Current Nutrition & Food Science - Volume 3, Issue 2, 2007

Over the past decades, there has been a tremendous rise in the prevalence of obesity, not only in the westernized countries, but all over the world. Although it is well recognized that genetic factors are involved in obesity, this rapid rise is essentially to be attributed to environmental factors; indeed, the human gene pool is unlikely to have changed substantially over such a short period! However, this does not exclude that insi Read More

Epidemiologic investigations can provide insights to the diet-disease relationship in different populations. Slow but continual intake of small amounts of energy in excess of energy needs leads to obesity. Although experimental obesity in animals eating a low-fat diet is the exception, development of obesity in animals eating high-fat diets is the rule. Subjects who were placed on a low-fat diet lost weight, even when weight loss was Read More

The present paper is reviewing the current place of weight-reducing drugs in the overall management of overweight/obese subjects, especially those with metabolic disorders and type 2 diabetes. Anti-obesity agents should be carefully evaluated in long-term (1-2 years) randomized controlled trials. Recent systematic reviews and meta-analysis assessed both the safety and efficacy of the two drugs currently used in t Read More

Obesity is a disease that combines the influence of a genetic predisposition with an obesogenic environment. Our purpose is to review the role of dietary factors in the developement and the maintenance of obesity in children, and to point out the alterations of energy balance induced by energy restriction. There is considerable evidence that a genetic susceptibility to fat gain is necessary to override the regulatory system Read More

The aim of this review is to summarize what is known about pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in terms of prevalence, pathogenesis, diagnosis, histology and treatment. NAFLD is increasingly recognized as a major health burden in obese children. NAFLD is a spectrum, ranging from fatty infiltration of the liver alone (steatosis), which may lead to fatty infiltration with inflammation known as ste Read More

Prevalence of morbid obesity is dramatically increasing over the world. The failure of medical and behavioural treatments has lead to the widespread development of surgical techniques for the resolution of morbid obesity and its comorbidities. The present review highlights the effect of two of these techniques, the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and the Biliopancreatic Diversion (BPD), on metabolic co-morbidities, w Read More

The metabolic syndrome (MS) has a high prevalence in different countries (∼ 10% in France). It associates in the same subject central obesity, decrease in HDL cholesterol, increase in plasma triglycérides, glucose intolerance and hypertension. Insulin-resistance is a common feature even though it has been excluded from the more recent definitions because of the difficulty to assess it in clinical practice. Physiopathology of Read More

Insulin resistance, often caused by excessive body weight, is a major risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Several studies have shown the beneficial effects of physical activity on insulin resistance. A single bout of physical activity, whether it is aerobic or resistance exercise, significantly improves insulin sensitivity up to 48h after a single exercise session. Both endurance and resistance ex Read More

Sphingolipids are a complex group of polar lipids. Variations in their components (backbone, polar head group and fatty acid) engenders a large and complex structural variety which affects the biological properties of the individual molecules. Sphingolipids are omnipresent in foodstuffs, can cross the intestinal barrier and are biologically active. The quantities in food range from a few μg/kg in fruits and some vegetables up to Read More

Olive oil is the keystone of the Mediterranean diet, and is its most characteristic food. More than 80% of the visible fat of this diet is consumed in the form of olive oil, which is almost the only source of fat, employed both in cooking (stir-frying, deep frying) and as a dressing. In spite of the great importance of olive oil in the Mediterranean diet, many of the properties of some of its components remain unclear. It has already Read More