Effects of graded inclusion levels of raw garbanzo beans on apparent total tract digestibility, fecal quality, and fecal fermentative end-products and microbiota in extruded feline diets

Garbanzo beans (GB; Cicer arietinum) are a readily available pulse crop that have gained popularity as a plant-based protein source in the pet food industry. However, raw GB contain anti-nutritional factors that can reduce digestibility and cause digestive upsets in pets that are undesirable to owners. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of the inclusion of raw or cooked GB in extruded feline diets on macronutrient digestibility, gastrointestinal tolerance, and fermentative end-products in cats. Five diets were formulated to contain raw GB at 0, 7.5, 15, or 30% or cooked GB at 30%. Ten adult, male cats (mean age: 1.0 ± 0.0 yr, mean BW: 4.7 ± 0.4 kg) were used in a replicated 5x5 Latin square design. Each period consisted of 14 d, with 10 d of diet adaptation followed by 4 d of total fecal and urine collection. At the end of each period, 4 mL of blood were collected and analyzed for a serum chemistry and complete blood count to ensure all animals remained healthy throughout the study. Cats were fed twice daily and food intake was calculated to maintain body weight. Food intake was highest (P < 0.05) for cats fed 0% raw GB (72.2 g/d, DMB) compared with GB inclusions of 7.5% or greater (average 70.3 g/d, DMB). Dry matter and organic matter apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) were lowest (P < 0.05) for cats consuming the 30% cooked GB diet (77.3% and 81.7%, respectively). Cats fed 7.5% raw GB had greater (P < 0.05) crude protein ATTD (86.2%) than cats fed 15% raw GB (82.3%) or 30% cooked GB (81.6%). Total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations were highest (P < 0.05) for 30% cooked GB at 682 μmol/g but not different (P > 0.05) than 15% GB (528 μmol/g) or 30% raw GB (591 μmol/g) diets. In terms of fecal microbial abundance, the predominant phyla were Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, and Actinobacteria. Cats fed the 0% GB diet had a greater relative abundance of Firmicutes (62.1%) and Fusobacteria (4.0%) than the remaining diets (average 54% and 1.6%, respectively). In conclusion, all inclusion levels of raw GB resulted in high digestibility (average > 80%) and ideal fecal scores (average 2.9), demonstrating their adequacy as a protein source in feline diets up to a 30% inclusion level.

Muscular Strength, Power, and Endurance Adaptations after Two Different University Fitness Classes

Physical activity (PA) classes help college students add weekly PA, which can help improve health and maintain body weight. Traditional weight training (TWT) can improve strength and aerobic capacity. High-intensity functional training such as CrossFit® (CF) provides time-efficient workouts with both muscle strengthening and aerobic exercises. Limited research has compared these classes for college students. We examined changes in muscular strength, power, and endurance as well as body composition. Participants were 85 healthy college students enrolled in TWT (n = 36, age 22.6 ± 4.1 years, 72.2% male) or CF (n = 49, age 21.8 ± 3.2 years, 55.1% male) classes meeting twice/wk for 8 weeks between October 2017 and May 2018. Baseline and posttest measurements included a vertical jump, grip strength, a 2 min push-up test, a 1 min squat test, height, weight, and a bioelectrical impedance analysis. Although no significant group × time interactions were found, there was a significant main effect of time for push-ups and squats (both p < 0.001). Participants enjoyed the classes and most planned to continue. Both classes improved muscular endurance although no significant differences were found between them. Activity classes provide college students with an option for increasing their weekly PA and help maintain body composition. Future research should examine the benefits from longer or more frequent classes.

Effect of Basil Seed and Chia SeedExtracts on Blood Lipid Profile

Background: Basil and Chia seeds contain higher nutritive values like vitamin, carbohydrates, Omega-3 oil and other dietary fibers. With all these rich dietary benefits these seeds regulate necessary health conditions and maintain body weight. Ocimumbasilicum (Basil) plant have been known to contain properties of weight loss, better digestion and other health benefits. Aim: To check the Basil seed against hyperlipidemia in mice with Chia seeds. Methodology: In this research, the effect of both seeds extract on body weight and plasma lipid profile were estimated in Albino mice after raising their cholesterol levels by high fatty diet. The experiments were performed in different groups like normal control, standard control, hyperlipidemia group and four groups of diet supplemented chia or basil seeds with two different doses. Results: The biochemical analysis revealed that the supplementation of Basil seeds (400mg/kg/day) significantly lowered the levels of total plasma cholesterol, lipoproteins and triacylglycerol. Moreover, histopathological analysis of vital organs like kidneys, heart reported no toxicity. Conclusion: Extracts of Chia and Basil seeds have shown controlling effects over the given parameters in the blood and weights of the animals and these may have potential to control high fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia when taken as dietary supplements. Keywords: Cholesterol, Hyperlipidemia, Ocimumbasilicum, Salvia hispanica

The Association Between Physical Activity with Nutritional Status of Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Medan City

Background; nutritional status is a condition in which a person's body is healthy or not, which can be seen anthropometrically, biochemically, physically, and dietary intake. The state of excess intake and inadequate activity will lead to excess body weight. During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical activity decreased among adolescents, so there is a risk of being overweight. Objectives; to analyze the relationship between activity and nutritional status in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic in Medan City. Material and Method; analytical survey with cross-sectional study approach. This research was conducted by collecting data online in Medan City. The sample of this study was adolescents with a random sampling of 99 samples. Results; This study shows that there is a association between physical activity and nutritional status in adolescents with p-value (0,008). Conclusion; physical activity is needed to maintain body weight during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dietary Management of Obesity: A Review of the Evidence

Obesity is a multi-factorial disease and its prevention and management require knowledge of the complex interactions underlying it and adopting a whole system approach that addresses obesogenic environments within country specific contexts. The pathophysiology behind obesity involves a myriad of genetic, epigenetic, physiological, and macroenvironmental factors that drive food intake and appetite and increase the obesity risk for susceptible individuals. Metabolically, food intake and appetite are regulated via intricate processes and feedback systems between the brain, gastrointestinal system, adipose and endocrine tissues that aim to maintain body weight and energy homeostasis but are also responsive to environmental cues that may trigger overconsumption of food beyond homeostatic needs. Under restricted caloric intake conditions such as dieting, these processes elicit compensatory metabolic mechanisms that promote energy intake and weight regain, posing great challenges to diet adherence and weight loss attempts. To mitigate these responses and enhance diet adherence and weight loss, different dietary strategies have been suggested in the literature based on their differential effects on satiety and metabolism. In this review article, we offer an overview of the literature on obesity and its underlying pathological mechanisms, and we present an evidence based comparative analysis of the effects of different popular dietary strategies on weight loss, metabolic responses and diet adherence in obesity.

The blood glucose lowering effect of Malaysian Tinospora crispa in rats

Diabetes is defined as a chronic hyperglycemia which should be countered by the effective, safe and readily available hypoglycemic agents. Herbal is among alternatives that has been used by society for years but lacks of documented evidences. Tinospora crispa (TC) is enriched by phytochemicals which potentially reduce blood glucose thus is useful for diabetic patients. This study aimed to investigate the potency of TC inreducing blood sugar and body weight. It involved 30 healthy rats divided into 5 groups namely: normal control, normal fed with TC extract, diabetic, TC-treated diabetic (dose 500 mg/kg w/w), and vitamin E-traeted diabetic rats (60 IU). The body weight and fasting blood glucose were measured each week for 1 month. The administration of TC extract 500 mg/kg (w/w) helps to maintain body weight in diabetic rats and reduce the fasting blood glucose. TC is highly potent as hypoglycemic agents therefore needed to be explored further.

237 Evaluation of cooked and raw garbanzo beans as main plant protein sources in extruded feline diets

Garbanzo beans (GB; Cicer arietinum) are a readily available pulse crop that have gained popularity as a plant-based protein source in the pet food industry. However, raw GB contain anti-nutritional factors that can reduce digestibility and cause effects in pets that are undesirable to owners. The objective of this study was to determine GB effects on digestibility, gastrointestinal tolerance, and fermentative end-products in cats fed extruded diets containing raw or cooked GB. Five diets were formulated to have either raw GB at 0%, 7.5%, 15%, or 30% or cooked GB at 30% inclusion. Ten, adult, male cats (mean age: 1.0 ± 0.0 years, mean BW: 4.7 ± 0.4 kg) were used in a replicated 5x5 Latin square design. Each period consisted of 14 d, with 10 d of diet adaptation followed by 4 d of total fecal and urine collection. At the end of each period, 4 mL of blood was collected and analyzed for a serum chemistry and complete blood count to ensure all animals remained healthy throughout the study. Cats were fed twice daily and food intake was calculated to maintain body weight. Food intake was highest (P &lt; 0.05) for cats fed 0% raw GB (72.2 g/d, DMB) compared to higher GB inclusions (average 70.3 g/d, DMB). Dry matter and organic matter apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) were lowest (P &lt; 0.05) among all treatments for the cats consuming the 30% cooked GB diet (77.3% and 81.7%, respectively). Cats fed 7.5% raw GB had higher (P &lt; 0.05) crude protein ATTD (86.2%) than cats fed 15% raw GB (82.3%) or 30% cooked GB (81.6%). In conclusion, all inclusion levels of raw GB showed high digestibility (average &gt;80%) and ideal fecal scores (average 2.9) demonstrating their adequacy as the primary protein source in feline diets up to 30% inclusion levels.

Growth and nutritional requirements

Energy intake must equal energy expenditure to maintain body weight. For children to grow, energy intake must be greater than energy expenditure. Basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy needed to maintain normal physiological function. Nutrient requirements at different ages are widely available.

Attitudes and knowledge levels of nurses and residents caring for adolescents with an eating disorder

Although the vast majority of youths with an eating disorder (ED) are treated as outpatients, some require treatment in an inpatient unit. The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of nurses and pediatric residents towards adolescents and young adults with ED. Methods: Nursing questionnaires were distributed through a nurse manager and resident questionnaires were distributed in coordination with the chief residents. Results: A total of 82 individuals (32 nurses and 50 pediatric residents) completed the survey. Only two nurses and six residents had not worked with a patient with an ED in the previous year. The vast majority of nurses and residents recognized that fear of gaining weight, refusal to maintain body weight and, disturbed body image were frequent signs occurring in patients with an ED. Both nurses and residents believed that emotional problems, influence of friends and family, family pressure, influence of the media, and being self-induced were the most likely causes of EDs. Genetics and influence of other medical problems were deemed less likely causes. The majority of residents identified having different rules for different patients and poor communication as factors that make it difficult to take care of ED patients. More than half of all nurses and residents (58.2%) thought that ED patients were responsible for their disease “always” or “in most cases”. Residents (68.8%) were more likely than nurses (45.2%) to frequently feel frustrated with ED patients (χ2, p<0.0370). Conclusion: Adolescents with an ED provide a unique challenge to nurses and residents caring for them.

Effects of feeding polydextrose on faecal characteristics, microbiota and fermentative end products in healthy adult dogs

Polydextrose is a potential prebiotic, but has not been well tested in dogs. Thus, the objective of the present study was to determine the effects of polydextrose on faecal characteristics, microbial populations and fermentative end products in healthy adult dogs. A total of eight adult hound dogs (3·5 (sem0·5) years; 20 (sem0·5) kg) were randomly allotted to one of four test diets containing the following concentrations of polydextrose: (1) 0 % (control); (2) 0·5 %; (3) 1·0 %; or (4) 1·5 %. A Latin square design was used, with each treatment period lasting 14 d (days 0–10 adaptation; days 11–14 fresh and total faecal collection). All dogs were fed to maintain body weight. Data were evaluated for linear and quadratic effects using SAS software. Although apparent total tract DM digestibility was unaffected, total tract crude protein digestibility tended to decrease (P < 0·10) linearly with increasing dietary polydextrose concentrations. Fresh faecal DM percentage tended to decrease (P < 0·10) linearly, while faecal scores increased (P < 0·05; looser stools) with increasing dietary concentrations of polydextrose. Faecal acetate, propionate and total SCFA concentrations increased (P < 0·05) linearly with increased dietary polydextrose. Faecal pH decreased (P < 0·05) linearly with increasing polydextrose. Faecal indole tended to decrease (P < 0·10) linearly with increasing polydextrose, but other faecal protein catabolites were not changed. FaecalClostridium perfringenslinearly decreased (P < 0·05) with increasing dietary polydextrose concentrations, butEscherichia coli,Lactobacillusspp. andBifidobacteriumspp. were not affected. Based on the present results, polydextrose appears to act as a highly fermentable fibre, but requires further research to test its potential as a prebiotic in dogs.