Eating fat or being fat and risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer among women

Silkworm pupae oil exerts hypercholesterolemic and antioxidant effects in high-cholesterol diet-fed rats

BACKGROUND

Silkworm pupae is a good resource of edible oil that is especially rich in unsaturated fatty acids and is considered to be an excellent dietary supplement for hyperlipidemia.

RESULTS

Groups fed a high-cholesterol diet (HCD) with silkworm pupae oil (SPO) supplementation (1, 2, or 4 mL kg^-1  day^-1 ) orally had significantly lower levels of serum total cholesterol (P < 0.05) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < 0.05) compared to the HCD group. With regard to antioxidant parameters, except for levels of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the liver, 2 and 4 mL kg^-1  day^-1 of SPO supplementation leaded to higher total antioxidant capacity (P < 0.05), superoxide dismutase (P < 0.05) and GSH-Px levels (P < 0.05), as well as lower malondialdehyde levels (P < 0.05), both in serum and liver compared to the HCD group.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study indicate that supplementation with SPO can improve lipid profiles and alleviate oxidative stress in high-cholesterol diet-fed rats. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Body mass and stage of breast cancer at diagnosis

Obesity is a well-known risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer. In contrast, the relationship between obesity and stage of breast cancer at diagnosis is less clear. We hypothesized that increased breast size in obese women may delay discovery of breast tumors. Thus, the purpose of our study was to examine whether there is an association between body mass and stage of breast cancer at diagnosis using hospital medical records. Newly diagnosed breast cancer cases (n = 966) in the Baltimore metropolitan area from 1991 to 1997 were included in our study. Patient information including age, ethnicity, weight, height and pathology data were obtained from hospital medical records. High body mass was significantly associated with late stage of breast cancer at diagnosis. Women who were obese (body mass index [BMI] > or = 27.3) were more likely to be at an advanced stage at diagnosis compared with women with a BMI of < 27.3 (multivariate-adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-2.14). The association between body mass and stage at diagnosis was stronger among women younger than 50 years (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.34-4.08) compared with women 50 years or older (OR 1.30, 95% CI 0.89-1.91). Our study suggests that higher body mass is associated with advanced stage of breast cancer at diagnosis. This finding may be of considerable concern, given the increasing prevalence of obesity in women in the United States and the poor prognosis associated with late-stage tumors.

Dehydroepiandrosterone-mediated decrease in caloric intake by obese Zucker rats is not due to changes in serum entrostatin-like immunoreactivity

To understand the mechanism(s) of appetite modulation by DHEA, we have undertaken a series of studies to examine the effects of DHEA on neurotransmitters and neuropeptides known to affect appetitive behavior. Here, we report the effect of DHEA on serum enterostatin-VPDPR or E, a pentapeptide known to cause selective diminution in fat intake. Four-week-old lean (fa/+) and obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats were divided into control and treatment groups. DHEA-treated groups received powdered chow containing 0.6% DHEA ad lib for 16 weeks. Another group of obese rats was pair fed to match the intake of the obese DHEA-treated rats. At the end of this period, trunk blood was collected from fasted rats for assay of E-like immunoreactivity (E-LI) by ELISA. DHEA treatment caused a significant diminution in circulating E-LI in both lean (control: 2030 +/- 226; treated: 752 +/- 145 ng/mL; n = 10, p < 0.0001) and obese (control: 2489 +/- 391, n = 6; treated: 1123 +/- 185 ng/mL, n = 7; p = 0.0003) rats. Because DHEA treatment decreases caloric intake and body weight, we examined the effect of caloric intake and body weight on E-LI levels. Serum ELI levels were lower in the obese DHEA-treated group compared to that of obese pair fed (pair fed: 1589 +/- 313, n = 6; DHEA: 1123 +/- 185 ng/mL, n = 7), but the differences were statistically insignificant (p = 0.185). Also, both weight-matched lean and obese control rats had significantly (p < 0.008) higher E-LI than their DHEA-treated counterparts. To examine whether the decrease in serum E-LI following DHEA treatment could be due to increased peptide metabolism, the rate of disappearance of endogenous E-LI from serum (obese control and DHEA-treated) at 37 degrees C was evaluated. The results show an attenuation of peptide metabolism in serum from DHEA-treated rats, a finding contrary to our expectations. In summary, DHEA treatment lowers serum E-LI levels both in lean and obese Zucker rats. This decrement in peptide level is not secondary to changes in body weight or caloric intake due to DHEA, or due to altered serum peptide metabolism. Although DHEA appears to be a potent modulator of E-LI levels, the relationship between DHEA and E-LI in relation to appetitive behavior remains to be clarified.

Predictors of quality of life in women: hormone therapy self-efficacy and health-promoting behaviors

Osteoporosis and coronary heart diseases (CHD) are two major health problems that affect postmenopausal women. The literature emphasizes that prevention of osteoporosis and/or CHD through the practices of health-promoting behaviors and hormone therapy usage can improve quality of life (QOL) for women. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of health-promoting behaviors and hormone therapy self-efficacy on QOL. The sample contained 210 women between the ages of 45 and 84 years of age, who completed three instruments developed specifically for this study. The majority of the participants perceived moderate satisfaction with their life as a whole, performed many health-promoting behaviors, and perceived slight confidence in their ability to continue hormone therapy. Among current users of hormones, hormone therapy self-efficacy beliefs explained 31% of the variance in QOL. Among non-users of hormones, health-promoting behaviors explained 7% of the variance in QOL. In the entire sample, health-promoting behaviors explained 10% of the variance in QOL. There were significant differences between current users of hormones and non-users of hormones in QOL and in health-promoting behaviors. The study has implications for intervention and for future research.

Treatment for morbid obesity

There is no single unifying theory to explain the aetiology of obesity but several environmental factors, such as decreased physical activity and increased fat intake may contribute to its development in genetically predisposed individuals. Dietary and pharmacological treatments of morbid obesity have been proven to be unsuccessful. Modern surgical treatments have been shown to be effective in achieving significant weight loss with consequent reduction in morbidity. Despite the fact that surgical treatment of morbid obesity is the only therapeutic form that has stood the test of time, it still remains a crisis-driven form of therapy in the UK. It is probable that a better understanding of the aetiology and physiology of obesity may lead to the development of an effective pharmacological treatment of obesity in the future. However, until then, surgical treatment of morbid obesity should be considered as an effective and efficient way of treatment in selected cases.

Dietary fat consumption and health

Dietary Guidelines have emerged over the past 30 years recommending that Americans limit their consumption of total fat and saturated fat as one way to reduce the risk of a range of chronic diseases. However, a low-fat diet is not a no-fat diet. Dietary fat clearly serves a number of essential functions. For example, maternal energy deficiency, possible exacerbated by very low-fat intakes (< 15% of energy), is one key determinant in the etiology of low birth weight. The debate continues over recommendations for limiting total fat and saturated fatty acid intake in children. Recent evidence indicates that diets with adequate energy providing less than 30% of energy from fat are sufficient to promote normal growth and normal sexual maturation. More attention needs to be devoted to the effect of dietary fat reduction on the nutrient density of children's diets. The association between dietary fat and CHD has been extensively studied. Diets high in saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids increase LDL cholesterol levels, and in turn, the risk of heart disease. The relationship between high-carbohydrate/low-fat diets and CHD is more ambiguous because high-carbohydrate diets induce dyslipidemia in certain individuals. Obesity among adults and children is now of epidemic proportions in the United States. High-fat diets leading to excessive energy intakes are strongly linked to the increasing obesity in the United States. However, the prevalence of obesity has increased during the same time period that dietary fat intake (both in absolute terms and as a percentage of total dietary energy) has decreased. These trends suggest that a concomitant decrease in total dietary energy and modifications of other lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, also need to be emphasized. Obesity is also an independent risk factor for the development of diabetes. The current availability of fat-modified foods offers the potential for dietary fat reduction and treatment of the comorbidities associated with diabetes. However, to date, few studies have documented the effectiveness of fat-modified foods as part of a weight loss regimen or in reduction in CHD risks among individuals with diabetes mellitus. The association between total dietary fat and cancer is still under debate. While there is some evidence demonstrating associations between dietary fat intake and cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon, there are serious methodologic issues, including the difficulty in differentiating the effects of dietary fat independent of total energy intake. Reported total fat and saturated fatty acid intakes as a percentage of total energy have been declining over the past 30 years in the United States. Despite this encouraging trend, the majority of individuals--regardless of age--do not report consuming a diet that meets the levels of fat and saturated fatty acids recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. On a relative basis, saturated fat intake has gone down less than has total fat intake. Individuals of all ages who report consuming a diet with < or = 30% of energy from fat consistently have lower energy intakes. Given the increasing rates of obesity in the United States at an earlier and earlier age, dietary fat reduction may be an effective part of an overall strategy to balance energy consumption with energy needs. In each of the age/gender groups reporting consumption of < or = 30% of energy from fat and less than 10% of energy from saturated fatty acids, fat-modified foods play a more important role in their diets than for people who are consuming higher levels of fat and saturated fat. The data are clear than fat-modified foods make a more significant contribution to diets of consumers with low-fat intakes. While one cannot argue cause and effect from the results presented, the patterns of fat-modified foods/low-fat intakes are consistent. The focus on overall diet quality is often lost in the national obsession with lowering fat inta

Dietary fat and chronic diseases: epidemiologic overview

The association between dietary fat consumption and risk of cancer, especially colon, breast, prostate, and ovary cancer, has been debated for many years. Ecologic studies over the past 30 years have demonstrated the correlation of greater dietary fat intake with higher mortality due to various cancers. Migrant studies also have shown that increased fat consumption may be associated with increased risk of cancer. Specific saturated fatty acids raise blood cholesterol levels and, thereby, increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Greater fat, intake is a major cause of obesity and hypertension, diabetes, and gallbladder disease. Higher fat intake may heighten the risk of breast cancer directly through increased blood estrogen levels and/or secondarily through increased obesity. The critical experimental studies to determine the effects of a low-fat diet on disease risk have not been completed, but reducing fat in the US diet has the potential to decrease morbidity and mortality substantially.

Fat, caloric intake, and obesity: lifestyle risk factors for breast cancer

Dietary fat is a likely important determinant of postmenopausal breast cancer as part of an intricate and inseparable interaction of lifestyle cancer risk factors that include dietary fat, type of fat, energy intake and expenditure, and obesity. These factors possibly build upon individual susceptibilities derived from a complex array of polygenetic risk determinants. Epidemiologic studies have not provided conclusive evidence for a dietary fat-breast cancer association, partly because studies that focus on a single nutrient cannot always evaluate readily the interactive effects of other lifestyle factors. Further, persons generally underestimate their usual dietary intake, measured by either food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) or diet records. A dietary measurement model that accounts for this underreporting demonstrated that FFQs and diet records may not be able to detect a dietary fat-breast cancer association because of measurement error biases. Although meta-analysis of epidemiologic data across individual studies suggests only a week association between breast cancer and dietary fat, this result is compatible with the dietary measurement model and does not rule out a contributing role for dietary fat, either alone or with other causative factors. Research is needed that focuses on a comprehensive approach to dietary lifestyle choices and breast cancer risk and that emphasizes a fat-caloric intake-obesity linkage. The best hope for a definitive answer may rest with randomized, controlled clinical trials. Two such trials, the Women's Health Initiative and the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study, are under way.

Metabolism of 14C-labelled sucrose esters of stearic acid in rats

Rats were dosed by oral gavage (250 mg/kg) with compounds containing sucrose esterified in four, six or eight positions with stearic acid. For each compound, rats excreted greater than 95% of the dose in the faeces. The extent of absorption and metabolism of radioactivity was inversely related to the degree of esterification. For rats dosed with sucrose esters labelled in the fatty acid moieties, the degree of absorption of radioactivity was highest for the tetraesterified compound (5.9% of the dose). At 120 hr after dosing with this derivative, the highest concentrations of radioactivity, aside from tissues of the gastrointestinal tract, were found in fat (183 micrograms-equivalents/g tissue), lymph nodes (117 micrograms-equivalents/g tissue) and the liver (88 micrograms-equivalents/g tissue); appreciable radioactivity appeared in the blood (3.9 micrograms-equivalents/g tissue) and collected lymph (5.0-7.6% of the dose). For rats dosed with esters labelled in the sucrose moiety, the amounts of radioactivity absorbed were lower than after dosing with the corresponding sucrose derivatives labelled in the fatty acid moieties; the absorbed radioactivity was greatest following administration of the tetraesterified compound (3.0%). Relatively little radioactivity was found in tissue samples collected from these rats. These results are consistent with limited hydrolysis of the sucrose esters, presumably to sucrose and fatty acids, prior to intestinal absorption.

Weight gain in women diagnosed with breast cancer

This review of the literature indicates that weight gain is a common observation among women after the diagnosis of breast cancer. Gains in weight range from 0 to 50 lb and are influenced by menopausal status; nodal status; and the type, duration, and intensity of treatment. Weight gain appears to be greater among premenopausal women; among those who are node positive; and among those receiving higher dose, longer duration, and multiagent regimens. Psychosocial research suggests that weight gain has a profoundly negative impact on quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Recent findings also suggest that weight gain during therapy may increase the risk of recurrence and decrease survival. Although weight gain in patients with breast cancer is clinically well appreciated, little research has been conducted to investigate the underlying mechanisms of energy imbalance. Changes in rates of metabolism, physical activity, and dietary intake are all plausible mechanisms and call for more research. Further study will provide valuable insight into the problem of weight gain and encourage effective interventions to improve the quality and quantity of life for the woman with breast cancer. Until more is known, however, dietetics practitioners will have to monitor and work individually with patients with breast cancer and use empirical approaches to achieve the important goal of weight management.

Diet, obesity and risk for renal cell carcinoma: results from a case control-study in Germany

Increasing incidence of renal cell carcinoma in Western countries raises particular attention to its etiology. Diet may be related to risk for renal cell carcinoma since obesity has been linked with this malignant condition. A case-control study with 277 incident renal cell cancer patients (ICD 189.0) and 286 population controls was conducted in the Rhein-Neckar-Odenwald area, Germany, in the period of 1989 to 1991. The core study protocol included a face-to-face interview about demographical parameters, previous diseases, medication, tobacco smoking, occupational history, occupational exposures, beverage consumption, and obesity. In addition, study participants were asked to fill in a self-administered food frequency questionnaire with 122 food items to estimate overall food intake. Fifty-six % of the cases and 74% of the controls participated in this part of the study (n = 155 cases and 212 controls). This was 47% of the original cases (n = 328) and 56% of the controls (n = 381). No selection bias could be identified with regard to age group, gender, educational status or recent BMI in the analyzed group compared with the eligible cases and controls. Relative risk (RR) estimates for tertiles of consumption revealed a significantly increased risk with increasing intake of fat spread (RR of high intake compared to low intake: 1.90 (95% CI 1.08-3.32)). Increased risk was also found for intake of meat and meat products (RR of high intake compared to low intake: 1.71 (95% CI 0.96-3.04)) and energy adjusted fat (RR of high intake compared to low intake: 1.64 (95% CI 0.95-2.83)). A decreased risk was seen with increasing intake of fruit (RR of high intake compared to low intake: 0.40 (95% CI 0.23-0.69)) and of vitamin C (RR of high intake compared to low intake: 0.62 (95% CI 0.37-1.05)). Beverage consumption, preparation of food and eating pattern were not linked with risk of renal cell cancer. The relative risk estimates of spreading fat (sauce and vitamin C intake were tested in two models, with and without including BMI as covariate. In both models significant associations of these nutritional variables with risk for renal cell cancer remained. The current results indicate that specific food pattern associated with obesity explain differences in incidence of renal cell carcinoma in industrialized countries.

Nutrient intake patterns, body mass index, and vitamin levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE

To assess nutrient intakes and vitamin levels in 79 patients with rheumatoid arthritis participating in a trial and to determine whether changes in body mass index were associated with changes in disease activity.

METHODS

This study evaluated baseline vitamin levels, 1-day dietary intakes, and weight every 3 months for 1 year. Linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship of time to body mass index. Analysis of covariance was used to determine if body mass index, time, or treatment had an effect on disease activity.

RESULTS

Deficient vitamin levels and poor nutrient intake patterns were prevalent in the study population. Changes in body mass index over time did not correlate with changes in disease activity.

CONCLUSIONS

Rheumatoid arthritis patients are at high risk of obesity, abnormal vitamin levels, and poor nutrient intakes. Changes in body mass index failed to correlate with changes in disease activity.

Development of risk factors for cardiovascular disease among women from adolescence to older ages

The development of risk factors for young adults to older ages for women has been evaluated in several studies. The increase in risk factor levels is related to age, weight gain, and diet. The levels of risk factors are related to extent of atherosclerosis, even at relatively young ages. The prevention of increase in risk factors is of primary importance for the future reduction of morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease.

Obesity and cancer

Large-scale studies have demonstrated that obesity increases the risk of developing some forms of cancer. The association between obesity and cancer may result from factors such as fat distribution or sex hormone levels. Studies have also shown a relationship between a high-fat, low-fiber diet and cancer risk. High estrogen levels and low progesterone levels are associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer. Obesity is known to raise estrogen levels and may lower progesterone levels. Obesity may increase the risk of breast cancer, but the evidence is less clear, since factors, such as age, country of origin, body-fat distribution, and family history, also play a major role in determining breast cancer risk. Sex hormones, insulin, and nutritional factors are also involved in the etiology of breast cancer. The incidence of lung cancer is inversely related to body weight.