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The consumption of high energy and low nutritional content foods, which are known as junk foods, has increased. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between junk food intake and mental health in a national sample of Iranian children and adolescents. Data were obtained from a surveillance system entitled CASPIAN-IV (Childhood and Adolescence Surveillance and Prevention of Adult Non communicable Disease) study of school students, ages 6 to 18 y in Iran. The students and their parents completed two sets of reliable questionnaires obtained from Global School Health Survey translated to Persian. The student questionnaire comprised several questions such as psychiatric distress (worry, depression, confusion, insomnia, anxiety, aggression, and worthless) and violent behaviors (physical fighting, being a victim, and bullying). The junk foods consisted of sweets, sweetened beverages, fast foods, and salty snacks. In the sample of 13 486 children and adolescents, the frequency of junk food consumption was significantly associated with psychiatric distress (P < 0.001). There was a significant association between violent behaviors and intake of junk foods (P < 0.001) except for sweets, whereas the association between sweetened beverages consumption and being a victim was not significant (P > 0.05). Additionally, the results of logistic regression showed that daily consumption of sweetened beverages and snacks significantly increased the odds of self-reported psychiatric distress. Also, daily consumption of salty snacks was significantly associated with violent behavior, including physical fighting (odds ratio [OR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–1.60), being a victim (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.04–1.37), and bullying (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.32–1.82). Junk food consumption may increase the risk for psychiatric distress and violent behaviors in children and adolescents. Improvement of eating habits toward healthier diets may be an effective approach for improving mental health.

Aim Dietary patterns could have a notable role in shaping gut microbiota composition. Evidence confirms the positive impact of the Mediterranean diet (MD), as one of the most studied healthy dietary patterns, on the gut microbiota profile. We conducted this systematic review to investigate the results of observational studies and clinical trials regarding the possible changes in the gut microbiota composition, metabolites, and clinical outcomes following adherence to MD in healthy cases or patients suffering from metabolic disorders. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases until October 2023. Two researchers separately screened the titles, abstracts, and then full-text of the articles and selected the relevant studies. Quality assessment of observational and interventional studies was performed by Newcastle-Ottawa and Cochrane checklists, respectively. Results A total of 1637 articles were obtained during the initial search. Ultimately, 37 articles, including 17 observational and 20 interventional studies, were included in this systematic review. Ten observational and 14 interventional studies reported a correlation between MD adherence and microbiota diversity. Faecalibacterium and Prevotella were the most frequent bacterial genera with increased abundance in both observational and interventional studies; an Increment of Bacteroides genus was also reported in observational studies. Better glycemic control, lowering fat mass, better bowel movement, decreased bloating, inflammation, and hospitalization risk were the reported clinical outcomes. Conclusion Adherence to the MD is associated with significant beneficial changes in the gut microbiota diversity, composition, and functions and major clinical improvements in most populations.

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common obesity‐associated cancers. Inflammation is also considered the most important factor between obesity and CRC. This study aimed to examine miRNAs binding sites variants on inflammatory genes identified using bioinformatics and systematic approach on clinical samples that were collected from CRC patients and controls. Methods The candidate variants related to CRC inflammatory genes were obtained from genome‐wide association studies and their population‐specific haplotypes. The variants were analyzed according to their genomic position on the miRNA targetome. Targetome variants in inflammation‐related genes were selected for genetic association study by TaqMan genotyping assay. Results The GG genotype of rs7473 decreased the risk of obesity (p < 0.05). Heterozygous genotype (GA) of rs1547715 decreased the risk of CRC (p < 0.05). In the rs7473/rs1547715 genotype and haplotype, the frequencies of AA/GA and GG/AA lessened in CRC and obesity, respectively (p < 0.05). Conclusions The variants of rs7473 and rs1547715 were associated with obesity and CRC, respectively. The above‐mentioned associations could be made based on the interactions of these variants with miRNAs. This study aimed to examine miRNAs binding sites variants on inflammatory genes identified using bioinformatics and systematic approach on clinical samples collected from CRC patients and controls. Targetome variants in inflammation‐related genes were selected for genetic association study by TaqMan genotyping assay. The variants of rs1547715 and rs7473 are associated with CRC and obesity, respectively. These associations may be based on the interactions of these variants with miRNAs.

Genetic variations in miRNAs binding site might participate in cancer risk. This study aimed to systematically review the association between miRNA‐binding site polymorphisms and colorectal cancer (CRC). Electronic literature search was carried out on PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, and Embase. All types of observational studies till 30 November 2018 were included. Overall 85 studies (21 SNPs) from two systematic searches were included analysis. The results showed that in the Middle East population, the minor allele of rs731236 was associated with decreased risk of CRC (heterozygote model: 0.76 [0.61‐0.95]). The minor allele of rs3025039 was related to increased risk of CRC in East Asian population (allelic model: 1.25 [1.01‐1.54]). Results for rs3212986 were significant in overall and subgroup analysis (P < .05). For rs1801157 in subgroup analysis the association was significant in Asian populations (including allelic model: 2.28 [1.11‐4.69]). For rs712, subgroup analysis revealed a significant (allelic model: 1.41 [1.23‐1.61]) and borderline (allelic model: 0.92 [0.84‐1.00]) association in Chinese and Czech populations, respectively. The minor allele of rs17281995 increased risk of CRC in different genetic models (P < .05). Finally, rs5275, rs4648298, and rs61764370 did not show significant associations. In conclusion, minor allele of rs3025039, rs3212986, and rs712 polymorphisms increases the risk of CRC in the East Asian population, and heterozygote model of rs731236 polymorphism shows protective effect in the Middle East population. In Europeans, the minor allele of rs17281995 may increase the risk of CRC, while rs712 may have a protective effect. Further analysis based on population stratifications should be considered in future studies. MicroRNA‐binding site polymorphisms in 3'UTR of target genes could play critical roles on cancer genes regulation by affecting miRNA:mRNA interactions, but no comprehensive study has been considered on association between cancers and the mentioned polymorphisms. In this study, the authors carried out two comprehensive systematic searches and a meta‐analysis on 21 included polymorphisms on colorectal cancer (CRC). The results have shown that these polymorphisms can serve as genetic biomarkers of CRC, and their roles were exclusively related to population stratifications. It is strongly recommended that further studies should be performed to display the effect of population stratifications.

Introduction Inflammation is a critical hallmark in obesity and colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to investigate effective microRNA (miRNA)–messenger RNA (mRNA) interactions on inflammatory networks involved in obesity and CRC. Methods The literature searches were applied to identify genes expression reported on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and/or blood of CRC subjects and to find inflammatory miRNA  in blood samples. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis was utilized to find inflammatory miRNA:mRNA interactions of the genes. Finally, a case‐control study was set to investigate the expression of LAMC1 and GNB3 genes besides miR‐10b, miR‐506‐3p, miR‐150‐5p, and miR‐124‐3p in CRC and control subjects. Results The expression of LAMC1 gene in healthy control groups was associated with body mass index (BMI) (p < .05). The level of miR‐10b (p < .001), miR‐506 (p < .001), and miR‐124 (p <. 001) were significantly increased in PBMCs of CRC patients, while they were not associated with BMI. The level of miR‐150 was associated with BMI in healthy subjects (p < .05). Conclusions The changes in the level of miR‐506 and miR‐124 in CRC patients may be associated with the regulatory role of these miRNAs on LAMC1 expression. The LAMC1 may be related to BMI, however, more observational studies on other populations are needed. This study aimed to investigate effective miRNA–mRNA interactions on inflammatory networks involved incolorectal cancer (CRC) and obesity. For the first time, we combined literature reviews, bioinformatics, and case‐control studies, to find new inflammatory markers (miRNAs and genes) associated with colorectal cancer and obesity. The results showed that miR‐506‐3p:LAMC1 and miR‐124‐3P:LAMC1 interactions are associated with CRC, the expression of miR‐10b‐5p is increased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of CRC patients, and the expression of miR‐150‐5p and LAMC1 are associated with body mass index.

Background Intermittent fasting has been reported to have positive effects on obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and several neurodegenerative diseases through different mechanisms such as alteration in the gut microbiota. This systematic review was conducted with the aim of providing an overview of the existing animal and human literature regarding the gut microbiota alterations in various fasting regimens. Method A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases up to May 2021 to find all relevant studies examining the gut microbiota alteration during the fasting. Original researches on animal models or human patients were included in this study. Results The search fulfilled 3072 documents from which 31 studies (20 animal and 11 human studies) were included. Upon fasting, abundance of several beneficial bacteria including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium shifted significantly. Moreover, some taxa, including Odoribacter which negatively associated with blood pressure bloomed during fasting. Ramadan fasting, as a kind of intermittent fasting, improves health parameters through positive changes in gut microbiota including upregulation of A. muciniphila, B. fragilis, Bacteroides and butyric acid–producing Lachnospiraceae . Conclusion The findings suggest that different fasting regimens including alternate-day fasting, calorie- and time-restricted fasting programs and Ramadan fasting could promote health maybe through the modulation of gut microbiome. However, further studies are needed to explore properly the connection between gut microbiota and meal frequency and timing.

Obesity is the most prevalent health problem affecting all age groups, and leads to many complications in the form of chronic heart disease, diabetes mellitus Type 2 and stroke. A systematic review about safety and efficacy of herbal medicines in the management of obesity in human was carried out by searching bibliographic data bases such as, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and IranMedex, for studies reported between 30th December 2008 to 23rd April 2012 on human or animals, investigating the beneficial and harmful effects of herbal medicine to treat obesity. Actually we limited our search to such a narrow window of time in order to update our article published before December of 2008. In this update, the search terms were “obesity” and (“herbal medicine” or “plant”, “plant medicinal” or “medicine traditional”) without narrowing or limiting search items. Publications with available abstracts were reviewed only. Total publications found in the initial search were 651. Total number of publications for review study was 33 by excluding publications related to animals study. Studies with Nigella Sativa, Camellia Sinensis, Crocus Sativus L, Seaweed laminaria Digitata, Xantigen, virgin olive oil, Catechin enriched green tea, Monoselect Camellia, Oolong tea, Yacon syrup, Irvingia Gabonensi, Weighlevel, RCM-104 compound of Camellia Sinensis, Pistachio, Psyllium fibre, black Chinese tea, sea buckthorn and bilberries show significant decreases in body weight. Only, alginate-based brown seaweed and Laminaria Digitata caused an abdominal bloating and upper respiratory tract infection as the side effect in the trial group. No other significant adverse effects were reported in all 33 trials included in this article. In conclusion, Nigella Sativa, Camellia Synensis, Green Tea, and Black Chinese Tea seem to have satisfactory anti-obesity effects. The effect size of these medicinal plants is a critical point that should be considered for interpretation. Although there was no report for side effect in these trials, we believe that safety of these plants still remains to be elucidated by further long-term studies.

Obesity, especially when concentrated in the abdominal area, is often associated with the presence of metabolic syndrome. Stress, particularly occupational stress, is one of the most important factors contributing to the increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome components among different populations. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity as well as the criteria for metabolic syndrome and its risk factors and different obesity phenotype in a population of military personnel aged 20 to 65 years. This study is a retrospective cross-sectional study in which data are extracted from the database of a military hospital (2,200 participants). The records of participants contained information such as age, marital status, educational level, weight, height, body mass index, blood pressure, waist circumference, history of drug use and smoking, as well as the results of tests including lipid profile and fasting blood glucose. The Adult Treatment Panel III criteria as well as two national criteria were used to identify metabolic syndrome among participants. Data analysis was p1erformed using SPSS version 16. The average age of participants was 33.37 (7.75) years. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to Iranian cutoff was 26.6% for the waist circumference >90 cm (585 persons) and 19.6% for the waist circumference >95 cm (432 persons). The rate of metabolic syndrome was identified as 11.1% (432 cases) according to Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Results of the current study identified that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among military individuals is less than other populations, but the prevalence of the syndrome is higher than other military personnel in other countries.

Cardiometabolic disease (CMD) is increasing along with its predisposing factors and adverse consequences. As gut microbiota dysbiosis is established in these patients, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), which alters the bacterial composition of the intestine, supposedly can help improve cardiometabolic disturbances. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the impact of FMT on the cardiometabolic parameters and gut microbiota composition of patients experiencing at least one cardiometabolic issue. Eligible studies were searched through the PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases until December 2022. The initial search results underwent duplication removal and screening until each included study was scanned for intended data. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to evaluate the methodologic accuracy of studies and the random effects model was used for conducting the meta-analysis. Eighteen of the original 2414 articles from the literature search were entered into the systematic review; of these, 11 were included in the meta-analysis. Insulin showed a significant decrease by 24.7 pmol/L (weighted mean difference [WMD], –24.77; 95% CI, –48.704 to –0.848) after short-term follow-up, and HDL increased by 0.1 mmol/l(WMD, 0.106; 95% CI, 0.027 to 0.184) and 0.12 mmol/l(WMD, 0.120; 95% CI, 0.003 to 0.237) in those using a capsule deliver mode and in short-term follow-up, respectively. No significant changes were seen in other lipid profiles, blood glucose, insulin resistance, or anthropometric indices. In addition, multiple studies reported gut microbiota alterations after the intervention, including an increase in butyrate-producing species. Although some articles reported the beneficial effects of FMT on metabolic parameters, we failed to find a clinically significant alteration. Also, information regarding proper donors and the best method to induce FMT have not yet been sufficiently investigated, which should be considered along with means to prevent potential damages. PROSPERO identifier: CRD42022380705.

Background Waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR) is regarded as a simple anthropometric index for evaluating central adiposity because of its independence of age, gender, and ethnicity. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal WHtR cutoff value in screening obesity and to compare it with other obesity indicators including body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in Iranian children and adolescents. Methods This large survey was conducted on 14 274 Iranian children and adolescents as a national school‐based surveillance study (CASPIAN) in 2015. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to estimate the optimal cut‐off points of WHtR for the prediction of general and central obesity. The area under curve (AUC) was used to compare the ability of WHtR cut‐off points, BMI and WC percentiles to discriminate students with and without obesity according to age and sex. Results The optimal WHtR cutoff value for predicting general obesity was 0.49 and 0.48 for boys and girls, respectively and for central obesity according to WC ≥ 90th percentile was 0.50 for both genders. AUC values of WHtR for predicting general and central obesity were 87% and 96%, which indicates its strong predictive ability. For central obesity, the AUCs of WHtR were superior to those of WC percentiles. The kappa agreement coefficient was 0.55 between WC ≥ 90th percentile and WHtR ≥ 0.5. Conclusions The WHtR ≥ 0.5 as a simple and useful screening tool is better than WC, for predicting general and central obesity in different age and sex groups of Iranian children and adolescents.