Recognising the Symptoms: How Common Are Eating Disorders in Pregnancy?
Recognising the Symptoms: How Common Are Eating Disorders in Pregnancy?
Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2013 Mar 14;
Easter A, Bye A, Taborelli E, Corfield F, Schmidt U, Treasure J, Micali N
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate eating disorder diagnostic status and related symptoms in early pregnancy. METHODS: Pregnant women (n=739), attending their first routine antenatal scan, were assessed using an adapted version of the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale (EDDS). Prevalence estimates and eating disorder symptoms were assessed during the first 3?months of pregnancy and, retrospectively, in the 6 to 12?months prior to pregnancy. RESULTS: During pregnancy 7.5% of women met diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder, compared to prepregnancy prevalence of 9.2%. Approximately one quarter (23.4%) of women reported high weight and shape concern during pregnancy; binge eating was endorsed by 8.8%, and 2.3% of women engaged in regular compensatory behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Eating disorders are more common than previously thought in pregnancy. There is a clinical need for increased understanding of eating disorder symptomatology during pregnancy and for appropriate screening tools to be incorporated into antenatal care. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. HubMed – eating
What Do Government Agencies Consider in the Debate Over Added Sugars?
Adv Nutr. 2013; 4(2): 257-261
Klurfeld DM
The place of sugars in the U.S. diet is vigorously debated with much attention on added sugars, those added during processing or preparation of foodstuffs, particularly as they relate to obesity. Federal government agencies have different responsibilities related to the food supply including research, food safety, nutrition assistance, and labeling; therefore, the interpretation of evidence differs depending on the role of the agency. Some common references for government agency positions are the dietary reference intakes and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which together form the foundation for much of federal nutrition policy. Sugar consumption has increased in proportion to intake of other nutrients since 1980, when obesity began to increase substantially. Median intake of added sugars is ?12% of energy, whereas total sugar intake is ?22% of energy. Although there are differences in the way in which individual monosaccharides are metabolized, they are rarely consumed alone. A key issue related to obesity is likely the increased number of eating occasions and portion size for many indulgent foods; grain-based snacks have become the largest source of energy in the U.S. diet. There are currently insufficient data to justify a decision on regulation or taxation of sugar-containing foods and the like because the approach must be weighed against personal freedoms; the list of foods associated with obesity includes many commonly eaten items, and it is not likely that they are all causally related. Government should consider the totality of the evidence including the strength of the relationship of sugar intake with various health outcomes. HubMed – eating
Choline’s role in maintaining liver function: new evidence for epigenetic mechanisms.
Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2013 Mar 13;
Mehedint MG, Zeisel SH
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Humans eating diets low in choline develop fatty liver and liver damage. Rodents fed choline-methionine-deficient diets not only develop fatty liver, but also progress to develop fibrosis and hepatocarcinoma. This review focuses on the role of choline in liver function, with special emphasis on the epigenetic mechanisms of action. RECENT FINDINGS: Dietary intake of methyl donors like choline influences the methylation of DNA and histones, thereby altering the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. The liver is the major organ within which methylation reactions occur, and many of the hepatic genes involved in pathways for the development of fatty liver, hepatic fibrosis, and hepatocarcinomas are epigenetically regulated. SUMMARY: Dietary intake of choline varies over a three-fold range and many humans have genetic polymorphisms that increase their demand for choline. Choline is an important methyl donor needed for the generation of S-adenosylmethionine. Dietary choline intake is an important modifier of epigenetic marks on DNA and histones, and thereby modulates the gene expression in many of the pathways involved in liver function and dysfunction. HubMed – eating
Eating Time Modulations of Physiology and Health: Life Lessons from Human and Ruminant Models.
Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2012 7; 15(4): 891-899
Nikkhah A
Tissue nutrient supply may be synchronized with endogenous physiological rhythms to optimize animal and human health. Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity have endogenous rhythms that are not essentially dependent on food type and eating. Human glucose tolerance declines as day comes into night. Based on such evolutionary findings, large evening meals must be avoided to reduce risks of visceral adiposity, diabetes, hypertension and related cardiovascular complexities. Ruminants as extremely important food-producing livestock have evolved to ruminate mostly overnight when little grazing occurs, and when rumen reaches a larger volume and fermentation capacity. As such, eating time (e.g., evening vs. morning) will alter postprandial and diurnal patterns of food intake, rumen and peripheral metabolites production and supply, and milk and meat production efficiency. Most recent discoveries suggest that eating time modulates postprandial intake and metabolism patterns in non-grazing lactating cows. Eating rate and absolute intake can increase by evening vs. morning feeding in dairy cows. Evening feeding increased postprandial rumen volatile fatty acids (VFA) peak, and surges of blood insulin, lactate and beta-hydroxybutyrate, and induced a peripartal decline in blood glucose. As a result, milk fat and energy production were increased. While being unfavorable to human health, evening and night feeding have proved beneficial to ruminants. These findings establish a differential chronological basis for food intake and nutrient metabolism in man and food-producing animals. Eating time is a major external cue and a feasible life strategy that affects production and health physiology. HubMed – eating