Inhibitory control (IC) is an executive function that plays a central role in the capability to control one's attention and behavior. Growing evidence suggests that deficits in IC are related to ...calorie consumption and obesity development. However, there are only a few studies that have addressed this issue prospectively. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of IC on anthropometric changes at one year follow up in a cohort of Argentinian adolescents.
A prospective cohort study of 569 students (264 boys and 305 girls) aged 13.18 ± 0.36 years at initial evaluation and 14.22 ± 0.29 years at follow up was performed. IC was assessed at baseline and at follow up by means of a computerized Go/No-Go task, and anthropometric measures were performed following standardized procedures. At follow up an abbreviated Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21C) was performed.
Cross sectional analysis performed at the age of 14 revealed an association between IC and obesity, meanwhile at the age of 13 IC was associated with the degree of obesity. Prospective analysis showed that a lower IC at baseline predicted a higher increase in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference at one year of follow up. Subjects with lower IC at follow up rated higher in the uncontrolled eating domain of TFEQ-R21C and presented higher snacking frequency.
A higher IC capacity at baseline might be associated with a more favorable evolution in BMI and waist circumference. A low IC at follow up is associated with obesity and higher uncontrolled eating. This suggests that the identification of subjects with low IC might be useful in order to detect adolescents at risk of obesity at earlier stages.
•Deficit in Inhibitory Control is related to obesity development.•Lower Inhibitory Control at the age of 13 predicts an increase in BMI and waist circumference at one year of follow up.•A low inhibitory control is associated with higher uncontrolled eating.•Inhibitory control evaluation might be useful to detect subjects at risk of weight gain during adolescence.
The current study was undertaken to determine whether Ang-(1-7) is effective in improving metabolic parameters in fructose-fed rats (FFR), a model of metabolic syndrome. Six-week-old male ...Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either normal rat chow (control) or the same diet plus 10% fructose in drinking water. For the last 2 wk of a 6-wk period of either diet, control and FFR were implanted with subcutaneous osmotic pumps that delivered Ang-(1-7) (100 ng.kg(-1).min(-1)). A subgroup of each group of animals (control or FFR) underwent a sham surgery. We measured systolic blood pressure (SBP) together with plasma levels of insulin, triglycerides, and glucose. A glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed, with plasma insulin levels determined before and 15 and 120 min after glucose administration. In addition, we evaluated insulin signaling through the IR/IRS-1/PI3K/Akt pathway as well as the phosphorylation levels of IRS-1 at inhibitory site Ser(307) in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. FFR displayed hypertriglyceridemia, hyperinsulinemia, increased SBP, and an exaggerated release of insulin during a GTT, together with decreased activation of insulin signaling through the IR/IRS-1/PI3K/Akt pathway in skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue, as well as increased levels of IRS-1 phospho-Ser(307) in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, alterations that correlated with increased activation of the kinases mTOR and JNK. Chronic Ang-(1-7) treatment resulted in normalization of all alterations. These results show that Ang-(1-7) ameliorates insulin resistance in a model of metabolic syndrome via a mechanism that could involve the modulation of insulin signaling.
We quantified and analyzed the effect that the domestic and international demand for beef and soybean proteins had on carbon emissions in Argentina during the first two decades of the twenty-first ...century. We also analyzed the influence of both factors on the national deforestation rates. Principal component analysis and simple regression analyses were in turn used to detect components that maximize data variance, and to quantify relevant relationships. Our results show that not all activities considered carbon sources had the same impact on carbon emissions, and not all carbon emissions are equally affected by domestic and international demand of proteins throughout the period 2001–2018. We found a relevant association of both the domestic and international demand with carbon emissions during a first 2001–2009 period, and a less-significant one during a second 2010–2018 period. Deforestation (
P
<0.01), beef (
P
<0.05), and soybean production (
P
> 0.05) were the factors that decreasingly explained carbon emissions. Biased assumptions about the impact of protein demand on carbon emissions in Argentina should be cautiously taken unless they are supported by robust scientific evidence.
Objectives
Understanding the factors related to obesity during childhood allows for improved preventive actions specifically adapted to particular communities. The purpose of this study was to ...identify individual and familiar factors related to obesity in children.
Methods
A cross‐sectional study was conducted in an urban community in Argentina during the years 2015‐2016. Weight and height were measured on a probabilistic sample of 1366 schoolchildren aged 6 to 12 years. BMI categories were established according to International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut‐offs. Data were analyzed using multivariate and logistic regression models. Independent variables corresponded to four domains: anthropometric, socioeconomic and demographic, nutritional, and energy balance.
Results
Twenty percent of children were categorized as overweight (OW) and 12.2% were obese (OB). Parental IOTF grade was positively associated with childhood OW/OB (father B = 0.421 P = 0.000, OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.24‐1.88; mother B = 0.498 P = 0.000, OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.37‐1.97). The remaining variables were negatively associated with OW/OB: hours of sleep (B = −0.566 P = 0.001, OR = 0.57, 95% CI 0.41‐0.79), physical activity (B = −0.362 P = 0.017, OR = 0.70, 95% CI 0‐52‐0.94), and daily milk intake (B = −0.178 P = 0.045, OR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.70‐0.99). Parental IOTF predicted both OW and OB, while sleep hours predicted OW and physical activity predicted OB.
Conclusions
Family should be considered the initial target for effective strategies to reduce obesity. Like physical activity, the promotion of milk and dairy intake, as well as sleep, may have a major role in obesity reduction because of their protective effects in this community.
Different studies have assessed the influence of chewing gum to aid control of appetite and reduce food intake.
The aims of the present study were to evaluate the effects of chewing gum on satiety, ...food hedonics and snack intake and to explore the potential effects of the combination of Garcinia c ambogia, green coffee extract and L-carnitine on satiety, when administered in a gum format.
This was a prospective study in which 57 subjects randomly received three kinds of treatments, in a crossover design: (1) active gum; (2) placebo gum; and (3) no gum. Food preferences and appetite sensations were evaluated by means of the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire and visual analog scales.
There was a significant reduction in low-fat sweet snack intake with placebo gum and the active gum compared to no gum and a reduction in high-fat sweet snack intake with the active gum compared to placebo gum and no gum. Total caloric intake was only reduced in the active gum condition. Both the active and placebo gum conditions significantly reduced hunger and prospective food consumption and increased fullness compared to no gum and were associated with a reduced wanting for sweet food in the LFPQ, consistent in a reduction in the relative preference for sweet snacks versus savoury snacks.
This study supports the notion that chewing gum containing nutraceutical products might aid in the control over snack intake and reduce hunger sensations.
A pesar de los esfuerzos de diversos organismos para reducir la obesidad, sólo algunos países desarrollados muestran una desaceleración o estabilización de su prevalencia. Este trabajo presenta las ...tendencias en el índice de masa corporal (IMC) y las prevalencias de sobrepeso (SP) y obesidad (OB) ocurridas en escolares entre 1990 y 2016, y su distribución socioeconómica. Se compararon tres encuestas transversales realizadas en 1990, 2005/07 y 2015/16 en escolares primarios de Santa Rosa (La Pampa, Argentina). Para estandarizar los valores de IMC y definir las categorías SP y OB se empleó la referencia International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). El tipo de escuela se empleó como medida de nivel socioeconómico (NSE). Para analizar la asociación entre las variables dependientes con año de encuesta, sexo y NSE se aplicaron modelos de regresión lineal (IMC) y logística (SP, OB). El cambio temporal en las prevalencias de SP y OB se evaluó mediante Chi- cuadrado de tendencia entre proporciones. IMC, SP y OB incrementaron significativamente en el periodo 1990-2016, resultando en un tercio de la población con exceso de peso. Entre 2005/07 y 2015/16 sólo hubo incrementos significativos en niños que asistían a escuelas públicas. Las tendencias fueron similares en varones y niñas. Se concluye que el estatus de peso en esta población escolar muestra un patrón de aumento no lineal pero continuo en los últimos 25 años, con una estabilización en los sectores de mayor NSE durante la última década.
Angiotensin (Ang)-(1–7) stimulates proteins belonging to the insulin signaling pathway and ameliorates the Ang II negative effects at this level. However, up to date, receptors involved and ...mechanisms behind these observations remain unknown. Accordingly, in the present study, we explored the in vivo effects of antagonism of the Ang-(1–7) specific Mas receptor on insulin signal transduction in rat insulin-target tissues. We evaluated the acute modulation of insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt, GSK-3β (Glycogen synthase kinase-3β) and AS160 (Akt substrate of 160kDa) by Ang-(1–7) and/or Ang II in the presence and absence of the selective Mas receptor antagonist A-779 in insulin-target tissues of normal rats. Also using A-779, we determined whether the Mas receptor mediates the improvement of insulin sensitivity exerted by chronic Ang-(1–7) treatment in fructose-fed rats (FFR), a model of insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and mild hypertension. The two major findings of the present work are as follows; 1) Ang-(1–7) attenuates acute Ang II-mediated inhibition of insulin signaling components in normal rats via a Mas receptor-dependent mechanism; and 2). The Mas receptor appears to be involved in beneficial effects of Ang-(1–7) on the phosphorylation of crucial insulin signaling mediators (Akt, GSK-3β and AS160), in liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue of FFR. These results shed light into the mechanism by which Ang-(1–7) exerts its positive physiological modulation of insulin actions in classical metabolic tissues and reinforces the central role of Akt in these effects.
► Our data highlight mechanisms of modulation of insulin signaling by Ang-(1-7). ► Ang-(1-7) reverts acute in vivo Ang II-mediated inhibition of insulin signaling. ► Ang-(1-7) restores insulin signaling in fructose-fed rats. ► These actions of Ang-(1-7) disappear in presence of a Mas receptor antagonist. ► Our data shows that Ang-(1-7) modulates insulin action through the Mas receptor.
Obesity is considered a worldwide epidemic. Weight reduction by means of lifestyle changes is difficult to achieve, and pharmacotherapy is frequently needed. Although all currently approved ...anti-obesity agents have proven to be effective to achieve some degree of weight reduction and improve cardiometabolic risk factors, different compounds differ in their mechanism of action and safety profile. However, it is still difficult to achieve and maintain therapeutic objectives along time. The aim of the present article is to summarize the main characteristics of available anti-obesity agents and to explore novel agents that may provide significant clinical benefits in the future.
Metabolic syndrome is an array of closely metabolic disorders that includes glucose intolerance/insulin resistance, central obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Fructose, a highly lipogenic ...sugar, has profound metabolic effects in adipose tissue, and has been associated with the etiopathology of many components of the metabolic syndrome. In adipocytes, the enzyme 11 β-HSD1 amplifies local glucocorticoid production, being a key player in the pathogenesis of central obesity and metabolic syndrome. 11 β-HSD1 reductase activity is dependent on NADPH, a cofactor generated by H6PD inside the endoplasmic reticulum.
Our focus was to explore the effect of fructose overload on epididymal white adipose tissue (EWAT) machinery involved in glucocorticoid production and NADPH and oxidants metabolism.
Male Sprague–Dawley rats fed with a fructose solution (10% (w/v) in tap water) during 9 weeks developed some characteristic features of metabolic syndrome, such as hypertriglyceridemia, and hypertension. In addition, high levels of plasma and EWAT corticosterone were detected. Activities and expressions of H6PD and 11 β-HSD1, NAPDH content, superoxide anion production, expression of NADPH oxidase 2 subunits, and indicators of oxidative metabolism were measured. Fructose overloaded rats showed an increased potential in oxidant production respect to control rats. In parallel, in EWAT from fructose overloaded rats we found higher expression/activity of H6PD and 11 β-HSD1, and NADPH/NADP+ ratio.
Our in vivo results support that fructose overload installs in EWAT conditions favoring glucocorticoid production through higher H6PD expression/activity supplying NADPH for enhanced 11 β-HSD1 expression/activity, becoming this tissue a potential extra-adrenal source of corticosterone under these experimental conditions.
The present study examined whether chronic treatment with angiotensin (ANG)-(1-7) reduces cardiac remodeling and inhibits growth-promoting signaling pathways in the heart of fructose-fed rats (FFR), ...an animal model of insulin resistance. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either normal rat chow (control) or the same diet plus 10% fructose in drinking water. For the last 2 wk of a 6-wk period of the corresponding diet, control and FFR were implanted with osmotic pumps that delivered ANG-(1-7) (100 ng.kg(-1).min(-1)). A subgroup of each group of animals (control or FFR) underwent a sham surgery. We determined heart weight, myocyte diameter, interstitial fibrosis, and perivascular collagen type III deposition as well as the phosphorylation degree of ERK1/2, JNK1/2, and p38MAPK. FFR showed a mild hypertension that was significantly reduced after ANG-(1-7) treatment. Also, FFR displayed higher ANG II circulating and local levels in the heart that remained unaltered after chronic ANG-(1-7) infusion. An increased heart-to-body weight ratio, myocyte diameter, as well as left ventricular fibrosis and perivascular collagen type III deposition were detected in the heart of FFR. Interestingly, significant improvements in these cardiac alterations were obtained after ANG-(1-7) treatment. Finally, FFR that received ANG-(1-7) chronically displayed significantly lower phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2, JNK1/2, and p38MAPK. The beneficial effects obtained by ANG-(1-7) were associated with normal values of Src-homology 2-containing protein-tyrosine phosphatase-1 (SHP-1) activity in the heart. In conclusion, chronic ANG-(1-7) treatment ameliorated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis and attenuated the growth-promoting pathways in the heart. These findings show an important protective role of ANG-(1-7) in the heart of insulin-resistant rats.
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