The increased prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is not unique to industrialized societies; dramatic increases are occurring in urbanized areas of developing countries. In light of the consensus that obesity is a significant public health concern and that many weight-loss interventions have been unsuccessful in the long term, an ...

Decrease in fat catabolic rate on consuming a high-fat diet contributes to diet-induced obesity. This study used group 1B phospholipase A(2) (Pla2g1b)-deficient mice, which are resistant to hyperglycemia, to test the hypothesis that Pla2g1b and its lipolytic product lysophospholipid suppress hepatic fat utilization and energy metabolism in promoting diet-induced obesity. ...

INTRODUCTION: Obesity is associated with a number of diseases resulting from the excessive amount of adipose tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the quantity of adipose tissue and the prevalence of metabolic disturbances, and the concentration of adipokines and proinflammatory cytokines in obese or ...

Childhood obesity is epidemic in the United States, and is expected to increase the rates of many chronic diseases. Increasing physical activity and improving nutrition are keys to obesity prevention and control. But changing individual behavior is difficult. A comprehensive, coordinated strategy is needed. Policy interventions that make healthy dietary ...

Obesity is intimately associated with hypertension; increases in blood pressure are closely related to the magnitude of weight gain. The present study aims to determine whether the excitatory amino acid input to rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) contributes to elevated blood pressure in rats with diet-induced obesity. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing ...

BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery is the most effective long-term treatment for morbid obesity, reducing obesity-associated co-morbidities. We decide to investigate the role of the polymorphism (G1359A) of the cannabinoid (CB)1 receptor gene on clinical outcomes 1 year after biliopancreatic diversion in morbidly obese patients. DESIGN: A sample of 66 morbidly obese ...

Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is implicated in the regulation of vascular function in the physiological state, but the modulatory effect of PVAT on vasculature during obesity is poorly understood. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) participate in the regulation of vascular ...

An acute injection of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) reduces body weight by decreasing feeding and increasing energy expenditure (EE), in animals on standard laboratory chow. Animals have divergent responses to a high-fat diet (HFD) exposure, with some developing obesity and others remaining lean. In ...

The mechanisms linking intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) with adulthood obesity and diabetes are unclear. These studies investigated energy homeostasis in 8- and 20-wk-old male and female mice subjected to protein deficiency in utero. Pregnant C57BL/6J female mice were fed a protein-deficient diet (6% protein). Undernourished offspring (UO) and controls (CO) ...

Epidemiological studies have indicated a negative relation between low-fat dairy consumption and the metabolic syndrome. However, evidence from intervention studies is scarce. Our aim was to investigate the effects of daily consumption of low-fat dairy products on metabolic risk parameters in overweight and obese men and women. Thirty-five healthy subjects ...

Osteoporosis and obesity remain a major public health concern through its associated fragility and fractures. Several animal models for the study of osteoporotic bone loss, such as ovariectomy (OVX) and denervation, require unique surgical skills and expensive set up. The challenging aspect of these age-associated diseases is that no single ...

Obese individuals are more likely to have either lower blood concentrations or lower bioavailability of minerals and/or vitamins. However, there are limited data on the effects of nutritional supplementation on body weight (BW) control, energy homeostasis and lipid metabolism in obese subjects. The purpose of this study is to evaluate ...

Low vitamin D has been associated with low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, a marker of coronary risk. Whether atheroprotective HDL particle composition accounts for this association and whether fat affects this association is not known. To explore the association between HDL particle composition and 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25[OH]D) ...

To compare the effects of supplementation of green tea beverage or green tea extracts with controls on body weight, glucose and lipid profile, biomarkers of oxidative stress, and safety parameters in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome. Randomized, controlled prospective trial. General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at University of Oklahoma Health ...

Dysbetalipoproteinemia, also known as type III hyperlipoproteinemia (type III HL), is characterized by the accumulation of β-very low density lipoprotein (β-VLDL). However, demonstration of the presence of β-VLDL is not easy because it requires preparative ultracentrifugation of lipoproteins. The primary genetic defect in type III HL is the presence of ...

Obesity is a leading risk factor for insulin resistance, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular complications, collectively referred to as metabolic diseases. Given the prevalence of obesity and its associated medical problems, new strategies are required to prevent or treat obesity and obesity-related metabolic effects. Here we summarize contributors of obesity, and ...

Obesity, diabetes and consequently atherosclerotic vascular disease have become major health and public health issues worldwide. The increasing and staggering prevalence of obesity might not only be explained by nutritional habits or the reduction of energy expenditure through decreased physical activity. In addition, recent studies have focused on intestinal microbiota ...

The propensity of diets of different composition to promote obesity is a current topic in feline medicine. The effects of three meals with different protein:fat ratios on hormones (insulin, acylated ghrelin and amylin) involved in the control of food intake and glucose metabolism were compared. Five lean (two females and ...

While levels of weight bias vary among individuals, it is not clear why one person possesses stronger anti-fat attitudes than another person. This investigation examined whether individual differences commonly associated with greater anti-fat bias are also associated with a greater preference for thinness among people of varying levels of weight. ...

The cJun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) is implicated in diet-induced obesity. Indeed, germline ablation of the murine Jnk1 gene prevents diet-induced obesity. Here we demonstrate that selective deficiency of JNK1 in the murine nervous system is sufficient to suppress diet-induced obesity. The failure to increase body mass is mediated, in ...

To test the hypothesis that mammals that show decrease in body mass under short-day condition should be resistant to high-fat induced obesity, we traced the changes of energy balance in a wild rodent, Brandt's voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii), which were acclimated to either long day (16L: 8D, LD) or short day ...

To test the hypothesis that micro-opioid receptor signaling in the nucleus accumbens contributes to hedonic (over)eating and obesity. To investigate the effects of chronic micro-opioid antagonism in the nucleus accumbens core or shell on intake of a palatable diet, and the development of diet-induced obesity in rats. Chronic blockade of ...

INTRODUCTION: The success of obesity therapy is dependent on the genetic background of the patient. Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (CLOCK), one of the transcription factors from the positive limb of the molecular clock, is involved in metabolic alterations. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether five candidate polymorphisms from CLOCK were associated ...

The C57BL/6J (B6/J) male mouse represents a standard for diet-induced obesity (DIO) and is unique in expressing a loss-of-function nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (Nnt) gene. This mutation was associated with a marked reduction in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from B6/J islets in vitro and moderately impaired glucose clearance in vivo. To assess ...

A majority of human obesity is inherited as a polygenic trait. Once obesity develops, over 90% of individuals repeatedly regain lost weight after dieting. Only surgical interventions offer long lasting weight loss. Thus, clinical data suggest that some individuals have a predisposition to develop and maintain an elevated body weight ...

Obesity is a multisystem disorder associated with cardiovascular and metabolic complications. According to recent studies, it is characterized as a condition of low-grade inflammation with altered adipose tissue function and secretion of various adipokines. One of the strategies in obesity treatment is dietary intervention (DI) that could modulate cytokine levels ...

Houttuynia cordata Thunb. is used in folk medicine for diuresis and detoxification. However, it has not yet been reported to have an anti-obesity effect. We found that the water extract of H. cordata leaves (WEH) inhibited the corn oil-induced increase in plasma triglyceride levels in mice. WEH also inhibited the ...

Body mass index (BMI), serum cytokines and serum obesity markers were evaluated in 33 obese children before, during and after a hypocaloric diet. The cytometric bead array "human inflammatory kit" was used for the evaluation of serum interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. On the other hand, the ...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anti-obesity activity of a probiotic bifidobacterial strain in a mouse model with obesity induced by a high-fat diet. The mice were fed a high-fat diet supplemented with Bifidobacterium breve B-3 at 10(8) or 10(9) CFU/d for 8 weeks. B. breve ...

OBJECTIVES: Obesity is the consequence of an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, food intake being affected by multiple factors -psychological, social, work-related, etc. This revision discusses the role of diet in the behavioural treatment (BT) of obesity, which faces multiple approaches and focuses on patients' behaviour rather than their ...

Phospholipids and lung surfactant proteins are known to be recycled within the lung alveolus mainly by uptake into type II epithelial cells that secrete lipid-enriched lung surfactant. Dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) is the major component of lung surfactant lipids and cholesterol is the second most abundant. However, cholesterol turnover in vivo ...

Background. The pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) may affect adipogenesis and adipose tissue formation through interaction with its G-protein-coupled receptor VPAC1. Methods. We have used a monoclonal antibody (MAb 23A11) blocking VPAC1 in mouse models of nutritionally induced obesity. Results. Administration of MAb 23A11 (25 mg/kg body weight i.p. ...

We investigated in this study the anti-obesity effect of an extract of Petasites japonicus (a culinary vegetable from Eastern Asia) on a murine adipocyte cell line (3T3-L1) and on diet-induced obesity-prone mice. An ethanol extract of P. japonicus. (PJET) suppressed 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation; however, a hot water extract of P. ...

Obesity is a condition of abnormal adipose tissue storage and recently it has been recognized as a major factor in metabolic syndrome. High-fat diet-induced obesity in the C57BL/6 mouse is an important animal model because of its similarities with human obesity. The aim of the present study was to estimate ...

Decreased high density lipoproteins (HDL) plasma levels are a recognized independent risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Attempts were therefore initiated to pharmacologically raise plasma HDL cholesterol, and the most impressive increase was obtained by inhibiting cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by means of the synthetic compound torcetrapib. Clinical trials ...

A previous study has shown that laser acupuncture is a useful healing method for the treatment of visceral postmenopausal obesity in combination with a low-calorie diet. We observe and evaluate the therapeutic effect of laser acupuncture in subjects of simple obesity with a non-restrictive diet protocol. Subjects included 73 women ...

The burgeoning obesity and metabolic disease epidemics in the developed world are exerting a terrible toll on society, yet the precise mechanisms responsible for the emergence of these dramatic trends over a relatively short period of time remain poorly understood. Philip A.Wood's book How Fat Works provides important insights into ...

Dietary fat interacts with receptors in both the oral cavity and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract to regulate fat and energy intake. This review discusses recent developments in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the effects of fat, through its digestive products, fatty acids (FAs), on GI function and energy intake, ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of a language-sensitive diabetes education program on dietary changes and plasma lipid profiles. METHOD: Hispanic participants (n=13 males and 18 females, mean age = 54.00 + 10.68 years) participated in a 3-month health education study. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to evaluate correlations between dietary ...

BACKGROUND: Changes in lifestyle have resulted in an epidemic development of obesity-related diseases that challenge the healthcare systems worldwide. To develop strategies to tackle this problem the focus is on diet to prevent the development of obesity-associated diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). This will require methods for linking nutrient ...

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the foremost cause of death and disability in the Western world, and it is rapidly becoming so in the developing nations. Even though the use of statin therapy aiming at the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) has significantly reduced cardiovascular events and mortality, substantial residual cardiac events ...

Obesity is one of the most prevalent diseases in the modern world. It results from the progressive loss of balance between food intake and whole body energy expenditure. Recent studies have shown that consumption of fat-rich diets induces hypothalamic inflammation and dysfunction which is characterized by defective response to anorexygenic ...

From hot dogs to Hashimoto's and inheritance to inactivity, many "entrance ramps" converge onto the "Highway to Obesity", each contributing caloric intake that exceeds expenditure. Initially, the hypothalamus regulates appetite and energy based on leptin feedback, until feedback failure increases appetite, and allows deposition of abdominal fat, metabolic dysregulation, and ...

Purpose. To evaluate the relationship between overweight/obesity and dietary/lifestyle factors among Italian adolescents. Methods. On a total of 756 adolescents with mean age 12.4 +/- 0.9, body mass index, food consumption, and time dedicated to after school physical activities and to TV viewing were determined. The data were analysed according ...

Our survey in Cameroon recorded obesity and dysglycemia in inhabitants, which are similar to those reported elsewhere in the region. Typically these metabolic disturbances are attributed to the adoption of a new urban lifestyle including diminished physical activity and an altered ('Western') diet. Unexpectedly we found that, like urban populations, ...

Gallstone disease is one of the major surgical problems in the Libyan population; it is probably related to diet, especially excessive consumption of meat. The study was conducted to determine the composition of gallstones and their possible etiology in a Libyan population. The chemical composition of gallstones from 41 patients ...

Cyclodextrins (CDs) have long been used to manipulate cellular cholesterol levels both in vitro and in vivo, but their direct effects at a cellular level are not well characterized. Recently, CDs have garnered much interest because of their ability to clear stored cholesterol from Niemann Pick Type C (NPC) cells ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between dietary patterns and obesity indices (BMI, WC, WHR) among Tehranian adults in a 6-year follow-up study. METHODS: Within frame of a cohort study in Tehran (mean follow up 6.6+/-0.9 years), 141 adults were recruited with: two 24 hour dietary recalls at the beginning, as ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Obesity was once rare, but the last few decades have seen a rapid expansion of the proportion of obese individuals worldwide. Recent work has shown obesity to be associated with a shift in the representation of the dominant phyla of bacteria in the gut, both in humans ...

The increasing incidence of obesity and the metabolic syndrome is disturbing. The activation of inflammatory pathways, used normally as host defence, reminds the seriousness of this condition. There is probably more than one cause for activation of inflammation. Apparently, metabolic overload evokes stress reactions, such as oxidative, inflammatory, organelle and ...