Nutritional Quality of Major Meals Consumed Away From Home in Brazil and Its Association With the Overall Diet Quality.

Nutritional quality of major meals consumed away from home in Brazil and its association with the overall diet quality.

Prev Med. 2013 May 3;
Gorgulho BM, Fisberg RM, Marchioni DM

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the nutritional quality of meals consumed away from home and its association with overall diet quality. METHOD: Data obtained from 834 participants of a Health Survey in São Paulo, Brazil. Food intake was measured by a 24-hour dietary recall applied telephonically using the Automated Multiple-Pass Method. Overall dietary quality was assessed by the Brazilian Healthy Eating Index Revised (B-HEIR) and the Meal Quality Index (MQI) was used to evaluate dietary quality of the main meals. The association between the B-HEIR and the MQI was assessed by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The consumption of at least one of the three main meals away from home was reported for 32% of respondents (70 adolescents, 156 adults and 40 elderly). The average MQI score of lunch consumed away from home was lower than lunch consumed at home, with higher amounts of total and saturated fats. The average score of B-HEIR was 58 points and was associated with the MQI score, energy, meal consumption location and gender. CONCLUSION: Lunch consumed away from home presented the worst quality, being higher in total and satured fat. However, the meals consumed at home also need improvement. HubMed – eating

Neural circuits and motivational processes for hunger.

Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2013 May 3;
Sternson SM, Nicholas Betley J, Cao ZF

How does an organism’s internal state direct its actions? At one moment an animal forages for food with acrobatic feats such as tree climbing and jumping between branches. At another time, it travels along the ground to find water or a mate, exposing itself to predators along the way. These behaviors are costly in terms of energy or physical risk, and the likelihood of performing one set of actions relative to another is strongly modulated by internal state. For example, an animal in energy deficit searches for food and a dehydrated animal looks for water. The crosstalk between physiological state and motivational processes influences behavioral intensity and intent, but the underlying neural circuits are poorly understood. Molecular genetics along with optogenetic and pharmacogenetic tools for perturbing neuron function have enabled cell type-selective dissection of circuits that mediate behavioral responses to physiological state changes. Here, we review recent progress into neural circuit analysis of hunger in the mouse by focusing on a starvation-sensitive neuron population in the hypothalamus that is sufficient to promote voracious eating. We also consider research into the motivational processes that are thought to underlie hunger in order to outline considerations for bridging the gap between homeostatic and motivational neural circuits. HubMed – eating

Feeding Dysfunction in Single Ventricle Patients with Feeding Disorder.

Congenit Heart Dis. 2013 May 7;
Hill G, Silverman A, Noel R, Bartz PJ

PURPOSE: To determine whether caregivers of children with single ventricle heart defects identified as having feeding disorder will report more frequent feeding dysfunction, or maladaptive mealtime behavior and/or interactions, when compared with reference populations. METHODS: As part of routine evaluation, parents of children evaluated at the Feeding, Swallowing, and Nutrition Center at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin completed previously validated questionnaires to assess feeding dysfunction and parental stress. Parental responses for single ventricle patients were compared with all other children evaluated with a feeding disorder. RESULTS: Questionnaires were completed in eight patients with single ventricle heart defects. The mean age was 36 ± 23 months, with five females (63%). Mean weight-for-age z-score was -1.4 ± 0.9. Compared with noncardiac feeding clinic children, there was more reported child resistance to eating (83 ± 15% vs. 44 ± 2%; P = .05). Single ventricle parents were more likely to report distress (50 ± 18% vs. 21 ± 2%; P = .04) and a difficult child (63 ± 17% vs. 31 ± 2%; P = .05). There was also more defensive responding among parents of single ventricle children (63 ± 17% vs. 29 ± 2%; P = .04). CONCLUSION: Single ventricle patients evaluated for disordered feeding more frequently showed resistance to eating and parental distress than noncardiac feeding clinic patients. Parents of these children underestimated the degree of feeding difficulty by defensive responding and had more parental distress. These findings suggest that feeding dysfunction can contribute to longer-term feeding and growth problems in single ventricle patients with feeding disorder. HubMed – eating

Prevention of Obesity and Diabetes in Childbearing Women.

J Midwifery Womens Health. 2013 May 3;
Trout KK, Ellis KK, Bratschie A

Obesity and diabetes have become pandemic in the United States, with more than one-third of the US population obese and 8.3% of the population affected by diabetes. Efforts to prevent type 2 diabetes focus primarily on healthy eating and physical activity. In particular, women from at-risk racial and ethnic groups and those who have experienced gestational diabetes are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Achieving a healthy weight prior to conception, staying within weight gain guidelines during pregnancy, and losing accumulated pregnancy weight postpartum are key prevention factors. Maintaining a healthy weight in the long-term is a challenge. Behavioral psychology and coaching techniques are presented in this article that can be useful in sustaining behaviors that promote a healthy weight. HubMed – eating