Researchers in Kansas and Missouri report that chronic medication use in children increased over a three-year period across all therapies studied, with the prevalence rate for type 2 antidiabetic agents doubling. Emily Cox, et al., “Trends in the Prevalence of Chronic Medication Use in Children: 2002-2005,” Pediatrics, November 2008. The study involved a sampling of commercially insured children, ages 5 to 19, and medications for asthma, attention-deficit disorder, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. The researchers suggest that the increasing use of type 2 antidiabetic drugs was driven by 166 percent and 135 percent increases in prevalence among girls aged 10 to 14 and 15 to 19, respectively. Type 2 diabetes was once known as adult-onset diabetes, because it is linked to obesity, but it is appearing more in children. The study concludes with a call for more research into the factors responsible for the trends, “including growth in…
Category Archives Scientific/Technical Items
Pediatric urologists and nephrologists across the United States have reportedly noted an increase in the number of kidney stones diagnosed in children. An ailment commonly associated with middle-aged men, kidney stones are typically formed when “oxalate, a byproduct of certain foods, binds to calcium in the urine,” according to an October 29,2008, New York Times article, which stated that “the two biggest risk factors for this binding process are not drinking enough fluids and eating too much salt.” The article also cited “evidence that sucrose, found in sodas, can also increase risk of stones, as can high-protein weight-loss diets, which are growing in popularity among teenagers.” The incidence of kidney stones has also purportedly risen in women and young adults in their 20s and 30s. Physicians told New York Times reporter Laurie Tarkan that childhood obesity and a diet high in salt are the most likely culprits behind the new cases.…
According to researchers in Australia and the United States, those who persistently eat red meat may be more susceptible to E. coli infection. Apparently, the meat contains sugar molecules, Neu5Gc, that accumulate in cells lining the intestines and blood vessels and act as a “magnet” for E. coli toxins. The scientists reportedly tested the affinity of the bacteria for Neu5Gc in a lab dish and noted, “The human samples showed the presence of the Neu5Gc toxin binding sites in the gut and the kidney, the two target organs for the disease.” Then, they confirmed the results with genetically modified mice that have the gene which produces Neu5Gc suppressed. The research appears in Nature, but was not available when the Update was prepared. See The Australian, October 30, 2008.
A recent study has reportedly concluded that normal dietary exposure to acrylamide does not increase the risk of developing gastrointestinal cancers. J. G. F. Hogervorst, et al., “Dietary Acrylamide Intake Is Not Associated with Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk,” Journal of Nutrition, November 2008. Earlier studies have linked high doses of acrylamide, a chemical byproduct of high-temperature cooking processes, to cancer in laboratory animals. Researchers from Maastricht University analyzed data from 5,000 people enrolled in the Netherlands Cohort Study, concluding that the daily average acrylamide intake for all participants was 21.7 milligrams. During the 13-year follow-up, the authors determined that cases of colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal cancers were not associated with acrylamide consumption. In addition, they noted that obesity and age appeared to be risk factors for these diseases. “Overall, acrylamide intake was not associated with colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer, but some subgroups deserve further attention,” the authors were…
In an article appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, David Ludwig, M.D., and Marion Nestle, Ph.D, discuss the voluntary efforts that food corporations have undertaken to address the rising rates of obesity in the United States and then detail the counterproductive activities in which they allegedly continue to engage. David Ludwig & Marion Nestle, “Can the Food Industry Play a Constructive Role in the Obesity Epidemic?,” JAMA, October 14, 2008. According to the authors, food companies lobby against obesity-related public health campaigns and continue to market food of little nutritional quality to children. The article also cites research purportedly showing that the industry “has an especially insidious influence on the conduct of research and development of public health policy,” where industry-funded studies tend to reach industry favorable conclusions. While they recognize that the companies have an obligation to maximize their profits for the benefit of shareholders, Nestle and…
Researchers at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have reportedly concluded that obesity may increase the risk of developing adult-onset dementia. Beydoun, M. A., Beydoun, H. A. & Wang, Y., “Obesity and central obesity as risk factors for incident dementia and its subtypes: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” Obesity Reviews, May 2008. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 10 previously published studies examining the relationship between dementia or its subtypes and various measures of body fat. A pooled analysis from seven of these studies indicated that baseline obesity increased the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 80 percent on average, according to the Bloomberg School of Public Health. In addition, researchers found that underweight participants were also at a greater risk of dementia or related conditions. “Our analysis of the data shows a clear association between obesity and an increased risk for dementia and several clinical subtypes of the disease,”…
A Swiss study of factors that consumers consider when deciding whether to accept or reject innovative food technologies suggests that nanotechnology would be more acceptable than genetic modification (GM). Michael Siegrist, “Factors Influencing Public Acceptance of Innovative Food Technologies and Products,” Trends in Food Science and Technology (forthcoming 2008). Reviewing the literature on the subject, researcher Michael Siegrist found that the processes used to make food are significant considerations for modern consumers. For example, chemical changes involving the addition of an ingredient are viewed as reducing a product’s naturalness, an “all-important” factor, while physical processes, such as grinding, are not. Thus, Siegrist reportedly concludes, “This reasoning suggests that consumers may be more willing to accept nanotechnology food than GM food. Since the former most likely will not be perceived as tampering with nature, few people will have a moral impetus to oppose this technology now.” While trust in the food industry…
Energy intake from the consumption of soft drinks in the United States increased some 135 percent between 1977 and 2001, according to a new study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Health. Data from the study were derived from three food surveys of more than 73,000 Americans that included age groups ranging from 2-year-olds to senior citizens. The study found that daily calories from soft drinks and fruit drinks nearly tripled between 1977 and 2001, rising from 2.8 percent to 7 percent of the total caloric intake in the daily diet. Overall, this amounted to a 278-calorie average daily increase. Young adults aged 19-39 reportedly drank the most soft drinks, boosting consumption from about 4 to almost 10 percent. Milk consumption over the same period, however, dropped. Overall, Americans derived 38 percent less of their daily calories from milk. The authors, researchers from the University of…
