Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Commons^™

Study Protocol For An Adapted Personal Project Analysis To Measure Vertical Inter-Goal Relations On Physical Activity And Diet, Sara Kassas, Catherine Culot, Geert Crombez, Annique Smeding, Christophe Leys, Debbe Thompson, Ann Desmet

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: The promotion of multiple healthy lifestyles has been implemented as part of public health efforts to prevent and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases. However, these interventions have shown a heterogeneity in their effectiveness. The pursuit of multiple daily goals may influence overall progress in achieving health goals. Horizontal inter-goal relations can be conflicting (due to time constraints) or facilitating (due to goal compatibility) and impact progress towards goal achievement. Personal values also play an important role in health promotion. Personal values direct attention towards accomplishing a higher-level goal through goal setting. Identifying the conflicting or facilitating relationships between …

External Validation Of A Prediction Model For Estimating Fat Mass In Children And Adolescents In 19 Countries: Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis, Mohammed T Hudda, Jonathan C K Wells, Linda S Adair, Jose R A Alvero-Cruz, Maxine N Ashby-Thompson, Martha N Ballesteros-Vásquez, Jesus Barrera-Exposito, Benjamin Caballero, Elvis A Carnero, Geoff J Cleghorn, Peter S W Davies, Malgorzata Desmond, Delan Devakumar, Dympna Gallagher, Elvia V Guerrero-Alcocer, Ferdinand Haschke, Mary Horlick, Houda Ben Jemaa, Ashraful I Khan, Amani Mankai, Makama A Monyeki, Hilde L Nashandi, Luis Ortiz-Hernandez, Guy Plasqui, Felipe F Reichert, Alma E Robles-Sardin, Elaine Rush, Roman J Shypailo, Jakub G Sobiecki, Gill A Ten Hoor, Jesús Valdés, V Pujitha Wickramasinghe, William W Wong, Richard D Riley, Christopher G Owen, Peter H Whincup, Claire M Nightingale

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Objective: To evaluate the performance of a UK based prediction model for estimating fat-free mass (and indirectly fat mass) in children and adolescents in non-UK settings.

Design: Individual participant data meta-analysis.

Setting: 19 countries.

Participants: 5693 children and adolescents (49.7% boys) aged 4 to 15 years with complete data on the predictors included in the UK based model (weight, height, age, sex, and ethnicity) and on the independently assessed outcome measure (fat-free mass determined by deuterium dilution assessment).

Main outcome measures: The outcome of the UK based prediction model was natural log transformed fat-free mass (lnFFM). Predictive performance statistics of …

Mochi: A Comprehensive Cross-Platform Tool For Amplicon-Based Microbiota Analysis, Jun-Jie Zheng, Po-Wen Wang, Tzu-Wen Huang, Yao-Jong Yang, Hua-Sheng Chiu, Pavel Sumazin, Ting-Wen Chen

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Motivation: Microbiota analyses have important implications for health and science. These analyses make use of 16S/18S rRNA gene sequencing to identify taxa and predict species diversity. However, most available tools for analyzing microbiota data require adept programming skills and in-depth statistical knowledge for proper implementation. While long-read amplicon sequencing can lead to more accurate taxa predictions and is quickly becoming more common, practitioners have no easily accessible tools with which to perform their analyses.

Results: We present MOCHI, a GUI tool for microbiota amplicon sequencing analysis. MOCHI preprocesses sequences, assigns taxonomy, identifies different abundant species and predicts species diversity and …

Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes Among Individuals With Excess Weight: Weight Trajectory Effects, Arthur H Owora, David B Allison, Xuan Zhang, Nana Gletsu-Miller, Kishore M Gadde

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) among individuals with overweight or obesity is well-established; however, questions remain about the temporal dynamics of weight change (gain or loss) on the natural course of T2D in this at-risk population. Existing epidemiologic evidence is limited to studies that discretely sample and assess excess weight and T2D risk at different ages with limited follow-up, yet changes in weight may have time-varying and possibly non-linear effects on T2D risk. Predicting the impact of weight change on the risk of T2D is key to informing primary prevention. We critically review the …

The Associations Between Relative And Absolute Body Mass Index With Mortality Rate Based On Predictions From Stigma Theory, Gregory Pavela, Nengjun Yi, Luis Mestre, Stella Lartey, Pengcheng Xun, David B Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: The social consequences of obesity may influence health and mortality rate (MR), given obesity's status as a highly stigmatized condition. Hence, a high absolute body mass index (BMI) in conjunction with the stigmatization of a high BMI may each independently increase the rate of MR.

Objectives: We tested whether relative BMI, defined as ordinal rank within a social reference group jointly defined by age, sex, and race/ethnicity, is associated with MR independent of absolute BMI.

Methods: Data were from three nationally representative datasets: the Health and Retirement Study (n = 31,115), the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS, n = …

Redox-Engineering Enhances Maize Thermotolerance And Grain Yield In The Field, Stuart A Sprague, Tej Man Tamang, Trevor Steiner, Qingyu Wu, Ying Hu, Tayebeh Kakeshpour, Jungeun Park, Jian Yang, Zhao Peng, Blake Bergkamp, Impa Somayanda, Morgan Peterson, Ely Oliveira Garcia, Yangfan Hao, Paul St Amand, Guihua Bai, Paul A Nakata, Ivo Rieu, David P Jackson, Ninghui Cheng, Barbara Valent, Kendal D Hirschi, Sv Krishna Jagadish, Sanzhen Liu, Frank F White, Sunghun Park

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Increasing populations and temperatures are expected to escalate food demands beyond production capacities, and the development of maize lines with better performance under heat stress is desirable. Here, we report that constitutive ectopic expression of a heterologous glutaredoxin S17 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtGRXS17) can provide thermotolerance in maize through enhanced chaperone activity and modulation of heat stress-associated gene expression. The thermotolerant maize lines had increased protection against protein damage and yielded a sixfold increase in grain production in comparison to the non-transgenic counterparts under heat stress field conditions. The maize lines also displayed thermotolerance in the reproductive stages, resulting in …

Human Total, Basal And Activity Energy Expenditures Are Independent Of Ambient Environmental Temperature, Xueying Zhang, Yosuke Yamada, Hiroyuki Sagayama, Philip N Ainslie, Ellen E Blaak, Maciej S Buchowski, Graeme L Close, Jamie A Cooper, Sai Krupa Das, Lara R Dugas, Michael Gurven, Asmaa El Hamdouchi, Sumei Hu, Noorjehan Joonas, Peter Katzmarzyk, William E Kraus, Robert F Kushner, William R Leonard, Corby K Martin, Erwin P Meijer, Marian L Neuhouser, Robert M Ojiambo, Yannis P Pitsiladis, Guy Plasqui, Ross L Prentice, Susan B Racette, Eric Ravussin, Leanne M Redman, Rebecca M Reynolds, Susan B Roberts, Luis B Sardinha, Analiza M Silva, Eric Stice, Samuel S Urlacher, Edgar A Van Mil, Brian M Wood, Alexia J Murphy-Alford, Cornelia Loechl, Amy H Luke, Jennifer Rood, Dale A Schoeller, Klaas R Westerterp, William W Wong, Herman Pontzer, John R Speakman, Iaea Dlw Database Consortium

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Lower ambient temperature (Ta) requires greater energy expenditure to sustain body temperature. However, effects of Ta on human energetics may be buffered by environmental modification and behavioral compensation. We used the IAEA DLW database for adults in the USA (n = 3213) to determine the effect of Ta (−10 to +30°C) on TEE, basal (BEE) and activity energy expenditure (AEE) and physical activity level (PAL). There were no significant relationships (p > 0.05) between maximum, minimum and average Ta and TEE, BEE, AEE and PAL. After adjustment for fat-free mass, fat mass and age, statistically significant (p < 0.01) relationships between TEE, BEE and Ta emerged in females but the effect sizes were not biologically meaningful. Temperatures inside buildings are regulated at 18–25°C independent of latitude. Hence, adults in the US modify their environments to keep TEE constant across a wide range of external ambient temperatures.

Dietary Intake Among Children Attending Childcare Centers: Impact Of The New Cacfp Meal Guidelines, Jayna M Dave, Tzuan A Chen, Maha Almohamad, Sonia Cotto-Moreno

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, USDA (US Department of Agriculture) made the first major changes in the CACFP (Child and Adult Care Food Program) meal and snack menu patterns. Childcare centers that serve low-income families qualify to participate and receive reimbursement for meals and snacks served. The purpose of this study was to assess what changes in children's dietary behaviors occurred as a result of the new CACFP meal pattern requirements. This study evaluated these changes at childcare centers operating in Houston and San Antonio, Texas, USA, areas enrolled in the CACFP, pre- (Spring 2016) and post-implementation …

Re-Analysis And Additional Information Needed To Inform Conclusions Comment On Halenova Et Al Deuterium-Depleted Water As Adjuvant Therapeutic Agent For Treatment Of Diet-Induced Obesity In Rats, Colby J Vorland, Xiwei Chen, Daniella E Chusyd, Luis M Mestre, Stephanie L Dickinson, David B Allison, Andrew W Brown

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

We were interested to read the report by Halenova et al. [...].

Genetic Variants In Aldh1l1 And Gldc Influence The Serine-To-Glycine Ratio In Hispanic Children, Sergey A Krupenko, Shelley A Cole, Ruixue Hou, Karin Haack, Sandra Laston, Nitesh R Mehta, Anthony G Comuzzie, Nancy F Butte, V Saroja Voruganti

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: Glycine is a proteogenic amino acid that is required for numerous metabolic pathways, including purine, creatine, heme, and glutathione biosynthesis. Glycine formation from serine, catalyzed by serine hydroxy methyltransferase, is the major source of this amino acid in humans. Our previous studies in a mouse model have shown a crucial role for the 10-formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase enzyme in serine-to-glycine conversion.

Objectives: We sought to determine the genomic influence on the serine-glycine ratio in 803 Hispanic children from 319 families of the Viva La Familia cohort.

Methods: We performed a genome-wide association analysis for plasma serine, glycine, and the serine-glycine ratio …

A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis On Prevalence Of And Risk Factors Associated With Depression, Anxiety And Insomnia In Infectious Diseases, Including Covid-19: A Call To Action, Kai Yuan, Yong-Bo Zheng, Yi-Jie Wang, Yan-Kun Sun, Yi-Miao Gong, Yue-Tong Huang, Xuan Chen, Xiao-Xing Liu, Yi Zhong, Si-Zhen Su, Nan Gao, Yi-Long Lu, Zhe Wang, Wei-Jian Liu, Jian-Yu Que, Ying-Bo Yang, An-Yi Zhang, Meng-Ni Jing, Chen-Wei Yuan, Na Zeng, Michael V Vitiello, Vikram Patel, Seena Fazel, Harry Minas, Graham Thornicroft, Teng-Teng Fan, Xiao Lin, Wei Yan, Le Shi, Jie Shi, Thomas Kosten, Yan-Ping Bao, Lin Lu

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Infectious disease epidemics have become more frequent and more complex during the 21st century, posing a health threat to the general public and leading to psychological symptoms. The current study was designed to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors associated with depression, anxiety and insomnia symptoms during epidemic outbreaks, including COVID-19. We systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, OVID, Medline, Cochrane databases, bioRxiv and medRxiv to identify studies that reported the prevalence of depression, anxiety or insomnia during infectious disease epidemics, up to August 14th, 2020. Prevalence of mental symptoms among different populations including the general public, …

State-Of-The-Art Review: Evidence On Red Meat Consumption And Hypertension Outcomes, Tara Shrout Allen, Harpreet S Bhatia, Alexis C Wood, Shabnam R Momin, Matthew A Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Hypertension (HTN) is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including ischemic heart disease, stroke, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. The prevalence of HTN, as well as mortality rates attributable to HTN, continue to increase, particularly in the United States and among Black populations. The risk of HTN involves a complex interaction of genetics and modifiable risk factors, including dietary patterns. In this regard, there is accumulating evidence that links dietary intake of red meat with a higher risk of poorly controlled blood pressure and HTN. However, research on this topic contains significant methodological limitations, which are described in …

A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial To Assess The Impact Of A Nutrition Intervention On Dietary Behaviors Among Early Care And Education Providers: The Create Healthy Futures Study, Dania Mofleh, Ru-Jye Chuang, Nalini Ranjit, Jill N Cox, Christine Anthony, Shreela V Sharma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Create Healthy Futures is a self-paced, web-based intervention on improving healthy eating behaviors among Early Care and Education (ECE) providers. We examined the impact of web-based Create Healthy Futures on diet quality measured by the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) 2010, dietary behaviors, and related psychosocial and environmental factors among ECE providers. A cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT) was implemented with baseline surveys administered from October 2019-January 2020, intervention implementation from April-May 2020, and post-intervention from May 2020-August 2020. Centered-based ECE programs under the Pennsylvania Head Start Association (n = 12) were recruited and randomized to intervention (n = 5) …

Characteristics Of Eating Behavior Profiles Among Preschoolers With Low-Income Backgrounds: A Person-Centered Analysis, Jennifer Orlet Fisher, Sheryl O Hughes, Alison L Miller, Mildred A Horodynski, Holly E Brophy-Herb, Dawn A Contreras, Niko Kaciroti, Karen E Peterson, Katherine L Rosenblum, Danielle Appugliese, Julie C Lumeng

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: Individual differences in eating behaviors among young children are well-established, but the extent to which behaviors aggregate within individuals to form distinct eating behavior profiles remains unknown. Our objectives were to identify eating behavior profiles among preschool-aged children and evaluate associations with temperament and weight.

Methods: A secondary, cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 2 cohort studies was conducted involving 1004 children aged 3-4 years and their parents with low-income backgrounds. Children's eating behaviors and temperament were assessed by parental report. Body mass index z-scores and weight status were calculated using measured heights and weights. Latent profile analysis (LPA) …

Epixplorer: A Web Server For Prediction, Analysis And Visualization Of Enhancer-Promoter Interactions, Li Tang, Zhizhou Zhong, Yisheng Lin, Yifei Yang, Jun Wang, James F Martin, Min Li

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Long distance enhancers can physically interact with promoters to regulate gene expression through formation of enhancer-promoter (E-P) interactions. Identification of E-P interactions is also important for profound understanding of normal developmental and disease-associated risk variants. Although the state-of-art predictive computation methods facilitate the identification of E-P interactions to a certain extent, currently there is no efficient method that can meet various requirements of usage. Here we developed EPIXplorer, a user-friendly web server for efficient prediction, analysis and visualization of E-P interactions. EPIXplorer integrates 9 robust predictive algorithms, supports multiple types of 3D contact data and multi-omics data as input. The …

The Effect Of Interventions To Prevent Type 2 Diabetes On The Development Of Diabetic Retinopathy: The Dpp/Dppos Experience, Neil H White, Qing Pan, William C Knowler, Emily B Schroeder, Dana Dabelea, Emily Y Chew, Barbara Blodi, Ronald B Goldberg, Xavier Pi-Sunyer, Christine Darwin, Mathias Schlögl, David M Nathan

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Objective: To determine whether interventions that slow or prevent the development of type 2 diabetes in those at risk reduce the subsequent prevalence of diabetic retinopathy.

Research design and methods: The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) randomized subjects at risk for developing type 2 diabetes because of overweight/obesity and dysglycemia to metformin (MET), intensive lifestyle intervention (ILS), or placebo (PLB) to assess the prevention of diabetes. During the DPP and DPP Outcome Study (DPPOS), we performed fundus photography over time on study participants, regardless of their diabetes status. Fundus photographs were graded using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study grading system, …

An Analysis Of The Recent Us Dietary Guidelines Process In Light Of Its Federal Mandate And A National Academies Report, Cheryl Achterberg, Arne Astrup, Dennis M Bier, Janet C King, Ronald M Krauss, Nina Teicholz, Jeff S Volek

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

The US Dietary Guidelines for Americans is an enormously influential policy that has guided US nutrition programs since 1980. During these last 40 years, some researchers have expressed concern that the guidelines are based on an insufficiently rigorous assessment of the scientific evidence, a view that was largely substantiated by a Congressionally mandated 2017 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which identified a need for enhanced transparency, greater scientific rigor, and updates to the scientific methodology for the DGA process. This paper traces the history of these ideas and contextualizes the DGA within the law and …

Context Matters: Preliminary Evidence That The Association Between Positive Affect And Adiposity In Infancy Varies In Social Vs Non-Social Situations, Alexis C Wood, Shabnam R Momin, Mackenzie K Senn, David J Bridgett

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Previous studies have suggested that infants high in negative affect have higher levels of adiposity, arising in part via changes in nutrition (e.g., “feeding to soothe”). Few studies have examined whether positive affect shows similar or inverse associations with adiposity. The current study examined cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between adiposity and observations of positive affect in both a social and a non-social context, using data from infants at four (n = 125) and 12 (n = 80) months of age. Our analyses did not find any cross-sectional associations between positive affect and adiposity (all p > 0.05). However, in the longitudinal …

Tomatoes, Lycopene, And Prostate Cancer: What Have We Learned From Experimental Models?, Nancy E Moran, Jennifer M Thomas-Ahner, Lei Wan, Krystle E Zuniga, John W Erdman, Steven K Clinton

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Human epidemiology suggests a protective effect of tomatoes or tomato phytochemicals, such as lycopene, on prostate cancer risk. However, human epidemiology alone cannot reveal causal relations. Laboratory animal models of prostate cancer provide opportunities to investigate hypotheses regarding dietary components in precisely controlled, experimental systems, contributing to our understanding of diet and cancer risk relations. We review the published studies evaluating the impact of tomatoes and/or lycopene in preclinical models of prostate carcinogenesis and tumorigenesis. The feeding of tomatoes or tomato components demonstrates anti-prostate cancer activity in both transplantable xenograft models of tumorigenesis and models of chemically- and genetically-driven carcinogenesis. …

French-Fried Potato Consumption And Energy Balance: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Daniel L Smith, Rebecca L Hanson, Stephanie L Dickinson, Xiwei Chen, Amy M Goss, John B Cleek, W Timothy Garvey, David B Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: Epidemiologic observations suggest increased potato consumption correlates with weight gain, adiposity, and diabetes risk, whereas nut consumption is associated with weight control and metabolic health. Randomized controlled trial (RCT) data indicate humans respond to changes in energy intake in single dietary components and compensate for extra energy consumed.

Objectives: We completed an RCT testing whether increased daily potato consumption influences energy balance [specifically, fat mass (FM)] compared with calorie-matched almond consumption.

Methods: A 30-d RCT of 180 adults prescribed calorie-matched (300 kcal/d, n = 60 participants/group) than consumed 1 of the following: 1) almonds (almond group), 2) French fries …

Associations Between Adherence To The Dietary Approaches To Stop Hypertension (Dash) Diet And Six Glucose Homeostasis Traits In The Microbiome And Insulin Longitudinal Evaluation Study (Miles), Gautam Ramesh, Alexis C Wood, Matthew A Allison, Stephen S Rich, Elizabeth T Jensen, Yii-Der I Chen, Jerome I Rotter, Alain G Bertoni, Mark O Goodarzi

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background and aims: The DASH diet conveys protection against type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) Via plant-based and non-plant-based recommendations. Research has not identified which glucose homeostasis pathways are improved. We examined associations between adherence to a DASH diet and six glucose homeostasis traits, probing whether associations could be attributed to the plant-based (DASH-P) and/or non-plant based (DASH-NP) components.

Methods and results: We included data from 295 adults without T2D (age 59.3 ± 9.00 years; 63.46% non-Hispanic White and 36.54% African American, self-reported race ancestry) participating in the Microbiome and Insulin Longitudinal Evaluation Study (MILES). An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) …

Circadian Disruption Of Hippocampus In An Early Senescence Male Mouse Model, Jennifer A Davis, Jodi R Paul, Mugdha V Mokashi, Stefani A Yates, Daniel J Mount, Hira A Munir, Lacy K Goode, Martin E Young, David B Allison, Karen L Gamble

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Age-related cognitive decline and disruptions in circadian rhythms are growing problems as the average human life span increases. Multiple strains of the senescence-accelerated mouse (SAM) show reduced life span, and the SAMP8 strain in particular has been well documented to show cognitive deficits in behavior as well as a bimodal pattern of circadian locomotor activity. However, little is known about circadian regulation within the hippocampus of these strains of mice. Here we test the hypothesis that in this early senescence model, disruption of the molecular circadian clock in SAMP8 animals drives disrupted behavior and physiology. We found normal rhythms in …

The Effect Of Reduced Cp, Synthetic Amino Acid Supplemented Diets On Growth Performance And Nutrient Excretion In Wean To Finish Swine, Caitlin E Vonderohe, Kayla M Mills, Shule Liu, Matthew D Asmus, Emily R Otto-Tice, Brian T Richert, Ji-Qin Ni, John Scott Radcliffe

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Mixed sex pigs (n = 720) were placed in 12 rooms (Purdue Swine Environmental Research Building) to measure the effect of reduced crude protein (CP), amino acid (AA)-supplemented diets on growth and the carcass. Pigs were blocked by body weight (BW) and gender and allotted to room and pen (10 mixed-sex pigs/pen). Pigs were fed a nine-phase, wean-finish program. Control pigs consumed corn-soybean meal-distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) diets containing no to minimal (Met) synthetic AA. The 2X diet was formulated to meet the seventh most-limiting AA, and balanced using synthetic AAs to meet all AA needs. The …

An Exercise-Inducible Metabolite That Suppresses Feeding And Obesity, Veronica L Li, Yang He, Kévin Contrepois, Hailan Liu, Joon T Kim, Amanda L Wiggenhorn, Julia T Tanzo, Alan Sheng-Hwa Tung, Xuchao Lyu, Peter-James H Zushin, Robert S Jansen, Basil Michael, Kang Yong Loh, Andrew C Yang, Christian S Carl, Christian T Voldstedlund, Wei Wei, Stephanie M Terrell, Benjamin C Moeller, Rick M Arthur, Gareth A Wallis, Koen Van De Wetering, Andreas Stahl, Bente Kiens, Erik A Richter, Steven M Banik, Michael P Snyder, Yong Xu, Jonathan Z Long

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Exercise confers robust protection against obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other cardiometabolic diseases.1–5 However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms that mediate the metabolic benefits of physical activity remain unclear.6 Here we show that exercise stimulates production of Lac-Phe, a blood-borne signaling metabolite that suppresses feeding and obesity. Lac-Phe biosynthesis from lactate occurs in CNDP2+ cells including immune cells, epithelial cells, and mesenchymal stem cells localized to diverse organs. In diet-induced obese mice, pharmacological elevation of circulating Lac-Phe reduces food intake without affecting movement or energy expenditure. Chronic administration of Lac-Phe decreases adiposity and body weight and …

The Hypothalamus For Whole-Body Physiology: From Metabolism To Aging, Tiemin Liu, Yong Xu, Chun-Xia Yi, Qingchun Tong, Dongsheng Cai

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Obesity and aging are two important epidemic factors for metabolic syndrome and many other health issues, which contribute to devastating diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, stroke and cancers. The brain plays a central role in controlling metabolic physiology in that it integrates information from other metabolic organs, sends regulatory projections and orchestrates the whole-body function. Emerging studies suggest that brain dysfunction in sensing various internal cues or processing external cues may have profound effects on metabolic and other physiological functions. This review highlights brain dysfunction linked to genetic mutations, sex, brain inflammation, microbiota, stress as causes for whole-body pathophysiology, arguing …

Role Of The Chemokine System In Liver Fibrosis: A Narrative Review, Kyle L Poulsen, Christina K Cajigas-Du Ross, Jarod K Chaney, Laura E Nagy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Liver fibrosis is a disease with characteristics of an aberrant wound healing response. Fibrosis is commonly the end-stage for chronic liver diseases like alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), metabolic-associated liver disease, viral hepatitis, and hepatic autoimmune disease. Innate immunity contributes to the progression of many diseases through multiple mechanisms including production of pro-inflammatory mediators, leukocyte infiltration and tissue injury. Chemokines and their receptors orchestrate accumulation and activation of immune cells in tissues and are associated with multiple liver diseases; however, much less is known about their potential roles in liver fibrosis. This is a narrative review of current …

Cooking After Cancer: The Structure And Implementation Of A Community-Based Cooking Program For Cancer Survivors, Margaret Raber, Molly Costigan, Joya Chandra, Karen Basen-Engquist

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cancer survivors are a growing population that may particularly benefit from nutrition and lifestyle interventions. Community-based programs teaching healthy cooking skills are increasingly popular and offer an opportunity to support survivors within communities. The objective of this study is to describe the curriculum and implementation of a cooking class program designed for cancer survivors, housed within an established community-based organization. First, we evaluated the class curriculum for specific constructs. An evidence-based measure of healthy cooking constructs, the Healthy Cooking Index (HCI), was used to analyze included recipes and revealed both summative cooking quality scores and individual constructs underlying the overall …

Parent-Perceived Neighbourhood Environment, Parenting Practices And Preschool-Aged Children Physical Activity And Screen Time: A Cross-Sectional Study Of Two Culturally And Geographically Diverse Cities, Ester Cerin, Anthony Barnett, Tom Baranowski, Rebecca E Lee, Robin R Mellecker, Yi Nam Suen, Jason A Mendoza, Deborah I Thompson, Teresia M O'Connor

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

BACKGROUND: Preschool-aged children's physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) are important health-related behaviours likely influenced by PA opportunities, parental perceptions of neighbourhood safety and parenting practices pertaining to PA and ST. How these factors interact to impact on young children's PA and ST, and whether their effects are generalisable across cultures and geographical location is not known. This study addressed these knowledge gaps by conducting pooled analyses of comparable data from two culturally and geographically diverse samples - Chinese parent-child dyads from an ultra-dense city (Hong Kong, China) and Latino parent-child dyads from a low-density city (Houston, USA).

METHODS: …

The Ventromedial Hypothalamic Nucleus: Watchdog Of Whole-Body Glucose Homeostasis, Longlong Tu, Makoto Fukuda, Qingchun Tong, Yong Xu

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

The brain, particularly the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH), has been long known for its involvement in glucose sensing and whole-body glucose homeostasis. However, it is still not fully understood how the brain detects and responds to the changes in the circulating glucose levels, as well as brain-body coordinated control of glucose homeostasis. In this review, we address the growing evidence implicating the brain in glucose homeostasis, especially in the contexts of hypoglycemia and diabetes. In addition to neurons, we emphasize the potential roles played by non-neuronal cells, as well as extracellular matrix in the hypothalamus in whole-body glucose homeostasis. Further, …

Evaluation Of A Circadian Rhythm And Sleep-Focused Mobile Health Intervention For The Prevention Of Accelerated Summer Weight Gain Among Elementary School-Age Children: Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study, Jennette P Moreno, Hafza Dadabhoy, Salma Musaad, Tom Baranowski, Debbe Thompson, Candice A Alfano, Stephanie J Crowley

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: The i♥rhythm project is a mobile health adaptation of interpersonal and social rhythm therapy designed to promote healthy sleep and behavioral rhythms among 5-8-year olds during summer for the prevention of accelerated summer weight gain.

Objective: This pilot study will examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the i♥rhythm intervention. This will ensure that the research protocol and procedures work as desired and are acceptable to families in preparation for the fully powered randomized controlled trial. The proposed study will examine the willingness of participants to participate in the intervention and determine whether modifications to the intervention, procedures, …