No abstract

Cardioprotective effects associated with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) have been studied within the Mediterranean diet. However, little is known about its consumption in the traditional Brazilian diet (DieTBra) or without any dietary prescription, particularly in severely obese individuals. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of DieTBra and EVOO in cardiometabolic risk factor (CMRF) reduction in severely obese individuals. We conducted a parallel randomized clinical trial with 149 severely obese individuals (body mass index ≥ 35.0 kg/m2) aged 18–65 years, assigned to three groups: 52 mL/day of EVOO (n = 50), DieTBra (n = 49), and DieTBra + 52 mL/day of EVOO (n = 50). Participants were followed up for 12 weeks. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) was the primary endpoint and several cardiometabolic parameters were secondary endpoints. Endpoints were compared at baseline and at the end of the study using analysis of variance, the Kruskal–Wallis test, and Student’s t-test. The TC/High-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio (−0.33 ± 0.68, p = 0.002) and LDL/HDL ratio (−0.26 ± 0.59, p = 0.005) decreased in the EVOO group. Delta values for all variables showed no significant statistical difference between groups. However, we highlight the clinical significance of LDL-c reduction in the EVOO group by 5.11 ± 21.79 mg/dL and in the DieTBra group by 4.27 ± 23.84 mg/dL. We also found a mean reduction of around 10% for Castelli II (LDL/HDL) and homocysteine in the EVOO group and TG and the TG/HDL ratio in the DieTBra group. EVOO or DieTBra when administered alone lead to reduction in some cardiometabolic risk parameters in severely obese individuals.

BackgroundPrevious intervention studies have reported the association of the PPARG2 Pro12Ala (rs1801282) and IL6 -174G > C (rs1800795) polymorphisms with weight loss; however, their results are inconsistent. We aimed to investigate the effect of the PPARG2 Pro12Ala and IL6 -174G > C polymorphisms on body weight, body composition and metabolic parameters after a 12-week nutritional intervention with a traditional Brazilian diet and extra virgin olive oil supplementation in severely obese patients.MethodsA total of 149 severely obese individuals [body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m2] were randomized into three 12-week nutritional intervention groups – the extra virgin olive oil supplementation (OO) group (n = 50), the traditional Brazilian diet (DieTBra) group (n = 49), and the DieTBra plus extra virgin olive oil supplementation (DieTBra+OO) group (n = 50). Anthropometric measurements, body composition, metabolic parameters, physical activity practise and dietary intake were assessed. The associations were tested using generalized linear models adjusted for confounders.ResultsThe PPARG2 Pro12Ala polymorphism influenced body composition changes. Ala carriers in the intervention groups with extra virgin olive oil supplementation had greater reductions in the percentage of body fat (%BF) (OO: p = 0.049, DietBra+OO: p = 0.004) and greater increases in both fat-free mass (FFM) (OO: p = 0.020, DieTBra: p = 0.007) and lean mass (LM) (OO: p = 0.020, DieTBra+OO: p = 0.007) than did ProPro homozygotes. No association was found for the IL6 -174G > C polymorphism.ConclusionsExtra virgin olive oil intake may modulate favourable body composition changes, promoting a decrease in the %BF and increases in the LM and FFM of severely obese individuals, even without weight loss, in the presence of the Ala allele of the Pro12Ala polymorphism.Trial registrationRegistered under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier No. NCT02463435.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12986-018-0289-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Body fat estimation allows measuring changes over time attributed to interventions and treatments in different settings such as hospitals, clinical practice, nursing homes and research. However, only few studies have compared different body fat estimation methods in older adults with inconsistent results. We estimated body fat percentage (%BF) and the level of agreement among dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), bioelectrical impedance (BIA) and Durnin & Womersley's skinfold eq. (SF) in older Brazilian adults aged 60 years and older from the Elderly Project Goiânia, Brazil. Methods: The analytical sample comprised of 132 participants who had DXA data. The level of agreement for the %BF estimated by BIA, SF and DXA i.e. reference method, was examined using Bland and Altman's and Lin's plot. Results: Overall, women had higher body mass index and %BF values measured by all three methods used. BIA and SF equation showed strong concordance to estimate body fat percentage in all participants (CCC = 0.857 and 0.861, respectively) and among women (CCC = 0.788 and 0.726, respectively) when compared to DXA. However, both methods underestimated body fat percentage in women and men with high body fat percentage. A strong level of agreement was observed between DXA and the anthropometric equation developed by Durnin & Womersley in men (CCC = 0.846), while BIA had a moderate concordance (CCC = 0.505) in this group. Conclusion: The examined methods indicated different body fat estimates. However, the best agreement was observed between DXA and the anthropometric SF equation for men. Future research in older adults should develop new SF equations considering different ethnic groups.

Dyslipidemias are lipid metabolism alterations that cause increased levels of serum lipoprotein, cholesterol, and triglycerides. These alterations are associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular diseases and are a risk factor for atherosclerosis development. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil (EORO, 100 mg/kg) and its nanoemulsion (NEORO, 500 µg/kg) on Triton and coconut saturated-fat-induced (CSF) dyslipidemias using Wistar rats. The phytochemical evaluation of EORO performed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) revealed 1,8-cineole (33.70%), camphor (27.68%), limonene (21.99%), and α-pinene (8.13%) as its major compounds. Triton-induced dyslipidemia significantly increased total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides levels. On the other hand, the groups treated with EORO and NEORO had significantly reduced total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides compared to the group treated only with Triton. Similar results were observed on the positive control treated with simvastatin. Dyslipidemia induced with coconut saturated-fat (CSF) caused abdominal fat gain, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, increased LDL levels, and atherogenesis in the aorta. In contrast, the groups treated with EORO, NEORO, and simvastatin had significantly reduced hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia, reduced abdominal fat gain, and absence of atherogenesis in the vascular endothelium. Overall, in the Triton-induced dyslipidemia model, EORO treatment had superior values than NEORO's (and simvastatin), although the differences were not too high, while in the CSF model, the values were mixed. In this manner, our results show an anti-dyslipidemic and anti-atherogenic activity effect by EORO and NEORO.

Background: Nutritional studies on athletes have focused on the intake of nutrients and nutritional supplements. The lack of sufficient evidence on eating pattern is challenging for those advising athletes on their daily dietary patterns during training and competitions. Objectives: To identify the eating pattern of high school athletes and its association with sport characteristics. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 248 Brazilian athletes (170 boys; age range, 14 -20 years). We assessed the frequency of meals, unhealthy and healthy food items, and sports variables. Poisson regression model and the effect measure [prevalence ratio, PR] was analyzed. Results: The athletes exhibited low breakfast consumption and lunch or dinner with parents, as well as a low consumption of healthy food items. More than one-third of all athletes ate vegetables and fruits on ≤ 2 days per week. We found a positive association between the time spent practicing the sport type and the regular consumption of raw salad and fruits. Soccer athletes had the worst eating pattern, including high soft drink (PR, 1.32; 1.10 -1.60) consumption and the lowest bean (PR, 1.13; 1.01 -1.26), raw salad (PR, 1.19; 1.04 -1.37), and vegetable (PR, 1.10; 1.01 -1.22) consumption, whereas the volleyball players exhibited the most adequate eating pattern. Conclusions: Sports types and the time spent practicing these sports are associated with eating pattern. This information may be crucial for improving performance and promoting healthy habits that could benefit athletes even after their sports career.

We analyzed the effectiveness of two nutritional interventions alone and together, EVOO and the DieTBra, on the inflammatory profile of severely obese individuals. This study was an RCT with 149 individuals aged from 18 to 65 years, with a body mass index ≥ 35 kg/m2, randomized into three intervention groups: (1) 52 mL/day of EVOO (n = 50); (2) DieTBra (n = 49); and (3) DieTBra plus 52 mL/day of EVOO (DieTBra + EVOO, n = 50). The primary outcomes we measured were the-neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the secondary outcomes we measured were the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR); leukocytes; and C reactive protein (CRP). After 12 weeks of intervention, DieTBra + EVOO significantly reduced the total leucocytes (p = 0.037) and LMR (p = 0.008). No statistically significant differences were found for the NLR in neither the intra-group and inter-group analyses, although a slight reduction was found in the DieTBra group (−0.22 ± 1.87). We observed reductions in the total leukocytes and LMR in the three groups, though without statistical difference between groups. In conclusion, nutritional intervention with DietBra + EVOO promotes a significant reduction in inflammatory biomarkers, namely leukocytes and LMR. CRP was reduced in EVOO and DieTBra groups and NLR reduced in the DieTBra group. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under NCT02463435.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer are the first and second leading causes of death worldwide, respectively. Epidemiological evidence has demonstrated that the incidence of cancer is elevated in patients with CVD and vice versa. However, these conditions are usually regarded as separate events despite the presence of shared risk factors between both conditions, such as metabolic abnormalities and lifestyle. Cohort studies suggested that controlling for CVD risk factors may have an impact on cancer incidence. Therefore, it could be concluded that interventions that improve CVD and cancer shared risk factors may potentially be effective in preventing and treating both diseases. The ketogenic diet (KD), a low-carbohydrate and high-fat diet, has been widely prescribed in weight loss programs for metabolic abnormalities. Furthermore, recent research has investigated the effects of KD on the treatment of numerous diseases, including CVD and cancer, due to its role in promoting ketolysis, ketogenesis, and modifying many other metabolic pathways with potential favorable health effects. However, there is still great debate regarding prescribing KD in patients either with CVD or cancer. Considering the number of studies on this topic, there is a clear need to summarize potential mechanisms through which KD can improve cardiovascular health and control cell proliferation. In this review, we explained the history of KD, its types, and physiological effects and discussed how it could play a role in CVD and cancer treatment and prevention.