Subtle changes in the flavour and texture of a drink enhance expectations of satiety

Background: The consumption of liquid calories has been implicated in the development of obesity and weight gain. Energy-containing drinks are often reported to have a weak satiety value: one explanation for this is that because of their fluid texture they are not expected to have much nutritional value. It is important to consider what features of these drinks can be manipulated to enhance their expected satiety value. Two studies investigated the perception of subtle changes in a drink’s viscosity, and the extent to which thick texture and creamy flavour contribute to the generation of satiety expectations. Participants in the first study rated the sensory characteristics of 16 fruit yogurt drinks of increasing viscosity. In study two, a new set of participants evaluated eight versions of the fruit yogurt drink, which varied in thick texture, creamy flavour and energy content, for sensory and hedonic characteristics and satiety expectations. Results: In study one, participants were able to perceive small changes in drink viscosity that were strongly related to the actual viscosity of the drinks. In study two, the thick versions of the drink were expected to be more filling and have a greater expected satiety value, independent of the drink’s actual energy content. A creamy flavour enhanced the extent to which the drink was expected to be filling, but did not affect its expected satiety. Conclusions: These results indicate that subtle manipulations of texture and creamy flavour can increase expectations that a fruit yogurt drink will be filling and suppress hunger, irrespective of the drink’s energy content. A thicker texture enhanced expectations of satiety to a greater extent than a creamier flavour, and may be one way to improve the anticipated satiating value of energy-containing beverages

Effects of the 5-HT2C receptor agonist meta-chlorophenylpiperazine on appetite, food intake and emotional processing in healthy volunteers

RATIONALE: The treatment of obesity is an increasing global health priority, yet few effective drug treatments are currently available. The discovery of novel anti-obesity therapies could be assisted by the validation of experimental (translational) medicine models in healthy volunteers that assess efficacy and safety at an early stage of drug development. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the 5-HT2C receptor agonist meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) in an experimental medicine model assessing both appetite and mood. METHODS: Using a between-subjects, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, 24 male and 24 female participants were randomly assigned to either placebo, 15- or 30-mg mCPP treatment groups. Lunch was eaten from a Universal Eating Monitor (UEM) that measured eating rate, and the participants completed the P1vital® Oxford Emotional Test Battery (ETB) and a series of appetite and mood ratings. RESULTS: mCPP reduced appetite and, in women, enhanced measures of satiation. The drug also enhanced memory for emotional material in the word recall and recognition memory tasks of the ETB. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide new insight into the effects of mCPP on appetite, satiety and memory in humans. In addition, our data provide an illustration of the value of measuring changes in appetite and mood in healthy volunteers to determine the potential efficacy and safety of novel anti-obesity drugs

Overweight at age two years in a multi-ethnic cohort (ABCD study): the role of prenatal factors, birth outcomes and postnatal factors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Childhood overweight/obesity is a major public health problem worldwide which disproportionally affects specific ethnic groups. Little is known about whether such differences already exist at an early age and which factors contribute to these ethnic differences. Therefore, the present study assessed possible ethnic differences in overweight at age 2 years, and the potential explanatory role of prenatal factors, birth outcomes and postnatal factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were derived from a multi-ethnic cohort in the Netherlands (the ABCD study). Weight and height data of 3,156 singleton infants at age 2 years were used. Five ethnic populations were distinguished: Dutch native (n = 1,718), African descent (n = 238), Turkish (n = 162), Moroccan (n = 245) and other non-Dutch (n = 793). Overweight status was defined by the International Obesity Task Force guidelines. The explanatory role of prenatal factors, birth outcomes and postnatal factors in ethnic disparities in overweight (including obesity) was assessed by logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to the native Dutch (7.1%), prevalence of overweight was higher in the Turkish (19.8%) and Moroccan (16.7%) group, whereas the prevalence was not increased in the African descent (9.2%) and other non-Dutch (8.8%) group. Although maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index partly explained the ethnic differences, the odds ratio (OR) of being overweight remained higher in the Turkish (OR: 2.66; 95%CI: 1.56-4.53) and Moroccan (OR: 2.11; 95%CI: 1.31-3.38) groups after adjusting for prenatal factors. The remaining differences were largely accounted for by weight gain during the first 6 months of life (postnatal factor). Maternal height, birth weight and gender were independent predictors for overweight at age 2 years, but did not explain the ethnic differences.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Turkish and Moroccan children in the Netherlands have 2- to 3-fold higher odds for being overweight at age 2 years, which is largely attributed to maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and weight gain during the first 6 months of life. Further study on the underlying factors of this early weight gain is required to tackle ethnic differences in overweight among these children.</p

A school-based intervention to reduce overweight and inactivity in children aged 6–12 years: study design of a randomized controlled trial

Background Effective interventions to prevent overweight and obesity in children are urgently needed especially in inner-city neighbourhoods where prevalence of overweight and inactivity among primary school children is high. A school based intervention was developed aiming at the reduction of overweight and inactivity in these children by addressing both behavioural and environmental determinants. Methods/design The main components of the intervention (Lekker Fit!) are the re-establishment of a professional physical education teacher; three (instead of two) PE classes per week; additional sport and play activities outside school hours; fitness testing; classroom education on healthy nutrition, active living and healthy lifestyle choices; and the involvement of parents. The effectiveness of the intervention is evaluated through a cluster randomized controlled trial in 20 primary schools among grades 3 through 8 (6–12 year olds). Primary outcome measures are BMI, waist circumference and fitness. Secondary outcome measures are assessed in a subgroup of grade 6–8 pupils (9–12 year olds) through classroom questionnaires and constitute of nutrition and physical activity behaviours and behavioural determinants. Multilevel regression analyses are used to study differences in outcomes between children in the intervention schools and in control schools, taking clustering of children within schools into account. Discussion Hypotheses are that the intervention results in a lower prevalence of children being overweight and an improved mean fitness score, in comparison with a control group where the intervention is not implemented. The results of our study will contribute to the discussion on the role of physical education and physical activity in the school curriculum. Trial registration [ISRCTN84383524

Is the relationship between common mental disorder and adiposity bidirectional? Prospective analyses of a UK general population-based study

The direction of the association between mental health and adiposity is poorly understood. Our objective was to empirically examine this link in a UK study. This is a prospective cohort study of 3 388 people (men) aged >= 18 years at study induction who participated in both the UK Health and Lifestyle Survey at baseline (HALS-1, 1984/1985) and the re-survey (HALS-2, 1991/1992). At both survey examinations, body mass index, waist circumference and self-reported common mental disorder (the 30-item General Health Questionnaire, GHQ) were measured. Logistic regression models were used to compute odds ratios (OR) and accompanying 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between (1) baseline common mental disorder (QHQ score > 4) and subsequent general and abdominal obesity and (2) baseline general and abdominal obesity and re-survey common mental disorders. After controlling for a range of covariates, participants with common mental disorder at baseline experienced greater odds of subsequently becoming overweight (women, OR: 1.30, 1.03 - 1.64; men, 1.05, 0.81 -1.38) and obese (women, 1.26, 0.82 - 1.94; men, OR: 2.10, 1.23 - 3.55) than those who were free of common mental disorder. Similarly, having baseline common mental health disorder was also related to a greater risk of developing moderate (1.57, 1.21 - 2.04) and severe (1.48, 1.09 - 2.01) abdominal obesity (women only). Baseline general or abdominal obesity was not associated with the risk of future common mental disorder. These findings of the present study suggest that the direction of association between common mental disorders and adiposity is from common mental disorder to increased future risk of adiposity as opposed to the converse

Clinical classification of cancer cachexia:phenotypic correlates in human skeletal muscle

Aim – To relate muscle phenotype to a range of current diagnostic criteria for cancer cachexia Methods – 41 patients with resectable upper gastrointestinal (GI) or pancreatic cancer underwent characterisation for cachexia based on weight-loss (WL) and / or low muscularity (LM). Four diagnostic criteria were used >5%WL, >10% WL, LM, and LM + >2%WL. Patients underwent biopsy of the rectus muscle. Analysis included immunohistochemistry for fibre size and type, protein and nucleic acid concentration, and Western blots for markers of autophagy, SMAD signalling, and inflammation. Results – Compared with non-cachectic cancer patients, if patients were classified by LM or LM + >2%WL, mean muscle fibre diameter was significantly reduced (p = 0.02 and p = 0.001) repectively. No difference in fibre diameter was observed if patients were classified with WL alone. Regardless of classification, there was no difference in fibre number or proportion of fibre type across all myosin heavy chain isoforms. Mean muscle protein content was reduced and the ratio of RNA/DNA decreased if patients were classified by either >5% WL or LM + >2%WL. Compared with non-cachectic patients, when patients were classified according to >5% WL, SMAD3 protein levels were increased (p=0.022) and with >10% WL, beclin (p = 0.05) and ATG5 (p = 0.01) protein levels were also increased. There were no differences in pNFkB or pSTAT3 levels across any of the groups. Conclusions – Whereas fibre type is not targeted selectively, muscle fibre size, biochemical composition and pathway phenotype can vary according to whether the criteria for cachexia include both a measure of low muscularity and weight loss