Science Weekly - 24122018

The amount of research results that is published every week in fitness and nutrition shows how important it's becoming to understand our body better to improve methods in preventive measures against obesity and other lifestyle related conditions and diseases.

This week's highlights:

• educating children in school about nutrition is not pointless in preventing obesity
• marketing methods in grocery stores, like removing sweets from checkouts does have an effect on buyer's choice
• nutrients in blood are indicators about brain function and cognition in the elderly
• infants who are given milk cereal drinks have a higher risk of being overweight at age 5
• dancing seems to be effective for aging women to stay functonall independent
• exercise may be just as effective in lowering high blood pressure as drugs
• mice studies indicate that nutrition habits may have an effect on autoimmun diseases
• people on statin and follow a Mediterranean diet may have lower risk of mortality
• best ways of consume spinach to maximize the amount of lutein beng absorbed in the body

​School-based nutritional programs reduce student obesity

In-school nutrition policies and programs that promote healthier eating habits among middle school students limit increases in body mass index (BMI), a new study finds.

Resource: Yale University

Removing sweets from checkouts linked to dramatic fall in unhealthy snack purchases

Policies aimed at removing sweets and chips from checkouts could lead to a dramatic reduction to the amount of unhealthy food purchased to eat 'on the go' and a significant reduction in that purchased to take home, suggests new research.

Resource: University of Cambridge

MRI effective for monitoring liver fat in obese patients

MRI provides a safe, noninvasive way to monitor liver fat levels in people who undergo weight loss treatments for obesity, according to a new study.

Resource: Radiological Society of North America

Nutrients in blood linked to better brain connectivity, cognition in older adults

A new study links higher levels of several key nutrients in the blood with more efficient brain connectivity and performance on cognitive tests in older adults.

Resource: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Twofold overweight risk for five-year-olds given milk cereal drinks in infancy

In five-year-old children, the risk for overweight is almost twice as high if they at 12 months had consumed milk cereal drinks every day, a study in the journal Acta Paediatrica shows.

Resource: ​University of Gothenburg

Dancing may help older women maintain the ability to perform daily tasks

A new study examined the potential effects of 16 different exercise types for reducing disability for activities of daily living (ADL) in older women.

Resource: Wiley

Exercise may be as effective as prescribed drugs to lower high blood pressure

Exercise may be as effective as prescribed drugs to lower high (140 mm Hg) blood pressure, suggests a pooled analysis of the available data, in what is thought to be the first study of its kind.

Resource: BMJ

Impact of diet intervention on autoimmunity in mice

Could a change in diet be beneficial to people with autoimmune diseases such as lupus? Researchers have revealed how a dietary intervention can help prevent the development of this autoimmune disease in susceptible mice.

Resource: Yale University

Performance enhancer: Sports compression stockings a winning advantage

Sports compression stockings are so effective they might be considered performance enhancers for soccer players, new research finds.

Resource: ​James Cook University

Statins are more effective for those who follow the Mediterranean diet

For those who have already had a heart attack or a stroke, the combination of statins and Mediterranean Diet appears to be the most effective choice to reduce the risk of mortality, especially from cardiovascular causes.

Resource: Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed I.R.C.C.S.

Getting the most out of spinach: Maximizing the antioxidant lutein

Eat your spinach in the form of a smoothie or juice -- this is the best way to obtain the antioxidant lutein, according to new research. High levels of lutein are found in dark green vegetables, and researchers at the university have compared different ways of preparing fresh spinach in order to maximize the levels of lutein in finished food.

Resource: Linköping University