Science Weekly - 13th November 2020

Interesting range of topics in this week's round-up of scientific papers for personal trainers. If you're training mums-to-be, vegans or parents, make sure to check them out. There's one on the effectiveness of high-dose vitamin C against COVID-19 and the effects of food marketing on food choices.

This week's highlights:

• Poor nutrition in school years may have created 20 cm height gap across nations
• Mothers' lifestyle predicts when offspring will have first heart attack or stroke
• Why consumers think pretty food is healthier
• Diet and lifestyle during pregnancy linked to modifications in infants' DNA
• Veganism: Vitamin B12 is well supplemented, iodine is a matter of concern
• Sweet taste reduces appetite?
• Kids' physical fitness is more important than BMI
• Vitamin C's effectiveness against COVID-19 may hinge on vitamin's natural transporter levels

Poor nutrition in school years may have created 20 cm height gap across nations

A new global analysis has assessed the height and weight of school-aged children and adolescents across the world. The study revealed that school-aged children's height and weight, which are indicators of their health and quality of their diet, vary enormously.

Source: Imperial College London

Mothers' lifestyle predicts when offspring will have first heart attack or stroke

Offspring of mothers with heart healthy lifestyles live nearly a decade longer without cardiovascular disease than those whose mothers have unhealthy lifestyles.

Source: European Society of Cardiology

Why consumers think pretty food is healthier

People tend to think that pretty-looking food is healthier (e.g., more nutrients, less fat) and more natural (e.g., purer, less processed) than ugly-looking versions of the same food.

Source: American Marketing Association

Diet and lifestyle during pregnancy linked to modifications in infants' DNA

A new study has shown pregnant women with obesity could reduce the health risks for their infants through improved diet and more physical activity.

Source: University of Southampton

Veganism: Vitamin B12 is well supplemented, iodine is a matter of concern

Those following a vegan diet have an increased risk of iodine deficiency.

Source: BfR Federal Institute for Risk Assessment

Sweet taste reduces appetite?

The sweet taste of sugar, energy intake and the regulatory process of hunger and satiety
To date, very little is known about how sweetness perception contributes to satiety. This study provides new insights into the relationship between the sweet taste of sugar, energy intake and the regulatory process of hunger and satiety.

Source: University of Vienna

Kids' physical fitness is more important than BMI

For adults, the goal of exercise is often to shed some pounds, but new research suggests the objective should be different for kids.

Source: University of Georgia

Vitamin C's effectiveness against COVID-19 may hinge on vitamin's natural transporter levels

High doses of vitamin C under study for treating COVID-19 may benefit some populations, but investigators exploring its potential in aging say key factors in effectiveness include levels of the natural transporter needed to get the vitamin inside cells.

Source: Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University