Energy-rich Food Research Articles

Intrauterine growth restriction and sugar consumption at two years of age in the BRISA cohort

BackgroundAlterations in insulin sensitivity in the fetus during pregnancy have been associated with IUGR and future increases in sweet food cravings.ObjectiveTo analyze the association between intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and sugar consumption at two years of age in the BRISA cohort.MethodsData from the pre-natal study and the follow-up of the BRISA cohort in the second year of life were used. The outcome assessed was sugar consumption, using three indicators: total energy from sugars, total grams of sugars and % of energy from sugars, analyzed continuously using a 24-hour recall (24 h). The exposure was IUGR, assessed as p50 and defined by the birth weight ratio (KRAMER et al., 1988), calculated by dividing the weight of the newborn by the weight corresponding to the 50th percentile of the birth weight for gestational age curve. To analyze the relationship between sugar consumption and IUGR, a propensity score based on the Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (IPTW) for continuous treatment was used. To minimize the bias due to loss to follow up, the sample was weighted by the inverse of the probability of selection.ResultsA total of 553 mother-infant pairs were analyzed. The mean birth weight was 3,291 g, with an IUGR rate of 15.19%. There was no association between IUGR and the percentage of energy intake that was derived from sugars. It was observed that infants without IUGR had a lower total energy intake of sugars (β: -11.29; 95%CI: -21.19; − 1.19) and a lower total gram intake of sugars (β: -1.89; 95%CI: -3.48; − 0.30).ConclusionIUGR infants had higher sugar intake at two years of age than non-IUGR infants, which means fetal growth restriction can affect eating behavior in later life, leading to the choice of highly palatable, energy-rich foods.

High human presence is correlated with lower faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in an urban bird population.

High human presence is correlated with lower faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in an urban bird population.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) chase prey around obstacles in virtual environments.

Apes require high volumes of energy-rich foods that tend to be patchily distributed, creating evolutionary pressures for flexible and complex cognition. Several species hunt mobile prey, placing demands on working memory and selecting for sociocognitive abilities such as predicting prey behavior. The mechanisms by which apes overcome foraging and hunting challenges are difficult to elucidate. Field investigations provide rich data sets but lack experimental control, limiting the gamut of questions they can answer, while experiments with captive subjects offer lower generalizability to real-world situations. Virtual environments (VEs) present a compromise, combining experimental specificity with proxies of realistic situations. In this study, chimpanzees and bonobos moved through a three-dimensional VE using a touchscreen. All subjects learned to chase and catch moving rabbits, some exhibiting high success rates even in the presence of large obstacles. Success in trials with a first-person (FP) viewpoint was much higher than in trials presented from overhead, suggesting that the immersive nature of FP trials helped subjects to understand their location in the environment better than when they took a top-down view. Data were analyzed using generative computational agent models, identifying that subjects occasionally employed anticipatory hunting strategies, but more often used a direct chasing strategy. This study validates the use of VEs as an experimental paradigm, demonstrating that apes can understand the behavior of moving agents in situations of varying complexity and that computational modeling can be utilized to delve into behavioral data at a fine-grained level and identify which of several cognitive strategies they fit best. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Modulation of sweet preference by neurosteroid-sensitive, δ-GABAA receptors in adult mouse gustatory insular cortex.

Modulation of sweet preference by neurosteroid-sensitive, δ-GABAA receptors in adult mouse gustatory insular cortex.

Microbiological Quality Assessment of Some Commercially Available Breads.

Bread is a staple, energy-rich food for people of all ages, so quality is important to consumers. In our region, most of the commercially available bread, whether packaged or unpackaged, is produced by local bakeries, so monitoring microbial levels and the types of microbes present on bread can help to draw attention to protect the final product. It can also help to ensure the food safety, quality, and shelf life of bread. The freshly baked product is microbiologically sterile. Post-process contamination affects the microbial load of bread. In this study, the microbial load of 30 different commercial bread crumbs and crusts was determined. The different types of bread with different compositions were analyzed for total viable bacteria, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, aerobic and anaerobic spore-forming bacteria, and culturable microscopic fungi. The K-means clustering algorithm was used to cluster the different types of bread based on the number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found in the total viable bacterial count for bread crusts and crumbs. The bacterial count of bread varied between 10.00 ± 0.00-395.00 ± 52.4 CFU/g for bread crusts and 10.00 ± 0.0-310.67 ± 94 CFU/g for bread crumbs. The results of 16S rDNA sequence analysis showed that the most frequently occurring bacterial species belonged to the genus Bacillus, but species of the genus Staphylococcus were also present. Chryseobacterium spp. predominated on multigrain bread, Marinilactobacillus spp. on rustic potato bread, and Staphylococcus warneri on sliced brown potato bread. The results contribute to a better understanding of the microbial dynamics in locally produced breads from the Eastern Carpathians of Transylvania, with the aim of improving food safety, quality control, and consumer protection.

Combining pre-fermentation and microbial electrolysis for efficient hydrogen production from food wastewater

Combining pre-fermentation and microbial electrolysis for efficient hydrogen production from food wastewater

Nutritional knowledge of in-school adolescents in Sokoto, North-Western Nigeria

Background: Good nutrition knowledge is a modifiable determinant of dietary behaviours and contributes to strengthen the skills and abilities needed to resist the environmental influences leading to poor dietary habits among adolescents. Objectives were to assess the nutrition knowledge of in-school adolescents in Sokoto, Nigeria and associated factors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of adolescents selected through multistage random sampling. Data was obtained using pre-tested semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using IBM® SPSS version 25. Results: A total of 389 subjects were recruited with a mean age of 15.46±1.67 SD and most of them 231 (59.4%) were females. Most 300 (77.1%) of the participants were Hausa, 350 (90%) were Muslims, 278 (71.5%) were from the senior class, and majority 360 (92.5%) resided in urban areas. A large proportion 312 (80.2%) of the participants had good knowledge about classes of food. Only 40 (10.3%) had good knowledge of energy rich food. Two hundred and ninety-eight (76.6%) and 89 (22.9%) had knowledge on high protein diet and good fat diet respectively. Only 107 (27.5%) had good knowledge on minerals and vitamins that are good for bone development. Majority 317 (81.5%) and 341 (87.7%) of the respondents knew eating balanced diet is important and could prevent diseases, respectively. Age category (p=0.007) was the only factor that predicted nutrition knowledge. The main source of nutrition information of the adolescents was teachers 336 (86.4%). Conclusions: Respondents had good knowledge of classes of food. There is however, the need to emphasize on teaching adolescents in the study area about specific nutrient providing meals such as energy rich food, good fat, minerals and vitamins.

HUBUNGAN PEMBERIAN ASI DENGAN KENAIKAN BERAT BADAN PADA BAYI BERAT BADAN LAHIR RENDAH (BBLR) DI RUANG NICU RSUD DR. MOHAMAD SALEH KOTA PROBOLINGGO

Low Birth Weight Babies is a baby born weighing less than 2,500 grams who was weighed from birth to the first 24 hours after birthThe research design in research was correlational analytic research. The population in this study were all LBW babies who were breastfed in February as many as 30 people in February 2023 as many as 30 people. The number of samples is 30 people with the total sampling technique. Collecting data using a questionnaire then the data is processed using SPSS using Chi-squareThe results of the analysis showed that most of the respondents were breastfed, namely 20 people (66.7%), for the baby's weight gain while being breastfed, there were 20 people (66.7%) while the results of the Chi-Square test between AS givers with an increase in baby's weight obtained a p-value of 0.000 (p-value) (smaller than 0.05) so there is a significant correlation between the variable breastfeeding and infant weight gain.One of the benefits of breastfeeding for babies can be seen from the nutritional aspect of babies. Breast milk contains many nutrients, including albumin, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, growth factors, hormones, enzymes, immune substances, and white blood cells, in the right and balanced portions. The child's weight gain is greatly influenced when the child gets adequate food intake, the energy-rich food needed by the child for the purposes of basal metabolism, growth and activity.

Population structure of exotic fish tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus P. 1852) in Vallabhsagar reservoir - a large aquatic ecosystem on western ghats of India

The present study was conducted to find out the population structure of the studied fish tilapia which provides the information on the exploitation pattern, existing growth and sustainability of the fish in the surrounding aquatic environment. The random fish scale samples (505 numbers) were collected at monthly basis during the month of November 2021 to April 2022 from different commercial fish collection center at Vallabhsagar reservoir, Gujarat for the proposed study of exotic fish tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). The findings of the study shows that fishes varied from 1+ to 5+ age classes and in which 4+ (29%) age group was dominated which followed by 2+ (26%), 3+ (25%), 1+ (12%) and 5+ (9%) of the total population. Moreover, bell shaped age pyramid of tilapia was observed by the balanced population growth due to static aquatic environment in Vallabhsagar reservoir, Gujarat. The increasing length and weight indicated that aquatic environment was favorable for Oreochromis mossambicus in study area may be due to abundance of energy rich food. This rare study in this particular area have been found very useful to evaluate the status of populations, scientific management of fisheries and stock assessment.

Cicada feast and food links: Grey-headed flying fox preys on black prince in south-East Australia

Cicada feast and food links: Grey-headed flying fox preys on black prince in south-East Australia

AARS urzymes: Experimental biochemistry to map genetic coding

AARS urzymes: Experimental biochemistry to map genetic coding Dr Charlie Carter from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill explores how advances in enzymology and phylogenetics enable biochemical measurements that could map the ancestral development of genetic coding. Chemical reactions in the cell degrade energy-rich food molecules and rearrange their chemical bonds into other molecules necessary to construct and sustain living things far from chemical equilibrium. Those reactions occur spontaneously at rates that span an extraordinary range, the fastest going up to 1025 times faster than the slowest. (1) All these reactions must be accelerated by different amounts to maintain adequate concentrations of chemical components in the cell. Enzymes perform that differential acceleration exquisitely well.

Conversion of energy and protein rich food waste as an alternative feed ingredient in broiler feed formulation.

A series of experiments were performed to find out the impact of food waste on growth attributes and performance of broilers in a tropical climate. Two hundred and fifty-one-day-old broiler chicks were randomly separated into 5 groups, where each group comprised 50 animals. The broilers were fed with five different dietary treatments. Treatment 1 (T1), the diet consisted of food waste ingredients such as sprat heads, fish offal (protein), scraped coconut, and swill cooked rice as energy supplements; dietary treatment II (T2) diet was formulated with protein rich food waste; treatment III (T3) diet formulated with energy-rich food waste; treatment IV (T4) without any food waste materials, but a diet formulated with commercially available feed ingredients; and treatment V (T5), a 100% commercially-available broiler diet. Total feed intake per week and total weight gain were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the commercial diet (T5) contrary to the formulated diets. The highest feed conversion ratio (FCR) was recorded in T3. The average dressing percentage was not significantly different (p > 0.05) in T1, T3, and T5. Average DM % in litter and DM % in feces were higher in T5, but average nitrogen % in droppings were lower in T4 and T5 compared to other diets. The study shows the potential application of food waste as an alternative feed in the broiler industry and its abundance and easy collection makes it a promising feeding regime in urban and suburban areas.

Homo medicus: The transition to meat eating increased pathogen pressure and the use of pharmacological plants in Homo.

The human lineage transitioned to a more carnivorous niche 2.6mya and evolved a large body size and slower life history, which likely increased zoonotic pathogen pressure. Evidence for this increase includes increased zoonotic infections in modern hunter-gatherers and bushmeat hunters, exceptionally low stomach pH compared to other primates, and divergence in immune-related genes. These all point to change, and probably intensification, in the infectious disease environment of Homo compared to earlier hominins and other apes. At the same time, the brain, an organ in which immune responses are constrained, began to triple in size. We propose that the combination of increased zoonotic pathogen pressure and the challenges of defending a large brain and body from pathogens in a long-lived mammal, selected for intensification of the plant-based self-medication strategies already in place in apes and other primates. In support, there is evidence of medicinal plant use by hominins in the middle Paleolithic, and all cultures today have sophisticated, plant-based medical systems, add spices to food, and regularly consume psychoactive plant substances that are harmful to helminths and other pathogens. We propose that the computational challenges of discovering effective plant-based treatments, the consequent ability to consume more energy-rich animal foods, and the reduced reliance on energetically-costly immune responses helped select for increased cognitive abilities and unique exchange relationships in Homo. In the story of human evolution, which has long emphasized hunting skills, medical skills had an equal role to play.

The Acceptability of Yellow Corn (Zea mays) Flour as the Main Ingredient in Making an Energy-Rich Food Bar (Corn Bar)

Corn is the world’s most important grain, based on the production volume. In 2016-2017, a production level around 1.07 metric tons of corn was achieved (Shahbandeh, 2017). Isabela province is the top corn producer in the country peaking its production at 1, 049, 954 metric tons. The most produced corn in the country came from the City of Ilagan and because of this it was hailed as the “Corn Capital of the Philippines”. Due to the high supply of corn in the City and the limited product produced out of corn, the researchers developed an Energy Rich Corn Bar using Yellow Corn flour as the main ingredient in the development of the product. The general objective of the study is to develop a healthy snack bar which can be served both as a snack and a dessert using corn flour as the main ingredient. The researchers tried different proportions of corn flour: T1 (100% yellow corn flour), T2 (70% yellow corn flour) and T3 (50% yellow corn flour) and baked in an electric oven. They got an overall grand mean of 4.26 and gave a qualitative description of “Highly Acceptable”. It indicates that the Corn Bar is generally “Highly Acceptable” by the evaluators. Therefore, making corn bars using corn flour is possible and acceptable.

Grazing, egg production and carbon budgets for Calanus finmarchicus across the Fram Strait

Calanoid copepods comprise around 90% of Arctic zooplankton biomass and are fundamental to the ecological and biogeochemical functioning of high-latitude pelagic ecosystems. They accumulate lipid reserves during the productive months and represent an energy-rich food source for higher trophic levels. Rapidly changing climate in the Arctic may alter the quantity and composition of the food environment for one of the key copepod species, Calanus finmarchicus, with as yet unquantified effects on its production. Here we present rates of feeding and egg production in female C. finmarchicus exposed to the range of feeding conditions encountered across the Fram Strait in May/June 2018. Carbon (C) budgets were constructed and used to examine the relationship between feeding and growth (= egg production) in these animals. C-specific ingestion rates (mean ± standard deviation) were highly variable, ranging from 0.015 ± 0.004 to 0.645 ± 0.017 day-1 (mean = 0.295 ± 0.223 day-1), and were positively correlated with food availability. C-specific egg production rates ranged from 0.00 to 0.049 day-1 (mean = 0.012 ± 0.011) and were not correlated with either food availability or ingestion rate. Calculated gross growth efficiencies (GGE: growth/ingestion) were low, 0.12 ± 0.13 (range = 0.01 to 0.39). The assembled C budgets indicate that the average fraction of ingested food that was surplus to the requirements for egg production, respiration and losses to faecal pellets was 0.17 ± 0.42. We suggest that this excess occurred, at least in part, because many of the incubated females were still undergoing the energetically (C-) expensive process of gonad maturation at the time of sampling, an assertion that is supported by the relatively high C:N (nitrogen) ratios of the incubated females, the typically low egg production rates, and gonad maturation status. Ontogenetic development may thus explain the large variability seen in the relationship between egg production and ingestion. The apparently excessive ingestion rates may additionally indicate that recently moulted females must acquire additional N via ingestion to complete the maturation process and begin spawning. Our results highlight the need for improved fundamental understanding of the physiology of high-latitude copepods and its response to environmental change.

Tolerant but facing increased competition: Arctic zooplankton versus Atlantic invaders in a warming ocean

The Arctic Ocean is rapidly changing. Air temperature is rising two to four times faster in the Arctic than the global average, with dramatic consequences for the ecosystems. Polar zooplankton species have to cope with those increasing temperatures, whilst simultaneously facing increasing competition by boreal-Atlantic sister species advected into the Arctic Ocean via a stronger Atlantic inflow. To assess the sensitivity of Arctic and Atlantic zooplankton to rising temperatures, respiration rates of dominant Arctic species (Calanus hyperboreus, Calanus glacialis, Paraeuchaeta glacialis, Themisto libellula) and their co-occurring Atlantic congeners (Calanus finmarchicus, Paraeuchaeta norvegica, Themisto abyssorum) were measured at ambient temperatures and simulated conditions of ocean warming from 0 to 10°C during three expeditions with RV Polarstern to the Arctic Fram Strait. Arctic zooplankton showed only slowly increasing respiration rates with increasing temperatures, also indicated by low Q10 ratios. In contrast, boreal-Atlantic representatives responded to higher temperatures by a rapid and steeper increase in their respiration rates (higher Q10), suggesting higher metabolic activity. These results imply that Arctic species are physiologically more tolerant to ocean warming than expected but might be outcompeted by their Atlantic congeners beyond a certain temperature threshold in areas of strong distribution overlap. Thus, the ‘Atlantification’ of the Arctic zooplankton community seems to be driven rather by ecological interactions than by physiological limitations. Changes in zooplankton community composition and biodiversity will have major consequences for trophodynamics and energy flux in Arctic ecosystems, since polar species tend to be larger than their southern counterparts and have a higher lipid content, providing more energy-rich food for higher trophic levels.

Awareness of risks and complications of obesity in school going children

Introduction: Childhood obesity is increasing in Pakistan, and it mostly occurs when there is more energy-rich food intake and not enough physical activity. Not realizing the dangers, parents often encourage the children to eat as much as possible and whatever is preferred by the child.&#x0D; Objective: To assess the level of awareness of school-going children of Peshawar about the risks and complications of childhood obesity.&#x0D; Materials &amp; Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in two private schools of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from April - July 2017, where data were collected through consecutive sampling of all available children of classes 7 to 10. Questionnaires contained open and closed-ended questions. Data were entered in SPSS 22 and Microsoft Excel, and analyzed for descriptive statistics.&#x0D; Results: Majority of children (83%) were aware of the meaning of obesity and 72% knew that obesity is an illness, and it can cause problems in their bodies. Most children (65%) thought obesity caused high cholesterol levels in the body, and 56% children thought that obesity could be controlled by exercise.&#x0D; Conclusion: Majority of the school children were aware of obesity and its risks and complications.

The Inclusion of Jujube By-Products in Animal Feed: A Review

Given the increasing demands for the quality and safety of animal-derived foods and the strict regulations on the use of antibiotics in animal feed, the use of functional feed additives has attracted increasing research and development. Jujube fruit is an energy-rich food with antioxidant, antibacterial, and antidiarrheal properties. With the expanding areas of cultivation to jujube trees and the intensive processing of jujube in Asia, especially in China, a large number of jujube by-products are produced. These by-products are used widely in animal feed for pigs, chicken, cattle, goats, and fish, as they improve growth performance, promote digestive tract health, and enhance the quality of animal products. This article reviews the nutritional components and benefits of jujube by-products and their potential incorporation in animal feed. The aim of this review is to introduce jujube by-products as a novel supplement or partial dietary replacement in the animal feed industry.

Distinct Effects of High-Fat and High-Phosphate Diet on Glucose Metabolism and the Response to Voluntary Exercise in Male Mice.

The prevalence of metabolic diseases is rapidly increasing and a principal contributor to this is diet, including increased consumption of energy-rich foods and foods with added phosphates. Exercise is an effective therapeutic approach to combat metabolic disease. While exercise is effective to combat the detrimental effects of a high-fat diet on metabolic health, the effects of exercise on a high-phosphate diet have not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we investigated the effects of a high-fat or high-phosphate diet in the presence or absence of voluntary exercise on metabolic function in male mice. To do this, mice were fed a low-fat, normal-phosphate diet (LFPD), a high-phosphate diet (HPD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 6 weeks and then subdivided into either sedentary or exercised (housed with running wheels) for an additional 8 weeks. An HFD severely impaired metabolic function in mice, increasing total fat mass and worsening whole-body glucose tolerance, while HPD did not induce any notable effects on glucose metabolism. Exercise reverted most of the detrimental metabolic adaptations induced by HFD, decreasing total fat mass and restoring whole-body glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Interestingly, voluntary exercise had a similar effect on LFPD and HPD mice. These data suggest that a high-phosphate diet does not significantly impair glucose metabolism in sedentary or voluntary exercised conditions.

Differences in Metabolic Profiles of Healthy Dogs Fed a High-Fat vs. a High-Starch Diet.

Obesity is a common problem in dogs and overconsumption of energy-rich foods is a key factor. This study compared the inflammatory response and fecal metabolome of dogs fed a high-fat vs. a high-starch diet. Ten healthy lean adult beagles were equally allocated into two groups in a cross-over design. Each group received two diets in which fat (horse fat) and starch (pregelatinized corn starch) were exchanged in an isocaloric way to compare high fat vs. high starch. There was a tendency to increase the glucose and glycine concentrations and the glucose/insulin ratio in the blood in dogs fed with the high-fat diet, whereas there was a decrease in the level of Non-esterified fatty acids and a tendency to decrease the alanine level in dogs fed with the high-starch diet. Untargeted analysis of the fecal metabolome revealed 10 annotated metabolites of interest, including L-methionine, which showed a higher abundance in dogs fed the high-starch diet. Five other metabolites were upregulated in dogs fed the high-fat diet, but could not be annotated. The obtained results indicate that a high-starch diet, compared to a high-fat diet, may promote lipid metabolism, anti-oxidative effects, protein biosynthesis and catabolism, mucosal barrier function, and immunomodulation in healthy lean dogs.