Physical Activity Plays an Important Role in Body Weight Regulation

Emerging literature highlights the need to incorporate physical activity into every strategy intended to prevent weight gain as well as to maintain weight loss over time. Furthermore, physical activity should be part of any plan to lose weight. The stimulus of exercise provides valuable metabolic adaptations that improve energy and macronutrient balance regulation. A tight coupling between energy intake and energy expenditure has been documented at high levels of physical exercise, suggesting that exercise may improve appetite control. The regular practice of physical activity has also been reported to reduce the risk of stress-induced weight gain. A more personalized approach is recommended when planning exercise programs in a clinical weight loss setting in order to limit the compensatory changes associated to exercise-induced weight loss. With modern environment promoting overeating and sedentary behavior, there is an urgent need for a concerted action including legislative measures to promote healthy active living in order to curb the current epidemic of chronic diseases

Prospective life cycle assessment of a flexible all-organic battery

Strong interest from researchers and industry is accelerating development of flexible energy storage technologies for future flexible devices. It is critical to consider the environmental perspective in early development of new emerging technologies. In this study, cradle-to-factory gate prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on production of an all-organic battery with conductive redox polymers as electrode material. To gain a better understanding of the environmental performance of the all-organic battery, a flexible lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery with lithium titanate oxide and lithium cobalt oxide as electrode active materials was modeled as reference. Main environmental impacts of the all-organic battery were attributable to anode and cathode production, with electrode backbones being the main contributors. Solvents, catalysts, waste treatment, energy, and bromine were key individual contributors. Comparison with the flexible Li-ion battery indicated inferior environmental performance of the all-organic battery due to its relatively low specific energy (Wh/kg) and large amount of materials needed for production of its electrode backbones. Sensitivity analysis showed that changing scaling-up parameters and the production route of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (a precursor of electrode backbones) strongly influenced the results. In order to lower the environmental impacts of the all-organic battery, future research should focus on designing a short production chain with lower material inputs of electrode backbones, increasing battery cycle life, and improving the specific energy of the battery. In addition, relevant recommendations were provided for prospective LCAs of upscaled systems

Efficacy of a liquid low-energy formula diet in achieving preoperative target weight loss before bariatric surgery

A preoperative weight loss of 8 % is a prerequisite to undergo bariatric surgery (BS) in Denmark. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a 7- or an 11-week low-energy diet (LCD) for achieving preoperative target weight before BS. A total of thirty obese patients (BMI 46·0 (sd 4·4) kg/m(2)) followed an LCD (Cambridge Weight Plan(®), 4184 kJ/d (1000 kcal/d)) for 7 or 11 weeks as preparation for BS. Anthropometric measurements including body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), blood parameters and blood pressure were assessed at weeks 0, 7 and 11. At week 7, the majority of patients (77 %) had reached their target weight, and this was achieved after 5·4 (sem 0·3) weeks. Mean weight loss was 9·3 (sem 0·5) % (P < 0·01) and consisted of 41·6 % fat-free mass (FFM) and 58·4 % fat mass. The weight loss was accompanied by a decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (7·1 (sem 2·3) and 7·3 (sem 1·8) mmHg, respectively, all P < 0·01) as well as an improved metabolic profile (8·2 (sem 1·8) % decrease in fasting glucose (P < 0·01), 28·6 (sem 6·4) % decrease in fasting insulin (P < 0·01), 23·1 (sem 2·2) % decrease in LDL (P < 0·01), and 9·7 (sem 4·7) % decrease in TAG (P < 0·05)). Weight, FFM and fat mass continued to decrease from week 7 to 11 (all P < 0·01), whereas no additional improvements was observed in the metabolic parameters. Severely obese patients can safely achieve preoperative target weight on an LCD within 7 weeks as part of preparation for BS. However, the considerable reduction in FFM in severely obese subjects needs further investigation