Desire Coelho

Concurrent and discriminant validity of the Stunkard’s figure rating scale adapted into Portuguese

This study examined the concurrent and discriminant validity of the Figure Rating Scale adapted into Portuguese. The sample was composed of a control group (98 students without eating disorders) and a clinical group (16 women diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa). Respondents chose schematic figures representing their current and ideal body sizes. The difference between the two choices was calculated to give an ideal discrepancy score. There were high correlations between body mass index and current body size or ideal discrepancy score. The ideal discrepancy scores were greater among the clinical group, indicating that the scale could discriminate between the two groups. The results of this preliminary work indicate that the scale is a valid measure of body image when used in Brazil.

Review of the association between meat consumption and risk of colorectal cancer

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is rapidly increasing in developing countries, especially among populations that are adopting Western-style diets. Several, but not all, epidemiological and experimental studies suggest that a high intake of meat, especially red and processed meat, is associated with increased CRC risk. Potential reasons for the association between high red and processed meat intake and CRC risk include the content of the meat (e.g. protein, heme) and compounds generated by the cooking process (e.g. N-nitroso compounds, heterocyclic amines). These factors can affect the large intestine mucosa with genotoxicity and metabolic disturbances. Increased bacterial fermentation (putrefaction) of undigested protein and production of bacterial metabolites derived from amino acids may affect colon epithelial homeostasis and renewal. This correlates with the fact that most colonic cancers are detected in the distal colon and rectum where protein fermentation actively occurs. However, there are still large controversies on the relationship between red meat consumption and CRC risk. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to enhance the current understanding on the association between high red and processed meat intakes with CRC risk. A principal focus of this review will be to discuss the meat-related components, such as proteins in the meat, heme, N-nitroso compounds, and heterocyclic amines, and the effects they have upon the large intestine mucosa and the intestinal gut microbiota.

Effects of creatine supplementation on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in sedentary healthy males undergoing aerobic training

Summary.Recent findings have indicated that creatine supplementation may affect glucose metabolism. This study aimed to examine the effects of creatine supplementation, combined with aerobic training, on glucose tolerance in sedentary healthy male. Subjects (n = 22) were randomly divided in two groups and were allocated to receive treatment with either creatine (CT) (∼10 g · day over three months) or placebo (PT) (dextrose). Administration of treatments was double blind. Both groups underwent moderate aerobic training. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed and both fasting plasma insulin and the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index were assessed at the start, and after four, eight and twelve weeks. CT demonstrated significant decrease in OGTT area under the curve compared to PT (P = 0.034). There were no differences between groups or over time in fasting insulin or HOMA. The results suggest that creatine supplementation, combined with aerobic training, can improve glucose tolerance but does not affect insulin sensitivity, and may warrant further investigation with diabetic subjects.

Effect of high-fat diets on body composition, lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity, and the role of exercise on these parameters

Dietary fat composition can interfere in the development of obesity due to the specific roles of some fatty acids that have different metabolic activities, which can alter both fat oxidation and deposition rates, resulting in changes in body weight and/or composition. High-fat diets in general are associated with hyperphagia, but the type of dietary fat seems to be more important since saturated fats are linked to a positive fat balance and omental adipose tissue accumulation when compared to other types of fat, while polyunsaturated fats, omega-3 and omega-6, seem to increase energy expenditure and decrease energy intake by specific mechanisms involving hormone-sensitive lipase, activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and others. Saturated fat intake can also impair insulin sensitivity compared to omega-3 fat, which has the opposite effect due to alterations in cell membranes. Obesity is also associated with impaired mitochondrial function. Fat excess favors the production of malonyl-CoA, which reduces GLUT4 efficiency. The tricarboxylic acid cycle and beta-oxidation are temporarily uncoupled, forming metabolite byproducts that augment reactive oxygen species production. Exercise can restore mitochondrial function and insulin sensitivity, which may be crucial for a better prognosis in treating or preventing obesity.

Tradução, adaptação e avaliação psicométrica da Escala de Conhecimento Nutricional do National Health Interview Survey Cancer Epidemiology

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to translate and adapt into Portuguese the nutrition knowledge scale applied in the National Health Interview Survey Cancer Epidemiology and to evaluate its validity and precision. METHODS: The scale was translated, back-translated, and then adapted. Typical foods from the American diet were replaced by other foods that are typical of the Brazilian diet. The questionnaire was administered to 39 women with eating disorders and 57 Dietetics students. The students were expected to have higher scores, which would attest the discriminating validity of the scale. The students were tested twice and a correlation coefficient between test and retest was obtained. RESULTS: The students scored 10.5 points with a standard deviation of 1.7 points while the patients scored 7.4 points with a standard deviation of 2.6 points (p=0.0000001). Only 1.75% of the students presented low knowledge versus 34.21% of the patients (p<0.005). High knowledge was found among 57.90% of the students and among 13.16% of the patients (p<0.005). Spearmans correlation coefficient was 0.52 (p=0.00009). CONCLUSION: The test fulfilled all the psychometric criteria for validation but its precision needs to be reassessed. The time interval between the first and second test should be smaller. Since the students are still learning, it would be interesting to apply the scale to dietitians given that their knowledge is more stable.

Psychometric Testing and Applications of the Body Attitudes Questionnaire Translated into Portuguese

Although many body attitudes scales have been developed, none have been translated into Portuguese. This study aimed to translate the Ben-Tovim and Walker Body Attitudes Questionnaire and assess validity and reliability for a Brazilian sample. Women with (n = 39) and without (n = 57) eating disorders completed the scale, to assess discriminant validity. Convergent validity was assessed by the correlations between the scores and a measure of body dissatisfaction. The questionnaire was applied twice to controls after 1 mo. to evaluate reliability. Eating-disordered women had significantly higher mean scores on Feeling Fat, Disparagement, Salience and Lower Body Fatness, and lower scores on Attractiveness. No mean difference on Strength and Fitness was found. Most subscales were significantly correlated with the body-dissatisfaction measure. Test-retest coefficients ranged from .57 to .85. The translated version of the Body Attitudes Questionnaire seems to be a valid and reliable measure of body attitudes.

Tradução da escala de desejo de aceitação social de Marlowe & Crowne para a língua portuguesa

O desejo de aceitacao social (social desirability) pode enviesar os parâmetros medidos por auto-relato. Os objetivos do trabalho foram: a) traduzir para a lingua portuguesa a Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, que quantifica o desejo de aceitacao social e; b) analisar sua precisao. A versao da escala foi obtida por meio de traducao e retrotraducao. Foi feito o teste-reteste, no qual o instrumento foi aplicado duas vezes, com intervalo de um mes, em estudantes de Nutricao (n = 57). O teste pareado de Wilcoxon verificou se havia diferenca entre as duas aplicacoes. O coeficiente de correlacao de Spearman entre as duas aplicacoes foi calculado. Foi obtida pontuacao de 13, 6 ± 4,4 (mediana 13) na primeira aplicacao e de 13,4 ± 5,3 (mediana 13) na segunda aplicacao. Nao houve diferenca significativa entre as medias das duas aplicacoes (z = 1,66; p = 0,10) e a correlacao entre elas foi de 0,82 (p = 0,0000001). A pontuacao foi semelhante a de estudantes de paises desenvolvidos, sugerindo que a traducao nao alterou o sentido original da escala. A precisao foi alta e compativel com a obtida na versao original. Estes resultados indicam que a versao final da escala e adequada e precisa.

Body Fat Regulation: Is It a Result of a Simple Energy Balance or a High Fat Intake?

The search for the causes of obesity has involved genetic abnormalities and endocrine and neural lesions. Although evidence suggests that genetics plays an important role in body weight regulation, rapid increases in obesity rates do not seem to be caused by significant genetic changes within populations. Total energy expenditure and total energy intake are not the only factors that regulate body fat. Nitrogen and carbohydrate balances are eased by the capacity of the organism for adjusting amino acids and glucose oxidation rates, respectively. Regarding fat, this mechanism is considerably less precise; a fat intake increase does not stimulate its oxidation on the same basis. In addition, dietary fat is stored very efficiently as body fat. Elevated carbohydrate ingestion enhances glycogen reserves, which usually are much smaller than the maximum capacity of storage and enlargement of these stores, thus stimulating this nutrients oxidation. These data point to a very well controlled carbohydrate balance in the body. Various studies show lack of efficiency of the hyperlipidic diet in stimulating satiety. Signals arising from the gastrointestinal tract play a fundamental role in regulation of appetite and energy intake, and evidence indicates that the gastrointestinal and hormonal mechanisms involved in the suppression of appetite and in energy intake are compromised in obesity. A high-fat diet is important in its origin. Additional studies are necessary to explain the mechanisms that lead to adipose tissue retention resulting in a fat-rich diet.

Mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel diseases: is there a place for nutritional supplementation?

Abstract:Advanced mucosal healing (MH) after intestinal mucosal inflammation coincides with sustained clinical remission and reduced rates of hospitalization and surgical resection, explaining why MH is increasingly considered as a full therapeutic goal and as an endpoint for clinical trials. Intestinal MH is a complex phenomenon viewed as a succession of steps necessary to restore tissue structure and function. These steps include epithelial cell migration and proliferation, cell differentiation, restoration of epithelial barrier functions, and modulation of cell apoptosis. Few clinical studies have evaluated the needs for specific macronutrients and micronutrients and their effects on intestinal MH, most data having been obtained from animal and cell studies. These data suggest that supplementation with specific amino acids including arginine, glutamine, glutamate, threonine, methionine, serine, proline, and the amino acid-derived compounds, polyamines can favorably influence MH. Short-chain fatty acids, which are produced by the microbiota from undigested polysaccharides and protein-derived amino acids, also exert beneficial effects on the process of intestinal MH in experimental models. Regarding supplementation with lipids, although the effects of &ohgr;-3 and &ohgr;-6 fatty acids remain controversial, endogenous prostaglandin synthesis seems to be necessary for MH. Finally, among micronutrients, several vitamin and mineral deficiencies with different frequencies have been observed in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases and supplementation with some of them (vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin C, and zinc) are presumed to favor MH. Future work, including clinical studies, should evaluate the efficiency of supplementation with combination of dietary compounds as adjuvant nutritional intervention for MH of the inflamed intestinal mucosa.

Swimming training down-regulates plasma leptin levels, but not adipose tissue ob mRNA expression

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of endurance training on leptin levels and adipose tissue gene expression and their association with insulin, body composition and energy intake. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: trained (N = 18) and sedentary controls (N = 20). The trained group underwent swimming training for 9 weeks. Leptin and insulin levels, adiposity and leptin gene expression in epididymal and inguinal adipose tissue were determined after training. There were no differences in energy intake between groups. Trained rats had a decreased final body weight (-10%), relative and total body fat (-36 and -55%, respectively) and insulin levels (-55%) compared with controls (P < 0.05). Although trained animals showed 56% lower leptin levels (2.58 +/- 1.05 vs 5.89 +/- 2.89 ng/mL in control; P < 0.05), no difference in leptin gene expression in either fat depot was demonstrable between groups. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that lower leptin levels in trained rats were due primarily to their lower body fat mass. After adjustment for total body fat, leptin levels were still 20% (P < 0.05) lower in exercised rats. In conclusion, nine weeks of swimming training did not affect leptin gene expression, but did lead to a decrease in leptin levels that was independent of changes in body fat.