tumor growth or improve survival.

"There are not a lot of effective treatments for these types of brain tumors, and survival rates are low, so any new advances are very welcome," said study author Roy E. Strowd, MD, MS, MEd, of Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.

"These cancer cells rely on glucose, or sugar, to divide and grow. Since the ketogenic diet is low in sugar, the body changes what it uses for energy -- instead of carbohydrates, it uses what are called ketones. Normal brain cells can survive on ketones, but the theory is that cancer cells cannot use ketones for energy."

The study involved 25 people with astrocytomas. They followed a type of ketogenic diet, the modified Atkins diet with intermittent fasting, for eight weeks. The diet includes foods such as bacon, eggs, heavy cream, butter, leafy green vegetables and fish. Participants met with a dietician at the start of the study and then every two weeks. Five days a week they followed the modified Atkins diet, which combined carbohydrate restriction with high amounts of fats. Two days a week they fasted, eating up to 20% of their recommended daily calorie amount.

The main goal of the study was to see if people were able to follow the diet with no serious side effects. A total of 21 people completed the study, and 48% followed the diet completely, according to their food records. But urine tests showed that 80% of the people reached the level where their body was primarily using fats and protein for fuel, rather than carbohydrates.

The diet was well-tolerated. Two people had serious side effects during the study -- one was not related to the diet and one was possibly related.

By the end of the study, changes in the metabolism in the body and the brain were seen. Hemoglobin A1c levels, insulin levels, and fat body mass all decreased. Lean body mass increased. Specialized brain scans that detect changes in brain metabolites showed an increase in concentrations of ketones and metabolic changes in the tumor.

"Of course more studies are needed to determine whether this diet can prevent the growth of brain tumors and help people live longer, but these results show that the diet can be safe for people with brain tumors and successfully produce changes in the metabolism of the body and the brain," Strowd said.

A limitation of the study is that study team members provided a high amount of contact with participants, which may not be feasible in a larger study or in routine clinical care.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210707160516.htm

High BMI causes depression – and both physical and social factors play a role

August 9, 2021

Science Daily/University of Exeter

A largescale new study provides further evidence that being overweight causes depression and lowers wellbeing and indicates both social and physical factors may play a role in the effect.

With one in four adults estimated to be obese in the UK, and growing numbers of children affected, obesity is a global health challenge. While the dangers of being obese on physical health is well known, researchers are now discovering that being overweight can also have a significant impact on mental health.

The new study, published in Human Molecular Genetics, sought to investigate why a body of evidence now indicates that higher BMI causes depression. The team used genetic analysis, known as Mendelian Randomisation, to examine whether the causal link is the result of psychosocial pathways, such as societal influences and social stigma, or physical pathways, such as metabolic conditions linked to higher BMI. Such conditions include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

In research led by the University of Exeter and funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences, the team examined genetic data from more than 145,000 participants from the UK Biobank with detailed mental health data available. In a multifaceted study, the researchers analysed genetic variants linked to higher BMI, as well as outcomes from a clinically-relevant mental health questionnaire designed to assess levels of depression, anxiety and wellbeing.

To examine which pathways may be active in causing depression in people with higher BMI, the team also interrogated two sets of previously discovered genetic variants. One set of genes makes people fatter, yet metabolically healthier, meaning they were less likely to develop conditions linked to higher BMI, such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. The second set of genes analysed make people fatter and metabolically unhealthy, or more prone to such conditions. The team found little difference between the two sets of genetic variants, indicating that both physical and social factors play a role in higher rates of depression and poorer wellbeing.

Lead author Jess O'Loughlin, at the University of Exeter Medical School, said: "Obesity and depression are both major global health challenges, and our study provides the most robust evidence to date that higher BMI causes depression. Understanding whether physical or social factors are responsible for this relationship can help inform effective strategies to improve mental health and wellbeing. Our research suggests that being fatter leads to a higher risk of depression, regardless of the role of metabolic health. This suggests that both physical health and social factors, such as social stigma, both play a role in the relationship between obesity and depression."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210809144059.htm

Focus on emotions is key to improving heart health in people living with obesity

June 17, 2021

Science Daily/European Society of Cardiology

People living with obesity who attended a non-judgemental and personalised lifestyle modification programme improved their cardiovascular and mental health during just 10 weeks, according to a study presented today at EuroHeartCare -- ACNAP Congress 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Participants lost weight and achieved benefits in anxiety and depression and physical measurements including blood pressure.

"We focus on changing behaviours and improving people's relationship with food," said study author Ms. Aisling Harris, cardiac and weight management dietitian, Croi Heart and Stroke Centre, Galway, Ireland. "Many participants have tried diets with strict rules and have fears about foods they can't eat. Our programme has no diet or meal plan, and no foods are excluded. Each person sets their own goals, which are reviewed weekly, and our approach is non-judgemental, which builds rapport and gains trust."

"Obesity develops for multiple reasons and blaming someone for their weight can stop them from getting healthcare and advice," said Ms. Harris. "It can lead to emotional eating and feeling too self-conscious to exercise. By identifying each person's triggers, we can develop alternative coping strategies, all within the context of their job, caring responsibilities, external stresses, and so on. For some people, coming to a group like this might be the only social contact that they've had in the week or that they've had in years. People share experiences and support their peers."

Both overweight and obesity are associated with an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.2 Weight loss is recommended to reduce blood pressure, blood lipids, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and thus lower the likelihood of heart disease. This study analysed the impact of a community-based, lifestyle modification programme on the physical and mental health of people living with obesity referred from a specialist bariatric service at Galway University Hospital. The researchers reviewed data from 1,122 participants between 2013 and 2019.

The 10-week Croí CLANN (Changing Lifestyle with Activity and Nutrition) programme started with an assessment by a nurse, dietitian and physiotherapist and baseline measurements of weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, fitness, and levels of anxiety and depression. Personalised goals and a management plan were agreed in collaboration with each patient.

Participants attended a 2.5-hour session each week for 8 weeks. The first 30 minutes were devoted to one-to-one goal setting. Next was a 1-hour exercise class led by the physiotherapist. A 1-hour health promotion talk followed on topics such as healthy eating, portion sizes, reading food labels, emotional versus physical hunger, stress management techniques (e.g. meditation), physical activity, sedentary behaviour, cardiovascular risk factors, and making and maintaining changes. Participants used activity trackers and kept food diaries to identify triggers for emotional eating.

In the last week patients had an end of programme assessment with the nurse, dietitian and physiotherapist to look at outcomes. They were then referred back to the hospital.

At baseline, the average body mass index (BMI) was 47.0 kg/m2 and 56.4% of participants had a BMI above 45 kg/m2. In addition, 26.7% had type 2 diabetes, and 31.4% had a history of depression.

More than three-quarters of participants (78%) completed the programme. Psychosocial health was assessed using the 21-point Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), where 0-7 is normal, 8-10 is mild, 11-15 is moderate, and 16-21 is severe. Anxiety and depression scores decreased by 1.5 and 2.2 points, respectively, over the course of the programme. The proportion with an anxiety score greater than 11 at the start was 30.8% and reduced to 19.9%; for depression the corresponding proportions were 21.8%, falling to 9.5%.

The average reduction in body weight was 2.0 kg overall, with 27.2% of participants losing more than 3% of their initial weight. The proportion achieving recommended physical activity levels rose by 31%. There were significant reductions in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and blood pressure. The proportion with high blood pressure fell from 37.4% at baseline to 31.1% at 10 weeks. In those with type 2 diabetes, the proportion achieving the recommended blood sugar target rose from 47.6% to 57.4%.

Ms. Harris concluded: "Nearly eight in ten people finished the programme which suggests that the content and format were acceptable. We observed improvements across all psychosocial and health outcomes during a relatively short period indicating that this could be a model of service delivery for other centres."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210617082738.htm

Higher levels of omega-3 acids in the blood increases life expectancy by almost five years

A 1% increase in this substance in the blood is associated with a change in mortality risk similar to that of quitting smoking.

July 22, 2021

Science Daily/IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute)

Levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood are as good a predictor of mortality from any cause as smoking, according to a study involving the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), in collaboration with The Fatty Acid Research Institute in the United States and several universities in the United States and Canada. The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, used data from a long-term study group, the Framingham Offspring Cohort, which has been monitoring residents of this Massachusetts town, in the United States, since 1971.

Researchers have found that omega-3 levels in blood erythrocytes (the so-called red blood cells) are very good mortality risk predictors. The study concludes that "Having higher levels of these acids in the blood, as a result of regularly including oily fish in the diet, increases life expectancy by almost five years," as Dr. Aleix Sala-Vila, a postdoctoral researcher in the IMIM's Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group and author of the study, points out. In contrast, "Being a regular smoker takes 4.7 years off your life expectancy, the same as you gain if you have high levels of omega-3 acids in your blood," he adds.

2,200 people monitored over eleven years 

The study analysed data on blood fatty acid levels in 2,240 people over the age of 65, who were monitored for an average of eleven years. The aim was to validate which fatty acids function as good predictors of mortality, beyond the already known factors. The results indicate that four types of fatty acids, including omega-3, fulfil this role. It is interesting that two of them are saturated fatty acids, traditionally associated with cardiovascular risk, but which, in this case, indicate longer life expectancy. "This reaffirms what we have been seeing lately," says Dr Sala-Vila, "not all saturated fatty acids are necessarily bad." Indeed, their levels in the blood cannot be modified by diet, as happens with omega-3 fatty acids.

These results may contribute to the personalisation of dietary recommendations for food intake, based on the blood concentrations of the different types of fatty acids. "What we have found is not insignificant. It reinforces the idea that small changes in diet in the right direction can have a much more powerful effect than we think, and it is never too late or too early to make these changes," remarks Dr Sala-Vila.

The researchers will now try to analyse the same indicators in similar population groups, but of European origin, to find out if the results obtained can also be applied outside the United States. The American Heart Association recommends eating oily fish such as salmon, anchovies or sardines twice a week because of the health benefits of omega-3 acids.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210722113004.htm

Men with sensory loss are more likely to be obese

New research finds 'significant' differences between genders in role of exercise

June 8, 2021

Science Daily/Anglia Ruskin University

Men who suffer sensory loss, particularly hearing loss, are more likely to be physically inactive and obese than women, according to a new study published in the European Journal of Public Health.

Researchers analysed data from more than 23,000 Spanish adults, and examined associations with physical inactivity and obesity in people with vision and hearing loss, and explored differences between men and women.

Results suggest inactive people with hearing loss were 1.78 times more likely to be obese compared to those who did not have any hearing loss. In people who had difficulty seeing, the odds ratio is slightly smaller, with a likelihood of obesity being 1.375 times higher than those who did not report vision loss.

The association between physical activity and obesity was higher in men with hearing loss, who were 2.319 times more likely to be obese than women who reported difficulty hearing. Obesity in those with sight loss was 1.556 times higher in inactive men than women.

Those with combined seeing and hearing difficulties had the highest prevalence of physical inactivity (44.8%) and obesity (26.1%). Analysis showed a significant association between physical inactivity and obesity in men with vision or hearing loss, but not in women.

Around 62% of adults in Spain are overweight, with 26% reporting as obese. In the UK, the figures are broadly similar at around 64% and 28% respectively, suggesting strong similarities between the countries.

A total of 11.04% of the people surveyed self-reported vision loss, 6.96% reported hearing loss, and 3.93% reported suffering both vision and hearing loss.

Lead author Professor Shahina Pardhan, Director of the Vision and Eye Research Institute at Anglia Ruskin University, said: "It is clear from our study that there are significant differences between genders.

"Although women were overall less physically active than men, we found an association between physical inactivity and obesity in men, but not in women. This indicates that, especially in people with vision and hearing losses, exercise and being active has a very important role in preventing obesity for men.

"Adults, especially those with sensory losses, should be encouraged to be as physically active as possible but there are obviously challenges, strongly suggesting that intervention and encouragement would play a very important role.

"An effective strategy to increase the levels of physical activity in this population group would be through targeted intervention programmes based on health awareness on the importance of physical activity."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210608113208.htm