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Nutrients
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Food and Nutrition in Obesity: Causes and Policy Considerations
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Food and Nutrition in Obesity: Causes and Policy Considerations

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Obesity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 12267

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Norman Temple

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Science, Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB T9S 3A3, Canada
Interests: diet; diseases of lifestyle; strategies to reduce the risk of chronic disease; food labels; government policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. George Bray

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA
Interests: obesity; weight loss; clinical nutrition; DASH diet

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Obesity is a worldwide problem that has become progressively worse since the current epidemic began in the late 1970s. 

Obesity, as a reflection of too much body fat, results from the cumulative storage of more energy from the food that is eaten than is needed for daily energy-requiring activities.  It has a strong genetic basis, but almost all agree that, primarily, it reflects the ingestion of more food than is needed. The role of food and nutrition is central to the development, and thus, the resolution of the problem.  The recent interest in ultra-processed foods has heightened the nutritional focus on food intake.

In this Special Issue, we will include papers dealing with nutritional considerations as they influence the cause and course of obesity. Thus, macronutrients, fat, protein, and carbohydrates are topics of interest.  We will also examine the decisions that are made by policy makers in an effort to prevent or reverse the epidemic, something that is badly needed for both the health of the public and to reduce burgeoning healthcare costs related to obesity.

Prof. Dr. Norman J. Temple
Prof. Dr. George Bray
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • obesity
  • body fat
  • nutrition
  • macronutrients
  • protein
  • carbohydrate
  • health care
  • policy

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 1865 KiB  
Article
Tackling (Childhood) Obesity through a Voluntary Food Reformulation Policy: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study Investigating Nutritional Changes in the Out-of-Home Sector
by Tammy Pepper, Kathryn H. Hart and Charo E. Hodgkins
Nutrients 2023, 15(14), 3149; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15143149 - 14 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1426
Abstract
The Childhood Obesity Plan aimed to reduce sugar and energy in foods through a voluntary sugar-reduction programme. Our primary objective was to determine whether this implementation strategy had been successful, focusing on the out-of-home sector. We used a repeated cross-sectional design to evaluate [...] Read more.
The Childhood Obesity Plan aimed to reduce sugar and energy in foods through a voluntary sugar-reduction programme. Our primary objective was to determine whether this implementation strategy had been successful, focusing on the out-of-home sector. We used a repeated cross-sectional design to evaluate nutritional changes in desserts served by leading chain restaurants. We extracted nutrition information from online menus in autumn/winter 2020, for comparison with baseline (2017) and interim (2018) values extracted from third-party datasets. We assessed compliance with the 20% sugar-reduction target and category-specific energy targets by product category and for pooled desserts. Overall, sugar/portion and energy/portion decreased by 11% and 4%, respectively. Policy targets were achieved in one of five categories (ice-cream: −38% sugar, p < 0.001; −30% energy, p < 0.001). Secondary outcomes were analysed for subgroups with the necessary data. Few chains significantly reduced sugar and/or energy across their dessert range. Energy/portion was positively associated with portion weight and sugar/portion but not with sugar/100 g. More than half of adults’ desserts contained excessive sugar and/or saturated fat compared with dietary guidelines. Children’s desserts less frequently exceeded guidelines. These results demonstrate that voluntary measures can drive substantial change when technical, commercial, and operational barriers can be overcome. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food and Nutrition in Obesity: Causes and Policy Considerations)
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Review

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15 pages, 2350 KiB  
Review
Toward Precision Weight-Loss Dietary Interventions: Findings from the POUNDS Lost Trial
by Lu Qi, Yoriko Heianza, Xiang Li, Frank M. Sacks and George A. Bray
Nutrients 2023, 15(16), 3665; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15163665 - 21 Aug 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2541
Abstract
The POUNDS Lost trial is a 2-year clinical trial testing the effects of dietary interventions on weight loss. This study included 811 adults with overweight or obesity who were randomized to one of four diets that contained either 15% or 25% protein and [...] Read more.
The POUNDS Lost trial is a 2-year clinical trial testing the effects of dietary interventions on weight loss. This study included 811 adults with overweight or obesity who were randomized to one of four diets that contained either 15% or 25% protein and 20% or 40% fat in a 2 × 2 factorial design. By 2 years, participants on average lost from 2.9 to 3.6 kg in body weight in the four intervention arms, while no significant difference was observed across the intervention arms. In POUNDS Lost, we performed a series of ancillary studies to detect intrinsic factors particular to genomic, epigenomic, and metabolomic markers that may modulate changes in weight and other cardiometabolic traits in response to the weight-loss dietary interventions. Genomic variants identified from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on obesity, type 2 diabetes, glucose and lipid metabolisms, gut microbiome, and dietary intakes have been found to interact with dietary macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbohydrates) in relation to weight loss and changes of body composition and cardiometabolic traits. In addition, we recently investigated epigenomic modifications, particularly blood DNA methylation and circulating microRNAs (miRNAs). We reported DNA methylation levels at NFATC2IP, CPT1A, TXNIP, and LINC00319 were related to weight loss or changes of glucose, lipids, and blood pressure; we also reported thrifty miRNA expression as a significant epigenomic marker related to changes in insulin sensitivity and adiposity. Our studies have also highlighted the importance of temporal changes in novel metabolomic signatures for gut microbiota, bile acids, and amino acids as predictors for achievement of successful weight loss outcomes. Moreover, our studies indicate that biochemical, behavioral, and psychosocial factors such as physical activity, sleep disturbance, and appetite may also modulate metabolic changes during dietary interventions. This review summarized our major findings in the POUNDS Lost trial, which provided preliminary evidence supporting the development of precision diet interventions for obesity management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food and Nutrition in Obesity: Causes and Policy Considerations)
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10 pages, 251 KiB  
Review
A Proposed Strategy against Obesity: How Government Policy Can Counter the Obesogenic Environment
by Norman J. Temple
Nutrients 2023, 15(13), 2910; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15132910 - 27 Jun 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2280
Abstract
An epidemic of obesity emerged in the USA in 1976–1980. The epidemic then spread to many other Westernized nations. Many interventions have been carried out with the goal of lowering the prevalence of obesity. These have mostly taken the form of various types [...] Read more.
An epidemic of obesity emerged in the USA in 1976–1980. The epidemic then spread to many other Westernized nations. Many interventions have been carried out with the goal of lowering the prevalence of obesity. These have mostly taken the form of various types of health promotion (i.e., providing people with education, advice, and encouragement). These actions have achieved, at most, only limited success. A strategy with a better chance of success starts with the recognition that the fundamental cause of obesity is that we live in an obesogenic environment. It is therefore necessary to change the environment so that it fosters a generally healthy lifestyle, thereby leading to enhanced health for the population, including improved weight control. A major goal is to increase the intake of healthy foods (especially fruit, vegetables, and whole grains), while decreasing intake of unhealthy foods (especially ultra-processed foods such as sugar). This will require major changes of many government policies. Some of the required policies are as follows. Schools should implement policies that create a healthy environment for children. For example, they should adopt a policy that only foods of high nutritional quality are sold in vending machines or given to students within school meals. Policies need to go well beyond the school setting; a broad strategy is needed that creates a healthy environment for children. Another important policy is the manipulation of food prices in order to shift the diet toward healthy foods. This requires using subsidies to lower the price of healthy foods, while adding a tax to less healthy foods to increase the price. This policy has been implemented in many cities and countries in the form of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). The advertising of unhealthy foods (including fast-food restaurants) should be banned, especially where children and adolescents are the major target. Such a ban could be extended to a complete ban on all advertising for unhealthy foods, including that directed at adults. The proposed policy measures are likely to be strongly opposed by food corporations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food and Nutrition in Obesity: Causes and Policy Considerations)

Other

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11 pages, 759 KiB  
Perspective
Beyond BMI
by George A. Bray
Nutrients 2023, 15(10), 2254; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15102254 - 10 May 2023
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5560
Abstract
This review examined the origins of the concept of the BMI in the work of Quetelet in the 19th century and its subsequent adoption and use in tracking the course of the pandemic of obesity during the 20th century. In this respect, it [...] Read more.
This review examined the origins of the concept of the BMI in the work of Quetelet in the 19th century and its subsequent adoption and use in tracking the course of the pandemic of obesity during the 20th century. In this respect, it has provided a valuable international epidemiological tool that should be retained. However, as noted in this review, the BMI is deficient in at least three ways. First, it does not measure body fat distribution, which is probably a more important guide to the risk of excess adiposity than the BMI itself. Second, it is not a very good measure of body fat, and thus its application to the diagnosis of obesity or excess adiposity in the individual patient is limited. Finally, the BMI does not provide any insights into the heterogeneity of obesity or its genetic, metabolic, physiological or psychological origins. Some of these mechanisms are traced in this review. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food and Nutrition in Obesity: Causes and Policy Considerations)
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