Proceedings of the Nutrition Society最新文献

The global nutrition community faces an urgent imperative to address inequities in food security while promoting inclusive approaches to nutrition science and practice. The Nutrition Society of Australia's 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting on 'Food for All: Promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Nutrition' addressed this critical challenge through a 4-day programme of cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary research. The conference brought timely focus to key issues, including food access, cultural food practices, nutrition service accessibility, and inclusive research and education approaches. The conference featured public presentations, workshops, oral and poster sessions, symposia, and early career researcher sessions, and emphasised incorporating diverse perspectives while highlighting collaborative approaches to promoting equitable food systems. Coordinated efforts among researchers, healthcare providers, community organisations, industry partners and policymakers remain essential to advance inclusive nutrition practices and ensure equitable access to nutritious food for all populations.

Sustainable diets should promote good health for both the planet and the individual. While there is a clear association between lower environmental impact diets and better health outcomes, intervention studies are needed to determine the range of dietary changes and to understand inter-individual differences in response. Individuals having different responses to dietary interventions are underpinned by a variety of genetic, phenotypic and behavioural factors. The aim of this review is to apply the findings from previous literature examining inter-individual variation and phenotypic response to the future of sustainable healthy diets. Despite changing diets or improving diet quality, physiological responses are varied in randomised controlled trials. To better understand response, individuals can be grouped based on shared baseline characteristics or by their shared response to an intervention. Studies grouping individuals by shared characteristics use a metabolic phenotyping or metabotyping approach which demonstrates that some phenotypes are more predisposed to respond to a particular intervention. Tailoring dietary advice to metabolic phenotype shows promise for improving health and diet quality. However, more evidence is needed to understand the complexity that will come with whole dietary change in the context of sustainable healthy diets. We envisage a future where metabolic phenotyping is an integral element for prescribing personalised nutrition advice for sustainable healthy diets.

Approximately 60 million individuals worldwide are currently living with dementia. As the median age of the world's population rises, the number of dementia cases is expected to increase markedly, and to affect ∼150 million individuals by 2050. This will create a huge and unsustainable economic and social burden across the globe. Although promising pharmacological treatment options for Alzheimer's disease - the most common cause of dementia - are starting to emerge, dementia prevention and risk reduction remain vital. In this review, we present evidence from large-scale epidemiological studies and randomised controlled trials to indicate that adherence to healthy dietary patterns could improve cognitive function and lower dementia risk. We outline potential systemic (e.g. improved cardiometabolic health, lower inflammation, modified gut microbiome composition/metabolism, slower pace of aging) and brain-specific (e.g. lower amyloid-β load, reduced brain atrophy and preserved cerebral microstructure and energetics) mechanisms of action. We also explore current gaps in our knowledge and outline potential directions for future research in this area. Our aim is to provide an update on current state of the knowledge, and to galvanise research on this important topic.

Psoriasis is a chronic debilitating skin disease affecting 2 % of the UK population. The aetiopathogenesis of psoriasis arises from a combination of genetic susceptibly and lifestyle patterns including stress, infections, alcohol misuse, lack of physical activity and adiposity. This unfavourable gene-lifestyle pairing triggers a series of inflammatory responses resulting in the uncontrolled proliferation of skin cells characteristic of psoriasis, which at present is an incurable disease. Concurrent with the systemic nature of the condition, psoriasis has effects beyond the skin with concomitant cardiometabolic complications, arthritis, gastrointestinal diseases and depression, emphasising the need for other strategies beyond pharmaceutical therapies to support psoriasis treatments. The role of diet in psoriasis management has not been clearly established and only two evidence-based recommendations are available for people with psoriasis. This review aims to critically appraise the research examining dietary patterns in psoriasis populations, highlight the gaps in the evidence-base, and present directions for future research.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder amongst reproductive-aged women associated with cardiometabolic, reproductive and psychological abnormalities. Lifestyle modification, including a healthy diet, is considered first-line treatment for management of clinical symptoms. However, there is limited high-quality evidence to support one superior therapeutic dietary intervention for PCOS management that is beyond general population-based dietary guidelines. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) has been shown to decrease cardiometabolic disease risk and attenuate depressive symptoms, particularly in patients with metabolic perturbations. This narrative review summarises the proposed biological mechanisms underpinning the potential therapeutic benefits of a MedDiet for the management of cardiometabolic, reproductive and psychological features related to PCOS. Observational evidence suggests an inverse relationship between MedDiet adherence and PCOS features, particularly insulin resistance and hyperandrogenemia. Although the exact mechanisms are complex and multifaceted, they are likely related to the anti-inflammatory potential of the dietary pattern. These mechanisms are underpinned by anti-inflammatory bioactive constituents present in the MedDiet, including carotenoids, polyphenols and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Synthesis of the available literature suggests the MedDiet could be a promising therapeutic dietary intervention to attenuate short and long-term symptoms associated with PCOS and may aid in reducing the longer-term risks associated with cardiometabolic diseases and reproductive and psychological dysfunction. Nevertheless, current evidence remains insufficient to inform clinical practice and well-designed clinical trials are needed. As such, we provide recommendations for the design and delivery of future MedDiet interventions in women with PCOS, including exploring the acceptability, and feasibility to enhance adherence.

This review aims to highlight the relative importance of cardiovascular disease (CVD) lifestyle-associated risk factors among individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and examine the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions to improve these CVD risk factors. Adults with IBD are at higher risk of CVD due to systemic and gut inflammation. Besides that, tobacco smoking, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, obesity, physical inactivity and poor diet can also increase CVD risk. Typical IBD behavioural modification including food avoidance and reduced physical activity, as well as frequent corticosteroid use, can further increase CVD risk. We reviewed seven studies and found that there is insufficient evidence to conclude the effects of diet and/or physical activity interventions on CVD risk outcomes among populations with IBD. However, the limited findings suggest that people with IBD can adhere to a healthy diet or Mediterranean diet (for which there is most evidence) and safely participate in moderately intense aerobic and resistance training to potentially improve anthropometric risk factors. This review highlights the need for more robust controlled trials with larger sample sizes to assess and confirm the effects of lifestyle interventions to mitigate modifiable CVD risk factors among the IBD population.

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract plays a critical role in nutrition and the pathophysiology of disease, and there is an increasing variety of methodologies available for the assessment of various aspects of GI physiology. Advancements in assessment methods, including techniques to study gut motility, fermentation, permeability, and microbiota composition, have provided researchers with powerful tools to investigate the impact of diet on GI tract physiology and the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Mechanistic evidence from reverse translational studies, which apply findings from human studies to preclinical models in a 'bedside-to-bench' approach, have also enhanced our understanding of the bidirectional interactions and candidate signalling molecules among the diet-gut-brain relationship. Interpreting data from these advanced techniques and study designs requires a thorough understanding of their principles, applications, and limitations. This review aims to summarise the methodological advances in GI tract physiology measurements and their application in nutritional studies, focusing on gut motility, fermentation, and permeability. We will present examples of how these techniques have been utilised in recent research, discuss their advantages and limitations, and provide insights on their use and interpretation in research. Understanding the capabilities and limitations of these tools is crucial for designing robust studies and elucidating the complex interplay between diet and the GI tract. The scope of this review encompasses recent advancements in GI tract assessment methodologies and their implications for nutritional research, providing a comprehensive overview for researchers in the field.

There is mounting interest in the dual health and environmental benefits of plant-based diets. Such diets prioritise whole foods of plant origin and moderate (though occasionally exclude) animal-sourced foods. However, the evidence base on plant-based diets and health outcomes in Australasia is limited and diverse, making it unsuitable for systematic review. This review aimed to assess the current state of play, identify research gaps and suggest good practice recommendations. The consulted evidence base included key studies on plant-based diets and cardiometabolic health or mortality outcomes in Australian and New Zealand adults. Most studies were observational, conducted in Australia, published within the last decade, and relied on a single dietary assessment about 10-30 years ago. Plant-based diets were often examined using categories of vegetarianism, intake of plant or animal protein, or dietary indices. Health outcomes included mortality, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, obesity, CVD and metabolic syndrome. While Australia has an emerging and generally favourable evidence base on plant-based diets and health outcomes, New Zealand's evidence base is still nascent. The lack of similar studies hinders the ability to judge the overall certainty of evidence, which could otherwise inform public health policies and strategies without relying on international studies with unconfirmed applicability. The proportional role of plant- and animal-sourced foods in healthy, sustainable diets in Australasia is an underexplored research area with potentially far-reaching implications, especially concerning nutrient adequacy and the combined health and environmental impacts.

The food we eat has a critical impact on human and planetary health. Food systems are responsible for approximately a third of total global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE). This review summarises studies that have measured dietary GHGE and assessed their associations with various demographic variables. Most studies report dietary emissions at the individual level, but some studies use households as the unit of analysis. Studies investigating individuals estimate dietary intakes using 24-hour dietary recalls, FFQ, diet history interviews, food diaries or other dietary records. Studies investigating households rely on food purchasing data and expenditure surveys. The majority of studies estimate dietary GHGE using process-based life cycle assessments. It is difficult to directly compare emissions estimates between studies at either the individual or household-level due to methodological differences. In general, there are mixed findings with regard to the relationships between various demographic variables and dietary emissions, although older adults generally had higher dietary GHGE than younger adults, and men typically had higher dietary GHGE than women, even when standardising for total energy intake. This review may be useful in informing and targeting policies and interventions to reduce GHGE of dietary intake.

The Pacific Islands region is home to a diversity of countries and territories, who are at the forefront of climate change and the triple burden of malnutrition. In recent years there has been increasing interest in schools as a setting for transforming food systems, improving nutrition and health outcomes, increasing educational outcomes, and enhancing livelihoods in the Pacific Islands. This review examines and describes current school food and nutrition initiatives within the literature that aim to promote healthier, sustainable diets within the Pacific Islands region. As there is a paucity of literature in this area of interest in the Pacific Islands, the review focuses on the policy landscape, the provision of food near, and in schools, nutrition education, and future opportunities. The available literature demonstrates that there is broad regional interest and momentum from numerous stakeholders to enhance SFNE in the Pacific Islands, with several opportunities for future activities. While there are frameworks to explore food environments available there is a need for a Pacific Islands school food environment conceptual framework that captures aspects, both within and around schools, that can guide research and assessment for robust comparable data collection. This may in turn support healthier SFNE and ultimately nutritious food choices for children and adolescents.