SHR

Weight loss is easy – it is keeping the weight off that is difficult. It isn’t impossible by any means, but the fact that only 20% of overweight individuals are successful weight losers speaks to why many people view weight loss as hopeless. An area of controversy regarding both weight loss and weight maintenance is the role of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) such as sucralose, aspartame, and stevia. It is therefore worth discussing the latest publication by Peters et al, which reports data from a year-long trial comparing beverages sweetened with NNS to water as part of a behavioral weight management program consisting of 12 weeks of active weight loss and 40 weeks of weight maintenance. The study participants included 303 healthy overweight-obese men and women who drank NNS beverages at least three times per week. For the initial 12-week weight loss period, all participants received a cognitive-behavioral weight loss intervention that...

There is a pervasive belief in the dieting world that drinking water can help with fat loss. There are many reasons why this may be true (e.g., through displacing caloric beverages in the diet), but one oft-mentioned and popular idea is that it may aid fat loss through increasing metabolism. We have the work of Boschmann et al to thank for this idea. In his study of 14 young and healthy adults, it was reported that drinking 500 mL of room-temperature water significantly increased resting energy expenditure (REE) by a whopping 30% within an hour.  This led Boschmann et al to conclude that simply increasing water consumption by 1.5 liters per day would increase energy expenditure by ~50 kcal. Boschmann subsequently extended these findings to overweight and obese adults, in whom 500 ml of water was reported to increase REE by 24%. How then can it be that many studies of human...

Type-2 diabetes (T2D) is a disease in which prolonged and excessive insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia lead to a marked reduction in pancreatic β-cell mass and function. It is well recognized that diet plays a central role in the management of T2D, and particular interest has been given to low-carbohydrate diets given that they may improve glycemic control and blood lipids to a greater extent than low-fat and low-GI diets despite similar effects on weight. A specific type of low-carbohydrate diet that is high in fat and moderate in protein is a ketogenic diet (KD). Although initially used for the treatment of epilepsy, KDs are increasingly being used for weight loss and general health. Indeed, it has been argued that a KD may facilitate weight loss through helping to control hunger and improve fat oxidative metabolism. However, it remains unknown what impact a KD may have in persons with T2D over...

Protein for gains in elderly women The age-related loss of muscle mass is called sarcopenia. This condition can lead to an increased risk of fractures, frailty, and loss of independence. Although the etiology of sarcopenia is multifaceted, an accumulating number of studies document the muscle-preserving ability of increased dietary protein intake. Most recently, Isanejad et al examined the relationship between protein intake and lean body mass (LBM) in 554 elderly women (65-72 years old) who were followed for 3 years. At baseline, protein intake was estimated from a 3-day food log and body composition was assessed via DXA scanning. The body composition measurements were taken again after 3 years. The participants were divided into quartiles of protein intake: <54, 54-66, 66-80, and >80 grams per day, which corresponded to average intakes of 0.79, 0.9, 0.96, and 1.18 g/kg bodyweight, respectively. At baseline, a higher protein intake was significantly associated with greater...

Pregnant ladies listen up; enjoy your cravings but don’t have seconds. Pregnancy demands weight gain; there is no logical reason that growing a fetus inside you should not result in weight gain. Indeed, too little weight gain increases the risk of having a preterm birth and low-birth-weight offspring. On the flip-side, there are individuals who use pregnancy as an excuse to get fat. Perhaps I’m being a tad vain, but it’s true. Yet, excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) is associated with gestational diabetes, cesarean delivery, giving birth to fat infants, and increased risk of chronic diseases later in life. Not surprisingly, a proper diet plays a central role in the pregnant mother-to-be’s health. Recently, Tielemans et al systematically reviewed the association between energy and macronutrient intakes and weight gain during pregnancy in both observational and intervention studies in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. In total, 56 studies with over 78,000 healthy...