Die Bekämpfung der Adipositas in den USA

Mehr als zwei Drittel der US-Amerikaner gelten gegenwärtig als übergewichtig; ein Drittel der amerikanischen Bevölkerung ist gar so übergewichtig, dass es als adipös bzw. fettleibig eingestuft werden muss. Das Thema „obesity“ beherrscht seit einem halben Jahrzehnt die Medien und wird auf zunehmend polemische Art und Weise diskutiert. Insbesondere der Einfluss der Fastfood-Industrie auf die Adipositas-Genese ist umstritten. Über deren Verantwortung wird sowohl in populären als auch in wissenschaftlichen Diskursen spekuliert. Akribisch dokumentiertes Faktum ist, dass Nahrung im modernen Amerika ubiquitär und im Überfluss vorhanden ist. Der Bürger steht als Omnivore vor der Qual der Wahl. Die Arbeit „Die Bekämpfung der Adipositas in den USA“ widmet sich dem Ausmaß und den möglichen Ursachen der Adipositas in den USA sowie Strategien des individuellen und gesellschaftlichen Umgangs damit

Conservation and renovation of Three parks in Höganäs

The purpose of this master dissertation is to show an example of how to renovate three different parks in an area of national interest in Höganäs, Sweden aiming to deal with their heritage value as well as making them attractive to today’s user. The question formulation can be described as following: How can i as a landscape architect renovate parks with different characters conserving their existing qualities. By studying and documenting the park´s history and current usage and using methods of evaluating a park’s heritage value ( Kulturhistorisk värdering av bebyggelse, Unnerbäck 2002) i could conclude which qualities to conserve and suggest and motivate what features to add or renovate. The remains/features with high heritage value formed my basis for design. Additions such as new sitting possibilities, lightning and accessible walking paths makes the park attractive to today’s visitors. I wanted to let as many historical layers as can be to remain side by side in the park making it possible for future generation to reevaluate the establishment according to their view upon conservation. In my opinion this is typical way of handling heritage value of parks/buildings today. The three parks of Höganäs have different importance to the national interest. The “Tivolipark” is a typical city park, the “Kaptnenens trädgård” is an old private garden and the “Ruuthspark” is manly a green leftover from former building establishments. The two first parks are included in the national interest as parts of old Höganäs pattern of settlement. The third park has no connection to the national interest as a part of a pattern. Features such as the statue of Ruuth, and a chestnut alley constitutes the heritage value. The parks of Höganäs are situated in an area of national interest but only in premier parks containing high heritage value it can be motivated to make a costly archeological investigation to complete the documentation of a park. A landscape architects role can be to decide the level of ambition to be used in a renovation project of an existing park to achieve a proper focus on future design and usage

Maternal Exercise during Pregnancy Impacts Motor Performance in 9-Year-Old Children: A Pilot Study

The benefits of maternal physical activity during pregnancy are well documented, but long-term effects on the child have been less studied. Therefore, we conducted a pilot follow-up study of a lifestyle intervention during pregnancy that aimed to investigate whether exercise (endurance and strength training) during pregnancy affects motor performance and body composition of children up to 9 years of age, as well as possible influencing factors like brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and lifestyle. Eleven mother−child pairs from the intervention and eight mother−child pairs from the control group were included. From birth up to 9 years of age, no differences in body mass index (BMI) or body mass index standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) were found between the groups. Lifestyle intervention was one of the influencing factors for children’s cardiorespiratory endurance capacity and coordination. Moreover, maternal BDNF in the last trimester was significantly associated with running performance, which may be due to better neuronal development. This is the first study evaluating the effects of a lifestyle intervention during pregnancy on the motor performance 9 years after birth. Children’s participation in exercise programs over the past 9 years was not continuously recorded and therefore not included in the analysis. Even a cautious interpretation of these results indicates that a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy is essential in promoting child health. Larger studies and randomized control trials are necessary to confirm our results, especially those pertaining to the role of BDNF

Effect of Lifestyle Interventions during Pregnancy on Maternal Leptin, Resistin and Offspring Weight at Birth and One Year of Life

Lifestyle during pregnancy impacts the health of the mother and child. However, the extent to which physical activity affects maternal biomarkers and factors that might influence birth weight remains unclear. We analysed data from two lifestyle interventions in which the effects of an exercise programme (2x/week, 60–90 min) on the course of pregnancy with regard to adipokines and offspring were evaluated. A total of 70 women participated in this study (45, intervention group; 25, control group). Anthropometric data and maternal fasting serum leptin and resistin levels were measured at three time points (approximately 14th (T1), 24th (T2), and 36th (T3) weeks of gestation). Neonatal/child data were retrieved from screening examinations. Independent of the intervention, we found a positive correlation between the fat mass at T1 and both leptin and resistin levels at all time points. Leptin level was significantly higher in the control group at T3; however, no differences between the groups were found for resistin. The birth weight was influenced by the birth length, fat mass at T1/T3, and resistin level at T2. The BMI-SDS at one year of age was influenced by maternal fat-free mass at T3 and resistin at T1/T2. Even if these results can only be interpreted cautiously, lifestyle interventions during pregnancy are important in promoting maternal and child health. Further randomised controlled trials and translational studies are warranted to clarify the underlying mechanisms

Maternal Obesity Alters Neurotrophin-Associated MAPK Signaling in the Hypothalamus of Male Mouse Offspring

Purpose: Maternal obesity has emerged as an important risk factor for the development of metabolic disorders in the offspring. The hypothalamus as the center of energy homeostasis regulation is known to function based on complex neuronal networks that evolve during fetal and early postnatal development and maintain their plasticity into adulthood. Development of hypothalamic feeding networks and their functional plasticity can be modulated by various metabolic cues, especially in early stages of development. Here, we aimed at determining the underlying molecular mechanisms that contribute to disturbed hypothalamic network formation in offspring of obese mouse dams. Methods: Female mice were fed either a control diet (CO) or a high-fat diet (HFD) after weaning until mating and during pregnancy and gestation. Male offspring was sacrificed at postnatal day (P) 21. The hypothalamus was subjected to gene array analysis, quantitative PCR and western blot analysis. Results: P21 HFD offspring displayed increased body weight, circulating insulin levels, and strongly increased activation of the hypothalamic insulin signaling cascade with a concomitant increase in ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (IBA1) expression. At the same time, the global gene expression profile in CO and HFD offspring differed significantly. More specifically, manifest influences on several key pathways of hypothalamic neurogenesis, axogenesis, and regulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity were detectable. Target gene expression analysis revealed significantly decreased mRNA expression of several neurotrophic factors and co-factors and their receptors, accompanied by decreased activation of their respective intracellular signal transduction. Conclusion: Taken together, these results suggest a potential role for disturbed neurotrophin signaling and thus impaired neurogenesis, axogenesis, and synaptic plasticity in the pathogenesis of the offspring's hypothalamic feeding network dysfunction due to maternal obesity

Running Exercise in Obese Pregnancies Prevents IL-6 Trans-signaling in Male Offspring

Purpose: Maternal obesity is known to predispose the offspring to impaired glucose metabolism and obesity associated with low-grade inflammation and hypothalamic dysfunction. Because preventive approaches in this context are missing to date, we aimed to identify molecular mechanisms in the offspring that are affected by maternal exercise during pregnancy. Methods: Diet-induced obese mouse dams were divided into a sedentary obese (high-fat diet [HFD]) group and an obese intervention (HFD-running intervention [RUN]) group, which performed voluntary wheel running throughout gestation. Male offspring were compared with the offspring of a sedentary lean control group at postnatal day 21. Results: HFD and HFD-RUN offspring showed increased body weight and white adipose tissue mass. Glucose tolerance testing showed mild impairment only in HFD offspring. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, hypothalamic and white adipose tissue IL-6 gene expressions, and phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in HFD offspring were significantly increased, whereas HFD-RUN was protected against these changes. The altered hypothalamic global gene expression in HFD offspring showed partial normalization in HFD-RUN offspring, especially with respect to IL-6 action. Conclusion: Maternal exercise in obese pregnancies effectively reduces IL-6 trans-signaling and might be the underlying mechanism for the amelioration of glucose metabolism at postnatal day 21 independent of body composition

Maternal exercise conveys protection against NAFLD in the offspring via hepatic metabolic programming

Maternal exercise (ME) during pregnancy has been shown to improve metabolic health in offspring and confers protection against the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, its underlying mechanism are still poorly understood, and it remains unclear whether protective effects on hepatic metabolism are already seen in the offspring early life. This study aimed at determining the effects of ME during pregnancy on offspring body composition and development of NAFLD while focusing on proteomic-based analysis of the hepatic energy metabolism during developmental organ programming in early life. Under an obesogenic high-fat diet (HFD), male offspring of exercised C57BL/6J-mouse dams were protected from body weight gain and NAFLD in adulthood (postnatal day (P) 112). This was associated with a significant activation of hepatic AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR alpha) and PPAR coactivator-1 alpha (PGC1 alpha) signaling with reduced hepatic lipogenesis and increased hepatic beta-oxidation at organ programming peak in early life (P21). Concomitant proteomic analysis revealed a characteristic hepatic expression pattern in offspring as a result of ME with the most prominent impact on Cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase (CYP7A1). Thus, ME may offer protection against offspring HFD-induced NAFLD by shaping hepatic proteomics signature and metabolism in early life. The results highlight the potential of exercise during pregnancy for preventing the early origins of NAFLD