Amount Of Food Intake Research Articles

Protective and Therapeutic Effects of Aloe Vera Gel on Ulcerative Colitis Induced by Acetic Acid in Rats.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic intestinal inflammation. Common clinical symptoms are weight loss, diarrhea, ulcers, and inflammation. Aloe vera (AV) has several medicinal properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory analgesic, and improvement of gastric and skin ulcers. This study aimed to investigate the protective and therapeutic effects of AV gel on acetic acid-induced UC in rats. UC was induced in 48 rats by injection of 4% acetic acid into the rectum. Protective and treatment groups received treatments 7 days before and after the induction of colitis, respectively. The negative control group, the positive control group, and AV groups received distilled water, sulfasalazine, and 50 and 300 mg/kg of gel extract, respectively. Water and food intake and body weight changes were recorded. The extent of the mucosal ulcers, colon tissue thickening, and mucosal bleeding were scored by the Gerald classification system score (microscopy observations). Slides of tissues were prepared for pathologic assay using the modified Wallace method (macroscopic observations). The results of the macroscopic and microscopic examination showed protective and therapeutic effects of 50 mg/kg dose of AV on acetic acid-induced colitis in rats which reduces the inflammation, ulcers and tissue damage compared with negative control (p < 0.05). There were no significant changes in the amount of water and food intake, body weight changes, and colon weight in protective and treatment groups. Based on the results, AV gel could be used to improve the symptoms of UC, as well as prevent people who are susceptible to the UC.

Alcorexia - psychosocial determinants of the eating disorder

Although alcorexia has not yet been formally classified as a disease entity, it is a serious, complex health problem. Alcorexia belongs to behavioral eating disorders and consists in restricting the amount of food intake in order to increase the ability of drinking alcohol without fear of gaining weight. As far as so called traditional eating disorders are usually motivated by a latent desire to be lean and control your body, alcorexia appears to be motivated by the desire to drink large amounts of alcohol along with the desire to be slim. As the disorder is progressing, the situation may change, both in the direction of anorexia as well as addiction to alcohol. For the purposes of this article, I use the term "alcorexia," but it should be added that the term is used interchangeably with such terms as drunkorexia, alcoholic anorexia, or alcoholic bulimia.

Eating Jet Lag: A Marker of the Variability in Meal Timing and Its Association with Body Mass Index.

The timing of food intake has been associated with obesity and adverse metabolic outcomes, independently of the amount or content of food intake and activity level. However, the impact of the variability in the timing of food intake between weekends and weekdays on BMI (body mass index) remains unexplored. To address that, we propose to study a marker of the variability of meal timing on weekends versus weekdays (denominated as ‘eating jet lag’) that could be associated with increments in BMI. This cross-sectional study included 1106 subjects (aged 18–25 years). Linear regression models were used to examine the associations of eating jet lag with BMI and circadian related variables (including chronotype, eating duration, sleep duration, and social jet lag). Subsequently, a hierarchical multivariate regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the association of eating jet lag with BMI was independent of potentially confounding variables (e.g., chronotype and social jet lag). Moreover, restricted cubic splines were calculated to study the shape of the association between eating jet lag and BMI. Our results revealed a positive association between eating jet lag and BMI (p = 0.008), which was independent of the chronotype and social jet lag. Further analysis revealed the threshold of eating jet lag was of 3.5 h or more, from which the BMI could significantly increase. These results provided evidence of the suitability of the eating jet lag, as a marker of the variability in meal timing between weekends and weekdays, for the study of the influence of meal timing on obesity. In a long run, the reduction of the variability between meal timing on weekends versus weekdays could be included as part of food timing guidelines for the prevention of obesity among general population.

Butyrate attenuated fat gain through gut microbiota modulation in db/db mice following dapagliflozin treatment

We investigated the effect of a combination treatment with dapagliflozin (Dapa), a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor and butyrate on weight change in db/db mice. Six-week-old male db/db mice were assigned to four groups: vehicle with normal chow diet (NCD), Dapa with NCD, vehicle with 5% sodium butyrate-supplemented NCD (NaB), or Dapa with 5% NaB. After six weeks of treatment, faecal microbiota composition was analysed by sequencing 16S ribosomal RNA genes. In the vehicle with NaB and Dapa + NaB groups, body weight increase was attenuated, and amount of food intake decreased compared with the vehicle with the NCD group. The Dapa + NaB group gained the least total and abdominal fat from baseline. Intestinal microbiota of this group was characterized by a decrease of the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio, a decrease of Adlercreutzia and Alistipes, as well as an increase of Streptococcus. In addition, the proportion of Adlercreutzia and Alistipes showed a positive correlation with total fat gain, whereas Streptococcus showed a negative correlation. Inferred metagenome function revealed that tryptophan metabolism was upregulated by NaB treatment. We demonstrated a synergistic effect of Dapa and NaB treatment on adiposity reduction, and this phenomenon might be related to intestinal microbiota alteration.

ARM-based Behavior Tracking and Identification System for Grouphoused Pigs

Background: A smart monitoring system is essential to improve the quality of pig farming. A real-time monitoring system provides growth, health and food information of pigs while the manual monitoring method is inefficient and produces stress on pigs, and the direct contact between human and pig body increases diseases. Methods: In this paper, an ARM-based embedded platform and image recognition algorithms are proposed to monitor the abnormality of pigs. The proposed approach provides complete information on in-house pigs throughout the day such as eating, drinking, and excretion behaviors. The system records in detail each pig's time to eat and drink, and the amount of food and water intake. Results: The experimental results show that the accuracy of the proposed method is about 85%, and the effect of the technique has a significant advantage over traditional behavior detection methods. Conclusion: Therefore, the ARM-based behavior recognition algorithm has certain reference significance for the fine group aquaculture industry. The proposed approach can be used for a central monitoring system.

Menu Recommendation System Using Smart Plates for Well-balanced Diet Habits of Young Children

A well-balanced diet habit of a wide variety of foods and adequate nutrition can help to maintain proper growth and healthy life for young children. In Korea, young children aged 3 to 6 years use their own plates to eat lunch served in the kindergarten or childcare facilities. In this paper, we propose a smart plate that can easily measure how much food children have eaten. The smart plate has five load cell sensors to measure the weight of five places. Using them, the amount of food intake can be determined by measuring the weight of food before and after meals, respectively. This helps to know which foods young children prefer and which foods they do not prefer and identifies nutritional deficiencies in them. In addition, long-term accumulated data can be used to predict the growth index of young children. Finally, menus are recommended based on the nutrition facts consumed on a monthly basis by analyzing nutrition ingredients that were insufficient or excessive for children.

Addition Of Sauce Enhances Finger-Snack Intake Among Japanese Elderly People With Dementia.

PurposeThe previous study demonstrated that the addition of a sauce is an effective means of influencing the consumption of finger foods among French elderly people with dementia. However, it is unclear the relative importance of low-level sensory factors such as flavor and a semi-solid nature and high-level cognitive factors such as memory stimulation and familiarity to the effect of the addition of sauce on food intake. The present study investigated whether the addition of sauce affects finger-snack intake among Japanese elderly people with dementia who were not familiar with sauce dipping.Patients And MethodsA total of 21 patients with dementia who were recruited in a nursing home in Tokyo received a plate of cut baumkuchen (a very thinly layered German roll cake), which had pieces of baumkuchen both with and without sauce, at their afternoon snack time. The amount of food intake and the first choice between options were measured for each participant. We used chocolate (in Experiment 1, n = 21) and agave (Experiment 2, n =14) syrups as sauce samples.ResultsResults of both experiments demonstrate that snack consumption was greater for the with-sauce options than for the without-sauce options. A 90.5% of the participants in Experiment 1 and 64.3% of participants in Experiment 2 ate more snacks with sauce than without sauce.ConclusionThese findings imply that low-level sensory factors such as flavor and a semi-solid nature contribute relatively more strongly to the enhancement of food consumption with the addition of sauce than do high-level cognitive factors such as memory stimulation and familiarity, because Japanese elderly people are not always familiar with the custom of wiping up the sauce with food.

The effect of fixation plate use on bone healing during the reconstruction of mandibular defects.

ObjectivesThis study sought to compare efficiency results between the use of a customized implant (CI) and a reconstruction plate (RP) in mandibular defect reconstruction in an animal model.Materials and MethodsFifteen rabbits underwent surgery to create a defect in the right side of the mandible and were randomly divided into two groups. For reconstruction of the mandibular defect, the RP group (n=5) received five-hole mini-plates without bone grafting and the CI group (n=10) received fabricated CIs based on the cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) data taken preoperatively. The CI group was further divided into two subgroups depending on the time of CBCT performance preoperatively, as follows: a six-week CI (6WCI) group (n=5) and a one-week CI (1WCI) group (n=5). Daily food intake amount (DFIA) was measured to assess the recovery rate. Radiographic images were acquired to evaluate screw quantity. CBCT and histological examination were performed in the CI subgroup after sacrifice.ResultsThe 1WCI group showed the highest value in peak average recovery rate and the fastest average recovery rate. In terms of reaching a 50% recovery rate, the 1WCI group required the least number of days as compared with the other groups (2.6±1.3 days), while the RP group required the least number of days to reach an 80% recovery rate (7.8±2.2 days). The 1WCI group showed the highest percentage of intact screws (94.3%). New bone formation was observed in the CI group during histological examination.ConclusionRabbits with mandibular defects treated with CI showed higher and faster recovery rates and more favorable screw status as compared with those treated with a five-hole mini-plate without bone graft.

Analgesic treatment limits surrogate parameters for early stress and pain response after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage

BackgroundIn animal research, authorities require a classification of anticipated pain levels and a perioperative analgesia protocol prior to approval of the experiments. However, data on this topic is rare and so is the reported use of analgesics. We determined surrogate parameters of pain and general well-being after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), as well as the potential for improvement by different systemic analgesia paradigms. Brain injury was induced by filament perforation to mimic SAH. Sham-operated mice were included as surgical control groups with either neck or no-neck preparation. Mice with controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury were included as a control group with traumatic brain injury (TBI), but without neck preparation. Mice were randomized to buprenorphine, carprofen, meloxicam, or vehicle treatment. 24 h after SAH, CCI or sham surgery, pain and stress levels were assessed with a visual assessment score and the amount of food intake was recorded.ResultsNeck preparation, which is required to expose the surgical field for SAH induction, already increased pain/stress levels and sham surgeries for both CCI and SAH reduced food intake. Pain/stress levels were higher and food intake was lower after SAH compared with CCI. Pain/stress levels after CCI without analgesic treatment were similar to levels after SAH sham surgery. Pain treatment with buprenorphine was effective to reduce pain after SAH, whereas lower pain/stress intensity levels after CCI were not improved.ConclusionThis study emphasizes the importance of pain and stress assessment after surgeries and the efficacy of buprenorphine to improve pain and comfort levels after experimental SAH.

The impact of lighting and table linen as ambient factors on meal intake and taste perception

Many ambient variables appear to impact amount and duration of food intake as well as taste perception. Two studies were conducted to determine whether changing light intensity has an impact on meal duration and volume as well as sensory and qualitative aspects of tomato soup in an experimental setting. Using a randomized crossover design in study 1, 66 participants were served tomato soup twice, under dimmed and bright light. In study 2, 159 participants were assigned to one of four randomization groups. A 2 × 2 design as a group setting was chosen adding a tablecloth as another ambient component. In both studies, participants assessed the soups’ appearance, sensory attributes, and the overall taste, quality and consistency on 100 mm visual analog scales. Meal duration and amount were also assessed. In study 1, there were no significant differences in amount, duration and sensory attributes between lighting conditions, except for the saltiness of the soup which was perceived as saltier under the low light condition (p = 0.019). In study 2, participants ate more, longer and rated sensory attributes and quality higher when seated with tablecloth. The longest duration, highest amount and quality were observed in the dimmed light condition with tablecloth. The tablecloth seemed to have a higher impact on food amount, meal duration and overall taste perception than lighting condition. The results suggest that single ambience factors such as lighting might only play a role in food intake and perception in combination with other ambient factors, such as decorative aspects.

Characteristics of sarcopenia after distal gastrectomy in elderly patients.

Presence of preoperative sarcopenia is a risk factor for postoperative complications. However, there are few reports on the presence of sarcopenia and its characteristics following gastrectomy. Sarcopenia is closely related to quality of life in elderly people. To date, the main purpose of follow-up after gastrectomy is surveillance for early detection of recurrence and secondary cancer. However, henceforth, quality of life in elderly gastric cancer patients after gastrectomy must also be evaluated. The present study aimed to investigate sarcopenia during a 1-year postoperative course in elderly gastric cancer patients and examine their characteristics. The subjects were 50 patients aged ≥70 years who underwent laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer and who experienced no recurrence 1 year postoperatively. Height, weight, serum albumin levels, food intake amount, grip strength, gait speed, visceral fat area, and appendicular skeletal muscle mass index were measured preoperatively and 6 months and 1 year postoperatively. Sarcopenia, obesity, and visceral obesity were diagnosed. Compared with preoperatively, indicators other than height decreased 6 months postoperatively. Compared with 6 months postoperatively, body weight, amount of food intake, and visceral fat area increased by 1 year postoperatively, unlike appendicular skeletal muscle mass index. The frequency of sarcopenia increased 6 months postoperatively compared with preoperatively; this frequency remained almost unchanged 1 year postoperatively compared with 6 months postoperatively. Further, the frequency of visceral obesity increased 1 year postoperatively compared with 6 months postoperatively. Weight increased after > 6 months postoperatively; however, most of the weight increase was in terms of fat and not muscle. We emphasize the importance of considering postoperative sarcopenia and visceral obesity. In particular, sarcopenia and visceral obesity should be carefully monitored after increases in body mass index and food consumption.

Prevalence and associated factors of childhood overweight/obesity among primary school children in urban Nepal

BackgroundChildhood overweight/obesity has become a major public health concern globally because of its adverse health consequences and escalating prevalence. The factors underlying the disease conditions manifested during adulthood commonly originate in childhood. Nepal is going through a transition where under-nutrition co-exists with obesity; however, there is a lack of well-documented information on childhood overweight or obesity in Nepal. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence and associated factors of childhood overweight/obesity among urban primary school children.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted from May to October of 2017. Behavioral data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire with parents of children aged 6–13 years old in grades 1–5 studying in private schools of Lalitpur district in Nepal. Study participants were selected using two-stage cluster random sampling from 10 private schools. Height and weight measurements of 575 children were taken and BMI-for-age-sex was calculated using WHO AnthroPlus. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Associated factors were examined using Chi-square tests followed by multivariate logistic regression analyses.ResultsThe study found that out of 575 students, 107 (18.6%) were overweight and 41 (7.1%) were obese. Among 328 male children, 62 (19.0%) were overweight and 35 (10.6%) were obese. Likewise, among 247 female children, 45 (18.2%) were overweight and 6 (2.4%) were obese. Male children (aOR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.38–3.53), children of mothers with a high school (aOR = 3.13, 95% CI: 1.39–7.12) or university level of education (aOR = 3.09, 95% CI: 1.23–7.70) and children of mothers in a professional field (aOR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.02–4.05) had a greater likelihood of being overweight/obese. Likewise, students consuming energy-dense less nutrient food (aOR = 2.92, 95% CI: 1.66–5.12), lacking active travel to and from school (aOR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.12–4.79) and those having sedentary behaviors (aOR = 3.01, 95% CI: 1.20–7.29) were likely to be overweight/obese.ConclusionsMore than one-quarter of the children in urban Lalitpur were found to be overweight/obese. High junk food consumption and sedentary activity were found to be significantly associated with childhood overweight/obesity. School health and awareness programs aiming to reduce the intake of energy-dense foods and promote an active lifestyle including active transportation to school among children are imperative. Future studies to objectively measure the type and amount of food intake and physical activity of students are recommended.

Following the cultural norms as an effort to protect the mother and the baby during the perinatal period: An ethnographic study of women's food choices

An ethnographical approach was applied to explore cultural practices that influence women's consumption behavior in the perinatal period in Pulau Godang Kari, a village in Riau, Indonesia. This study involved 27 participants consisting of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, family members, a traditional birth attendant, a midwife, and community leaders. This study used observation, focus group discussion, and interviews and applied thematic data analysis. The findings identified some rules and taboos about food consumed during the perinatal period. There are "good" and "bad" foods to consume, as well as the prescribed time for restriction and amount of food intake. Pregnant women choose to conform to the beliefs to protect themselves and the baby. Culture has a strong influence on food choice decision-making. These findings highlight that family participation in perinatal care is essential to address.

Target of rapamycin (TOR) determines appendage size during pupa formation of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum

The adult body size is species-specific and controlled by complex interactions between hormones and the IIS/TOR pathway. To analyze the role of target of rapamycin (TOR) in the growth and development of the insect, expression levels of TOR were silenced in the model and pest insect red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Injection of dsRNA into the last larval instar decreased pupal mass and size, while the amount of food intake by the larvae was not affected. These results place TcTOR downstream of nutrition as a transducer for nutritional signals to increase larval growth. In addition, TcTOR-silencing notably decreased the size of the adult appendages. Analysis of the wings and elytra revealed a decrease in cell size and number of these appendages in the TcTOR-silenced insects. This reduction in size was correlated with a decrease of transcriptional levels of marker genes controlling the cell cycle. Altogether, these results suggest a pivotal role for TcTOR in integrating nutritional signals and regulation of body and appendages growth.

Short sleep duration is associated with specific food intake increase among school-aged children in China: a national cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe relationship between sleep duration and food intake is unclear. This study aims to examine the relationship among children aged 6–17 years in China.MethodsThe sample consisted of 70,519 children aged 6–17 years, which were randomly selected from 7 representative areas from China, from September to November, 2013. In the structured questionnaire, children reported daily sleep hours (less than 7 h, 7–9 h and more than 9 h), weekly food intake amount (including vegetables, fruit, sugar beverages and meat), physical activity and sedentary time. The relationship of sleep duration with vegetable, sugar beverage, fruit and meat intake was evaluated by multi-nominal logistic regression and multi-variable adjusted.ResultsA total of 62,517 children (51.6% boys) completed the study. Short sleep duration (SSD, < 7 h) was independently associated with increased sugar beverage intake (SBI, Odd Ratio, OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.19–1.40) but decreased vegetable (VI, OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.90–0.98) & fruit intake (FI, OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.88–0.99). Stratified by age and gender, SSD increased SBI for boys of both young (6–12 years) & older (13–17 years) groups and older girls (ORs: 1.25, 1.25, 1.49, 95% CI: 1.08–1.44, 1.04–1.50, 1.22–1.81, respectively), but decreased VI and FI for older girls (ORs: 0.84& 0.81, 95% CI: 0.74–0.96& 0.68–0.96, respectively).ConclusionsAmong school-aged children in China, short sleep duration was associated with increased risks of more sugar beverage intake among those younger and boys but less vegetable & fruit intake among those older and girls. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify the causation in between.

Histological impact of nutritional style alteration in mice

Objectives: It is well established that diet and lifestyle are important in maintenance of healthy. Transition from a plant-based diet mostly to a high-calorie diet of animal products might raise the chronic diseases which called “degenerative”. This work aimed to study the histopathological effect of transition from complete plant-based diet to 10% animal products (sheep’s brain) on various body organs of mice.&#x0D; Methods: Eight-week old Balb/c male mice were divided into 2 groups (n=8); the first is restricted group in which mice were fed on restricted diet containing 10% of sheep’s brain homogenate, while the second is the control group in which fed on ad libitum on the diet for 7 days. During the duration of experiment, body weight and the amount of food intake were recorded daily, then at the end of experiment, all mice were sacrificed and various organs were obtained and processed for histopathological study.&#x0D; Results: the results showed that food intake by each mouse of restricted group are significantly lower than in control group. Although the mean of body weight in both groups revealed non-significant difference, the relative weight of various organs showed significant differences. On the other hand, sever histological changes were detected in all studied organs sections of restricted group.&#x0D; Conclusion: It can be concluded that changing in nutritional style rather than conventional diet play a crucial role in modifying the architectural aspects of different organs at tissue level. Therefore, these findings need further investigation at cellular, physiological, and molecular levels.

SUN-115 Role of Olfactory Marker Protein in High-Fat, Diet-Induced Obese Models

Obesity causes chronic diseases such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and stroke, which increase the mortality rate. Among the various studies on obesity, the role of the olfactory system to regulate energy homeostasis has been recently studied. Olfactory marker protein (OMP) is a cytoplasmic protein expressed primarily in mature chemosensory neurons in the main olfactory epithelium and involved in the olfactory receptor (OR)-mediated signal transduction cascade with olfactory canonical signaling components. Recently, the expression of OR-associated components including OMP has been observed in non-olfactory tissues where there are involved in monitoring extracellular ligands. In this study, we evaluated the role of OMP on development of obesity. We confirmed that non-olfactory OMP is expressed specifically in white adipose tissue, brown adipose tissue, and Liver of mice, as well as in 3T3-L1 cell line. To determine whether OMP mediates diet-induced obesity, we examined the influence of high-fat diet (HFD) on the wild type C57/BL6 mice and OMP knock-out (KO) mice. The amount of food intake was similar in both wild-type and mutants. Although there was no difference in normal chow diet fed mice, the KO mice gained less weight than wild-type mice in HFD condition. While there was no difference in lean body mass, fat mass was significantly reduced in OMP KO mice. In white adipose tissue (WAT), fat size of OMP KO mice was smaller than wild-type mice on both normal chow and HFD condition. The principal adipogenic transcription factor, PPARγ expression was significantly decreased in OMP KO mice, whereas UCP-1 and PGC-1α expression was increased than wild-type mice. Likewise, in brown adipose tissue (BAT), reduction of fat size was observed in OMP KO mice on HFD. Thermogenesis factor, UCP-1 and PGC-1α expression was up-regulated as well. In liver, it was confirmed that the formation of fatty liver due to the high fat diet was significantly reduced in the OMP KO mice. Taken together, our results suggest that loss of olfactory function increases beige localization of white fat, promotes thermogenesis through the expression of UCP-1 and PGC-1α in brown adipose tissue, and decreases the expression of lipogenesis related markers in liver tissue, resulting in decreased body fat and reduced diet-induced obesity.

Chronic water insufficiency induced kidney damage and energy dysregulation despite reduced food intake, which improved gut microbiota in female rats.

Water intake is recommended for weight loss, but the relationship between water intake and energy metabolism is not clear. We hypothesized that long-term water insufficiency would influence energy, glucose, and lipid metabolism while modulating gut microbiota. Female rats were provided with high-fat diets with different amounts of water and food intake for 6weeks as follows: water provided for 1h per day with food ad libitum (WRFA), water supply ad libitum plus pair feeding of with water restricted rats(WAFR), water restriction with ad libitum food for 3weeks and water and food intake ad libitum for 3weeks (WR-WA) and ad libitum supply of water and food (WAFA). Water intake in WRFA was about one-third of WAFR and WAFA, whereas food intake was lowered by 30% in WRFA and WAFR than WAFA. Body fat decreased in WRFA and WAFR, but WAFR decreased fat mass more than WRFA. Energy expenditure was lower in WRFA than WAFA and carbohydrate utilization was much higher in WRFA than the other groups. The peak serum glucose concentrations were lower in WAFA than the other groups and WRFA lowered serum insulin levels more than WAFA during OGTT. WRFA shrank the glomerulus with increased apoptotic cells and damaged renal tubules compared to the WAFA and WAFR. WR-WA also exhibited greater glomerular shrinkage and apoptosis that WAFA, but not as much WRFA, indicating that the kidneys were healing after water restriction damage. WRFA exacerbated dyslipidemia compared to the WAFA and WAFR groups. The gut microbiome was similarly modulated in WRFA and WAFR, compared to WAFA, but it was mainly affected by food intake, not water restriction in the host. WRFA and WAFR increased Bacteroidetes and decreased Firmicutes compared WAFA. In conclusion, chronic insufficient water intake induced renal damage, decreased energy expenditure, and exacerbated dyslipidemia in rats with reduced food intake. However, the reduction of food intake improved gut microbiome regardless of insufficient water intake and only minor effects on the microbiome were observed due to water restriction.

Efficacy of rivastigmine transdermal therapy on low food intake in patients with Alzheimer's disease: The Attitude Towards Food Consumption in Alzheimer's Disease Patients Revive with Rivastigmine Effects study.

AimMost patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience poor food intake and/or loss of appetite, which accelerates cognitive impairment. Several reports have shown that rivastigmine improves appetite in AD patients. The present study investigated the efficacy of a rivastigmine transdermal patch for the treatment of low food intake in AD patients.MethodsAD patients, recruited through the Attitude Towards Food Consumption in Alzheimer's Disease Patients Revive with Rivastigmine Effects study, were recognized as experiencing either a loss of appetite or poor food intake. A rivastigmine transdermal patch was administered to study participants for 16 weeks. Patients’ food intake, bodyweight, Mini‐Mental State Examination scores and any adverse events were recorded.ResultsA total of 38 patients with AD (age 86.2 ± 5.4 years) were examined. Their mean Mini‐Mental State Examination score was 10.1 ± 7.0 at baseline. A significant increase in food intake amount (54.9 ± 98.0 g, P < 0.01) and food intake ratio (9.3% ± 17.6%, P < 0.01) was observed by week 1, improvements that were maintained throughout the study duration. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that no independent variables were significantly associated with changes in food intake amount or ratio. Patients in the higher Mini‐Mental State Examination subgroup showed a trend change in food intake amount, although this did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.07).ConclusionsThe present study suggests that a rivastigmine transdermal patch might improve poor food intake or loss of appetite in patients with AD. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 571–576.

Influence of the fat/carbohydrate component of snack food on energy intake pattern and reinforcing properties in rodents.

Hedonic intake of strongly rewarding foods is independent from biological needs and, thus, a common cause of obesity. The effect of potato chips on energy intake in a snacking model could be explained by their fat/carbohydrate content (FCHc). The present study investigated if the FCHc shapes energy intake patterns and reward processing of satiated rodents. Modulation of energy intake patterns was studied in an established snacking model offering FCHc rich food for 3 × 10 min/day to satiated rats. Reward processing was analyzed by a previously established conditioned place preference tests in satiated mice. The limited access to FCHc rich food led to higher daily energy intake compared to days without access (110 ± 10 vs. 96 ± 5 kcal/day) indicating that fat/carbohydrate intake was not fully compensated by reducing standard chow intake during the rest of the day. Furthermore, fat/carbohydrate snacking led to binge eating episodes with up to 55% of the daily energy intake consumed during limited access. Forced withdrawal from fat/carbohydrate snacking opportunities for six weeks increased the total daily energy intake and the relative amount of energy consumed by FCHc after reintroducing fat/carbohydrate snacking. Snack food and fat/carbohydrate food were powerful food reinforcers in satiated mice in contrast to standard chow. Altogether, these data suggest that the FCHc of snack food has strong reinforcing properties, which are probably responsible for the significant modulation of the amount and pattern of food intake in ad libitum fed animals.