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Background/objectivesIn overweight and obesity (OW/OB), greater total body fat predicts higher serum hepcidin (SHep) which can impair iron homeostasis and increase risk for iron deficiency (ID). However, the effect of body fat distribution on SHep and iron homeostasis is unclear. In central obesity, interleukin (IL)-6 released from visceral adipose tissue into portal blood could strongly stimulate hepatic hepcidin synthesis. Thus, our hypothesis was that higher amounts of android fat, rather than gynoid fat, would predict impaired iron metabolism in OW/OB.Subjects/methodsIn this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 117 otherwise-healthy women into two groups: normal weight; BMI < 25 (n = 36) and OW/OB; BMI ≥ 25 (n = 81); we then subdivided the OW/OB using DEXA into tertiles based on the ratio of android fat/total body fat (AF/TBF). We measured inflammation and iron status, and assessed iron absorption in two ways: by measuring erythrocyte isotope incorporation from a labeled test meal containing 6 mg 57Fe (representing dietary iron); and by measuring change in serum iron (ΔSeFe) after a 100 mg oral iron challenge (representing supplemental iron).ResultsGreater AF/TBF correlated with higher CRP, AGP, SHep, and TIBC, and lower transferrin saturation and SeFe/SHep ratio (for all, p < 0.05). Greater AF/TBF correlated with lower supplemental iron absorption (ΔSeFe) (p = 0.08) but not lower dietary iron absorption. In multiple regressions, AF/TBF positively predicted CRP (p < 0.001) and SHep (p < 0.05); a model including AF/TBF and serum ferritin as covariates explained 65% of the variance in SHep. AF/TBF negatively predicted TSAT (p < 0.05) and iron absorption (ΔSeFe) (p = 0.07). In contrast, the ratio of gynoid fat/total body fat was not significantly associated with these variables.ConclusionBody fat distribution affects iron metabolism: women with greater central adiposity have higher SHep, greater impairments in iron homeostasis, and reduced iron absorption from a supplemental iron dose.

In the past infectious diseases affected the quality of lifestyle during home confinement. The study conducted examines the influence of home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak on lifestyle, mental wellbeing, nutritional status, and sleeping pattern. An online multicategorical questionnaire was distributed to collect demographic information combined with the following tools: Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), WHO-5 wellbeing score, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A snowball non-discriminate sampling procedure was conducted to collect data from people attending or working at higher institutions from March 1, 2020 to April 24, 2020. A total of 1723 completed responses (917 males, 37.4 ±13.4 years old and 806 females 32.2 ± 11.5 years old) were collected. The female participants had significantly lower mental health scores than males (53.9% vs. 46.1%). The mental wellbeing scores were higher among participants with medium and high physical activity (PA) levels (p < 0.00). Additionally, the mental wellbeing scores were significantly improved by dietary quality and it's sleeping score (p < 0.001). However, PA was by far the major determinant of the mental health scores. Factors such as PA, diet, and sleeping patterns were associated with mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 confinement among Arab participants.

The ingestion of non-caloric sweeteners (NCS) from food and/or drink was intended to reduce caloric intake without compromising palatability. However, the inconclusive relation between NCS and body weight may partially relate to their form of ingestion (solid or liquid). Thus, two paralleled experiments (aspartame and sucralose) were conducted. In each, Sprague Dawley rats (7-week-old male) were randomly divided into four groups. In Expt 1, aspartame (0·05 %) was added to the diet (AD) or drinking water (AW) or both diet and water (ADW), and a control group (C) was given a non-sweetened diet with plain water. In Expt 2, sucralose (0·016 %) was similarly provided in the diet (SD) or drinking water (SW) or both diet and water (SDW), with a control group (C). All rats had free access to food and water for 7 weeks. Energy intake, body weight and body composition were monitored and blood metabolites were determined. Results showed that aspartame ingestion significantly increased body weight and fat mass mainly due to an increase in energy efficiency. The effect was related to the amount rather than the form of ingestion. Additionally, aspartame ingestion was associated with glucose intolerance. Sucralose ingestion had a similar impact to that of aspartame though to a lesser extent. In conclusion, 7-week ingestion of aspartame and sucralose had adverse effects on body measures that were not related to the form of ingestion.

Background Breakfast is an important meal that provides essential nutrients and energy. However, few comprehensive studies have reported breakfast habits and related behaviors among Saudi children. This study investigated breakfast consumption patterns and the associations of socio-demographic variables with daily breakfast intake among Saudi children. Methods A multistage stratified cluster random sampling technique was used to select 1051 elementary school boys and girls in Riyadh. Body weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) was computed. The breakfast eating habits and behaviors were assessed using a specifically designed self-reported questionnaire that was completed by the children’s parents. Results More than 79% of children skipped daily breakfast, with no significant sex difference. Children in private schools consumed breakfast more frequently than those attending public schools. Multivariate analyses showed that boys in private schools had a significantly higher intake of breakfast than that in boys in public schools, yet, boys in public schools had significantly higher BMI than boys in private schools. Using logistic regression while adjusting for confounders showed insignificant effect for parent education. Among breakfast eaters, spread cheese sandwiches were consumed most frequently, followed by fried egg sandwiches and breakfast cereals. Full-fat milk, tea with milk, water, and fruit juice were the most consumed drinks. Girls consumed significantly more fresh fruits during breakfast than did boys. Mothers prepared breakfast at home most of the time (84.5%). Parents appeared mostly satisfied with the breakfast consumed by their child at home and placed high importance on breakfast compared to lunch or dinner. Conclusions The proportion of school children who ate daily breakfast at home was low, which may have implications for children’s school performance. Effort is needed to promote daily breakfast consumption among Saudi school children and to introduce appropriate interventions aimed at promoting daily breakfast consumption among Saudi children.

The relationship between non-communicable diseases and eating behaviour has long been attributed to a surplus of food and energy. However, the increase in the prevalence of non-communicable disease and their underlying low-grade inflammatory milieu among people of low socio-economic status has highlighted the existence of a confounding factor. In this work, we aim to study the effect of lysine deficiency on some inflammatory markers in the absence or presence of an inflammatory insult (lipopolysaccharide (LPS)). For this purpose, thirty-two 5-week-old male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly distributed into four groups: (1) control diet, (2) control diet+LPS, (3) lysine-deficient diet and (4) lysine-deficient diet + LPS. Groups were only allowed their experimental diets for 4 weeks, during which LPS (50 µg/kg) or saline injections were administered intraperitoneally three times per week. The study showed that lysine deficiency blunted growth and body compartments development, decreased albumin production and elevated liver C-reactive protein (CRP) expression, independently of IL-6 and IL-1β, the main precursors of CRP. Also, the insufficient levels of lysine in the diet increased hyperactivity and triggered an anxiety-like behaviour, exacerbated with LPS. This work presents evidence that various physiological changes are associated with the absence of a sufficient amount of lysine in the diet and can potentially increase the risk factor for diseases. Thus, the increment in non-communicable disease among the low socio-economic status populations, who heavily rely on cereals as a main source of protein, can be, at least partially, blamed on low lysine availability in diets.

Diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) is believed to be largely related to ATP production, which is dependent on phosphorus (P) availability. We aimed to test the effect of P addition on DIT of lean and overweight/obese healthy subjects. DIT was measured with or without P in 10 lean and 13 overweight/obese adults in a double-blind randomized cross-over pilot study with one week washout period. After 10 h overnight fast, resting metabolic rate, respiratory quotient, and substrate utilization were measured at fasting and every 30 min for 3 h after subjects drank a standardized glucose solution, with P (500 mg) or placebo pills. Subjective ratings of hunger and satiety were assessed before and after the end of each experiment using validated visual analogue scale (VAS) questionnaires. Overweight/obese subjects had a blunted DIT with placebo, while P supplementation induced a 23% increase in their DIT area under the curve (p < 0.05), which was associated with a significant increase in carbohydrate oxidation. Subjects had lower appetite following P supplementation, which was expressed as a significantly (p = 0.02) lower desire to eat a meal (4.0 ± 0.7 cm) compared with placebo (5.8 ± 0.9 cm). P supplementation recovers the blunted diet-induced thermogenesis in overweight and obese subjects and enhances their postprandial satiety.

Cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) is a cluster of maladaptive cardiovascular, renal, thrombotic, inflammatory, and metabolic disorders. It confers a high risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. CMS is triggered by major shifts in lifestyle and dietary habits with increased consumption of refined, calorie-dense diets. Evidence indicates that diet-induced CMS is linked to Adipose tissue (AT) inflammation. This led to the proposal that adipose inflammation may be involved in metabolic derangements, such as insulin resistance and poor glycemic control, as well as the contribution to the inflammatory process predisposing patients to increased cardiovascular risk. Therefore, in the absence of direct pharmacological interventions for the subclinical phase of CMS, time restricted feeding regimens were anticipated to alleviate early metabolic damage and subsequent comorbidities. These regimens, referred to as intermittent fasting (IF), showed a strong positive impact on the metabolic state of obese and non-obese human subjects and animal models, positive AT remodeling in face of overnutrition and high fat diet (HFD) consumption, and improved CV outcomes. Here, we summarize the available evidence on the role of adipose inflammation in triggering cardiovascular impairment in the context of diet induced CMS with an emphasis on the involvement of perivascular adipose tissue. As well, we propose some possible molecular pathways linking intermittent fasting to the ameliorative effect on adipose inflammation and cardiovascular dysfunction under such circumstances. We highlight a number of targets, whose function changes in perivascular adipose tissue inflammation and could be modified by intermittent fasting acting as a novel approach to ameliorate the inflammatory status.

Urinary excretion of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), iodine and fluoride is used to assess their statuses and/or the existence of metabolic abnormalities. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the urinary concentration of these minerals among children have not been documented. A cross-sectional study, including 593 subjects (232 boys and 361 girls), was conducted among healthy 6 to 11-year-old Emirati children living in Dubai. Non-fasting morning urine samples and anthropometrical measurements were collected and analyzed. Results were expressed as per mg of creatinine (Cr). On average, estimated Cr excretion was 17.88±3.12 mg/kg/d. Mean urinary Ca/Cr, Mg/Cr and P/Cr excretions were 0.08±0.07 mg/mg, 0.09±0.04 mg/mg, and 0.57±0.26 mg/mg respectively. Urinary excretion of Ca, Mg and P were found to decrease as age increased. Urinary excretion and predicted intake of fluoride were lower than 0.05 mg/kg body weight per day. Surprisingly, more than 50% of the children were found to have urinary iodine excretion level above adequate. The Emirati schoolchildren had comparable levels of urinary Ca, Mg and P excretion to other countries. The 95% percentile allows the use of the current data as a reference value for the detection of mineral abnormalities. Fluoride excretion implies that Emirati children are at low risk of fluorosis. The level of urinary iodine excretion is slightly higher than recommended and requires close monitoring of the process of salt iodization to avoid the harmful impact of iodine overconsumption.

Adequate sleep is an important factor for maintaining good health among children. However, there have been few studies reporting on the association of sleep duration with breakfast intake frequency. This study examined the prevalence of nocturnal sleep duration among Saudi children and its association with breakfast intake, screen time, physical activity levels and socio-demographic variables. A multistage stratified cluster random sampling technique was used to select 1051 elementary school children in Riyadh. Weight and height were measured and body mass index was computed. The sleep duration, daily breakfast intake frequency, socio-demographic and lifestyle behaviors were assessed using a specifically designed self-reported questionnaire filled by the children's parents. Over 71% of the Saudi school children did not attain the recommended sufficient sleep duration at night. Results of logistic regression analysis, adjusted for confounders, exhibited significant associations between longer sleep duration and younger age (aOR=1.12, =0.046), being female (aOR=1.39, =0.037), higher father educational levels, daily breakfast intake (aOR=1.44, =0.049) and lower screen time (aOR for >2 hrs/day=0.69, =0.033). However, no significant ( > 0.05) association was found for mother education, family income, number of family member in the house, overweight/obesity, or physical activity levels. The prevalence of insufficient nocturnal sleep among Saudi children was high. Insufficient sleep was associated with breakfast and several important socio-demographic and lifestyle behaviors. The findings of this study support the development of interventions to prevent insufficient sleep and help Saudi children improve their sleeping habits.

Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) describes a combination of risk factors that increase the risk of developing chronic diseases. The prevalences of MetS and its risk factors are increasing, especially in the Arab region. A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the prevalences of MetS and its associated risk factors among adolescents in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods A total of 596 students (308 boys and 288 girls) aged 10 to 15.9 years old were recruited from 14 public secondary schools in Dubai, UAE. Anthropometric and biochemical data were measured. Results According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria, the prevalence of MetS was 3.7%, and it was more common among boys than girls (12 boys versus 10 girls). MetS was also more likely to be found in students who were obese or overweight than those with normal weight. The most prevalent and significant MetS risk factor was low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. Conclusions This study indicates the importance of carrying out further investigations about the constituents of HDL and their atherogenic effects. Additionally, these results strongly recommend setting a consensus for HDL measurement, since small variations in methodologies may lead to substantial deviations in results.