Differential Reward Response to Palatable Food Cues in Past and Current Dieters: An fMRI Study.

Differential reward response to palatable food cues in past and current dieters: An fMRI study.

Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Aug 8;
Ely AV, Childress AR, Jagannathan K, Lowe MR

Objective: Prior neuroimaging research (1,2) has shown that restrained and unrestrained eaters demonstrate differential brain activation in response to food cues that parallels their food intake in lab studies. We extended these findings by comparing brain activation in response to food cues in normal weight Nondieters, Historical Dieters, and Current Dieters under the conditions that mimicked past lab studies. Design & Methods: Participants (N=30) were shown pictures of highly and moderately palatable food and neutral cues while being scanned in an fMRI BOLD paradigm following an eight-hour fast and again after a liquid meal. Results: In the Fed state, Historical Dieters showed elevated reward circuitry activation in response to highly palatable food, as compared to Nondieters and Current Dieters. In contrast, Current Dieters showed increased activation in response to moderately palatable food in the Fasted state compared to Historical Dieters, and this activation was significantly correlated with inhibition. Conclusions: The parallels between eating behavior and regional brain activation across groups suggest that 1) a neurophysiological response which could represent a vulnerability to overeat exists in some normal weight young women that may increase susceptibility to weight gain in the long term, and 2) current dieting temporarily reverses this vulnerability. HubMed – eating

Report of wood decay fungus Inonotus tropicalis (phylum Basidiomycota) from a dog with a granulomatous mediastinal mass.

J Vet Diagn Invest. 2013 Aug 8;
Sheppard BJ, McGrath E, Giuffrida M, Craft SL, Kung CY, Smith ME

A 75.9-kg, 3.5-year-old male Irish Wolfhound dog with a 2-3-week history of gagging and eating difficulties was referred to the University of Florida Veterinary Medical Hospital (Gainesville, Florida) for evaluation of a large cranial mediastinal mass suspected to be a thymoma or lymphosarcoma. The patient had 4 months of nearly 10 kg progressive weight loss with severe flank sensitivity and radiographically apparent lumbar vertebral changes interpreted as discospondylitis. Lab work revealed hyperglobulinemia, mild proteinuria, normal T4, negative Brucella canis titer, and negative blood and urine bacterial cultures. A thoracotomy revealed a nonresectable, destructive, space-occupying mediastinal mass resulting in euthanasia without surgical recovery. Biopsies from the mass were collected during surgery for histology. Microscopic examination revealed extensive granulomatous cellulitis and lymphadenitis characterized by central cavitated necrotic areas containing debris and degenerate neutrophils, intermediate zones of fibrovascular proliferation with marked mixed inflammation, peripheral fibrosis, frequent multinucleated macrophages, and scattered mineralization. The necrotic material contained dense mats of 2 µm wide by 8-15 µm long fungal hyphae with parallel walls, acute angle branching, frequent septae, and occasional bulb-like dilations. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region confirmed the presence of a fungus in the Inonotus tropicalis group. Inonotus tropicalis is primarily a wood decay fungus that is found on dead wood from angiosperms in tropical and subtropical habitats. Isolates of the I. tropicalis group have been detected a few times from immunosuppressed human beings with X-linked granulomatous disease. HubMed – eating

Obesity susceptibility loci and uncontrolled eating, emotional eating and cognitive restraint behaviors in men and women.

Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Aug 8;
Cornelis MC, Rimm EB, Curhan GC, Kraft P, Hunter DJ, Hu FB, van Dam RM

Objective: Many confirmed genetic loci for obesity are expressed in regions of the brain that regulate energy intake and reward-seeking behavior. Whether these loci contribute to the development of specific eating behaviors has not been investigated. We examined the relationship between a genetic susceptibility to obesity and cognitive restraint, uncontrolled and emotional eating. Design and Methods: Eating behavior and body mass index (BMI) were determined by questionnaires for 1471 men and 2381 women from two U.S cohorts. Genotypes were extracted from genome-wide scans and a genetic-risk score (GRS) derived from 32 obesity-loci was calculated. Results: The GRS was positively associated with emotional and uncontrolled eating(P<0.002). In exploratory analysis, BMI-increasing variants of MTCH2,TNNI3K and ZC3H4 were positively associated with emotional eating and those of TNNI3K and ZC3H4 were positively associated with uncontrolled eating.The BMI-increasing variant of FTO was positively and those of LRP1B and TFAP2B were inversely associated with cognitive restraint.These associations for single SNPs were independent of BMI but were not significant after multiple-testing correction. Conclusions: An overall genetic susceptibility to obesity may also extend to eating behaviors. The link between specific loci and obesity may be mediated by eating behavior but larger studies are warranted to confirm these results. HubMed – eating

Assessing public policies and assets that affect obesity risk while building new public health partnerships, new hampshire, 2011.

Prev Chronic Dis. 2013; 10: E134
Anderson L, Foster S, Flynn R, Fitterman M

The New Hampshire Obesity Prevention Program and the 9 New Hampshire regional planning commissions assessed the state’s obesity-related policies and assets by using community measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A self-administered questionnaire that focused on policies and assets that promote healthful eating, physical activity, and breast-feeding was sent to 234 municipalities; 59% responded (representing 73% of the state’s population). Of the municipalities that responded, 52% had sidewalks, 22% had bicycle lanes, none had nutrition standards, and 4% had a policy supporting breastfeeding. Through collaboration, we gathered baseline information that can be used to set priorities and assess progress over time. HubMed – eating