A História da Alimentação: balizas historiográficas

Os M. pretenderam traçar um quadro da História da Alimentação, não como um novo ramo epistemológico da disciplina, mas como um campo em desenvolvimento de práticas e atividades especializadas, incluindo pesquisa, formação, publicações, associações, encontros acadêmicos, etc. Um breve relato das condições em que tal campo se assentou faz-se preceder de um panorama dos estudos de alimentação e temas correia tos, em geral, segundo cinco abardagens Ia biológica, a econômica, a social, a cultural e a filosófica!, assim como da identificação das contribuições mais relevantes da Antropologia, Arqueologia, Sociologia e Geografia. A fim de comentar a multiforme e volumosa bibliografia histórica, foi ela organizada segundo critérios morfológicos. A seguir, alguns tópicos importantes mereceram tratamento à parte: a fome, o alimento e o domínio religioso, as descobertas européias e a difusão mundial de alimentos, gosto e gastronomia. O artigo se encerra com um rápido balanço crítico da historiografia brasileira sobre o tema

An exercise trial targeting African-American women with metabolic syndrome and at high risk for breast cancer: Rationale, design, and methods

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome and obesity are known risk factors for breast cancers. Exercise interventions can potentially modify circulating biomarkers of breast cancer risk but evidence in African-Americans and women with metabolic syndrome is lacking. METHODS / DESIGN: The Focused Intervention on Exercise to Reduce CancEr (FIERCE) trial is a prospective, 6- month, 3-arm, randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of exercise on obesity, metabolic syndrome components, and breast cancer biomarkers among African-American women at high risk of breast cancer. Two hundred-forty inactive women with metabolic syndrome and absolute risk of breast cancer ≥ 1.40 will be randomized to one of the three trial arms: 1) a supervised, facility-based exercise arm; 2) a home-based exercise arm; and 3) a control group that maintains physical activity levels through the course of the trial. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, 3, and 6 months. The primary outcome variables are anthropometric indicators of obesity, metabolic syndrome components, and inflammatory, insulin-pathway, and hormonal biomarkers of breast cancer risk. DISCUSSION: The FIERCE trial will provide evidence on whether a short-term exercise intervention might be effective in reducing breast cancer risk among African-American women with comorbidities and high breast cancer risk - a group traditionally under-represented in non-therapeutic breast cancer trials

Obesity, body fat distribution, and risk of breast cancer subtypes in African American women participating in the AMBER Consortium

PURPOSE: African American (AA) women are more likely than white women to be obese and to be diagnosed with ER- and triple negative (TN) breast cancer, but few studies have evaluated the impact of obesity and body fat distribution on breast cancer subtypes in AA women. We evaluated these associations in the AMBER Consortium by pooling data from four large studies. METHODS: Cases were categorized according to hormone receptor status as ER+, ER-, and TN (ER-, PR-, and HER2-) based on pathology data. A total of 2,104 ER+ cases, 1,070 ER- cases (including 491 TN cases), and 12,060 controls were included. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed using logistic regression, taking into account breast cancer risk factors. RESULTS: In postmenopausal women, higher recent (most proximal value to diagnosis/index date) BMI was associated with increased risk of ER+ cancer (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.02–1.67 for BMI≥35 vs <25 kg/m2) and with decreased risk of TN tumors (OR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.39–0.93 for BMI≥35 vs. <25). High young adult BMI was associated with decreased premenopausal ER+ cancer and all subtypes of postmenopausal cancer, and high recent waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) with increased risk of pre-menopausal ER+ tumors (OR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.01–1.80) and all tumor subtypes combined in postmenopausal women (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.02–1.56). CONCLUSIONS: The impact of general and central obesity varies by menopausal status and hormone receptor subtype in AA women. Our findings imply different mechanisms for associations of adiposity with TN and ER+ breast cancers