Download or read book Examining the Effects of a High Fat High Sugar Diet in Adolescence on Memory and Executive Functioning in Young Adulthood written by Susan Murray and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Accumulating evidence from animal studies suggests that diets high in fats and sugar lead to poorer cognitive functioning. Importantly, animals exposed to a high fat, high sugar (HFHS) diet during adolescence show more pronounced deficits in cognitive performance than animals given this diet during adulthood, suggesting an age-specific vulnerability for diet-induced cognitive impairments. Given that the three primary sources of daily caloric intake for children and adolescents in the United States are dessert, pizza, and soda, translational research is needed to better understand the link between diet during development and cognitive function. Some studies demonstrate long-term effects of adolescent exposure to HFHS diets, highlighting a need for longitudinal research in this area. The current study sought to investigate whether unhealthy dietary habits during adolescent development predicts performance on tasks of memory and executive function using publicly available data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health study). Using three separate linear regressions, we tested whether HFHS intake in adolescence predicts memory and executive function in young adulthood using the following outcomes as dependent variables: total word recall score (immediate trial), total word recall score (delayed trial), and total number recall score. We also tested whether a robust indicator of inflammation, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), which was measured in adulthood, mediates the relationship between HFHS intake in adolescence and cognitive performance in adulthood. Finally, we tested whether physical activity in adolescence moderates the relationship between HFHS intake in adolescence and hsCRP as well as cognitive performance in adulthood. The results of the regression analyses reveal that HFHS scores in adolescence significantly and negatively predict performance on both the immediate and delayed word recall trials in adulthood, even after controlling for relevant covariates such as SES and BMI. The effect of HFHS scores on number recall scores was trending toward significance. The relationship between diet and memory was mediated by hsCRP, though HFHS scores was negatively associated with hsCRP. Physical activity did not moderate the effect of diet on hsCRP or cognitive performance. These findings support animal and human studies showing a relationship between HFHS intake and poorer cognitive performance. Importantly, the results of the current study extend the existing literature by suggesting that HFHS intake during adolescent development may affect cognitive performance later in life. Replication of this study is needed along with further research to identify possible physiological mechanisms underlying the relationship between HFHS and cognition as well as factors that modify this relationship.

Download or read book Impact of Diet on Learning Memory and Cognition written by Amy Claire Reichelt and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Changes in food composition and availability have contributed to the dramatic increase in obesity over the past 30-40 years in developed and, increasingly, in developing countries. The modern diet now contains many foods that are rich in saturated fat and refined sugar. People who eat excessive amounts of this diet are not only likely to become overweight, even obese, develop metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, some forms of cancer, but also undergo a more rapid rate of normal age-related cognitive decline and more rapid progression of neurological diseases such as dementia. A central problem is why people persist in consuming this diet in spite of its adverse health effects and when alternative food choices are available. As high fat / high sugar foods are inherently rewarding, eating for pleasure, like taking psychoactive drugs, can modulate reward neurocircuitry, causing changes in responsiveness to reward-predicting stimuli and incentive motivation. Indeed, the excessive ingestion in modern societies and the resulting obesity epidemic may be viewed as a form of food addiction. Thus, a diet high in palatable foods is proposed to impact upon reward systems in the brain, modulating appetitive learning and altering reward thresholds. Impairments in other forms of cognition have been associated with obesity, and these have a rapid onset. The hippocampus appears to be particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of high fat and high sugar diets. Recent research has shown that as little as one week of exposure to a high fat, high sugar diet leads to impairments in place but not object recognition memory in the rat. Excess sugar alone had similar effects, and the detrimental effects of diet consumption was linked to increased inflammatory markers in the hippocampus, a critical region involved in memory. Furthermore, obesity-related inflammatory changes have also been described in the human brain that may lead to memory impairments. These memory deficits may contribute to pathological eating behaviour through changes in the amount consumed and timing of eating. The aim of this eBook is to present up-to-date information about the impact of diet and diet-induced obesity on reward driven learning, memory and cognition, encompassing both animal and human literature, and also potential therapeutic targets to attenuate such deficits.

Download or read book Nutrition and lifestyle medicine for neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders written by Nicholas Pang and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2024-01-29 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Examining the Association Between Executive Functioning and Eating Behaviors in Adolescents from Low income Backgrounds written by Clarissa Victoria Shields and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adolescents from low-income backgrounds are a high-risk population for obesity and poor inhibitory control. Dietary restraint, the intent to restrict food intake, has also been associated with higher weight status in youth. Inhibitory control, the cognitive process that allows the inhibition of a response, such as restriction of high energy-dense (HED) foods, may vary by weight status and moderate the effect of dietary restriction on zBMI among adolescents. The overall goal of the study was to examine the interplay between inhibitory control, dietary restraint, and zBMI among 51 adolescents (ages 12-17; 54.4% female) from low-income backgrounds. Adolescents completed dietary restraint, inhibitory control, and depressive symptom measures, while a parent/primary caregiver completed demographic information. The study first aimed to explore whether inhibitory control abilities differed by weight status in adolescents from low-income backgrounds. The second aim was to examine if dietary restraint was associated with zBMI within a low-income sample of adolescents. Lastly, the study aimed to explore if inhibitory control buffered the association between dietary restraint and zBMI in adolescents from low-income backgrounds. ANCOVA, regression, and moderation analyses controlled for the covariate depressive symptoms. Inhibitory control trended towards significantly differing by weight status, F(2, 47)= 3.06, p=.056. Dietary restraint was positively associated with zBMI F(1, 48)= 12.02, p

Download or read book Eating Behavior and Food Decision Making in Children and Adolescents written by Oh-Ryeong Ha and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2022-02-23 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Food Addiction Obesity and Disorders of Overeating written by Claire E. Wilcox and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-09-30 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is written for providers of broad training backgrounds, and aims to help those who care for people with EDs, overweight and obesity provide evidence-based care. The goal of the book is to provide these providers with a straightforward resource summarizing the current standard of care. However, it goes further by also introducing the concept of food addiction (FA) as a model to understand some forms of overeating. This book discusses the pros and cons of embracing FA and reviews the evidence for and against the validity and utility of FA. By doing so, the chapters convey a “middle ground” approach to help people with obesity, BED, and bulimia nervosa plus FA symptomatology who also want to lose weight. The text discusses FA by reviewing several of the main ongoing controversies associated with the construct. It reviews both the clinical and neuroscientific evidence that some individuals’ eating behavior mirrors that seen in substance use disorders (SUD), such as how their relationship with food appears to be “addictive”. Chapters also discuss how many of the mechanisms known to underlie SUDs appear to drive overeating in animal models and humans. Finally, the text argues that the similarities between the brain mechanisms of addictive disorders and overeating behavior has the potential to open up new avenues for current treatment and treatment development. Food Addiction, Obesity and Disorders of Overeating: An Evidence-Based Assessment and Clinical Guide is suited for both medical and mental health practitioners, including physicians in primary care or psychiatry, nurses, psychologists, social workers, medical students and medical residents. It could also be utilized by researchers in obesity and ED fields, stimulating ideas for future research and study design.

Download or read book Examining the Effect of a High Quality Dietary Intervention on Cognitive Function in Early Adolescence written by Chinara Tate and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conclusions: A 2-week MF/LS dietary intervention may improve delayed face recognition in low to middle income preadolescents with a pre-established HF/HS dietary pattern. Although the intervention appeared to demonstrate a positive effect on 2 measures of cognitive function (initial and delayed facial recognition), after Bonferroni correction, these results only remained significant for the delayed task median total correct RT when controlling for gender and age (p = 0.005). Thus, study results must be interpreted with caution as they may simply be an artifact of chance finding in the ANCOVA statistical analysis. Further investigation of benefits proffered by decreasing % total sugar, % added sugar, % total fat and % saturated fat intake to preadolescent cognition is warranted. Future work should focus on replicating the present study in a larger sample, using hippocampal-dependent specific tasks.

Download or read book Neurodevelopment and Intelligence Impacts of Nutrition Environmental Toxins and Stress Volumes 1 and 2 written by Charles A. Lewis, MD MPH and published by Psy Press. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 810 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This special edition of Neurodevelopment and Intelligence contains both Volumes One and Two. The set provides an understanding neurodevelopmental risks during fetal and early life, and of the things that can go awry that limit or hinder healthy brain development, leading to a loss of intellectual abilities or causing disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder. It should be of interest to anyone interested in brain health, preventive medicine, pediatrics, public health policy, present and prospective parents, and those planning on pregnancy and parturition. Herein, Dr. Lewis explains: How people got smarter for more than a century and and why the alternative title of the book is Swimming in a Poisoned Pond —The Looming Demise of Cognitive and Mental Health in America How any healthy child can be a genius with advanced planning All the nasty things in your home that cause brain damage The disgusting things in your water that harm the brain The prenatal vitamins that prevent autism How ADHD is a lifestyle disease The eight pillars of health and their effects on the brain What men can do to sire smarter children The environmental toxins that cause violent crime and suicide How to make your home safe for your child’s brain The role of gut bacteria on the brain How to make pregnancy safer for the fetal brain Foods that improve brain function Maternal life style factors that affect IQ The seven pillars of health and their effects on the brain What men can do to sire smarter children How to make your home safe for your child’s brain The role of gut bacteria on the brain The disruptive effects of sleep deprivation and sleep disordered breathing on brain development, and sleep hygiene for children The effects of stress on the brain and its functioning The harmful effects of poverty on the brain How noise and noise pollution harm brain development. How good public policy can give us a brighter future Foods that improve brain function and make us happy and engaged The effects of Exercise and Environmental Enrichment Kiss your genetic legacy goodbye! Why you will likely never be a grandparent if you don’t already have children How stress makes us stupid Why people are getting dumber even though we have better medical care and more access to education. Are we already too dumb to save ourselves from our mistakes? How psychopathic corporations, stupidity, and structural racism raid America’s wealth The book is a serious scientific exploration of neurodevelopment on which policy and personal behavior changes can be based to improve health, happiness, and intellectual curiosity. Section I section lays out an description of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and why it can used as a proxy for neurodevelopment. It explains IQ tests and other developmental scales scoring, and some of their limitations. The high metabolic cost of a large brain and the survival advantage provided by epigenetic adaptation to downsize the brain to the current environmental conditions is described, explaining why a less costly and less intelligent brain are adaptive to leaner times. An estimate is made for the average human IQ in full health and nutrition, (about two standard deviations above the current average, or an IQ of 130). A primer on inflammation is given. Section 2: discusses the impact of anemia and iron on brain development. Topics include: Hookworm, malaria, and infections. Most of this section discusses iron deficiency, iron supplementation in pregnancy and infancy, and the role other minerals and vitamins required for blood formation Section 3: Covers the role of iodine and thyroid hormone on neurodevelopment. The following chapters discuss thyroid hormone disruptors including fluoride and bromide, organohalogens, thyroid disrupting organic pollutants, organophosphates and other biocides, and foods and food additives that impact thyroid function Section 4 covers neurotoxic metals in the environment. The neurotoxic metals that most commonly impact brain health are discussed, including arsenic, lead, mercury, manganese. The impacts of cadmium and aluminum on fetal and infant health are reviewed. Toxic metal exposure during development most commonly occurs from water contamination, and Chapter 18 covers water filtration for removal of these toxins. Section 5 discusses the role of toxic metals, dietary factors, and the role of the intestinal microbiome on the causation and exacerbation of autism spectrum disorder. Evidence on the role of special diets for ASD is reviewed.The timing of the development of ASD is discussed; as it is essential to understanding which exposures are relevant and amenable to treatment. Section 6 discussed the generation of air pollution from combustion of fuels and the adverse impacts of it on brain health. Effects of Particulate matter (PM) on health, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease are reviewed, along with its effects on the premature birth of infants, neurodevelopment, IQ, and autism. Mitigation of risk is discussed. Section 7 outlines maternal factors that impact neurodevelopment and intelligence. The causes and effects of preterm birth and small for gestational age are explored, with a particular focus on environmental influences. Section 8 covers the effect of general health on neurodevelopment, including the impact of diet on the intestinal microbiome, exercise, sleep deprivation, sleep-disordered breathing, and explains the roll of lifestyle in ADHD. Section 9 discusses the effects of psychosocial stress on neurodevelopment and intellectual performance, and discusses the epigenetic effects of stress on brain development and behavior. The role of having a supportive social environment, a stimulating environment, and education on brain development, IQ an health are discussed. The effects of prenatal stress on the brain are reviewed. Other topics include the effect of stress and telomere length, the effects of poverty or domestic violence on IQ score, and the effects of stress on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and on the gut. The effects of noise on hearing, academic performance, and sleep are reviewed. The need to confront endemic stress as a societal norm is discussed.

Download or read book Exploring Executive Functioning as a Moderator of the Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adolescents Risk for Obesity written by Yani Hawthorne and published by . This book was released on 2024 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pediatric obesity is a growing public health concern in the United States, with an overall increase in overweight/obesity (BMI 3 85th percentile) noted between 1996 and 2018 in both males and females (Stierman et al., 2021). Little is known about the mechanisms by which adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may impact obesity risk. Given that executive dysfunction exacerbates the effect on obesity risk, we hypothesized that executive function (EF) might buffer the association between ACEs and the development of obesity in adolescents. We examined three indicators of adolescents' exposure to adversity in childhood, including household chaos from 2 to 35 months, cumulative childhood sociodemographic risk from 6 to 35 months, and parents' reports of adolescents' ACEs. Participants included 213 adolescents drawn from a sample of rural households who experienced poverty. During a home visit, adolescents completed questionnaires, and height, weight, and waist circumference were measured. Adolescents and their parents also completed web-based surveys. Results showed that there was no direct association between ACEs, household chaos, or cumulative risk and adolescents' waist circumference. However, significant interactions emerged between childhood adversity and executive function; specifically, ACEs and working memory ([beta] = -0.24, p = 0.014) and cumulative risk and working memory ([beta] = -0.37, p = 0.022) on waist circumference. Contrary to our hypothesis, the association between ACEs and waist circumference was only significant in adolescents with higher working memory. These findings provide evidence of the moderated effect of EF on the association between ACEs and adolescents' risk for obesity, although the direction of effects was unexpected. Given the well-established association between executive dysfunction and obesity in youth, further research is needed to understand why EF did not emerge as a protective factor against obesity risk for adolescents exposed to ACEs in this sample.

Download or read book Obesogenic Environmental Conditions Affect Neurodevelopment and Neurodegeneration written by Gustavo Pacheco-Lopez and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2021-09-23 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Sugarproof written by Michael Goran and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading childhood nutrition researcher and an experienced public health educator explain the hidden danger sugar poses to a child's development and health and offer parents an essential 7- and 28-day "sugarproof" program. Most of us know that sugar can wreak havoc on adult bodies, but few realize how uniquely harmful it is to the growing livers, hearts, and brains of children. And the damage can begin early in life. In his research on the effects of sugar on kids' present and future health, USC Professor of Pediatrics and Program Director for Diabetes and Obesity at Children's Hospital Los Angeles Michael Goran has found that too much sugar doesn't just cause childhood obesity, it can cause health issues in kids who are not overweight too, including fatty liver disease, prediabetes, and elevated risk for eventual heart disease. And, it is a likely culprit in the behavioral, emotional, and learning problems that many children struggle with every day. In a groundbreaking study, Goran's team conducted a detailed analysis of the sugary products that kids love and found that these yogurts, cereals, sodas, and juices often had more sugar than advertised and also contained different types of sugar than were being disclosed. Today's children are not just consuming more sugar than ever, but they are consuming sugars that are particularly harmful to them--and their parents don't even know it. The news is dire, but there is also plenty of hope. We can prevent, address, and even in many cases reverse the effects of too much sugar. In this guide to "Sugarproof" kids, Dr. Goran and co-author Dr. Emily Ventura, an expert in nutrition education and recipe development, bust myths about the various types of sugars and sweeteners, help families identify sneaky sources of sugar in their diets, and suggest realistic, family-based solutions to reduce sugar consumption and therefore protect kids. Their unique "Sugarproof" approach teaches parents to raise informed and empowered kids who can set their own healthy limits without feeling restricted. With a 7- and 28-day challenge to help families right-size sugar in their diets, along with more than 35 recipes all without added sugars, everyone can give their children a healthy new start to life.

Download or read book Handbook of Emotional Development written by Vanessa LoBue and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-07-04 with total page 828 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook offers a comprehensive review of the research on emotional development. It examines research on individual emotions, including happiness, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust, as well as self-conscious and pro-social emotions. Chapters describe theoretical and biological foundations and address the roles of cognition and context on emotional development. In addition, chapters discuss issues concerning atypical emotional development, such as anxiety, depression, developmental disorders, maltreatment, and deprivation. The handbook concludes with important directions for the future research of emotional development. Topics featured in this handbook include: The physiology and neuroscience of emotions. Perception and expression of emotional faces. Prosocial and moral emotions. The interplay of emotion and cognition. The effects of maltreatment on children’s emotional development. Potential emotional problems that result from early deprivation. The Handbook of Emotional Development is an essential resource for researchers, clinicians/professionals, and graduate students in child and school psychology, social work, public health, child and adolescent psychiatry, pediatrics, and related disciplines.

Download or read book The Effects of Age and Metabolic Status on Cognitive Performance written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of vascular and metabolic risk factors that frequently occur in combination, including obesity, raised triglycerides, reduced HDL cholesterol, raised blood pressure, and raised fasting plasma glucose, with the presence of 3 out of 5 risk factors constituting a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is associated with increased rates of mortality and increased risk for developing dementia. Changes in brain structure and cognitive functioning have been reported within the literature. However, research examining cognitive performance in individuals with metabolic syndrome is limited, inconclusive and focuses primarily on older cohorts. As such, the effect of metabolic syndrome on cognitive functioning earlier in the lifespan is unclear. This study aimed to investigate cognitive performance in young, middle-aged, and older adults with multiple metabolic and vascular risk factors in a sample of 91 community dwelling participants. The following tests were administered: Dementia Rating Scale, Mini-Mental State Exam, reading subtest from the Wide Ranged Achievement Test-4, Digit Span from the Wechsler Memory Scale-III, Boston Naming Test-2 (BNT), Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R), California Verbal Learning Test-II (CLVT-II), and several tests from the D-KEFS (Trail Making Test, Verbal Fluency, Design Fluency, and Color-Word Interference Test). As expected, older adults performed more poorly than young and middle-aged adults on measures of information processing speed, attention, memory, and executive functioning. Individuals with metabolic syndrome self-report greater disinhibited eating relative to normal controls. Additionally, individuals with metabolic syndrome performed more poorly on figural memory and figural fluency. These findings suggest that aspects of higher-order, executive functions of visuospatial processing are impaired in metabolic syndrome. Given that individuals with metabolic syndrome had significantly greater self-reported disinihibited eating and performed more poorly on higher-order measures of visuospatial processing (e.g., memory, initiation, planning, multitasking, inhibition), future studies aimed at investigating potential causal relationships between metabolic syndrome, disinhibited eating, and executive dysfunction may provide insight into effective intervention targets to delay or prevent metabolic syndrome. Last, results indicated that incorporating measures of visuospatial abilities in future studies would improve the characterization of cognitive declines in individuals with metabolic syndrome.

Download or read book The Effect of Dietary Added Sugar Intake on Cerebrovascular Function and Brain Health written by Faria Sanjana and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. AD shares many of the same modifiable risk factors as cardiometabolic diseases, which includes aberrant blood lipids such as increased blood triglycerides (TGs), which are associated with reduced brain tissue microstructural integrity and poor memory performance. Additionally, a high consumption of added sugars typically from a Western diet, is associated with elevated cardiometabolic parameters that likely contribute to cognitive aging. Increased added sugar intake acutely raises blood TGs and uric acid and is associated with reduced peripheral vascular endothelial function via the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Limited research suggests that acute added sugar intake may be associated with reduced cerebral blood flow. As such, repetitive acute insults to the cerebrovasculature from increased added sugar consumption may result in long-term reductions in brain tissue properties through sustained reductions in cerebrovascular function. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the associations among habitually elevated blood lipids, acute dietary added sugar intake, cerebrovascular function, and brain tissue viscoelastic properties in humans through the following aims: 1) Determine whether habitually elevated blood lipids are cross-sectionally associated with lower hippocampal (HC) tissue properties and assess whether this relation is moderated by cerebrovascular function. 2) Determine whether acute consumption of a high-sugar (HS) meal is associated with a transient reduction in cerebrovascular function, brain tissue properties and cognitive (executive) function compared to a low-sugar (LS) meal, and assess whether these reductions are correlated to an increase in blood lipids, uric acid and markers of ROS. HYPOTHESES: 1) Elevated blood lipids will be associated with lower HC tissue properties and this relation will be mediated by reduced cerebrovascular function. 2) Acute consumption of a HS meal will be associated with a transient reduction in cerebrovascular function, brain tissue properties and cognitive (executive) function compared to a LS meal, and these reductions will be correlated to an increase in blood lipids, uric acid and markers of ROS. METHODS: Healthy young and mid-life adults were enrolled in a randomized-controlled crossover trial that consisted of a single meal high in added sugars (HS: 61 g) and a single meal low in added sugars (LS: 16 g). Serum lipids and uric acid were assessed at baseline and 3 hours postprandial following both meals. ROS levels were measured as superoxide concentration and assessed with electron paramagnetic resonance. Cerebral perfusion and cerebrovascular reactivity to hypercapnia was assessed using arterial-spin labeling coupled with prospective end-tidal targeting. Brain tissue viscoelastic properties were assessed using magnetic resonance elastography. RESULTS: Twenty-two participants [9M/13F, age: 48±12 y (range: 30-64 y), BMI: 24.7±2.8 kg/m2, BP: 116±11/73±6 mmHg) were included in this study. Baseline LDL-C was significantly associated with HC stiffness (r=-0.42, p=0.049) while baseline TG was significantly associated with HC damping ratio (r=0.46, p=0.04). These associations were not mediated by cerebrovascular function. Serum TG concentration was higher following both meals (Time: p

Download or read book The Hungry Brain written by Matthew Stephen Tryon and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Previous studies in rodents have shown that chronic stress increases palatable food intake, which, in turn, increases mesenteric fat and inhibits acute stress-induced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. The effect of chronic stress on eating behavior in humans is less understood, but it may be linked to HPA responsivity. We tested the influence of chronic social stress and acute stress reactivity on food choice and food intake. Forty-one perimenopausal women categorized as high chronic stress or low chronic stress were subjected to the Trier Social Stress Task or a control task (nature movie) to examine HPA responses to an acute laboratory stressor and then invited to eat from a provided buffet containing low- and high- calorie "comfort" snacks. Women reporting higher chronic stress and exhibiting low cortisol reactivity to the acute stress task consumed significantly more calories from chocolate cake on both stress and control visits. Chronic stress in the low cortisol reactor group was also positively related to total fat mass, % region of fat, and stress-induced negative mood. Further, women reporting high chronic stress consumed significantly less vegetables, but only in those aged 45 years and older. Chronic stress in women within the higher age category was positively related to total calories consumed at the buffet, stress-induced negative mood and food craving. Given that stress has been linked to increases in palatable food intake, conceivably chronic stress could directly or indirectly affect regions of the brain that potentiate the desire to find and consume these palatable foods through the development of habits and memory association with these types of these behaviors. We therefore conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in high and low chronic stress women based on Wheaton Social Stress Index scores examining the effects of food cues in high calorie (HiCal), lower calorie (LoCal), and non-food (Control) categories. Thirty-four normal to overweight women were subjected to HiCal, LowCal, and Control images in an event-related design. Women in the high chronic stress group, compared to low chronic stress, showed significantly increased activity in the regions associated with emotional processing and memory (amygdala and hippocampus), habit formations (basal ganglia) and motivation (anterior cingulate cortex). In addition, there was decreased activity in regions associated with cognitive control (anterior prefrontal cortex) in the contrast of HiCal vs. LowCal. These results suggest that chronic stress can affect multiple regions of the brain to enhance the desire for palatable food, possibly through the development of habits, memory consolidation and reduced executive function in the prefrontal cortex. While much is known about the effects of stress and HPA activity on the drive for palatable foods, less is known about the effects of palatable foods on the HPA axis activity. Alterations in diurnal glucocorticoid rhythms can significantly affect energy metabolism and behavior. Overconsumption of sugar can significantly alter basal and stress-induced glucocorticoid concentrations in rodent models. Although diets containing a significant amount of its calories from sugar, namely fructose or sucrose, can detrimentally affect glucose and lipid metabolism in humans, very little is known about the effects of sugar consumption on 24-hour circulating cortisol profiles in humans. We investigated the effects of dietary fructose and glucose on 24-hour cortisol concentrations in women and men during a 10-week intervention. During the 2-week long baseline period, all subjects consumed a complex carbohydrate diet (3 meals/day). During the intervention phase, subjects were provided with fructose- or glucose-sweetened beverages to be consumed with each of 3 meals along with their usual ad libitum diet for the first 8 weeks and then participated in inpatient metabolic studies for the last 2 weeks in which they continued consuming fructose- or glucose-sweetened beverages as a part of an energy-balanced diet. The 24-hour serial blood collections taken at 0 and 10 weeks were preceded by 10 days of energy-balanced feeding. After 10 weeks of fructose consumption, average daily cortisol concentrations were elevated (p

Download or read book Improving Diets and Nutrition written by Brian Thompson and published by CABI. This book was released on 2014-04-28 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nutrition-sensitive, food-based approaches towards hunger and malnutrition are effective, sustainable and long-term solutions. This book discusses the policy, strategic, methodological, technical and programmatic issues associated with such approaches, proposes “best practices” for the design, targeting, implementation and evaluation of specific nutrition-sensitive, food-based interventions and for improved methodologies for evaluating their efficacy and cost-effectiveness, and provides practical lessons for advancing nutrition-sensitive food-based approaches for improving nutrition at policy and programme level.

Download or read book Parenting Matters written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 525 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.