Science Weekly - 9th April 2021

Many new publications came to light from fitness, nutrition, and exercise science this week. Topics include the effects of sugar on children's brain development, the connection between supplements and COVID-19, new ways doping athletes can be caught and even how one can fight the increased appetite while trying to lose weight with increasing activity levels.

Highlights:

• Time to shift from 'food security' to 'nutrition security' to increase health and well-being
• Weight loss changes people's responsiveness to food marketing
• Sugar not so nice for your child's brain development, study suggests
• Changes in mouth bacteria after drinking beetroot juice may promote healthy aging
• Supplements may protect those with low vitamin D levels from severe COVID-19
• Doping by athletes could become tougher to hide with new detection method
• Leptin puts the brakes on eating via novel neurocircuit
• Key factor identified that makes worms feel full after a good meal
• Late night snacks may hurt your workplace performance, study finds
• Losing weight through exercise

Time to shift from 'food security' to 'nutrition security' to increase health and well-being

A new article argues that today's health and equity challenges call for the US to shift from 'food insecurity' to 'nutrition insecurity' in order to catalyze appropriate focus and policies on access not just to food but to healthy, nourishing food.

Source: Tufts University, Health Sciences Campus

Weight loss changes people's responsiveness to food marketing

A new study reveals that people with obesity tend to be more responsive to food marketing -- but when their weight drops significantly, so does their responsiveness to marketing.

Source: University of British Columbia

Sugar not so nice for your child's brain development, study suggests

New research shows how high consumption affects learning, memory

New research has shown in a rodent model that daily consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages during adolescence impairs performance on a learning and memory task during adulthood. The group further showed that changes in the bacteria in the gut may be the key to the sugar-induced memory impairment.

Source: University of Georgia

Changes in mouth bacteria after drinking beetroot juice may promote healthy aging

Drinking beetroot juice promotes a mix of mouth bacteria associated with healthier blood vessels and brain function, according to a new study of people aged 70-80.

Source: University of Exeter

Supplements may protect those with low vitamin D levels from severe COVID-19

Study finds more than half of patients with low vitamin D do not receive supplements

Patients with low vitamin D levels who are hospitalized for COVID-19 may have a lower risk of dying or requiring mechanical ventilation if they receive vitamin D supplementation of at least 1,000 units weekly, according to a new study.

Source: The Endocrine Society

Doping by athletes could become tougher to hide with new detection method

As the world awaits the upcoming Olympic games, a new method for detecting doping compounds in urine samples could level the playing field for those trying to keep athletics clean. Now, scientists report an approach using ion mobility-mass spectrometry to help regulatory agencies detect existing dopants and future 'designer compounds.

Source: American Chemical Society

Leptin puts the brakes on eating via novel neurocircuit

Energy balance includes modulation of dopamine reward signaling

A new study in mice describes novel neurocircuitry between midbrain structures that control feeding behaviors that are under modulatory control by leptin, a hormone made by body fat. Since the discovery of leptin in the 1990s, researchers have wondered how leptin can suppress appetite.

Source: Elsevier

Key factor identified that makes worms feel full after a good meal

Study finds that in nematodes, SKN-1B controls behaviors like foraging, eating and resting

In nematode worms, a key controller allows the worm to sense when it needs food and when it feels full, and then changes its behavior accordingly. Researchers propose that a similar factor may control feelings of fullness in humans.

Source: PLOS

Late night snacks may hurt your workplace performance, study finds

A recent study finds that unhealthy eating behaviors at night can make people less helpful and more withdrawn the next day at work.

Source: North Carolina State University

Losing weight through exercise

Why physical activity entices you to eat more - and how to fight it

Worldwide 39 percent of the adults were overweight in 2016, according to statistics of the World Health Organization. Concurrently millions of people want to lose weight. One way to do this is exercising. But what influence does sport have on (direct) eating habits?

Source: Technical University of Munich (TUM)