Helene Christine Reinbach

Effects of capsaicin, green tea and CH-19 sweet pepper on appetite and energy intake in humans in negative and positive energy balance

BACKGROUND & AIMS Bioactive ingredients have been shown to reduce appetite and energy intake. The magnitude of these effects might depend on energy balance why it was investigated how capsaicin, green tea, CH-19 sweet pepper as well as green tea and capsaicin affect appetite and energy intake during respectively negative and positive energy balance. METHODS 27 subjects were randomized to three weeks of negative and three weeks of positive energy balance during which capsaicin, green tea, CH-19 sweet pepper, capsaicin+green tea or placebo was ingested on ten separate test days while the effects on appetite, energy intake, body weight and heart rate were assessed. RESULTS CH-19 sweet pepper and a combination of capsaicin and green tea reduced energy intake during positive energy balance. Capsaicin and green tea suppressed hunger and increased satiety more during negative than during positive energy balance. CONCLUSIONS Bioactive ingredients had energy intake reducing effects when used in combinations and in positive energy balance. Energy balance did not affect possible treatment induced energy intake, but did affect appetite by supporting negative energy balance. Bioactive ingredients may therefore be helpful in reducing energy intake and might support weight loss periods by relatively sustaining satiety and suppressing hunger.

Revitalizing the setting approach – supersettings for sustainable impact in community health promotion

BackgroundThe concept of health promotion rests on aspirations aiming at enabling people to increase control over and improve their health. Health promotion action is facilitated in settings such as schools, homes and work places. As a contribution to the promotion of healthy lifestyles, we have further developed the setting approach in an effort to harmonise it with contemporary realities (and complexities) of health promotion and public health action. The paper introduces a modified concept, the supersetting approach, which builds on the optimised use of diverse and valuable resources embedded in local community settings and on the strengths of social interaction and local ownership as drivers of change processes. Interventions based on a supersetting approach are first and foremost characterised by being integrated, but also participatory, empowering, context-sensitive and knowledge-based. Based on a presentation of “Health and Local Community”, a supersetting initiative addressing the prevention of lifestyle diseases in a Danish municipality, the paper discusses the potentials and challenges of supporting local community interventions using the supersetting approach.DiscussionThe supersetting approach is a further development of the setting approach in which the significance of integrated and coordinated actions together with a participatory approach are emphasised and important principles are specified, all of which contribute to the attainment of synergistic effects and sustainable impact of supersetting initiatives. The supersetting approach is an ecological approach, which places the individual in a social, environmental and cultural context, and calls for a holistic perspective to change potentials and developmental processes with a starting point in the circumstances of people’s everyday life. The supersetting approach argues for optimised effectiveness of health promotion action through integrated efforts and long-lasting partnerships involving a diverse range of actors in public institutions, private enterprises, non-governmental organisations and civil society.SummaryThe supersetting approach is a relevant and useful conceptual framework for developing intervention-based initiatives for sustainable impact in community health promotion. It strives to attain synergistic effects from activities that are carried out in multiple settings in a coordinated manner. The supersetting approach is based on ecological and whole-systems thinking, and stipulates important principles and values of integration, participation, empowerment, context and knowledge-based development.

Characterisation of G418-induced metabolic load in recombinant CHO and BHK cells: effect on the activity and expression of central metabolic enzymes.

In a previous article (Yallop and Svendsen 2001), recombinant CHO and BHK cell lines, expressing the human glucagon receptor and the gastric inhibitory peptide receptor, respectively, showed reduced growth rates and altered nutrient utilisation when grown with increasing concentrations of G418. This response was associated with an increased expression of the neor protein, while expression of the recombinant membrane receptors remained unaltered. The metabolic response was characterised in both cell lines by an increase in the specific rate of glutamine utilisation and in CHO cells by a decrease in the yield of lactate from glucose, suggesting a change in the flux of glucose through central metabolism. The aim of this study was to further elucidate these metabolic changes by determining the activity and relative expression of key enzymes involved in glucose and glutamine metabolism. For both CHO and BHK cells, there was an increase in the activity of glutaminase, glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase, suggesting an increased flux through the glutaminolysis pathway. The activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and pyruvate carboxylase in CHO cells was also increased whilst lactate dehydrogenase activity remained unaltered, suggesting an increased flux to the pentose phosphate pathway and TCA cycle, respectively. The activity of these enzymes in BHK cells was unchanged. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that expression levels of glutaminase and pyruvate carboxylase were the same with and without G418, indicating that the differences in activities were likely due to post-translational modifications.

Acceptance of Nordic snack bars in children aged 8–11 years

Background A health promoting diet is suggested to be tailored to regional circumstances to preserve the cultural diversity in eating habits, as well as contribute to more environmentally friendly eating. It may influence consumer acceptance, however, if the components of the diet differs considerably from their habitual food. Objective This study aimed to investigate whether snack bars composed of Nordic ingredients were accepted by 8–11 year-old Danish (n=134) and Swedish (n=109) children. Design A seven-point hedonic scale was used to measure the childrens acceptance of five snack bars that varied in their composition of whole grains, berries and nuts. A preference rank ordering of the five bars was also performed. Results The results showed that samples that were rated highest in liking and were most preferred in both countries were a kamut/pumpkin bar and an oat/cranberry bar. The sample with the lowest rating that was also least preferred was a pumpernickel/sea buckthorn bar. Flavour was the most important determinant of overall liking followed by texture, odour and appearance. Conclusions Childrens acceptances and preferences were highly influenced by the sensory characteristics of the bars, mainly flavour. In agreement with earlier studies, the novel food ingredients seemed to influence childrens preferences. The Nordic snack bars may have a potential to be a snack option for Danish and Swedish school children, but repeated exposures to the products are recommended to increase childrens acceptance.

Project SoL—A Community-Based, Multi-Component Health Promotion Intervention to Improve Eating Habits and Physical Activity among Danish Families with Young Children. Part 1: Intervention Development and Implementation

Project SoL was implemented over a period of four years from 2012–2015 with the aim to promote healthy eating and physical activity among families with children aged 3–8 years, living in selected communities in two Danish municipalities. This was done by applying the supersetting approach to implement complex multi-component interventions in a participatory, coordinated, and integrated manner in childcare centres, schools, and supermarkets in three local communities, as well as in local media during a 19-month period in the Regional Municipality of Bornholm, which served as the intervention site. The matching municipality of Odsherred served as a control site based on its similarity to Bornholm regarding several socio-demographic and health indicators. The present paper describes the design of Project SoL as well as the processes of developing and implementing its complex interventions. Moreover, the theoretical and conceptual framework of the project is described together with its organisational structure, concrete activities, and sustainability measures. The paper discusses some of the key lessons learned related to participatory development and the implementation of a multi-component intervention. The paper concludes that coordinated and integrated health promotion activities that are implemented together with multiple stakeholders and across multiple settings in the local community are much more powerful than individual activities carried out in single settings. The supersetting approach was a useful conceptual framework for developing and implementing a complex multi-component health promotion intervention and for fostering ownership and sustainability of the intervention in the local community. The research and evaluation approach of the project is described in a separate paper (Part 2).

Project SoL—A Community-Based, Multi-Component Health Promotion Intervention to Improve Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Practices among Danish Families with Young Children Part 2: Evaluation

Project SoL is implemented over a period of four years with the aim to promote healthy eating and physical activity among children aged 3–8 years by targeting the families in a Danish municipality based on the multi-component, supersetting strategy. Interventions are implemented in childcare centres, schools and supermarkets in three local communities as well as in local mass media and social media during a 19 months period in the Municipality of Bornholm. The matching Municipality of Odsherred serves as a control site based on its similarity to Bornholm regarding several socio-demographic and health indicators. The present paper gives an account of the design used for the summative and formative evaluation based on a realistic evaluation and a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Summative studies are conducted on changes of health behaviours among the involved families and within the municipalities in general, changes in community awareness of the project, changes in purchase patterns, changes in overweight and obesity among the targeted children and changes in knowledge and preferences among children due to sensory education workshops. The formative research comprises studies on children’s perceptions of health, perceptions of staff at supermarkets and media professionals on their roles in supporting the health promotion agenda, and motivations and barriers of community stakeholders to engage in health promotion at community level. The paper discusses operational issues and lessons learnt related to studying complex community interventions, cross-disciplinarily, interfaces between practice and research and research capacity strengthening; and suggests areas for future research. The development and implementation of the intervention and its theoretical foundation is described in a separate paper.

Children as visionary change agents in Danish school health promotion

This paper describes childrens perceptions and visions for a healthier social and physical environment in the setting of a primary school on the Danish island of Bornholm. Guided by an everyday-life perspective and applying participatory action research methods including social imagination and visual techniques within the framework of future creating workshops, the study engaged 50 children aged 6-9 years in creative processes of identifying health-related problem areas and solutions in their school setting. The study observed that the children were very capable of articulating their thoughts, ideas and visions for a better and healthier school environment. Identified problem areas and solutions differed widely and represented a broad perspective of health including social, physical, environmental and emotional aspects. The paper discusses advantages and challenges of involving children in decision-making processes and concludes that children are visionary and creative agents of change in health promotion projects provided that applied participatory methods are appealing to the children.

Which product characteristics are preferred by Chinese consumers when choosing pork? A conjoint analysis on perceived quality of selected pork attributes

Abstract Due to the economic growth achieved by China over the past 20 years, Chinese consumers have changed their purchasing behavior regarding meat. Instead of buying locally produced pork, they are increasingly willing to purchase imported pork. A conjoint analysis investigated how intrinsic pork attributes (fat content and processing) and extrinsic pork attributes (origin, price, and packaging) relate to the perceived quality of pork and the choices made by Chinese consumers. A questionnaire distributed among a sample of Chinese consumers (n = 81) revealed that processing (fresh/frozen) is the most important determinant of pork choice (36%), followed by fat content (27%), origin (18%), price (12%), and packaging (6.6%). Estimates of utility showed that Chinese consumers value fresh pork highly (0.147), followed by lean pork (0.111) and pork imported from countries other than China (0.073). The findings indicate that Chinese consumers value both intrinsic and extrinsic attributes, and these results may help the meat industry improve Chinas competitive meat market by developing new and more products that are tailored to the needs of the consumer.