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A P Simopoulos

Publications and source records attributed to A P Simopoulos.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Diet and health: scientific concepts and principles conference commentary.

The conference concluded that dietary guidelines are needed, but that they cannot apply to everyone in the population nor to the same extent. Furthermore, a mechanism or structure is needed in which the guidelines can be periodically reviewed and updated. In making dietary recommendations, genetic variability, age, sex and body size need to be considered. Survival, extension of life span, relief of selected symptoms and biochemical improvements of risk factors are some of the criteria to be used in assessing the role of diet in health and disease. The most important questions that remain unresolved in the nutritional sciences concern the relation of diet to the development of chronic disease. The science of nutritional epidemiology needs to be strengthened and etiologic research in epidemiology ought to be performed and evaluated with the same standards used in other branches of science. Therefore, there is a need to establish guidelines for the validity of methods in assessing dietary intake and for a minimum acceptable correlation for the reproducibility and repeatability of dietary intake data. Research on the role of genetic variation and nutrition, the metabolic effects of omega-3 fatty acids and their relationship to omega-6 fatty acids, the energy expenditure after weight reduction and improving the scientific base of nutritional epidemiology will enhance the scientific basis of nutrition and our understanding of the role of diet in health and disease.

Diet↗
PubMed1987

Characteristics of obesity: an overview.

Obesity is considered to be a major nutritional disorder in the U.S. and in many parts of the industrialized world. The physiology of the obese and their propensity for chronic disease has been of growing interest over the past few years, and an extensive literature has begun to accumulate. Obesity is a heterogeneous disorder. When viewed in the broadest sense, it has been considered a disorder of energy balance. The development of obesity in humans is of complex etiology, involving genetic and environmental components that affect regulatory and metabolic events. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in a population depends on the particular reference or standard of desirable weight selected for use. A trend toward increasing height and weight has been evident among adults for several centuries, and among children as early as the 7th year of life in developed countries. Overweight persons are at increased risk for coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and cancer. The degree of overweight that carries additional risk without affecting mortality needs to be defined. Overweight most likely contributes in varying degrees to morbidity in different societies, because the risk for most common chronic diseases is multifactorial. In defining overweight and obesity, morbidity, in addition to mortality, ought to be taken into consideration. The multidisciplinary approach to the study of obesity--borrowing concepts and techniques from endocrinology, neurobiology, genetics, and nutrition--should yield new insights into how environmental factors such as diet and physical expenditure interact to influence energy metabolism and body composition.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Fat intake, obesity, and cancer of the breast and endometrium.

Many studies indicate that obesity is associated with postmenopausal breast cancer and cancer of the endometrium. The mechanisms by which obesity contributes to cancer risk is not known, although increases in serum estrone from delta 4-androstenedione by the adipose tissue have been implicated in postmenopausal women. Blood estrogens increase with the degree of obesity and aging. In animal experiments the confounding of high fat, low carbohydrate, and high calorie diets needs to be defined. The effects of diet on estrogen metabolism; the relationship of fatty acids from animal, vegetable, and marine sources to tumor formation; and the mechanisms by which energy intake influences cancer risk need to be precisely defined. Any estimate of the contribution of heredity to the burden of human cancer is impossible until we have a better understanding of genetic and environmental interactions.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Body weight, health, and longevity.

In the United States, the weight associated with the greatest longevity tends to below the average weight of the population under consideration, if such weights are not associated with a history of significant medical impairment. Overweight persons tend to die sooner than average-weight persons, especially those who are overweight at younger ages. The effect of being overweight on mortality is delayed and may not be seen in short-term studies. Cigarette smoking is a potential confounder of the relationship between obesity and mortality. Studies on body weight, morbidity, and mortality must be interpreted with careful attention to the definitions of obesity or relative weight used, preexisting morbid conditions, the length of follow-up, and confounders in the analysis. The terminology of body weight standards should be defined more precisely and cited appropriately. An appropriate database relating body weight by sex, age, and possibly frame size to morbidity and mortality should be developed to permit the preparation of reference tables for defining the desirable range of body weight based on morbidity and mortality statistics.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

The role of the federal government in research on nutrition and aging.

As the population of the elderly will increase 10% within the next 50 years, research on the health problems affecting them becomes pertinent. The major agency supporting biomedical and behavioral aspects of nutrition research and training is the National Institutes of Health. The research it carries out is through grants and contracts, and through a new National Program in the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit. Additional research on nutrition for the aging is performed by the US Department of Agriculture at the Tufts University Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. The coordination of nutrition research and training at the federal level is accomplished through the Joint Subcommittee for Human Nutrition Research operating out of the Executive Office of the President.

Aging↗
PubMed1981

Overview of nutritional status in the United States.

Nutritional surveys attempt to estimate the nutritional status of people from various physical (clinical, anthropometric) and biochemical (with respect to nutrients) measurements, whereas dietary surveys attempt to measure what people eat. Although dietary surveys help explain possible reasons for clinical and laboratory findings, the nutritional status of people cannot be inferred from the diet alone. The determinants of nutritional status and, for that matter, the health of the individual and the population as a whole, include a variety of factors, biologic (genetic), behavioral, sociocultural, economic, and environmental. Diet is one environmental factor of great importance in determining man's level of health and well-being. The 1971-1974 HANES showed that excessive weight or obesity is a major health problem affecting people at all age and economic levels. At the same time, the survey showed a trend toward low calorie intake among certain adults over age 45, particularly women over age 60. The data also indicate that iron deficiency occurs among young children, pregnant women, and the elderly and that dental caries is a prevalent condition. Vitamin and iodine deficiencies, for practical purposes, do not exist in the U.S. population, although several surveys have uncovered certain vitamin deficiencies among the elderly. Dietary deficiencies, where they occur, are related to socioeconomic and cultural factors, specific conditions, and disease states. Reliable data do not exist to estimate the extent of malnutrition among the hospitalized and institutionalized population.

Adolescent↗