A survey of sports drinks consumption amongst adolescents

Background Sports drinks intended to improve performance and hydrate athletes taking part in endurance sport are being marketed to children, for whom these products are not intended. Popularity among children has grown exponentially. Worryingly they consume them socially, as well as during physical activity. Sports drinks are high in sugar and are acidic. Product marketing ignores the potential harmful effects of dental caries and erosion. Objective To investigate the use of sports drinks by children. Method One hundred and eighty-three self-complete questionnaires were distributed to four schools in South Wales. Children in high school years 8 and 9 (aged 12–14) were recruited to take part. Questions focused on use of sports drinks, type consumed, frequency of and reason for consumption and where drinks were purchased. Results One hundred and sixty children responded (87% response rate): 89.4% (143) claimed to drink sports drinks, half drinking them at least twice a week. Lucozade Sport™ was the most popular brand. The main reason for consuming the drinks was attributed to the 'nice taste' (90%, 129/143). Most respondents purchased the drinks from local shops (80.4%, 115) or supermarkets (54.5%, 78). More boys claimed to drink sports drinks during physical activity (77.9% versus 48.6% girls, P <0.001). Whereas more girls claimed to drink them socially (51.4% versus 48.5% boys, NS). Conclusion A high proportion of children consumed sports drinks regularly and outside of sporting activity. Dental health professionals should be aware of the popularity of sports drinks with children when giving health education advice or designing health promotion initiatives

The availability of novelty sweets within the high school fringe

Background Reducing sugar consumption is a primary focus of current global public health policy. Achieving 5% of total energy from free sugars will be difficult acknowledging the concentration of free sugars in sugar sweetened beverages, confectionery and as hidden sugars in many savoury items. The expansion of the novelty sweet market in the UK has significant implications for children and young adults as they contribute to dental caries, dental erosion and obesity. Objective To identify the most available types of novelty sweets within the high school fringe in Cardiff, UK and to assess their price range and where and how they were displayed in shops. Subjects and methods Shops within a ten minute walking distance around five purposively selected high schools in the Cardiff aea representing different levels of deprivation were visited. Shops in Cardiff city centre and three supermarkets were also visited to identify the most commonly available novelty sweets. Results The ten most popular novelty sweets identified in these scoping visits were (in descending order): Brain Licker, Push Pop, Juicy Drop, Lickedy Lips, Big Baby Pop, Vimto candy spray, Toxic Waste, Tango candy spray, Brain Blasterz Bitz and Mega Mouth candy spray. Novelty sweets were located on low shelves which were accessible to all age-groups in 73% (14 out of 19) of the shops. Novelty sweets were displayed in the checkout area in 37% (seven out of 19) shops. The price of the top ten novelty sweets ranged from 39p to £1. Conclusion A wide range of acidic and sugary novelty sweets were easily accessible and priced within pocket money range. Those personnel involved in delivering dental and wider health education or health promotion need to be aware of recent developments in children's confectionery. The potential effects of these novelty sweets on both general and dental health require further investigation

Constructing public health policies in post crisis countries: lessons to learn from the associations between free-sugars consumption and diabetes, obesity and dental caries before, during and after sanctions in Iraq.

BACKGROUND: This article aims to provide evidence for an informed public health policy on free-sugar consumption in post-crisis countries. METHODS: Iraq was selected as a case study. A systematic search for published data on the prevalence/incidence of type-2 diabetes, overweight/obesity, dental caries and free-sugar consumption levels in Iraq was conducted using MEDLINE, the Iraqi Academic Scientific journals and relevant international organisations' websites. Comparable data before (1980-1990), during (1991-2002) and after (2003-2015) the United Nations sanctions (UNS) were included. RESULTS: Ten studies were included. Quality scores ranged between 3 and 7/8. Free-sugar consumption decreased dramatically during the UNS (from 50 to 16.3 kg/person/year) and started increasing afterwards (24.1 kg/person/year). Changes in type-2 diabetes, overweight/obesity and caries levels mirrored those of free-sugar consumption. Caries declined markedly during UNS and started increasing afterwards. Comparable data on diabetes and overweight/obesity were only available for the periods during and after the UNS. Both of these conditions started increasing with increased free-sugar consumption after lifting the UNS. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to develop a public health policy in post-crisis countries to maintain the reduction in free-sugar consumption, and hence promote both general and dental health, by integrating the common risk factor approach into the social determinant framework

Predator Mimicry: Metalmark Moths Mimic Their Jumping Spider Predators

Cases of mimicry provide many of the nature's most convincing examples of natural selection. Here we report evidence for a case of predator mimicry in which metalmark moths in the genus Brenthia mimic jumping spiders, one of their predators. In controlled trials, Brenthia had higher survival rates than other similarly sized moths in the presence of jumping spiders and jumping spiders responded to Brenthia with territorial displays, indicating that Brenthia were sometimes mistaken for jumping spiders, and not recognized as prey. Our experimental results and a review of wing patterns of other insects indicate that jumping spider mimicry is more widespread than heretofore appreciated, and that jumping spiders are probably an important selective pressure shaping the evolution of diurnal insects that perch on vegetation

Association of candy consumption with body weight measures, other health risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and diet quality in US children and adolescents: NHANES 1999–2004

Objective : The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of total, chocolate, or sugar candy consumption on intakes of total energy, fat, and added sugars; diet quality; weight/adiposity parameters; and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in children 2&#x2013;13 years of age (n=7,049) and adolescents 14&#x2013;18 years (n=4,132) participating in the 1999&#x2013;2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Methods : Twenty-four hour dietary recalls were used to determine intake. Diet quality was determined using the Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-2005). Covariate-adjusted means, standard errors, and prevalence rates were determined for each candy consumption group. Odds ratios were used to determine the likelihood of associations with weight status and diet quality. Results : In younger children, total, chocolate, and sugar candy consumption was 11.4 g&#x00B1;1.61, 4.8 g&#x00B1;0.35, and 6.6 g&#x00B1;0.46, respectively. In adolescents, total, chocolate, and sugar candy consumption was 13.0 g&#x00B1;0.87, 7.0 g&#x00B1;0.56, and 5.9 g&#x00B1;0.56, respectively. Total candy consumers had higher intakes of total energy (2248.9 kcals&#x00B1;26.8 vs 1993.1 kcals&#x00B1;15.1, p&#60;0.0001) and added sugars (27.7 g&#x00B1;0.44 vs 23.4 g&#x00B1;0.38, p&#60;0.0001) than non-consumers. Mean HEI-2005 score was not different in total candy and sugar candy consumers as compared to non-consumers, but was significantly lower in chocolate candy consumers (46.7&#x00B1;0.8 vs 48.3&#x00B1;0.4, p&#x200A;=&#x200A;0.0337). Weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, percentiles/z-score for weight-for-age and BMI-for-age were lower for candy consumers as compared to non-consumers. Candy consumers were 22 and 26%, respectively, less likely to be overweight and obese than non-candy consumers. Blood pressure, blood lipid levels, and cardiovascular risk factors were not different between total, chocolate, and sugar candy consumers and non-consumers (except that sugar candy consumers had lower C-reactive protein levels than non-consumers). Conclusion : This study suggests that candy consumption did not adversely affect health risk markers in children and adolescents

Identifying Molecular Effects of Diet through Systems Biology: Influence of Herring Diet on Sterol Metabolism and Protein Turnover in Mice

BACKGROUND: Changes in lifestyle have resulted in an epidemic development of obesity-related diseases that challenge the healthcare systems worldwide. To develop strategies to tackle this problem the focus is on diet to prevent the development of obesity-associated diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). This will require methods for linking nutrient intake with specific metabolic processes in different tissues. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: Low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient (Ldlr -/-) mice were fed a high fat/high sugar diet to mimic a westernized diet, being a major reason for development of obesity and atherosclerosis. The diets were supplemented with either beef or herring, and matched in macronutrient contents. Body composition, plasma lipids and aortic lesion areas were measured. Transcriptomes of metabolically important tissues, e.g. liver, muscle and adipose tissue were analyzed by an integrated approach with metabolic networks to directly map the metabolic effects of diet in these different tissues. Our analysis revealed a reduction in sterol metabolism and protein turnover at the transcriptional level in herring-fed mice. CONCLUSION: This study shows that an integrated analysis of transcriptome data using metabolic networks resulted in the identification of signature pathways. This could not have been achieved using standard clustering methods. In particular, this systems biology analysis could enrich the information content of biomedical or nutritional data where subtle changes in several tissues together affects body metabolism or disease progression. This could be applied to improve diets for subjects exposed to health risks associated with obesity

Quorum Decision-Making in Foraging Fish Shoals

Quorum responses provide a means for group-living animals to integrate and filter disparate social information to produce accurate and coherent group decisions. A quorum response may be defined as a steep increase in the probability of group members performing a given behaviour once a threshold minimum number of their group mates already performing that behaviour is exceeded. In a previous study we reported the use of a quorum response in group decision-making of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) under a simulated predation threat. Here we examine the use of quorum responses by shoals of sticklebacks in first locating and then leaving a foraging patch. We show that a quorum rule explains movement decisions by threespine sticklebacks toward and then away from a food patch. Following both to and from a food patch occurred when a threshold number of initiators was exceeded, with the threshold being determined by the group size

Dietary Intake and Rural-Urban Migration in India: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Migration from rural areas of India contributes to urbanisation and lifestyle change, and dietary changes may increase the risk of obesity and chronic diseases. We tested the hypothesis that rural-to-urban migrants have different macronutrient and food group intake to rural non-migrants, and that migrants have a diet more similar to urban non-migrants. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The diets of migrants of rural origin, their rural dwelling sibs, and those of urban origin together with their urban dwelling sibs were assessed by an interviewer-administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. A total of 6,509 participants were included. Median energy intake in the rural, migrant and urban groups was 2731, 3078, and 3224 kcal respectively for men, and 2153, 2504, and 2644 kcal for women (p<0.001). A similar trend was seen for overall intake of fat, protein and carbohydrates (p<0.001), though differences in the proportion of energy from these nutrients were <2%. Migrant and urban participants reported up to 80% higher fruit and vegetable intake than rural participants (p<0.001), and up to 35% higher sugar intake (p<0.001). Meat and dairy intake were higher in migrant and urban participants than rural participants (p<0.001), but varied by region. Sibling-pair analyses confirmed these results. There was no evidence of associations with time in urban area. CONCLUSIONS: Rural to urban migration appears to be associated with both positive (higher fruit and vegetables intake) and negative (higher energy and fat intake) dietary changes. These changes may be of relevance to cardiovascular health and warrant public health interventions