Featured

• Dinosaur energetics: setting the bounds on feasible physiologies and ecologies.
• A Call for an End to the Diet Debates
• The Health Risk of Obesity: BMI may not be an accurate predictor of fitness, better metrics are imperative

Findings Contrary to Hypotheses or Popular Ideas

• RCT: Results suggest that intake of grapefruit twice daily for 6 wk does not significantly reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, although there is a suggestion of favorable modulation of oxidative stress in a subset.
• Diet Quality of UK Infants Not Associated with BMI Measured at 7-8 Years of Age.
• No compelling evidence that metabolic syndrome associates with long-term survival in patients with acute myocardial infarction after successful percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents.
• RCT: No negative influence of saturated fats on blood vessel function or stiffness
• Rather than going down with income, UC Davis researchers find fast-food visits peak at $60,000 in income, before falling slightly

Methods

• An inducible CiliaGFP mouse model for in vivo visualization and analysis of cilia in live tissue.
• Self-Reported Versus Objectively Assessed Exercise Adherence.
• MetabolicMine: an integrated genomics, genetics and proteomics data warehouse for common metabolic disease research.
• Assessing body composition in taller or broader individuals using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry: a systematic review.

Mathematical Models

• Models for the Study of Whole-Body Glucose Kinetics: A Mathematical Synthesis.
• A mathematical model for determining age-specific diabetes incidence and prevalence using BMI.
• The impact of mathematical modeling on the understanding of diabetes and related complications.
• Losing weight and elimination of weight cycling by the geometric approach to global-stability problem.
• Association of cardiovascular risk using non-linear heart rate variability measures with the Framingham risk score in a rural population.
• “To obtain insight into the network dynamics of fatty-acid ß-oxidation, we constructed a detailed computational model of the pathway and subjected it to a fat overload condition.”
• Periodic solutions of nonautonomous differential systems modeling obesity population.
• Simple Math Sheds New Light on a Long-Studied Biological Process.
• How A Model Figured Out Childhood Obesity

Food

• RCT: Effects of Wheat and Oat-Based Whole Grain Foods on Serum Lipoprotein Size and Distribution in Overweight Middle Aged People.
• RCT: Eicosapentaenoic acid improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar in overweight type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.
• RCT: Acute effects of oral preloads with increasing energy density on gastric emptying, gut hormone release, thermogenesis and energy intake, in overweight and obese men.
• RCT: Low Fructose and Low Salt Diets Increase Mitochondrial DNA in White Blood Cells of Overweight Subjects.
• RCT: Soy fiber improves weight loss and lipid profile in overweight and obese adults.
• RCT: Effect of polydextrose and soluble maize fibre on energy metabolism, metabolic profile and appetite control in overweight men and women.
• Effect of resistant starch RS4 added to the high-fat diets on selected biochemical parameters in Wistar rats.
• Meta-analysis provides evidence of an association between increased intake of dairy products and a lowered risk of type 2 diabetes
• RCT: High-glycemic index foods appear to increase blood flow in portions of the brain that trigger food cravings, in men
• Variety is the spice of life-even for preschool children: Providing children with a variety of fruits or vegetables results in increased consumption-may help children reach their dietary goals for fruits and vegetables.
• Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with progressively longer survival and lower mortality rates in a dose-response analysis

Chocolate

• Effects of chocolate supplementation on metabolic and cardiovascular parameters in ApoE3L mice fed a high-cholesterol atherogenic diet.
• Oxidative Stress during Development of Alcoholic Fatty Liver: Therapeutic Potential of Cacao Polyphenol.
• Pre-exposure to diet-congruent food reduces energy intake in restrained dieting women.
• Dark chocolate in a population of Normal Weight Obese women: a pilot study.

Exercise

• RCT: Can resistance training change the strength, body composition and self-concept of overweight and obese adolescent males?
• We find that to improve their lifestyles, overweight and obese people would be more likely to do more physical activity than to change their diets.
• The decrease in total physical activity during recessions is especially problematic for vulnerable populations concentrated in boom-and-bust industries, and may have longer-term effects on obesity and related health outcomes.
• Privileging physical activity over healthy eating: 'Time' to Choose?
• RCT: Facebook-based intervention approaches demonstrated potential for increasing physical activity in young adult cancer survivors.

Surgery

• Describing substantial racial disparities in bariatric surgery
• Longitudinal analysis: Bariatric surgery does not reduce overall health care costs in the long term

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

• Women's Satisfaction with Body Image before Pregnancy and Body Mass Index 4 Years after Delivery in the Mothers of Generation XXI.
• Exclusive breastfeeding at 6 to 7 months of age was associated with decreased risk of overweight and obesity compared with formula feeding
• Male adiposity impairs clinical pregnancy rate by in vitro fertilization without affecting day 3 embryo quality
• Childbearing is associated with permanent weight gain in some women, but the relationship differs by maternal BMI in young adulthood, number of births, race-ethnicity, and length of follow-up
• Breast milk delivers beneficial bacteria from a mother's gut to her baby's digestive system

Epidemiology

• Internet addiction is related to obesity of Chinese middle school students.
• Participation in church activities was significantly associated with overweight/obesity.
• Gene × Physical Activity Interactions in Obesity: Combined Analysis of 111,421 Individuals of European Ancestry.
• Optimal scaling of weight and waist circumference to height for maximal association with DXA-measured total body fat mass by sex, age and race/ethnicity.
• The association between fracture site and obesity in men: A population-based cohort study
• Disadvantageous shift in energy balance is primarily expressed in high-quality sleepers after a decline in quality sleep because of disturbance
• Higher levels of urinary BPA are associated with a higher odds of obesity and abnormal waist circumference–to–height ratio in US children
• Studies of individuals dieting for weight loss or maintenance suggest a weight-reducing effect of increased water consumption, whereas studies in general mixed-weight populations yielded inconsistent results.

Mortality

• NHIS data provide evidence that 18% of US deaths after the age of 40 are from obesity-linked causes.
• Weighing the Evidence: Studies Collide over How Aging Impacts Obesity Risk.
• Obesity was not associated with increased morbidity and mortality after severe burn injury requiring at least one surgical intervention.

Genetics

• Evidence for novel genetic loci associated with metabolic traits in Yup'ik people.
• Medicinal Chemistry of the Epigenetic Diet and Caloric Restriction.

Evolution, Energetics, & Ecology

• Prenatal and postnatal energetic conditions and sex steroids levels across the first year of life.
• The Good, the Bad, and the Toxic: Approaching Hormesis in Daphnia magna Exposed to an Energetic Compound.
• Environmental Grain, Organism Fitness, and Type Fitness

Clinical

• Examining social influence on participation and outcomes among a network of behavioral weight-loss intervention enrollees.
• RCT: Front-loading caloric intake at breakfast aids the management of obesity and metabolic syndrome

Sugar-sweetened Beverages

• Consumption of sugar-sweetened soda and punch is associated with a higher risk of kidney stone formation, whereas consumption of coffee, tea, beer, wine, and orange juice is associated with a lower risk.
• Sugar beverage drinks but not 100% fruit juices and milk are associated with obesity.
• WHO Supports Special Tax on Soft Drinks in Mexico
• Sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Basic Science

• FOXO1 Competes with Carbohydrate Response Element-binding Protein (ChREBP) and Inhibits Thioredoxin-interacting Protein (TXNIP) Transcription in Pancreatic Beta Cells.
• Political systems with democratic qualities are associated with reduced under-weight but increased overweight/obesity, whereas effective political competition is associated with both reduced under-weight and obesity.
• The carbohydrate sensitive rat as a model of obesity.

Policy Related

• Money Motivates Employees to Lose Weight
• Removing Flavored Milk From Schools Can Have Negative Unintended Consequences on Children's Milk Consumption
• Legislation Would Use Tax Code to Stop Junk Food Ads Targeting Kids
• The Political Science of Diabetes and Obesity

Commentary

• The single most important intervention is to understand that there is no single most important intervention.
• Obesity May Be More Than One Disease
• Obesity Action Coalition: Understanding Food Addiction.
• Inclusive nutrition for children and adults with disabilities
• How Abysmal Scientific Research Is Used To Scare America's Parents
• Lost in Obesity Statistics and Quibbles
• Can McDonald's Reverse the Obesity Epidemic?
• 'Fat Letters' in Public Schools: Public Health Versus Pride
• Obesity And The Toxic-Sugar Wars

Video

• How is Sleep Related to Obesity?
• Obesity is a National Security Issue: Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.
• Microbiome and Obesity - Martin Blaser.
• Edmonton Obesity Staging System (EOSS) - Dr Arya Sharma.

General Science

• Populations and pigeons: Prosaic pluralism about evolutionary causes.
• Welcome to the Age of Denial.
• Declaration of transparency for each research article.
• Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism influences aggressive behavior in prostate cancer cells by deregulating cholesterol homeostasis.
• A new role for sodium in the brain
• Double lunar eclipse seen by Mars rover
• Colony Collapse Disorder in bees tied to pesticides in pollen
• New oldest 'bog body' found in Ireland dates back 4,000 years
• Genome researchers have succeeded in sequencing the genome of the Chinese hamster
• 6000 years ago, neolithic chefs spiced their food

Announcements

• Expressions of interest sought for scholarships for Masters degree by research on obesity management & prevention in primary health care – various possible locations.
• UAB Investigators honored for creativity in obesity research.
• Metabolic Origins of Disease Symposium, March 3-5 2014 in Orlando, FL