Volume 19 Issue 4

▪ Keyword : irritable bowel syndrome/constipation, kiwifruit, colon transit time, bowel function, defecation frequency

▪ Content : Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional disorder of the gastrointestinal system, and is characterized by abdominal pain, diarrhea (IBS/D), constipation (IBS/C), and alternating diarrhea and constipation (IBSC/A). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a four week kiwifruit intervention on bowel function in patients diagnosed with IBS/C. Fifty-four patients with IBS/C and 16 healthy adults participated in this study.

▪ Keyword : energy requirement, Chinese, doubly labeled water, basal energy expenditure, total energy expenditure

▪ Content : Objective: The current recommendations on dietary energy requirements in China have been based on total energy expenditure (TEE) derived from theoretical factorial calculations expressed as multiples of basal energy expenditure (BEE). Few direct measurements of TEE and BEE have been conducted in Chinese people. This study was designed to measure the TEE and BEE of healthy, light active women of normal body weight living in China, and to evaluate the recommendations on dietary energy requirements by comparing the data correspondingly.

▪ Keyword : adolescent, nutrition, diet fads, BMI, alkaline phosphatase

▪ Content : In Western countries the increasing prevalence of obesity in young people is a major public health concern. While the focus has been on reducing obesity, paradoxically the success of these campaigns may result in unhealthy nutritional practices. The aim of this study was to investigate the use and impact of weight control techniques on the health of adolescent females.

▪ Keyword : bone mineral density, genetic polymorphism, Japan, lifestyle, low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 gene

▪ Content : A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the relation between the changes of bone mineral density (BMD) over a seven-year period and A1330V polymorphism of the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) gene or lifestyle factors. The subjects were 113 premenopausal female employees from a large-scale integrated manufacturing facility in Japan aged 25.6±4.2 years (mean ± standard deviation) at baseline

▪ Keyword : phytoestrogens, isoflavones, lignans, life style, socio-demographic

▪ Content : The purpose was to determine intake of phytoestrogens in a sample of older Australian women, and to investigate associated lifestyle factors. Subjects were an age-stratified sample of 511 women aged 40-80 y, randomly selected from the electoral roll and participating in the Longitudinal Assessment of Ageing in Women at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

▪ Keyword : dietary patterns, cluster analysis, dietary reference intakes, nutritional adequacy, Japanese young women

▪ Content : Information on nutritional adequacy and inadequacy of dietary patterns is useful when making practical dietary recommendations. We examined nutritional inadequacy of dietary patterns among 3756 Japanese female dietetic students aged 18-20 years. Diet was assessed with a validated self-administered diet history questionnaire (DHQ).

▪ Keyword : prospective cohort study, gastrointestinal tract cancer, diet, mortality, salted food

▪ Content : Purpose: To investigate whether a high salted food intake increases the risk of gastrointestinal tract cancer mortality. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 6830 Japanese inhabitants to evaluate the association between salted food consumption and the risk of gastrointestinal tract cancer mortality. Data were obtained from a prospective cohort study in Japan.

▪ Keyword : calcium, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, iron, lung function, minerals

▪ Content : To investigate the relationship between dietary intake of minerals and the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a case-control study was conducted in central Japan. A total of 278 referred patients (244 men and 34 women) aged 50-75 years with COPD diagnosed within the past four years and 340 community-based controls undertook spirometric measurements of lung function.

▪ Keyword : iodine deficiency, urinary iodine, iodised salt, school children, Malaysia

▪ Content : A nationwide cross-sectional school-based survey was undertaken among children aged 8-10 years old to determine the current iodine deficiency status in the country. Determination of urinary iodine (UI) and palpation of the thyroid gland were carried out among 18,012 and 18,078 children respectively while iodine test of the salt samples was done using Rapid Test Kits and the iodometric method.

▪ Keyword : body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio, hyperglycemia

▪ Content : Background: Obesity is a strong risk factor for hyperglycemia. However, the performance of waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) in predicting hyperglycemia was inconclusive; and ethnic differences may exist in the associations. Objective: The objective was to compare WHtR, WC, WHR and BMI in predicting hyperglycemia among Chinese adults and identify optimal cut-off points.

▪ Keyword : mixed fiber, soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, diarrhea, surgical critically ill

▪ Content : Diarrhea commonly occurs in surgical critically ill patients, especially septic patients and fiber formulas have been reported to improve diarrhea. Most reports have used soluble or insoluble fiber exclusively, while the effects of a mixed fiber diet remain unclear. This study compares diarrhea scores between mixed-fiber and non fiber diets in surgical septic patients receiving broad spectrum antibiotics.

▪ Keyword : bioelectrical impedance, partial body composition, fat, muscle, children

▪ Content : To clarify the growth pattern of body composition by body part for the management of childhood obesity, we measured body fat and muscle using BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) in 685 Japanese elementary school children (aged 6-11 years). The growth patterns of percentage body fat (%BF), fat mass (FM), and muscle mass (MM) were examined throughout the whole body and in various body parts.

▪ Keyword : vitamin D, calcium intake, PTH, menarche, India

▪ Content : Vitamin D deficiency is common among children and adolescents in India, in spite of abundant sunshine. We conducted a pilot; double blind randomised controlled trial to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on bone mineral content in underprivileged adolescent girls, in Pune, India.

▪ Keyword : gastric emptying, infant formula, whey, prebiotics, gastrointestinal comfort

▪ Content : Development of new infant formulas aims to replicate the benefits of breast milk. One benefit of breast milk over infant formulas is greater gastrointestinal comfort. We compared indicators of gastrointestinal comfort in infants fed a whey-predominant formula containing long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides, and infants fed a control casein-predominant formula without additional ingredients.

▪ Keyword : human milk, complementary foods, infant feeding, micronutrient intake, Guatemala

▪ Content : Background: In developing countries, complementary foods are often introduced earlier or later than appropriate and the quality is frequently insufficient, particularly in rural areas where complementary foods have traditionally been based on starchy gruels. Adequate intakes of a number of nutrients are recognized to be problematic in traditional complementary feeding regimens in developing societies.

▪ Keyword : bitter, TAS2R38, single nucleotide polymorphism, Malaysia, nutrigenomics

▪ Content : Recently, the bitter receptor gene (TAS2R38) was identified to be responsible for phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) bitter sensitivity. Its two predominant haplotypes at three Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) are found to be definitive for the PTC status, which the ProAlaVal and AlaValIle haplotypes are associated with tasters and non-tasters, respectively.

▪ Keyword : eicosapentaenoic, bioavailability, monoglyceride, diglyceride, triglyceride

▪ Content : Omega 3 fatty acids have healthcare benefits, but their absorption characteristics are not well defined, particularly for strategies to improve their bioavailability. We performed a double blind study comparing the bioavailability of 20% eicosapentaenoic acid in 4.5 grams of: natural triglyceride, reconstituted triglyceride, enzymatically synthesized triglyceride, monoglyceride and diglyceride.

▪ Keyword : interleukin-6, polymorphism, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, HDL-c, interaction

▪ Content : Objective: Heterogeneity in circulating lipid concentrations in response to different dietary fat intakes may be due, in part, to gene polymorphism of cytokine related to inflammation. The objective was to determine whether dietary n-3 PUFAs intake influenced the effects of IL-6 -572 polymorphism on plasma lipids and apolipoproteins.

▪ Keyword : anemia, iron, retinol, IL-2, lymphocyte proliferation

▪ Content : Background: Iron and vitamin A deficiencies impact anemia and the immune system. Objective: to investigate the effect of iron combined with retinol supplementation on iron status, IL-2 level and lymphocyte proliferation. Methods: a double-blind randomized trial conducted over 2 months.