Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Latest Diet & Nutrition News and Research

'Innovation, markets, people, political leadership' needed to achieve food security

"Our global food security challenges are daunting: food price spikes and increasing food prices look set to continue unabated, around one billion are suffering from chronic hunger, and we must feed a growing population in the face of a wide range of adverse factors, including climate change," but "I believe there is reason for optimism," Sir Gordon Conway, professor of international development and agricultural impact at Imperial College London, writes in the Huffington Post U.K. "Impact" blog.

11 Oct 2012

Exercisers can burn as many as 200 extra calories in just 2.5 minutes

Time spent in the drudgery of strenuous exercise is a well-documented turn-off for many people who want to get in better shape. In a new study, researchers show that exercisers can burn as many as 200 extra calories in as little as 2.5 minutes of concentrated effort a day—as long as they intersperse longer periods of easy recovery in a practice known as sprint interval training.

11 Oct 2012

Psychological interventions improve quality of life, reduce total care costs

Evidence presented at the recent "European Federation of Psychologists' Association" (EFPA) conference showed that psychological interventions do not only improve quality of life but are also cost-effective. Return on investment of health promotion at work is 10:1.

11 Oct 2012

Clear link between neurotensin and CVD, type 2 diabetes and breast cancer

"It was surprising to find such a clear link to the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as to breast cancer. Obesity is a common risk factor for all three conditions, but the connection with neurotensin is not explained by obesity or other known risk factors", says Professor Olle Melander from the Department of Clinical Sciences at Lund University, who is also a consultant at Sk-ne University Hospital.

11 Oct 2012

Link between grape consumption and healthier dietary patterns

In a new observational study presented today at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Nutrition Conference and Exposition (FNCE) in Philadelphia, PA, researchers looked at the association of grape consumption, in the non-alcoholic forms most commonly consumed - fresh grapes, raisins and 100% grape juice - with the diet quality of a recent, nationally representative sample of U.S. children and adults.

11 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Wis. Senate candidates Thompson, Baldwin offer competing views of health law; 'Disturbing lack' of oversight of compounding pharmacies

The meningitis outbreak that has sickened at least 119 people and killed 11 of them has laid bare a disturbing lack of regulatory oversight of pharmacies that mix drug compounds and ship them around the country. Unless Congress passes legislation to strengthen the hand of the Food and Drug Administration, the public will continue to be at risk from contaminated products.

11 Oct 2012

First Edition: October 10, 2012

Today's headlines include reports that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has pledged that his presidential agenda does not include abortion legislation.

10 Oct 2012

People with diabetic foot ulcers more likely to die prematurely

People with diabetes who develop foot ulcers are at more risk of dying prematurely than those without the complication, finds a new large-scale study. The researchers say the findings highlight the potential need for improved detection and management of those with diabetes and foot ulcers.

10 Oct 2012

Obesity rate high among children admitted to hospital

A study by researchers at the Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick and Dalhousie University in Canada has found 34% of children between 6-12 years old admitted to hospital are overweight or obese.

10 Oct 2012

Dieting, exercise can spur HDL cholesterol production in type 2 diabetics

With a little exercise and dieting, overweight people with type 2 diabetes can still train their fat cells to produce a hormone believed to spur HDL cholesterol production, report medical researchers from The Methodist Hospital and eight other institutions in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Lipid Research.

10 Oct 2012

Proneurotensin associated with diabetes, cardiometabolic disease and breast cancer

Plasma levels of proneurotensin are associated with the development of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular and total mortality, and breast cancer in women during long-term follow-up, according to a study in the October 10 issue of JAMA.

10 Oct 2012

Nutrition education needed to combat child malnutrition in India

"Among causes of child malnutrition in India are not just poverty or inadequate access to food but also a lack of nutritional knowledge among families," Nisha Malhotra, an instructor of economics at the University of British Columbia, writes in a Live Mint opinion piece.

10 Oct 2012

High-fat Western diet could lead to development of atherosclerosis

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have found that a diet high in saturated fat raises levels of endothelial lipase (EL), an enzyme associated with the development of atherosclerosis, and, conversely, that a diet high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fat lowers levels of this enzyme.

10 Oct 2012

SRR intervention decreases unintended pregnancies, unprotected sex in adolescent girls

Adolescent girls participating in a sexual risk reduction (SRR) intervention study were more likely to practice abstinence and, if sexually active, showed substantial decreases in unprotected sex, number of partners, and unintended pregnancies, reports a research team led by principal investigator Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, Senior Associate Vice President of USF Health and Dean of the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida.

10 Oct 2012

Number, proportion of world's hungry drop but remain too high, U.N. report says

The U.N. "revised down the number of the world's hungry on Tuesday to just under 870 million but slammed the figure as 'unacceptable' and warned that the fight against hunger was slowing down," Agence France-Presse reports.

10 Oct 2012

Chronic kidney disease changes the composition of intestinal bacterial microbes

Chronic kidney disease changes the composition of intestinal bacterial microbes that normally play a crucial role in staving off disease-causing pathogens and maintaining micronutrient balance, according to UC Irvine researchers.

10 Oct 2012

American Gastroenterological Association launches new electronic offerings

In order to best meet the needs of members, the American Gastroenterological Association has launched new electronic offerings to make it easier for busy health-care professionals to stay abreast of the latest research and news in gastroenterology while on the go.

10 Oct 2012

Two novel GFR equations predict kidney function in elderly

Researchers report that two “new” equations may accurately measure kidney function in elderly individuals with nonsevere kidney disease.

9 Oct 2012

Eating tomatoes associated with reduced risk of stroke

Eating tomatoes and tomato-based foods is associated with a lower risk of stroke, according to new research published in the October 9, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Tomatoes are high in the antioxidant lycopene.

9 Oct 2012

Researchers examine relationships between HIV and poverty, food security in separate studies

Foreign Policy reports on "a recent study by Ashley Fox of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine [that] compares rates of HIV infection across 170 regions in 16 sub-Saharan African countries."

9 Oct 2012