Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “nutritional environment”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Competitive foods and beverages available for purchase in secondary schools--selected sites, United States, 2004.

The percentage of overweight youths aged 12-19 years in the United States more than tripled from 5% during 1976-1980 to 16% during 1999-2002. Overweight youths are at increased risk for cardiovascular consequences and other serious physical and psychosocial health problems. Because most youths are enrolled in school, the school nutrition environment is integral to any strategy to improve dietary behavior and reduce overweight among youths. In most schools, the nutrition environment has two components: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) school meals program and the sale of competitive foods. USDA defines competitive foods as those foods and beverages, regardless of nutritional value, sold at a school separate from the USDA school meals program. To identify the types of competitive foods and beverages available for purchase from school vending machines or at school stores, canteens, or snack bars, CDC analyzed data from the 2004 School Health Profiles for public secondary schools in 27 states and 11 large urban school districts. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that, in 2004, the majority of secondary schools (median across states: 89.5%; median across large urban school districts: 81.5%) allowed students to purchase snack foods or beverages from vending machines or at the school store, canteen, or snack bar. In addition, the percentage of schools offering certain types of snack foods and beverages varied across states and large urban school districts. Although the majority of schools offered some nutritious foods and beverages in these settings, the majority of schools also offered less nutritious choices. Educators, families, and school and public health officials should work together to provide school nutrition environments that will help improve dietary behavior and reduce overweight among youths.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Growth phase-dependent regulation and stringent control of fis are conserved processes in enteric bacteria and involve a single promoter (fis P) in Escherichia coli.

The intracellular concentration of the Escherichia coli factor for inversion stimulation (Fis), a global regulator of transcription and a facilitator of certain site-specific DNA recombination events, varies substantially in response to changes in the nutritional environment and growth phase. Under conditions of nutritional upshift, fis is transiently expressed at very high levels, whereas under induced starvation conditions, fis is repressed by stringent control. We show that both of these regulatory processes operate on the chromosomal fis genes of the enterobacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Erwinia carotovora, and Proteus vulgaris, strongly suggesting that the physiological role of Fis is closely tied to its transcriptional regulation in response to the nutritional environment. These transcriptional regulatory processes were previously shown to involve a single promoter (fis P) preceding the fis operon in E. coli. Recent work challenged this notion by presenting evidence from primer extension assays which appeared to indicate that there are multiple promoters upstream of fis P that contribute significantly to the expression and regulation of fis in E. coli. Thus, a rigorous analysis of the fis promoter region was conducted to assess the contribution of such additional promoters. However, our data from primer extension analysis, S1 nuclease mapping, beta-galactosidase assays, and in vitro transcription analysis all indicate that fis P is the sole E. coli fis promoter in vivo and in vitro. We further show how certain conditions used in the primer extension reactions can generate artifacts resulting from secondary annealing events that are the likely source of incorrect assignment of additional fis promoters.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed2006

Report card on school snack food policies among the United States' largest school districts in 2004-2005: room for improvement.

BACKGROUND: Federal nutritional guidelines apply to school foods provided through the national school lunch and breakfast programs, but few federal regulations apply to other foods and drinks sold in schools (labeled "competitive foods"), which are often high in calories, fat and sugar. Competitive food policies among school districts are increasingly viewed as an important modifiable factor in the school nutrition environment, particularly to address rising rates of childhood overweight. Congress passed legislation in 2004 requiring all school districts to develop a Wellness Policy that includes nutrition guidelines for competitive foods starting in 2006-2007. In addition, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently published recommendations for schools to address childhood obesity. METHODS: Representatives of school districts with the largest student enrollment in each state and D.C. (N = 51) were interviewed in October-November 2004 about each school district's nutrition policies on "competitive foods." District policies were examined and compared to the Institute of Medicine's recommendations for schools to address childhood obesity. Information about state competitive food policies was accessed via the Internet, and through state and district contacts. RESULTS: The 51 districts accounted for 5.9 million students, representing 11% of US students. Nineteen of the 51 districts (39%) had competitive food policies beyond state or federal requirements. The majority of these district policies (79%) were adopted since 2002. School district policies varied in scope and requirements. Ten districts (53%) set different standards by grade level. Most district policies had criteria for food and beverage content (74%) and prohibited the sale of soda in all schools (63%); fewer policies restricted portion size of foods (53%) or beverages (47%). Restrictions more often applied to vending machines (95%), cafeteria à la carte (79%), and student stores (79%) than fundraising activities (47%). Most of the policies did not address more comprehensive approaches to the school nutrition environment, such as nutrition education (32%) or advertising to students (26%), nor did they include guidelines on physical education (11%). In addition, few policies addressed monitoring (32%) or consequences for non-compliance (11%). No policy restricted foods sold for after-school fundraising or required monitoring physical health indicators (e.g. BMI). CONCLUSION: When compared to the Institute of Medicine's recommendations for schools' role in preventing obesity, none of the nutrition policies among each state's largest school district had addressed all the recommendations by 2004-2005. Nutritionists, nurses, pediatricians, parents, and others concerned about child health have an unprecedented opportunity to help shape and implement more comprehensive school district nutrition policies as part of the Congressional requirement for a "Wellness Policy" by 2006-2007.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1987

Genetic parameters, maternal ability and related selection criteria for unsupplemented Hereford range cows.

Data on 5,130 unsupplemented Hereford range cattle were used to evaluate genetic and phenotypic parameters of growth to 2 yr of age under extensive range conditions. From those data, records on 769 heifers saved as replacements were used to evaluate the relationship between growth and subsequent productivity expressed as most probable producing ability (MPPA). Variation in weight largely was due to the year effect. Also, age of dam, the interaction between age of dam and year and the regression on day of birth significantly affected weaning weight. Heritabilities among males and females, respectively, were: birth weight, .53 +/- .09 and .52 +/- .09; weaning weight, .05 +/- .03 and .18 +/- .05; 12-mo gain, .24 +/- .10 and .10 +/- .04; 20-mo gain, .62 +/- .18 and .29 +/- .08; 24-mo gain, .45 +/- .16 and .17 +/- .07. The traits evaluated may have been a response to nutritional stress as well as gainability. The genetic correlation between gain from weaning to 12 mo (a period of weight loss) and gain from 12 to 20 mo (greatest weight gain) was -.93 +/- .45. Metabolic processes favoring growth in a good nutritional environment may result in greater weight loss in a stressful nutritional environment. The genetic correlation between a heifer's gain from weaning to 12 mo and her subsequent MPPA was .47 +/- 28, whereas the correlation between gain from 12 to 20 mo and subsequent MPPA was -.55 +/- .23.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMed2005

Effects of the olfactory environment and nutrition on the ability of male Mediterranean fruit flies to endure starvation.

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is targeted for control using the sterile insect technique (SIT). For this technique to succeed, released males must be able to compete with wild males for copulations. Male success is mediated by survival in the field often in adverse conditions. Manipulation of the postteneral environment experienced by sterile males before release has been shown to affect male sexual success and survival. The objectives of this study were to determine how various diets, combined with exposure to volatiles containing alpha-copaene, affect the ability of male Mediterranean fruit flies (from a wild and two unisexual strains) to withstand starvation. Accordingly, we maintained males on one of eight regimes combing a diet of either sugar, sugar and protein, a protein pulse or apricot, with or without the aroma of the sexual stimulant alpha-copaene. The apricot diet was associated with the lowest ability to resist starvation. The sugar-only diet was associated with the highest ability to resist starvation by sterile males. Exposure to alpha-copaene, in combination with the apricot diet, had a significant negative effect on the ability of males (from all strains) to resist starvation relative to other regimes examined. We conclude that the holding regimes that elicit the best sexual performance from males paradoxically also hasten their demise, probably by initiating an irreversible metabolic cascade. The search for the optimal prerelease regime continues.

Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Impact of dining room environment on nutritional intake of Alzheimer's residents: a case study.

This case study, in a Veterans Affairs Alzheimer's unit, was conducted to evaluate noise and lighting conditions at mealtimes and to assess the food intake of ambulatory dementia residents. The case study compared the noise, lighting, and nutritional intake of 16 Alzheimer's residents eating the same cycle menu in the extended-care (EC) dining room and the Alzheimer's unit (AU) dining room five weeks later. Noise was significantly lower in the EC (p < or = .02). Lighting was significantly higher in the EC (p < or = .001). Intake of calories and protein was slightly higher, with some days significantly higher, in the AU. Total five-day fluid intake at breakfast was significantly higher in the AU (p < or = .02). Although residents' total food and fluid intake was higher in the AU, the project identified a need to decrease noise and increase lighting in the AU. Lighting enhancement and noise reduction may further improve intake, which, in turn, may promote improved nutritional status.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Additive and nonadditive differences in postweaning growth and carcass characteristics of Devon, Hereford, and reciprocal-cross steers.

Postweaning growth and carcass characters of 110 steers from a complete two-breed diallel of the Devon and Hereford breeds were examined under two environments. Additive and nonadditive effects were estimated using linear contrasts for several growth and carcass traits. Steers from each of the four breed groups were grown postweaning to slaughter in high- and low-nutrition environments. Weights were recorded every 2 mo. At slaughter, hot carcass weight, longissimus muscle area, kidney and channel fat, and subcutaneous fat at nine sites were measured. Heterosis for postweaning growth rate was 3.9% (P less than .01) and for slaughter weight 5.0% (P less than .01). Within the low-nutrition environment during periods of slow and fast growth, the Devons and Herefords performed differently. The growth rate of the steers differed in the two environments; however, heterosis for slaughter weight was of the same magnitude in both environments. No differences existed between the straightbreds or between the reciprocal crosses for slaughter weight. Crossbred carcasses were 7.4% heavier (P less than .01) than the straightbred carcasses; however, this effect was removed after adjustment for differences in slaughter weight. Heterosis for longissimus muscle area and carcass fatness were not significant after adjusting for carcass weight. Additive differences occurred for carcass traits. Devon carcasses had more kidney and channel fat (P less than .05) at a constant hot carcass weight and differences occurred in the partitioning of fat within the subcutaneous depot. No significant maternal effects were observed for the carcass traits measured. Crossbreeding increased carcass weight without altering composition, and relative performance was not affected by the diverse environments.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2005

[The influence of nutrition and environment on the nonspecific resistance of the organism and physical development of children].

Decrease of adaptable opportunities at children from ecologically unsuccessful region with a defective diet is marked. Attributes deceleration, tendencies to leucopenia, lumphopenia, monocytopenia, reduction of the maintenance of hemoglobin are revealed. Change of structurally functional parameters of erithrocyto's membranes, infringement of a parity about and antioxidant processes is typical. Decrease of quality of health causes necessity of realization of improving actions.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1983

Effects of nutrition and environment on brain biochemistry and behavior.

A factorial design was used to explore the influence of malnutrition and environmental enrichment on brain development and adult behavior. Malnutrition in suckling rats was produced by restricting the intake of their dams to 40% of normal food consumption. Environment was enriched using combined preweaning handling and a postweaning complex environment treatment. Malnutrition produced lasting effects upon brain biochemical composition and behavior. The environmental manipulation had no ameliorative effect on the brain parameters measured but it had pronounced effects on behavior, decreasing latency to move in the open field and increasing some measures of activity while it enhanced passive-avoidance performance. There was little evidence for any interaction between the nutritional and environmental variables, but all trends were in the direction of the environmental treatment having more effect on the well-nourished rats.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Towards a systems biology understanding of human health: interplay between genotype, environment and nutrition.

Sequencing of the human genome has opened the door to the most exciting new era for the holistic system description of human health. It is now possible to study the underlying mechanisms of human health in relation to diet and other environmental factors such as drugs and toxic pollutants. Technological advances make it feasible to envisage that in the future personalized drug treatment and dietary advice and possibly tailored food products can be used for promoting optimal health on an individual basis, in relation to genotype and lifestyle. Life-Science research has in the past very much focused on diseases and how to reestablish human health after illness. Today, the role of food and nutrition in human health and especially prevention of illness is gaining recognition. Diseases of modern civilization, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer have been shown to be effected by dietary patterns. The risk of disease is often associated with genetic polymorphisms, but the effect is dependent on dietary intake and nutritional status. To understand the link between diet and health, nutritional-research must cover a broad range of areas, from the molecular level to whole body studies. Therefore it provides an excellent example of integrative biology requiring a systems biology approach. The current state and implications of systems biology in the understanding of human health are reviewed. It becomes clear that a complete mechanistic description of the human organism is not yet possible. However, recent advances in systems biology provide a trajectory for future research in order to improve health of individuals and populations. Disease prevention through personalized nutrition will become more important as the obvious avenue of research in life sciences and more focus will need to be put upon those natural ways of disease prevention. In particular, the new discipline of nutrigenomics, which investigates how nutrients interact with humans, taking predetermined genetic factors into account, will mediate new insights into human health that will finally have significant positive impact on our quality of life.

Environment↗
PubMed2001

Intergenerational effect of an adverse intrauterine environment on perturbation of glucose metabolism.

Human epidemiological and animal studies have revealed the late consequences of malnutrition during gestation and early life on the health of the offspring. These studies have highlighted the inverse relationship between birth weight and the incidence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes later in life. The aim of this paper is to review the different means of achieving foetal malnutrition and its consequences even for a next generation, in animal models and to identify key area for further research. We address the impact of two models of maternal malnutrition (protein restriction and caloric restriction) as well as the impact of maternal diabetes, the three maternal conditions leading to perturbed foetal nutritional environment. Particular emphasis is given to the endocrine pancreas and the insulin sensitive tissues. More specifically, alterations of the foetal nutritional environment perturb the development of the endocrine pancreas and target the ss cell mass at birth. Some adaptations later in life may take place but stress situations such as pregnancy and ageing precipitate the animals to glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Even the next generation features alterations in the development of the endocrine pancreas. Some mechanisms by which the foetal ss cell mass is altered are approached in this review and specific attention is paid to the amino acid profile. The preventive role of taurine is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Developmental origins of the metabolic syndrome: prediction, plasticity, and programming.

The "fetal" or "early" origins of adult disease hypothesis was originally put forward by David Barker and colleagues and stated that environmental factors, particularly nutrition, act in early life to program the risks for adverse health outcomes in adult life. This hypothesis has been supported by a worldwide series of epidemiological studies that have provided evidence for the association between the perturbation of the early nutritional environment and the major risk factors (hypertension, insulin resistance, and obesity) for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome in adult life. It is also clear from experimental studies that a range of molecular, cellular, metabolic, neuroendocrine, and physiological adaptations to changes in the early nutritional environment result in a permanent alteration of the developmental pattern of cellular proliferation and differentiation in key tissue and organ systems that result in pathological consequences in adult life. This review focuses on those experimental studies that have investigated the critical windows during which perturbations of the intrauterine environment have major effects, the nature of the epigenetic, structural, and functional adaptive responses which result in a permanent programming of cardiovascular and metabolic function, and the role of the interaction between the pre- and postnatal environment in determining final health outcomes.

Aging↗
PubMed2006

The role of built environments in physical activity, eating, and obesity in childhood.

Over the past forty years various changes in the U.S. "built environment" have promoted sedentary lifestyles and less healthful diets. James Sallis and Karen Glanz investigate whether these changes have had a direct effect on childhood obesity and whether improvements to encourage more physical activity and more healthful diets are likely to lower rates of childhood obesity. Researchers, say Sallis and Glanz, have found many links between the built environment and children's physical activity, but they have yet to find conclusive evidence that aspects of the built environment promote obesity. For example, certain development patterns, such as a lack of sidewalks, long distances to schools, and the need to cross busy streets, discourage walking and biking to school. Eliminating such barriers can increase rates of active commuting. But researchers cannot yet prove that more active commuting would reduce rates of obesity. Sallis and Glanz note that recent changes in the nutrition environment, including greater reliance on convenience foods and fast foods, a lack of access to fruits and vegetables, and expanding portion sizes, are also widely believed to contribute to the epidemic of childhood obesity. But again, conclusive evidence that changes in the nutrition environment will reduce rates of obesity does not yet exist. Research into the link between the built environment and childhood obesity is still in its infancy. Analysts do not know whether changes in the built environment have increased rates of obesity or whether improvements to the built environment will decrease them. Nevertheless, say Sallis and Glanz, the policy implications are clear. People who have access to safe places to be active, neighborhoods that are walkable, and local markets that offer healthful food are likely to be more active and to eat more healthful food-two types of behavior that can lead to good health and may help avoid obesity.

Child↗