Role Of Dietary Habits Research Articles

Effect on blood lipids and body composition of a high-fat (MUFA) and high-fiber diet: A case-control study.

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a constellation of risk factors including abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), elevated blood pressure, and elevated fasting glucose. In Spain, according to WHO criteria, the MetS prevalence is shown to be 32% in men and 29% in women. The role of dietary habits is one of the main therapeutic strategies for the management of MetS but the most effective dietary pattern has not been established yet. This study aimed to analyze the effect of on body composition, serum lipids, and MetS components of a high-MUFA and high-fiber diet (HMFD). A case-control study was performed considering 40 cohabiting women. Participants were randomly assigned to HMFD group or high mono-unsaturated diet (HMD) group to receive one of the two proposed dietary interventions. All data (serum lipids, blood pressure, height, weight, body composition, and waist circumference) were collected fasting at baseline, 55, 98, and 132 days. The HMFD group showed higher decrease in waist circumference than in the HMD group. LDL-C dropped in both groups. Triglycerides in the HMFD group dropped during the intervention, but once the intervention was over, they returned to baseline values. The mean systolic blood pressure was lower in HMFD group. A HMFD from a weekly consumption of processed meat (Torrezno de Soria) deeply fried in extra virgin olive oil in combination with vegetables logged in a Mediterranean diet can improve MetS risk factors in healthy overweight women.

The Role of Dietary Habits in the Pathogenesis and Development of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Narrative Review.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is a chronic immune-mediated disease. The incidence of IBD is influenced by various genetic and environmental factors, with dietary habits gaining significant scientific interest. While the role of diet in the pathogenesis and development of IBD is still debated, recent studies have demonstrated its potential impact. However, conflicting findings exist regarding the efficacy of dietary interventions in the treatment and control of IBD. This review aimed to summarize the current understanding of the relationship between diet and IBD, highlighting the different perspectives and reasonings observed in recent studies. Overall, it has been shown that dietary habits play a role in the incidence of IBD, and adopting a controlled dietary approach may help manage the disease. Consequently, diet can be considered a predictive and prognostic factor in IBD.

Evaluation of the effect of the relationship between diet and microbia on mental health

Introduction. The human body is home to hundreds of different types of microbes [bacteria, viruses, fungi], most of which are found in the gut. In recent years, studies have evaluated the impact of the gut microbiota on brain health, and there has been increasing emphasis on the role of dietary habits in supporting optimal mental health.
 Aim. In this study, it is aimed to review the studies on the effect of the relationship between the microbiota-gut-brain axis and nutrition on mental health. This study will guide us on which nutrients we should add to our diet for mental health.
 Methods. In this study, a narrative synthesis of observational studies covering diet, microbiota, nutrition and mental health was made using pubmed, sciencedirect and google scholar’s databases. Studies are included if they include the result of microbiota and mental health, diet and mental health, the effect of nutrition on mental health, food groups and its relationship with mental diseases.
 Overview. The regulation of the interaction between the gut and the brain through a healthy diet is important in the treatment of common mental disorders and in the prevention of disease.
 Conclusions. By changing nutritional habits, microbiota can be changed, mental health can be protected and mental disorders that may occur can be prevented. Healthy eating habits can be emphasized by working on more food and patient groups in this area.

Role of dietary habits in menstrual disorders among adolescent girls in Navi Mumbai, Western Maharashtra

BACKGROUND: India is a developing country where malnutrition is the most common problems; we are dealing with emerging problems of consumption of convenience food and street food. These foods are easily available, awesome taste, have some packages and advertisements which attracts the new generations and skipping meals starts. Adolescent girls are getting the problems of overweight, underweight, thyroid disorders, anemia, and other hematological disorders. Ultimate aim of this research is to find out an association about between dietary habits and menstrual disorders in adolescent girls. METHODOLOGY: An observational study was carried out in adolescent girls of MGM School, Navi Mumbai, India, from October 2021 to December 2021, to find out the relation between dietary pattern verses menstrual disorders among adolescent girls. Numerical pain scale, modified women's health questionnaire, and daily diary were used to collect data from 100 adolescent girls. Nonprobability purposive sampling technique was used to select adolescent girls. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 24.0 software. RESULTS: The average age of menarche was 12.9 ± 2.7 years. The study showed that girls experienced moderate menstrual pain (54%), severe menstrual pain (21%), and premenstrual symptoms in 36% of adolescence girls. More than 42% of participants were eating street food and many of the girls had habits of skipping the meals in the afternoon. It was found that there was a significant association between dietary habits and menstrual problems (P ≤ 0.0001). The correlation coefficient between dietary habits and menstrual disorders was identified as r = 0.7 with P < 0.05. CONCLUSION: The menstrual disorders were arising problems among girls of schools of Navi Mumbai. Daily intake of appropriate amount of protein, CHO, fat, vitamins, and minerals can help reduce menstrual problems facing by adolescent girls.

Assessing the Association between Important Dietary Habits and Osteoporosis: A Genetic Correlation and Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.

Objective: Osteoporosis (OP) is the most common bone disease. The genetic and metabolic factors play important roles in OP development. However, the genetic basis of OP is still elusive. The study aimed to explore the relationships between OP and dietary habits. Methods: This study used large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics from the UK Biobank to explore potential associations between OP and 143 dietary habits. The GWAS summary data of OP included 9434 self-reported OP cases and 444,941 controls, and the GWAS summary data of the dietary habits included 455,146 participants of European ancestry. Linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) was used to detect the genetic correlations between OP and each of the 143 dietary habits, followed by Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to further assess the causal relationship between OP and candidate dietary habits identified by LDSC. Results: The LDSC analysis identified seven candidate dietary habits that showed genetic associations with OP including cereal type such as biscuit cereal (coefficient = −0.1693, p value = 0.0183), servings of raw vegetables per day (coefficient = 0.0837, p value = 0.0379), and spirits measured per month (coefficient = 0.115, p value = 0.0353). MR analysis found that OP and PC17 (butter) (odds ratio [OR] = 0.974, 95% confidence interval [CI] = (0.973, 0.976), p value = 0.000970), PC35 (decaffeinated coffee) (OR = 0.985, 95% CI = (0.983, 0.987), p value = 0.00126), PC36 (overall processed meat intake) (OR = 1.035, 95% CI = (1.033, 1.037), p value = 0.000976), PC39 (spirits measured per month) (OR = 1.014, 95% CI = (1.011, 1.015), p value = 0.00153), and servings of raw vegetables per day (OR = 0.978, 95% CI = (0.977, 0.979), p value = 0.000563) were clearly causal. Conclusions: Our findings provide new clues for understanding the genetic mechanisms of OP, which focus on the possible role of dietary habits in OP pathogenesis.

Role of dietary habits and personal hygiene on nutritional status of school-going adolescents: A cross-sectional study in selected schools located in slum areas of Nagpur City, Maharashtra.

Adolescence is a nutritionally vulnerable time when rapid physical growth increases nutrient demand. Addressing the nutrition needs of adolescents could be an important step toward breaking the vicious cycle of intergenerational malnutrition. Under the healthy school initiative, a baseline assessment was carried out to assess the nutritional status, dietary habits, and personal hygiene of school-going adolescents to plan the future interventions at school level. A cross-sectional study was conducted in two government-aided schools for 6 months among 814 students of Class VI-IX to assess their dietary habits and personal hygiene by using the GSHS( Global School based student Health Survey) -2007(Indian version) tool. Anthropometric measurement was taken by standard technique. The study found the proportion of thinness, stunting, and overweight/obesity as 40%, 20%, and 4.2%, respectively. Male students were found more thin (61.1% vs. 38.8%) and stunted (55.6% vs. 44.4%) as compared to female students. Less than one-fourth (13.7%) of the students reported <5 servings of fruits and vegetables. In multivariable analysis, male students, children of homemaker mother, skipping breakfast on all days of week, consumption of fast food ≥3 times/week, consumption of high sugary ready to use food, and infrequent handwashing after toilet were found to be predictors of thinness. Dietary habits and personnel hygiene were found to be important factors of undernutrition; promoting health behavior through school health policy with involvement of teachers, students, and parents is highly recommended to reduce the problem of undernutrition among adolescents.

Atopic dermatitis and nutrition

Atopic dermatitis, a common chronic and pruritic inflammatory skin disorder, can create significant disruptions in sleep and quality of life. Atopic dermatitis is especially common in infants and children; therefore, safe and natural therapeutic options have considerable appeal. Over the past several decades, there has been an increase in the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in industrialized nations. Also, there is variability in the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in the United States, both across and within states. Environmental factors including diet are believed to be associated with this increased risk. Dietary interventions continue to be an area of keen interest and have been studied extensively, albeit with variable results. Maternal dietary restrictions during pregnancy and lactation, hydrolyzed or partially hydrolyzed formulas, delaying the introduction of solid foods, and omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids supplementation do not appear to have a beneficial effect on the treatment and prevention of atopic dermatitis. Exclusive breastfeeding for 3 to 4 months, a diet high in fruits and vegetables, and prebiotics might have a beneficial effect. Because environmental triggers, including dietary exposures, are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis, we herein review the current literature on the role of dietary habits, vitamin and mineral supplementation, and probiotics on the treatment and prevention of atopic dermatitis.

PD21-09 SODIUM ABNORMALITY LINKED TO DIET (SALTD): IMPACT OF FOOD PREPARATION ON URINARY VALUES IN STONE PATIENTS

You have accessJournal of UrologyStone Disease: Medical & Dietary Therapy (PD21)1 Sep 2021PD21-09 SODIUM ABNORMALITY LINKED TO DIET (SALTD): IMPACT OF FOOD PREPARATION ON URINARY VALUES IN STONE PATIENTS Igor Inoyatov, Zhenyue Huang, James Rail, Spencer Mossack, Ariel Schulsinger, Scott Herfel, Yefim Sheynkin, and David Schulsinger Igor InoyatovIgor Inoyatov More articles by this author , Zhenyue HuangZhenyue Huang More articles by this author , James RailJames Rail More articles by this author , Spencer MossackSpencer Mossack More articles by this author , Ariel SchulsingerAriel Schulsinger More articles by this author , Scott HerfelScott Herfel More articles by this author , Yefim SheynkinYefim Sheynkin More articles by this author , and David SchulsingerDavid Schulsinger More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000002010.09AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Hypernatriuria is a known risk factor for nephrolithiasis. However, there is a paucity of data regarding factors that predispose stone formers to hypernatriuria and the role of dietary habits on urinary sodium abnormalities. To better understand potential risks of hypernatriuria, we investigated the impact of stone patient’s dietary preferences on 24-hr urinary sodium levels. METHODS: We prospectively queried patients regarding patient’s dietary habits, demographics, stone analysis, 24-hr urine data and socioeconomic status (SES). Patients were divided into 4 groups based on their 24-hr urinary sodium concentration levels: normonatriuric (NN) patients (urinary sodium ≤150mEq) and hypernatriuric (HN) patients: low (L-HN, 151-187mEq); moderate (M-HN, 188-235mEq), and severe (S-HN, ≥236mEq). These groups were compared using one-way ANOVA, Pearson chi-square and Student t-tests. RESULTS: A total of 80 patients (M=46, F=34) were analyzed into 4 groups: 20 NN and 60 HN (L-HN (n=20), M-HN (n=20) and S-HN (n=20)). There were no significant differences between NN and HN patient’s baseline demographics in regard to age, race, SES, or BMI values. No significant differences were noted in patient’s 24-hr urine volume, water consumption, or stone types between the HN and NN groups. Patients with HN levels were found to have a significantly higher percentage of non-home cooked meals (p=0.001), more total meals/week (p=0.045), and higher ratio of meals out/week (p=0.004) as compared to NN patients. Patients with S-HN reported significantly higher consumption of deli meats as compared to the control group (N=16 vs. N=8, p=0.01). Results of the Pearson correlation indicated that there was a significant positive association between urinary sodium levels and the ratio of unprepared meals (r=0.347, N=80, p=0.002). While urinary calcium levels were significantly greater in HN compared the NN groups (p=0.001), the S-HN group had a significantly higher proportion of patients with elevated urinary calcium levels as compared to the M-HN group, (p=0.01) and the L-HN group (p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the desire that many stone patients yearn to modify their diets and reduce salt-rich foods, the “black hole” of consuming non-prepared meals puts patients at risk for HN. Patients with HN levels tend to have a significantly higher percentage of non-prepared meals, higher ratio of meals out/week and are more likely to consume deli meats. Urologists should be aware of the dietary tendencies of patients with HN and counsel these patients accordingly to reduce their risk of nephrolithiasis. Source of Funding: NA © 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 206Issue Supplement 3September 2021Page: e378-e378 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Igor Inoyatov More articles by this author Zhenyue Huang More articles by this author James Rail More articles by this author Spencer Mossack More articles by this author Ariel Schulsinger More articles by this author Scott Herfel More articles by this author Yefim Sheynkin More articles by this author David Schulsinger More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Loading ...

The role of dietary habits in Parkinson's disease signs and symptoms: A systematic review

IntroductionParkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons and a dopamine deficit. The symptomatology associated with PD is diverse. The clinical manifestations of patients include motor and non-motor symptoms. One of the non-motor symptoms is weight loss and a high risk of malnutrition. It is important to consult neurology regarding the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with PD. ObjectiveTo show the relationship between dietary habits and signs and symptoms in Parkinson disease. MethodThe methodology used consisted of a systematic review of narrative analysis on the relationship between food and the symptoms associated with PD. The databases consulted through the critical reading programme (critical appraisal skills programme, Spanish) were: MedLine, Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed. Among the inclusion criteria: studies in Spanish and English were accepted. The time range was from 2014 to 2019. The search terms used were: “Parkinson's Disease”, “Healthy Diet”, “Feeding Behaviour” and “Signs and Symptoms”. ResultsA total of 85 published study documents were identified, of which 8 met the inclusion criteria. Three documents were included from the literature review of grey literature and 11 selected documents were analysed.Approximately 60% of patients with PD suffer from constipation. A high fibre diet and proper hydration are essential. Modified texture diets are the first strategic line in the management of dysphagia and will have to be considered in the treatment of PD. Vitamin D intake was found to be decreased and supplementation should be considered. Other non-motor symptoms in early stages, such as depression and hyposmia, may affect dietary choices and be responsible for the observed nutritional status decline. ConclusionsNutritional care should be considered as an integral part of the treatment of patients with PD, because the nutritional status of patients with PD is a relevant component of their quality of life. In addition, malnourished patients with PD suffer more pronounced motor symptoms and a more advanced status of PD.

Diet quality as a predictor of healthy and cardiometabolic disease-free life expectancy between ages 50 to 85

AbstractPoor dietary quality is one of the leading modifiable risk factor for premature mortality worldwide. People live longer than ever, but spend more years with illness and disability although the ultimate goal is to increase healthy years of life. Less research has considered the role of dietary habits in relation to health or cardiometabolic disesase-free life expectancy (LE). This study investigate the association of diet quality with healthy and cardiometabolic disease-free LE between ages 50 and 85. The study comprised 8,075 participants of the Whitehall II study. Diet quality was assessed with Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) 2010 at phases 3, 5 and 7 and took the measure of diet closest to age of 50 years for each participant. We utilized repeat measures of self-rated health and cardiometabolic disease from the first observation when participants were aged 50 years or older. In the analyses the AHEI-2010 total score was categorized in to quintiles, where the lowest quintile represents unhealthiest diet quality and highest quintiles healthiest diet. Multistate life table models were used to estimate healthy and cardiometabolic disease-free LE from age 50 to 85 years for each category of AHEI-2010 quintiles and three occupational position group. Participants in the highest AHEI-2010 quintile lived 3.6 years longer in good health and 2.7 years longer without cardiometabolic diseases than participants in the lowest quintile of the AHEI-2010. Higher diet quality associated with an increased healthy and cardiometabolic disease-free LE was observed across different occupational positions: Men in highest occupational position and highest AHEI-2010 quintile lived 9.4 years longer with good health compared to lowest occupational position and lowest AHEI-2010 quintile and for women the corresponding difference was 8.2 years. In terms of proportion of years spent without cardiometabolic diseases ranged from 77% (high occupational position and highest AHEI-2010) to 57% (low occupational position and lowest AHEI-2010) in men and from 82% to 70% in women. The difference in years lived healthy across AHEI-2010 quintiles was most remarkable in persons with low occupation status. Healthier dietary habits are associated with longer healthy and longer cardiometabolic disease-free LE between ages 50 and 85. Attention to poor diet should be paid especially among people in the lowest occupational position.

Knowledge on Diet and Physical Exercise Among the Patients of Coronary Heart Disease Admitted in a Specialized Tertiary Level Hospital in Dhaka City

Coronary heart disease is the most frequent cause of death in the industrialized societies, and is showing an increasing trend in developing countries. This study was conducted to assess the level of Knowledge about diet and physical exercise among the patients of coronary heart disease. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 112 patients admitted at NICVD during the study period (January to May 2016). In this study the mean age of the respondents was 49.7# 11.8 years and almost two-thirds of the respondents (69.0%) were male. It has been found that 79.5% of the respondents were married and most of them (82.1%) were Muslims. About one-third of the respondents (28.6%) had HSC level of education and most of the respondents had a salaried job (38.8%). The mean monthly income of the respondents was 14566.0–1854.0 taka and the majority of respondents (76.8%) were aware of the addiction habits that are associated with heart disease. About 77.7% of the respondents were aware of the cardio-protective foods and the rest (22.3%) were still ignorant regarding the cardio-protective foods. It was reported that more than half of the respondents had a poor level of knowledge regarding the role of dietary habits on heart disease. Nevertheless, sixty percent of them had had a poor level of knowledge about the cardio-protective role physical exercise in heart disease.

Exploring the mediating role of energy balance-related behaviours in the association between sleep duration and obesity in European adults. The SPOTLIGHT project.

Sleep restriction is a risk factor for weight gain and obesity. Few studies have formally investigated the mediating role of energy balance-related behaviours in the sleep - obesity association. The aim of this study was to explore the mediating role of physical activity, sedentary behaviours and dietary habits in the association of sleep duration with obesity in adults in five European urban regions. Data on self-reported sleep duration, energy balance-related behaviours, height and weight and other covariates were collected between February and September 2014 from participants to the SPOTLIGHT survey (N=5900, mean age 52years). Participants were recruited from 60 urban neighbourhoods in Belgium, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were used to assess the associations of sleep duration, energy balance-related behaviours and obesity and mediating effects were calculated using MacKinnon's product-of-coefficients method. Results indicated that a 1h increase in sleeping time was associated with a 14% lower likelihood of being obese (OR=0.86, 95%CI=0.80; 0.93). Only work-related sedentary behaviour was identified as a statistically significant mediator in the association between sleep duration and obesity for the total sample, and youngest and oldest age group. We did not find evidence for a mediating role of dietary habits and physical activities.

Dietary food groups intake and cooking methods associations with pancreatic cancer: a case-control study.

The role of dietary habits in the etiology of pancreatic cancer (PC) has not yet been well elucidated. The aim of the present study was to examine the association of the frequency of different food groups' intake and their cooking methods with PC risk based on a well-designed case-control study. A case-control study including 307 PC patients and 322 controls referred to four tertiary endosonography centers was conducted from January 2011 to January 2014 to compare the frequency intake of different food items and their cooking methods between cases and controls. After adjustment for gender, age, body mass index, years of education, diabetes and alcohol history, smoking status, and opium use, a significant direct relationship was observed between PC risk and intake frequency (time/week) of bread (OR = 1.50; 95 % CI 1.05-2.13; p-value 0.024), rice (OR = 2.10; 95 % CI 1.15-3.82; p for trend 0.034), and red meat (OR = 2.25; 95 % CI 1.22-4.14; p for trend 0.033) (time/day), when comparing the highest category of intake frequency with the lowest, while increasing frequency of fish consumption was associated with a lower risk of PC (OR = 0.93; 95 % CI0.59-1.47; p for trend 0.009). Increasing consumption of barbecuing red meat and deep fried vegetables was associated with 67 % and 70 % increased risk of PC (p-value 0.025 and 0.006, respectively). Our results indicate that increased frequency of intake of bread, rice, and red meat (especially barbecued) and deep fried vegetables can aggregate PC risk, while increased frequency of fish consumption can protect against PC. However, more studies are still needed.

A Comparison between Dietary Habits for Pregnant Women with Preterm and Term Delivery in Khorasan, Iran

Background: Despite the advances in prenatal care and improving health indicators, preterm delivery and resultant infant mortality rate are still considerable. Emerged financial, social, mental and emotional damages could result in mental and behavioral disabilities for mothers as well as children. Although spontaneous preterm labor is well known as a multifactorial issue, yet poor nutrition is assumed as a strong related factor. Objective: To identify the role of dietary habits on preterm delivery prevalence in Iran, this study was conducted on pregnant women with preterm and term delivery. Methods: In this retrospective case-control study, 70 women with preterm labor and 70 women with term labor were compared in terms of their dietary habits. Women who met the inclusion criteria and referred to two hospitals in North-East of Iran were selected using purposive convenience sampling method and completed 163-item food frequency and dietary habits questionnaire. Results: This study showed that dietary habits of women with preterm labor are more unfavorable compared to women with term labor (P = 0.023). Generally, dietary habit of more than half of the women with preterm labor, in this study, was assessed unfavorable. In terms of different food groups, daily intake of vegetables was significantly lower in women with preterm labor (P = 0.02). Consumption of dairy products was also lower in women with preterm labor than women with term labor which was significant (P = 0.05). Conclusion: To prevent adverse outcomes of preterm delivery more attention regarding nutritional planning for pregnant women seems to be essential.

The role of dietary habits in urinary stone disease

ABSTRACTUrolithiasis is the third most common urinary disease and evidence shows that the incidence of urolithiasis has increased continually during the past decades. The relationship between urinary stones and diet has been known to some extent but there are different opinions about it. This research was done to determine the relationship between dietary habit, food resources intake and urinary stone disease. This is a case–control study on 161 adult patients with urinary stone disease who referred to Hasheminejad Urology Center and 254 healthy subjects who were matched with the cases for age and gender. All the subjects were interviewed through a questionnaire. Data were analysed using spss, version 14. An independent t‐test, χ2‐test and regression analysis were used to examine the differences. The findings showed that the intake of resources of calcium (p = 0·048), phosphorus (p = 0·001), potassium (p &lt; 0·0001), vitamin A (p &lt; 0·0001), vitamin D (p &lt; 0·0001) and vitamin C (p = 0·004) was significantly lower in patients in comparison with the healthy subjects, but the intake of resources of oxalate, magnesium and vitamin B6 was not significantly different. Results showed that among food resources that were significantly different in the two groups, the resources of vitamins A, C, D, resources of calcium and potassium and liquid were significantly different, as shown by the results of the regression test. Thus findings suggest that urinary stone formation has a relationship with dietary habit. Considering the challenges of treatment and the costs of this disease, dietary recommendations may be an easy and cost‐effective way to reduce the health care burden of renal stone.

Prevalence and predictors of the dual burden of malnutrition among adolescents in North India

Background: Dual burden of malnutrition comprising of both under nutrition and over nutrition constitutes an important public health problem among Indian adolescents. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of dual burden of malnutrition (underweight and overweight/obesity) among adolescents and to understand the role of dietary habits and physical activity in this regard. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Shimla district of North India. A total of 720 adolescents aged 14-19 years were selected to participate in the study. Data were collected on sociodemographic status, physical activity, dietary intake, and anthropometry. Statistical analysis was done using Epi info software for windows (version 6.0, Centre for Disease Control, Atlanta, USA). Results: A total of 298 (41.3%) of the adolescents were suffering from dual burden of malnutrition. The binary logistic regression revealed a statistically significant positive association of overweight/obesity with frequent fast food consumption (odds ratio [OR] = 4.45, confidence interval [CI] = 2.42-8.18). Individuals consuming less salt in the diet had lower odds of being overweight/obese (OR = 0.47, CI = 0.25-0.87). Similarly, individuals frequently consuming fruits in the diet had lesser odds of being underweight (OR = 0.61, CI = 0.42-0.86). Conclusion: The high prevalence of the dual burden of malnutrition in this study stresses the need for policy makers in India to adapt the current adolescent program so as to focus on both ends of the nutrition spectrum.

Consumption of fruit, vegetables, and other food groups and the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

The role of dietary habits in the etiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has been extensively investigated in high-incidence areas, but evidence is scanty in low-incidence populations. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between NPC risk and a wide range of food groups in the Italian population. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study in Italy on 198, histologically confirmed, NPC cases of Caucasian ethnicity, aged 18-76 years. Controls were 594 Caucasian cancer-free patients admitted to general hospitals for acute conditions. Odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated through logistic regression, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and energy intake. Elevated vegetable consumption was inversely related to NPC risk (OR for highest vs. lower quartile = 0.51; 95 % CI 0.29-0.90). The association was particularly strong for yellow- or red-pigmented vegetables (OR = 0.31; 95 % CI 0.18-0.54), and this effect was stronger among never smokers (OR = 0.18; 95 % CI 0.06-0.55) than among ever smokers (OR = 0.37; 95 % CI 0.19-0.71). Increased NPC risk emerged for elevated eggs consumption (OR = 2.50; 95 % CI 1.44-4.32; p-trend <0.01). No significant associations emerged between NPC risk and consumption of cereals, meat, fish, dairy products, and sweets. The study findings show that, also in low-risk populations, vegetable consumption is a protective factor against NPC. The stronger effect for yellow- or red-pigmented vegetables is in agreement with the inverse association reported for carotenoids intake.

11β‐Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1: relevance of its modulation in the pathophysiology of obesity, the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus

Recent evidence strongly argues for a pathogenic role of glucocorticoids and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) in obesity and the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) that includes insulin resistance (IR), dyslipidaemia, hypertension and visceral obesity. This has been partially prompted not only by the striking clinical resemblances between the metabolic syndrome and Cushing's syndrome (a state characterized by hypercortisolism that associates with metabolic syndrome components) but also from monogenic rodent models for the metabolic syndrome (e.g. the leptin-deficient ob/ob mouse or the leptin-resistant Zucker rat) that display overall increased secretion of glucocorticoids. However, systemic circulating glucocorticoids are not elevated in obese patients and/or patients with metabolic syndrome. The study of the role of 11β-HSD system shed light on this conundrum, showing that local glucocorticoids are finely regulated in a tissue-specific manner at the pre-receptor level. The system comprises two microsomal enzymes that either activate cortisone to cortisol (11β-HSD1) or inactivate cortisol to cortisone (11β-HSD2). Transgenic rodent models, knockout (KO) for HSD11B1 or with HSD11B1 or HSD11B2 overexpression, specifically targeted to the liver or adipose tissue, have been developed and helped unravel the currently undisputable role of the enzymes in metabolic syndrome pathophysiology, in each of its isolated components and in their prevention. In the transgenic HSD11B1 overexpressing models, different features of the metabolic syndrome and obesity are replicated. HSD11B1 gene deficiency or HSD11B2 gene overexpression associates with improvements in the metabolic profile. In face of these demonstrations, research efforts are now being turned both into the inhibition of 11β-HSD1 as a possible pharmacological target and into the role of dietary habits on the establishment or the prevention of the metabolic syndrome, obesity and T2DM through 11β-HSD1 modulation. We intend to review and discuss 11β-HSD1 and obesity, the metabolic syndrome and T2DM and to highlight the potential of its inhibition for therapeutic or prophylactic approaches in those metabolic diseases.

Dietary patterns and the risk of esophageal cancer

The role of dietary habits on esophageal cancer risk has been rarely considered in terms of dietary patterns. We analyzed data from an Italian case-control study, including 304 cases with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and 743 hospital controls. Dietary habits were evaluated using a food frequency questionnaire. A posteriori dietary patterns were identified through principal component factor analysis performed on 28 selected nutrients. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained from multiple logistic regression models applied on quartiles of factor scores, adjusting for potential confounding variables. We identified five major dietary patterns, named 'animal products and related components', 'vitamins and fiber', 'starch-rich', 'other polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin D', and 'other fats'. The 'animal products and related components' pattern was positively related to esophageal cancer (OR = 1.64, 95% CI:1.06-2.55, for the highest versus the lowest quartile of factor scores category). The 'vitamins and fiber' (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.32-0.78) and the 'other polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin D' (OR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.31-0.74) were inversely related to esophageal cancer. No significant association was observed for the other patterns. Our findings suggest that a diet rich in foods from animal origin and poor in foods containing vitamins and fiber increase esophageal cancer risk.

Impact of environmental and dietary factors on the course of inflammatory bowel disease

Besides their possible effects on the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), some environmental factors can modulate the clinical course of both ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). This review is mainly devoted to describing the current knowledge of the impact of some of these factors on the outcome of IBD, with special emphasis on smoking and diet. Although the impact of smoking on the susceptibility to develop CD and UC is firmly established, its influence on the clinical course of both diseases is still debatable. In CD, active smoking is a risk factor for postoperative recurrence. Beyond this clinical setting, smoking cessation seems to be advantageous in those CD patients who were smokers at disease diagnosis, while smoking resumption may be of benefit in ex-smokers with resistant UC. The role of dietary habits on the development of IBD is far from being well established. Also, food intolerances are very frequent, but usually inconsistent among IBD patients, and therefore no general dietary recommendations can be made in these patients. In general, IBD patients should eat a diet as varied as possible. Regarding the possible therapeutic role of some dietary components in IBD, lessons should be drawn from the investigation of the primary therapeutic effect of enteral nutrition in CD. Low-fat diets seem to be particularly useful. Also, some lipid sources, such as olive oil, medium-chain triglycerides, and perhaps omega-3 fatty acids, might have a therapeutic effect. Fermentable fiber may have a role in preventing relapses in inactive UC.