Shortie McKinney

Multiple types of dieting prospectively predict weight gain during the freshman year of college

The freshman year of college is a period of heightened risk for weight gain. This study examined measures of restrained eating, disinhibition, and emotional eating as predictors of weight gain during the freshman year. Using Lowes multi-factorial model of dieting, it also examined three different types of dieting as predictors of weight gain. Sixty-nine females were assessed at three points during the school year. Weight gain during the freshman year averaged 2.1 kg. None of the traditional self-report measures of restraint, disinhibition, or emotional eating were predictive of weight gain. However, both a history of weight loss dieting and weight suppression (discrepancy between highest weight ever and current weight) predicted greater weight gain, and these effects appeared to be largely independent of one another. Individuals who said they were currently dieting to lose weight gained twice as much (5.0 kg) as former dieters (2.5 kg) and three times as much as never dieters (1.6 kg), but the import of this finding was unclear because there was only a small number of current dieters (N = 7). Overall the results indicate that specific subtypes of dieting predicts weight gain during the freshman year better than more global measures of restraint or overeating.

Breast-feeding reduces maternal lower-body fat

The effect of breast-feeding on maternal anthropometric measures during the first 6 postpartum months was studied in 24 women. Mothers, who were seen in the hospital shortly after delivery and at monthly intervals thereafter, kept a record of their infant-feeding practices and provided three 24-hour dietary recalls per month. The women were placed in one of three groups according to their infant-feeding practices: breast-feeding exclusively, combination of breast- and formula-feeding, and formula-feeding only. Changes in anthropometric variables at 6 months postpartum were similar in the three groups, but mothers who breast-fed exclusively or partially had significantly larger reductions in hip circumference measurements (3.6% and 3.1%, respectively) and were less above their prepregnancy weights at 1 month postpartum (7.8% and 8.5% above prepregnancy weight, respectively) than mothers who fed formula exclusively (0.68% reduction in hip circumference and 13.7% above prepregnancy weight). Our findings indicate that a womans choice of infant-feeding practice influences postpartum anthropometric changes, but these effects may be temporary.

Wheat Bran Decreases Aberrant Crypt Foci, Preserves Normal Proliferation, and Increases Intraluminal Butyrate Levels in Experimental Colon Cancer

BACKGROUND Dietary wheat bran protects against colon cancer, but the mechanism(s) of this effect is not known. Butyrate, produced by colonic bacterial fermentation of dietary polysaccharides, such as wheat bran, induces apoptosis and decreases proliferation in colon cancer cell lines. Whether similar effects occur in vivo is not well defined. We hypothesized that wheat brans antineoplastic effects in vivo may be mediated in part by butyrates modulation of apoptosis and proliferation. METHODS Male F344 rats were fed wheat bran-supplemented or an isocaloric, isonitrogenous fiber-free diet. Rats were treated with one dose of the carcinogen azoxymethane or vehicle with sacrifice after 5 days (tumor initiation); or two doses (days O and 7) with sacrifice after 56 days (tumor promotion). Study variables included fecal butyrate levels and the intermediate biomarkers of colon carcinogenesis, aberrant crypt foci (ACF), and changes in crypt cell proliferation and apoptosis. RESULTS During tumor initiation, wheat bran produced greater apoptosis (p = .01), a trend toward less proliferation, and preserved the normal zone of proliferation (p = .01). At tumor promotion, wheat bran decreased the number of ACF (proximal colon, p = .005; distal colon, p = .047) and maintained the normal proliferative zone. The fiber-free diet shifted the zone of proliferation into the premalignant pattern in both studies. Wheat bran produced significantly higher fecal butyrate (p = .01; .004, .00001) levels than the fiber-free diet throughout the tumor promotion study. CONCLUSIONS Wheat bran increased apoptosis and controlled proliferation during tumor initiation and resulted in decreased ACF. Wheat brans antineoplastic effects occurred early after carcinogen exposure, and were associated with increased fecal butyrate levels.

Nutrition Assessment of College Wrestlers.

In brief: The authors used diet recall, a food record, a written test, interviews, questionnaires, and anthropometry to examine the nutrition and weight-control practices and knowledge of 42 wrestlers from two college teams. Data were collected before, during, and after the wrestling season. During the season, many of the wrestlers did not meet two thirds of the recommended dietary allowance for calories, protein, vitamins C, A, B6, and thiamine, iron, zinc, and magnesium, though their diets were more adequate before and after the season. The wrestlers, who lacked a good understanding of nutrition, relied primarily on food restriction and dehydration to lose weight; some also used vomiting, laxatives, and diuretics.

The Effect of Training in Reduced Energy Density Eating and Food Self-monitoring Accuracy on Weight Loss Maintenance

Background: Failure to maintain weight losses in lifestyle change programs continues to be a major problem and warrants investigation of innovative approaches to weight control.

Nutritional and metabolic profile of children with epidermolysis bullosa

Abstract: The clinical features of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) include oral, pharyngeal, gastrointestinal, and total‐body blistering. This results in the potential for decreased oral intake, malabsorption, anemia, and depressed viseral protein stores, and a multifactorial etiology for the development of malnutrition and growth retardation. Thus, it was the purpose of this study to document the nutritional and metabolic profile of seven children with junctional or recessive dystrophic EB as compared to seven age‐ and sex‐matched controls. Each child underwent a comprehensive nutritional assessment, including evaluation of anthropometric, dietary, and biochemical values and determination of resting energy expenditures. This study demonstrated that subjects with EB are statistically different for all anthropometric values studied and represent a population suffering from the effects of acute and chronic malnutrition. Nutrient deficiencies were reported for zinc, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and iron; vitamines A, D, E, B1, B12, and B6; protein, and calories. Comparison of laboratory values revealed significantly lower values for hemoglobin, hematocrit, and zinc. This research illustrates the magnitude of the growth deficits, and nutrient and biochemical deficiencies present in children with EB. The results provide a strong argument for the value of nutritional assessment and intervention and their potential impact in this population. Optimizing autritional status may be one viable method of improving the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease and ultimately improving the overall quality of life.

Heart rate and sleep time: their relationship with growth and adiposity in male infants.

In a clinical trial based on the direct relationship between heart rate activity and energy expenditure during awake and asleep states, 21 healthy 18-month-old infants had their heart rate monitored over a period of 24 h and correlated with their nutritional intake, growth parameters, and measurements of adiposity (fat cell size and skinfold thickness). Infants with higher 24-h and asleep heart rates had smaller fat cells (r = -0.50) and skinfold thickness (abdominal r = -0.70, suprailiac r = -0.80, triceps r = -0.67). Infants with higher relative weight had higher heart rates during awake periods (r = 0.60). Infants sleeping for longer periods had higher weight gain velocity from birth (r = 0.51) and higher relative weight (r = 0.54). This study demonstrates the heart rate activity and duration of sleep are related to growth and adipose tissue deposition during infancy.