The role of very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets (VLCKD) in the long-term management of obesity is not well established. The present meta-analysis aimed to investigate whether individuals assigned to a VLCKD (i.e. a diet with no more than 50 g carbohydrates/d) achieve better long-term body weight and cardiovascular risk factor management when compared with individuals assigned to a conventional lowfat diet (LFD; i.e. a restricted-energy diet with less than 30 % of energy from fat). Through August 2012, MEDLINE, CENTRAL, ScienceDirect, Scopus, LILACS, SciELO, ClinicalTrials.gov and grey literature databases were searched, using no date or language restrictions, for randomised controlled trials that assigned adults to a VLCKD or a LFD, with 12 months or more of follow-up. The primary outcome was body weight. The secondary outcomes were TAG, HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glucose, insulin, HbA 1c and C-reactive protein levels. A total of thirteen studies met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. In the overall analysis, five outcomes revealed significant results. Individuals assigned to a VLCKD showed decreased body weight (weighted mean difference 20·91 (95 % CI 2 1·65, 20·17) kg, 1415 patients), TAG (weighted mean difference 2 0·18 (95 % CI 20·27, 2 0·08) mmol/l, 1258 patients) and diastolic blood pressure (weighted mean difference 2 1·43 (95 % CI 22·49, 2 0·37) mmHg, 1298 patients) while increased HDL-C (weighted mean difference 0·09 (95 % CI 0·06, 0·12) mmol/l, 1257 patients) and LDL-C (weighted mean difference 0·12 (95 % CI 0·04, 0·2) mmol/l, 1255 patients). Individuals assigned to a VLCKD achieve a greater weight loss than those assigned to a LFD in the long term; hence, a VLCKD may be an alternative tool against obesity.Key words: Cardiovascular risk factors: Low-carbohydrate diets: Meta-analysis: Obesity: Weight loss Obesity continues to be a major worldwide health problem, despite the efforts of the medical community. At least 2·8 million adults die from obesity-related causes each year, and 65 % of the worldwide population lives in countries where obesity causes more deaths than underweight (1) . Although it is a difficult task, intensive lifestyle interventions can achieve weight loss that is sustained over the long term, as shown by the findings of a recent large clinical trial (2) .Diet is a cornerstone of any lifestyle intervention programme. The dietary plan that restricts energy and fat is the most common strategy, and based on it, several other dietary strategies have been proposed (3 -5) . The very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (VLCKD) differs from these approaches. According to Accurso et al. A major concern regarding the prescription of the VLCKD is the adherence of the individuals assigned to it, since it promotes important lifestyle changes (7) . Given the importance of dietary counselling in weight loss, it is useful to investigate the effectiveness of different dietary therapies. A recent large randomised clinical trial, whic...

Objective: To determine, through a systematic review with meta-analysis, the prevalence of food addiction (FA) using the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) and its derivatives exploring possible factors associated with the prevalence of FA in several contexts. Methods:The following databases were searched: MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, LILACS, PsycArticles, CENTRAL, Greylit.org, and OpenGrey.eu. Studies that assessed FA using YFAS were included. Two independent reviewers assessed the eligibility of each report. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed to calculate the weighted prevalence of FA. Subgroup analyses and metaregression were conducted to explore sources of heterogeneity. Results: Of the 6425 abstracts reviewed, 272 studies were included. The weighted mean prevalence of FA diagnosis was 20% (95% CI: 18%; 21%). The prevalence of FA was higher in individuals with clinical diagnosis of binge eating (55%; 95% CI 34%; 75%). The prevalence in clinical samples was higher compared to non-clinical samples. Two studies included children only and no studies included only elderly people.Conclusions: Food addiction is a topic in which there has been a significant growth in studies. The highest prevalence was found in the group of

BackgroundThe consumption of ultra-processed foods may be associated with the development of chronic diseases, both in adults and in children/adolescents. This consumption is growing worldwide, especially in low and middle-income countries. Nevertheless, its magnitude in small, poor cities from the countryside is not well characterized, especially in adolescents. This study aimed to assess the consumption of minimally processed, processed and ultra-processed foods by adolescents from a poor Brazilian city and to determine if it was associated with excess weight, high waist circumference and high blood pressure.MethodsCross-sectional study, conducted at a public federal school that offers technical education together with high school, located in the city of Murici. Adolescents of both sexes and aged between 14–19 years old were included. Anthropometric characteristics (weight, height, waist circumference), blood pressure, and dietary intake data were assessed. Associations were calculated using Poisson regression models, adjusted by sex and age.ResultsAt total, 249 adolescents were included, being 55.8% girls, with a mean age of 16 years-old. The consumption of minimally processed foods was inversely associated with excess weight (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio: 0.61, 95% Confidence Interval: [0.39–0.96], P = 0.03). Although the consumption of ultra-processed foods was not associated with excess weight, high blood pressure and high waist circumference, 46.2% of the sample reported eating these products more than weekly.ConclusionConsumption of minimally processed food is inversely associated with excess weight in adolescents. Investments in nutritional education aiming the prevention of chronic diseases associated with the consumption of these foods are necessary.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Advanced glycation endproducts (AGE) are the result of post-translational changes to proteins, which ultimately compromise their structure and/or function. The identification of methods to prevent the formation of these compounds holds great promise in the development of alternative therapies for diseases such as diabetes. Plants used in traditional medicine are often rich sources of anti-glycation agents. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the anti-glycation activity of one such compound, Oncocalyxone A (Onco A). Using spectrofluorimetric techniques, we determined that Onco A inhibits AGE formation in a concentration-dependent manner. Its IC50 value (87.88 ± 3.08 μM) was almost two times lower than the standard anti-glycation compound aminoguanidine (184.68 ± 4.85 μM). The excellent anti-glycation activity of Onco A makes it an exciting candidate for the treatment of diseases associated with excessive accumulation of AGE. However, additional studies are necessary to identify its mechanism of action, as well as the in vivo response in suitable model organisms.

Low-income women are the group with the highest levels of obesity worldwide. In low-income settings, the use of predictive equations, which yield a measure of the individuals’ BMR, is a feasible approach to estimate the individuals’ total energy expenditure (TEE), using the factorial method (calculated-TEE = BMR × physical activity level), an important step of the obesity nutritional care. The present study aimed to identify the predictive equation that, in conjunction with metabolic equivalents of tasks (MET) data from accelerometers, yields the calculated-TEE with better agreement compared with the TEE measured by doubly labelled water (TEE-DLW). Forty-five women aged 19–45 years, with excess weight and mothers of undernourished children, were included. They received DLW to determine TEE (14 d); at the same time, they used triaxial accelerometers (7 d) to estimate their MET. The Bland–Altman method, paired-sample t tests, concordance correlation coefficient and root-mean-square error were used to assess the agreement. Maximum allowed differences were defined as 24 %, based on the within-variance coefficient of the energy intake of the sample. Eleven equations were studied. The calculated-TEE obtained by five equations showed non-significant bias: Dietary Reference Intake (Institute of Medicine (2005) Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids), FAO/WHO/UNU ((2001) Food and Nutrition Technical Report Series), Harris & Benedict ((1919) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA4, 370–373), Henry & Rees ((1991) Eur J Clin Nutr45, 177–185) and Schofield ((1985) Hum Nutr Clin Nutr39, 5–41). The mean percentage differences were –1·5, –0·8, 2·2, –2·2 and 2·0 %, respectively. Considering all parameters, FAO/WHO/UNU ((2001) Food and Nutrition Technical Report Series) equation performed slightly better than the others; nevertheless, no equation in conjunction with the estimated-MET showed a calculated-TEE with its CI for the Bland–Altman limits of agreement inside the pre-defined acceptable range.