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A U.S. study in mice suggests that obesity itself, not diet, makes the colon receptive to cancer and increases the risk. Two groups of mice were fed a high-fat diet. The group that carried a human gene that protects against colorectal cancer did not gain weight. Mice without the gene became obese. But, more importantly, the obese mice exhibited molecular signals in their intestines that led to the progression of cancer. The normal weight mice did not have those same indicators. Preexisting colon lesions in the animals tended to evolve rapidly into malignant tumors. "The same thing may happen in humans," one researcher said.
"Obesity, Rather Than Diet, Drives Epigenomic Alterations in Colonic Epithelium Resembling Cancer Progression. ", Cell Metabolism, April 09, 2014
Earlier studies on the impact of taxes on sugary drinks claimed that taxation would reduce obesity by 20 percent. But they were flawed because they relied on household data rather than individual consumption patterns: they assumed people didn’t replace soda calories with calories from another source. But new U.S. research that analyzed national survey data collected between 1989 and 2006 found that hiking soft drink taxes may cut soda drinking, but not total caloric intake because people replace the soda calories. "The impact of soft drink taxes on the body mass index is small in magnitude and not statistically significant," researchers concluded, noting that there should be “fundamental changes to policies” based on soda taxes as a strategy for reducing obesity rates.
"Non-Linear Effects Of Soda Taxes On Consumption And Weight Outcomes", Health Economics, April 04, 2014
It is generally believed that antioxidants block the harmful effects of omega-6 on DNA. One antioxidant – green tea polyphenol – does have that effect, reducing the formation of a liver cell structure that links a chemical to DNA and may cause mutations, according to a U.S. study in animals. But the U.S. study also shows that the antioxidant vitamin E actually increases damage caused by omega-6 fatty acids, which are found in many cooking oils.
"Antioxidants can protect against omega 6 damage -- or promote it", News release, study presented at the AACR annual meeting, April 04, 2014
A 2012 National Institute on Aging report on monkeys and diet found no differences in survival or better overall health among animals that were calorie restricted. But University of Wisconsin researchers conducting a 25-year study on the impact of calorie restrictions on monkeys report just the opposite: a significant lengthening of lifespan and reduction in age-related diseases. The discrepancy may be due to differences in the way the animals were fed in the two studies. The Wisconsin study started with two groups of adults, one of which ate 30 percent fewer calories. The NIA control monkeys, however, were fed according to a standardized food intake chart and may also have been calorie restricted.
"Caloric restriction reduces age-related and all-cause mortality in rhesus monkeys.", Nature Communications, April 01, 2014
Breast-feeding has been found to have a long-term beneficial health effect on babies. According to French researchers who studied data collected from 1984 through 2006, breast-fed babies are less likely to be obese at age 20. The beneficial effect of breast-feeding is significant when nutritional intake to age two is considered, researchers said, and is linked to a reduction in body fat at 20 years old. In the statistical model, higher fat intake at two years was linked to a reduction in fat mass at 20 years.
"Breastfeeding, Early Nutrition, and Adult Body Fat. ", The Journal of Pediatrics, April 01, 2014
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Food Product Design, April 11, 2014
The Journal of Biological Chemistry, April 11, 2014
American Academy of Pediatrics, April 07, 2014
Wiley Online Library, April 06, 2014
The Economist, April 05, 2014
Oxford Journals, April 01, 2014
Florida State 24/7, March 25, 2014
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