News summary

Eating disorder in diabetic females

Eating disturbance is more common in girls with type 1 diabetes than in those without the condition, according to researchers at the University of Toronto. In interviews and investigations into socioeconomic status, body weight, and various diabetes-related factors, 16 per cent of girls in both groups reported at least one disturbed eating episode in the previous month, but 8 per cent of diabetic girls reported at least two examples of engaging disturbed eating compared with just 1 per cent of non-diabetic girls.
(Reuters Health Online)
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Research shows small Alzheimer?s hope

A high intake of niacin, particularly from food sources, may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and age-related mental decline, according to a new report. However, lead author Dr Martha Morris, of the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging in Chicago, says, “There have been no epidemiologic studies to look at the association between dietary niacin and Alzheimer’s disease or cognitive decline,” and adds that animal and other studies have focused on the effects of very high therapeutic dose levels of niacin, rather than amounts found in a standard diet. Dr Morris says her team was surprised to see a “fairly strong association between niacin intake from foods and Alzheimer’s disease”.
(Reuters Health Online)
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DHA and infant development

A nutritional compound present in the bodies of pregnant women plays a crucial role in developing cognitive skills and attention spans in infants, according to a study at the University of Kansas. Scientists say women with the higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in their blood give birth to infants who display more mature forms of attention, are less distractible during play and tend to be more engaged over time with toys. Other research has suggested that postnatal DHA improves vision and some cognitive functions in infants and toddlers.
(Health Scout)
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Greed and addiction “are associated”

People who eat too much may have much in common with drug abusers, according to Dr Mark Gold, chief of addiction medicine at the University of Florida School of Medicine. He says drugs engage brain pathways also associated with appetite and the enjoyment of food, and that the differences between the brain responses of the two groups are not great. Dr Gold suggests that obesity might be a hidden hazard for those trying to give up drug addictions, because abstinence, causes what he calls rebound increases in appetite and the drive for food.
(HealthScout)
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“Appetite hormone” and reproductive capacity

Grehlin may play a role in the reproductive system, suppressing reproductive function when a woman is not eating enough, researchers say. People who are obese tend to have below-average grehlin levels, while sufferers of anorexia nervosa have high levels, which it is thought is a signal that the body is not getting enough energy. Dr Mary Jane De Souza, of the University of Toronto, says ghrelin levels are about 85 per cent higher than average in physically active women who are not menstruating, but are normal in women who are menstruating but not ovulating. She believes the rise may reflect a chronic energy deficiency, and that the surge may be a signal to the body to eat more. “It appears that the body may well have compensatory mechanisms that are responding in attempts to increase food intake to offset the energy deficiency associated with severe menstrual disturbances such as amenorrhea,” she says.
(Reuters Health Online)
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Caution on “exercise drug”

Australian scientists have identified the structure of AMP-activated protein kinase, which plays a role in regulating appetite and body weight. Bruce Kemp, senior research fellow at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, says, “This enzyme is activated during exercise and it accelerates your metabolism to make up for the energy deficit in your muscle that’s been created by exercise.” He says the pharmaceutical industry is showing great interest in the discovery, but adds that it will not replace exercise. “There are no miracles. [The pill] will do a number of the metabolic and gene transcription events that are caused by exercise but it doesn’t do everything.”
(Reuters Health Online)
www.reutershealth.com

US changes official view of obesity

The US health insurance system Medicare is discarding its declaration that obesity is not a disease. The decision could open the way for millions of overweight Americans to make claims for treatment. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson says, “With this new policy, Medicare will be able to review scientific evidence in order to determine which interventions improve health outcomes for seniors and disabled Americans who are obese.” Mr Thompson?s department says the change is not expected to alter Medicare coverage immediately, and has furnished no figures on potential costs to taxpayers.
(The San Francisco Chronicle Online)
www.sfgate.com

Doubt cast on “appetite-controlling” drug

Claims by a UK laboratory that it had found a “cure” for greed have been questioned, with scientists in 15 research centres around the world saying they have been unable to replicate the results. Researchers led by Professor Stephen Bloom of Imperial College and Hammersmith Hospital had said in 2002 that a drug called PYY3-36 curbs hunger by telling the appetite centre in the brain when the stomach is full. However, a group of 42 scientists from leading obesity-research institutions and universities across Europe and the US, claims its failure to reproduce the claimed effects calls into question the potential value of an anti-obesity approach based on the administration of PYY3-36.
(The Independent)
www.independent.co.uk

Ofcom will not ban ads

The broadcast regulator has ruled out a complete ban on the advertising on television of food and drink aimed at children. Ofcom says other measures, including the encouragement of exercise, would be a better way to tackle child obesity, but will consider amending the current rules after the publication of a White Paper on public health later this year. The organisation?s chief executive, Stephen Carter, says, “Childhood obesity is a public health concern which experts in nutrition, health and education, the government and the food industry are rightly addressing. Television advertising clearly has an influence and equally clearly there is a need for a tightening of specific rules. However, a total ban would be neither proportionate nor, in isolation, effective.”
(BBC News Online)
www.bbc.co.uk

Extent of snack culture

Research indicates that the UK is turning into a nation of heart patients because of the habit of grazing on high fat snacks. The Developing Patient Partnership says manual workers are the most likely to follow this pattern. The researchers, who looked at the eating habits and cholesterol awareness of 2,000 adults in the UK, found that nine out of 10 people eat between meals, with a third saying they do so because they are bored.
(BBC News Online)
www.bbc.co.uk