Obesity and Aging

Association of sociodemographic and lifestyle factors and dietary intake with overweight and obesity among U.S. children: findings from NHANES

Childhood overweight/obesity is a serious problem that has not been adequately addressed. As a key factor affecting weight gain, the association between dietary intake with childhood overweight and obesity is still unclear. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between sociodemographic, lifestyle factors and dietary intake with overweight or obesity. We used data from a large cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The U.S. children aged 6-15 years with both weight data and dietary data were included. For univariate analysis of sociodemographic data, t tests was performed for continuous variables and chi-square tests was performed for discrete variables. Dietary intakes were described by median and quartile, and differences in dietary intake between children with normal weight and children with overweight or obesity were compared by rank sum tests. A modern statistical shrinkage technique, LASSO regression was used to examine the association between dietary intake and childhood obesity. Our study confirms that Hispanic ethnicity, increasing age, passive exposure to smoking, higher protein intake, and higher caffeine intake were positively associated with child overweight or obesity. Additionally, non-Hispanic White race, higher physical activity levels, higher household income, and higher vitamin A intake were negatively associated with child overweight or obesity.

Calorie Restriction Attenuates Memory Impairment and Reduces Neuroinflammation in Obese Aged Rats

Obesity and aging collectively potentiate inflammatory responses, particularly within the central nervous system. Managing obesity presents a significant challenge, even more so considering the context of aging. Caloric restriction (CR) has been extensively documented in the literature for its multiple health benefits. Motivated by these findings, we hypothesized that CR could serve as a valuable intervention to address the brain alterations and cognitive decline associated with obesity in aged rats. Our investigation revealed that cafeteria diet increased hippocampal and hypothalamic transcripts related to neuroinflammation, along with cognitive deficits determined in the object recognition test in 18-month-old male rats. Western blot data indicate that the obesogenic diet may disrupt the blood-brain barrier and lead to an increase in Toll-like receptor 4 in the hippocampus, events that could contribute to the cognitive deficits observed. Implementing CR after the onset of obesity mitigated neuroinflammatory changes and cognitive impairments. We found that CR increases GABA levels in the hippocampus of aged animals, as demonstrated by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry analysis. These findings underscore the potential of CR as a therapeutic opportunity to ameliorate the neuroinflammatory and cognitive alterations of obesity, especially in the context of aging.

Mortality risk relationship using standard categorized BMI or knee-height based BMI - does the overweight/lower mortality paradox hold true?

BACKGROUND

The body mass index (BMI) is prone to misclassification of obesity due to age-related height loss and resulting measurement errors. Knee-height based BMI (KH-BMI) has not been previously studied in relation to mortality risk in older adults.

AIM

To evaluate the age- and sex-specific mortality risk relationship using classic BMI and knee height predicted BMI (KH-BMI) overweight and obesity in a 15-year follow-up study including older Swedish adults aged 60-93 years.

METHODS

A 15-year follow-up study among 2,786 individuals aged ≥ 60 years. Height, weight and KH were measured. KH-predicted height was estimated using formulated gender-specific equations. Classic BMI and KH-BMI (kg/m2) were calculated. Mortality data was obtained from the Swedish death registry. Questionnaires were used to collect data on obesity-related lifestyle factors and comorbidities.

RESULTS

Cox regression revealed that using the classic BMI, when comparing with the normal/underweight reference group, there was a mortality risk among overweight men (HR = 0.67, 0.52-0.87), overweight women (HR = 0.79, 0.65-0.97), and obese men (HR = 0.60, 0.41-0.89) aged ≥ 80 years old. Using the KH-BMI, only overweight men and overweight women aged ≥ 80 years had a lower mortality risk, men (HR = 0.71, 0.55-0.92); women (HR = 0.77, 0.62-0.95) after adjusting for obesity-related lifestyle factors and comorbidities.

DISCUSSION

There is evidence that obesity is overestimated by the BMI, in comparison with the KH-BMI classification. In terms of mortality risk and after adjusting for height, there remains a paradoxical protective association between overweight and mortality.

CONCLUSION

Regardless of classic BMI or KH-BMI estimation, overweight men and women aged ≥ 80 years had a lower mortality risk compared to normal/underweight men and women ≥ 80 years.

Impact of obesity on the structures and functions of the stomatognathic system: A morphofunctional approach

OBJECTIVE

The prevalence of obesity is increasing significantly worldwide, raising great concern among health professionals. This observational study evaluated the electromyographic activity and thickness of the masseter and temporalis muscles, in addition to the maximum molar bite force, in obese and eutrophic subjects.

METHODS

Sixty subjects were divided into three groups: I (7-12 years), II (13-20 years), III (21-40 years) and sex: with 10 men and 10 women for each group. Electromyographic recordings of the masticatory muscles were obtained during mandibular tasks. The masticatory muscles thicknesses were obtained at rest and during dental clenching. The maximum molar bite forces were measured on the right and left sides. The difference in outcome measures between the groups and sex was analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test (p < 0.05) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

RESULTS

Electromyographic activity in the masseter and temporal muscles consistently displayed lower levels in obese subjects of both sexes across all three age groups during mandibular tasks. Additionally, greater thickness of the masticatory muscles was observed in obese subjects of both sexes across all three age groups. Obese women in Group II displayed higher values of molar bite force, both on the right and left sides, compared to eutrophic women. On the other hand, women in Group III exhibited higher values of molar bite force on the right side in comparison to eutrophic women.

CONCLUSIONS

This study underscores the potential impact of obesity on the morphofunctional aspects of the stomatognathic system in subjects aged 7 to 40 years.

The causal relationship between sarcopenic obesity factors and benign prostate hyperplasia

Background

Both benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and sarcopenic obesity (SO) are common conditions among older adult/adults males. The prevalent lifestyle associated with SO is a significant risk factor for the development of BPH. Therefore, we investigated the causal relationship between SO factors and BPH.

Method

The instrumental variables for SO factors were selected using the inverse variance-weighted method, which served as the primary approach for Mendelian randomization analysis to assess the causal effect based on summary data derived from genome-wide association studies of BPH.

Result

The increase in BMR (OR = 1.248; 95% CI = (1.087, 1.432); P = 0.002) and ALM (OR = 1.126; 95% CI = (1.032, 1.228); P = 0.008) was found to be associated with an elevated risk of BPH. However, no genetic causality between fat-free mass distribution, muscle mass distribution, and BPH was observed.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that a genetic causal association between BMR, ALM and BPH. BMR and ALM are risk factors for BPH. The decrease in BMR and ALM signified the onset and progression of SO, thus SO is a protective factor for BPH.

Prediction of resting energy expenditure in Italian older adults with severe obesity

Background

In the last decade a large number of studies proposed and/or validated equations to estimate the Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) in adults and/or older adults, however, no equation currently available showed good accuracy for older adults with severe obesity. Thus, this study aimed to develop and validate new predictive equations for REE, based on data from the indirect calorimetry, in Italian older adults with severe obesity.

Methods

A retrospective study was as conducted with 764 Caucasian older adults with severe obesity (age range: 60-74 years and BMI ≥ 35 kg/m/²). Four models were used to test the accuracy of anthropometry and body composition variables in multivariable prediction of REE. All models were derived by stepwise multiple regression analysis using a calibration group of 382 subjects [295 females and 87 males] and the equations were cross-validated in the remaining 382 subjects [295 females and 87 males] as validation group. The new prediction equations and the other published equations were tested using the Bland-Altman method. Prediction accuracy was defined as the percentage of subjects whose REE was predicted within ± 10% of measured REE.

Results

All the equations analyzed predicted higher energy requirements for males than females, and most of them underestimated the energy requirement values of our sample. The highest accuracy values were observed in the new equations, with 62% in the anthropometric model and 63% in the body composition model.

Conclusion

Although the accuracy of our equations was slightly higher in comparison with the other taken into consideration, they cannot be considered completely satisfactory for predicting REE in Italians older adults with severe obesity. When predicting equations cannot guarantee precise or acceptable values of REE, the use of indirect calorimetry (if available) should be always recommended, especially in clinical practice.

Extraction, HPTLC Analysis and Antiobesity Activity of Jatropha tanjorensis and Fraxinus micrantha on High-Fat Diet Model in Rats

The accumulation of body fat due to an imbalance between calorie intake and energy expenditure is called obesity. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and stroke. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Jatropha tanjorensis (J.T.) and Fraxinus micrantha (F.M.) leaf extracts on high-fat diet-induced obesity in rats. Normal control, high-fat diet (HFD) control, orlistat standard, and test groups were created using male Albino Wistar rats (n = 6 per group) weighing 190 ± 15 g. Except for the control group, all regimens were administered orally and continued for 6 weeks while on HFD. Evaluation criteria included body weight, food intake, blood glucose, lipid profile, oxidative stress, and liver histology. High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) analysis was performed using a solvent system (7:3 hexane: ethyl acetate for sitosterol solution and Jatropha tanjorensis extracts and 6:4 hexane: ethyl acetate: 1 drop of acetic acid for esculetin and Fraxinus micrantha extracts). There were no deaths during the 14 days before the acute toxicity test, indicating that aqueous and ethanolic extracts of both J.T. and F.M. did not produce acute toxicity at any dose (5, 50, 300, and 2000 mg/kg). The ethanolic and aqueous extracts of J.T. and F.M. leaves at 200 and 400 mg/kg/orally showed a reduction in weight gain, feed intake, and significant decreases in serum glucose and lipid profile. As compared to inducer HFD animals, co-treatment of aqueous and ethanolic extract of both J.T. and F.M. and orlistat increased the levels of antioxidant enzymes and decreased lipid peroxidation. The liver's histological findings showed that the sample had some degree of protection. These results indicate that ethanolic samples of J.T. have antidiabetic potential in diabetic rats fed an HFD. The strong antioxidant potential and restoration of serum lipid levels may be related to this. Co-treatment of samples JTE, JTAQ, FME, FMAQ and orlistat resulted in an increase in antioxidant enzymes and reduction in lipid peroxidation as compared to inducer HFD animals. We report, for the first time, on using these leaves to combat obesity.