Objectives Metabolic age serves as an emerging marker for metabolic health. We investigated whether relative metabolic age, defined as an individual's metabolic age relative to their chronological age, was associated with markers of body composition, blood pressure, and dietary intake. Methods Adult men and women (18–70y, n = 19) participated in a fasted baseline health assessment to measure body composition, waist circumference, resting blood pressure, and metabolic age using a Tanita SC-240 scale and Health Ware software. Dietary analysis of 5-day diet records was performed using Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR), and satiety was quantified using a subjective scale. Relative metabolic age was calculated as: metabolic age – chronological age. Subjects were subsequently divided into two groups: young relative metabolic age (n = 10) and advanced relative metabolic age (n = 9). Results Relative metabolic age was significantly greater in the advanced relative metabolic age (+5 years) compared to the younger relative metabolic age group (−12 years), whereas chronological age and non-adjusted metabolic age did not differ between groups. Individuals with younger relative metabolic age had significantly lower body weight, body mass index, body fat mass, and waist circumference on average. Systolic blood pressure was additionally lower in subjects with a younger relative metabolic age. In evaluating diet composition, individuals with advanced relative metabolic age reported greater cravings for fat-rich foods, and consumed greater amounts of pork and cold cuts/sausages. Conversely, individuals with a younger relative metabolic age consumed significantly more grains, lauric acid, meat alternative, a greater percentage of calories from polyunsaturated fatty acids, and trended toward consuming greater amounts of vegetable protein. Conclusions These findings suggest that younger relative metabolic age is associated with a more favorable body composition, lower blood pressure, and a plant-based dietary pattern. Funding Sources This study was funded by the Fairfield University College of Arts and Sciences.
Cellular lipid metabolism, lipoprotein interactions, and liver X receptor (LXR) activation have been implicated in the pathophysiology and treatment of cancer, although findings vary across cancer models and by lipoprotein profiles. In this study, we investigated the effects of human-derived low-density lipoproteins (LDL), highdensity lipoproteins (HDL), and HDL-associated proteins apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) and serum amyloid A (SAA) on markers of viability, cholesterol flux, and differentiation in K562 cells-a bone marrow-derived, stem-like erythroleukemia cell model of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). We further evaluated whether lipoprotein-mediated effects were altered by concomitant LXR activation. We observed that LDL promoted higher K562 cell viability in a dose-and time-dependent manner and increased cellular cholesterol concentrations, while LXR activation by the agonist TO901317 ablated these effects. LXR activation in the presence of HDL, apoA1 and SAA-rich HDL suppressed K562 cell viability, while robustly inducing mRNA expression of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1). HDL and its associated proteins additionally suppressed mRNA expression of anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma-extra large (BCL-xL), and the erythroid lineage marker 5 0-aminolevulinate synthase 2 (ALAS2), while SAA-rich HDL induced mRNA expression of the megakaryocytic lineage marker integrin subunit alpha 2b (ITGA2B). Together, these findings suggest that lipoproteins and LXR may impact the viability and characteristics of CML cells.
Objectives Stress can negatively impact lifestyle practices and metabolic health, thereby increasing an individual's risk for chronic disease. We investigated whether variability in salivary cortisol levels is associated with body composition, blood pressure, and diet quality. Methods In this ongoing study, adult men and women (18–70y, n = 17) participated in a fasted baseline health assessment to measure body composition and resting blood pressure. Dietary intake was assessed over a 5-day period, where saliva samples were collected in the morning, afternoon, and evening to measure cortisol levels. Degree of cortisol variability over the 5-day period was calculated as: the highest recorded cortisol measurement - the lowest recorded cortisol measurement, which was used to classify subjects into groups of high (n = 9) and low (n = 8) cortisol variability. Results Subjects with greater variability in salivary cortisol had higher cortisol levels on average, in addition to greater concentrations and variability in cortisol levels in the morning. High variability in cortisol levels was additionally associated with a higher body mass index and metabolic age, but was not associated with fat or fat-free mass, waist circumference, or blood pressure. Subjects with lower variability in salivary cortisol levels reported having a greater dietary intake of linoleic acid and manganese, as well as a trend toward greater intake of vitamin D. Greater variability in salivary cortisol levels positively correlated with the % of dietary calories coming from fat, total fructose, serine, fried potatoes, dairy-based desserts, sweetened coffee, and beer. Conclusions Our preliminary findings demonstrate that high variability in salivary cortisol is associated with elevated morning stress hormone levels, body mass index, and a less favorable dietary pattern. Funding Sources This study was funded by the Fairfield University College of Arts and Sciences and a Vincent Rosivach Collaborative Research Grant.
Food insecurity has been linked to an increased risk of nutrition‐related health disparities and dependency on emergency food assistance programs, including food pantries. Given the diverse nature by which food pantries operate and acquire food inventory, we aimed to investigate variations in food group availability and overall nutrient composition of inventories at three food pantries in different districts of Bridgeport, Connecticut (Pantry 1, zip code 06604; Pantry 2: zip code 06605; and Pantry 3: zip code 06606). Foods were categorized as grains (refined or whole), vegetables (dark‐green leafy, red & orange, legumes, starchy, or other), fruits, protein, dairy, or oils, as defined by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015–2020. Nutrient composition of food items was further analyzed to determine total and saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total sugar, and fiber content of pantry inventories. We observed that Pantry 1 had the largest variety of food items (n = 115 different products), as compared to Pantries 2 (n = 40) and 3 (n = 35). Grains were found to be the most predominant food type at all pantries, representing 38.3%, 57.5%, and 45.7% of all products in Pantries 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Of all grain products, refined grain foods were most abundant at Pantries 1 (70.5%), 2 (78.3%), and 3 (87.5%), as compared to whole grain products (29.6%, 21.7%, and 12.5%). Aside from oil products, which were not present at any pantries, fruit (10.4%, 5%, and 2.9%) and dairy (1.7%, 5%, and 11.4%) products represented the smallest proportion of food items, albeit to varying degrees. Variation in the prevalence of vegetable type was additionally observed across pantries, with Pantry 1 supplying an assortment of legumes (14.3%), and dark‐green leafy (2.4%), red & orange (42.9%), starchy (16.7%), and other (23.8%) vegetables. In contrast, Pantry 2 only supplied dark‐green leafy (40.0%), red & orange (10.0%), starchy (10.0%), and other (40%) vegetables, whereas Pantry 3 inventory lacked dark‐leafy vegetables and legumes. In comparing nutrient compositions of all inventory foods across pantries, we observed that Pantry 1 food items contained significantly lower amounts of total and saturated fat, total sugar, cholesterol, and increased fiber per average serving when compared to the inventory foods of Pantry 3. Together, these findings suggest that food selection and nutritional quality varies significantly across food pantries within a single city.Support or Funding InformationFairfield University College of Arts and Sciences
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