Regulating the energy density of food could be used as a novel approach for successful body weight reduction in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to conduct a systemic review of the literature on the relationship between food energy density and body weight changes in obese adults to obtain solid evidence supporting this approach. The search process was based on the selection of publications in the English language listed in public databases. A meta-analysis was performed to combine individual study results. Thirteen experimental and observational studies were identified and included in the final analysis. The analyzed populations consist of 3628 individuals aged 18 to 66 years. The studies varied greatly in terms of study populations, study design and applied dietary approaches. The meta-analysis revealed a significant association between low energy density foods and body weight reduction, i.e., −0.53 kg when low energy density foods were eaten (95% CI: −0.88, −0.19). In conclusions, this study adds evidence which supports the energy density of food as a simple but effective measure to manage weight in the obese with the aim of weight reduction.

The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on glucose and insulin metabolism in overweight and obese subjects. The search process was based on the selection of publications listed in the databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Knowledge, Embase and the Cochrane library that met the inclusion criteria. Twelve randomized controlled trials were included. The analysed population consisted of 1181 individuals with BMIs >23 kg/m2. Changes in the concentration of 25(OH)D, fasting glucose, insulin and the HOMA-IR index were assessed. In the meta-regression analysis, a restricted maximum likelihood method was applied. To combine individual study results, a meta-analysis was performed. Vitamin D supplementation did not have an effect on glucose concentrations, insulin level and HOMA-IR values when the supplemented dose, time of supplementation and baseline of 25(OH)D concentration were taken under consideration in subgroup-analysis. This meta-analysis provides evidence that vitamin D supplementation has no significant effect on glucose and insulin metabolism in overweight and obese individuals.

Background: Growing attention has been given to the role of nutrition and alterations of microbial diversity of the gut microbiota in colorectal cancer (CRC) pathogenesis. It has been suggested that probiotics and synbiotics modulate enteric microbiota and therefore may be used as an intervention to reduce the risk of CRC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of probiotics/synbiotics administration on gut microbiota in patients with CRC. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched between December 2020 and January 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) recruiting adults with CRC, who have taken probiotics/synbiotics for at least 6 days were included. Changes in gut microbiota and selected biochemical and inflammatory parameters (i.e., hsCRP, IL-2, hemoglobin) were retrieved. Results: The search resulted in 198 original research articles and a final 6 were selected as being eligible, including 457 subjects. The median age of patients was 65.4 years old and they were characterized by the median BMI value: 23.8 kg/m². The literature search revealed that probiotic/synbiotic administration improved enteric microbiota by increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Eubacterium, Peptostreptococcus, Bacillus and Bifidobacterium, and decreased the abundance of potentially harmful bacteria such as Fusobacterium, Porhyromonas, Pseudomonas and Enterococcus. Additionally, probiotic/synbiotic intervention improved release of antimicrobials, intestinal permeability, tight junction function in CRC patients. Conclusions: The use of probiotics/synbiotics positively modulates enteric microbiota, improves postoperative outcomes, gut barrier function and reduces inflammatory parameters in patients suffering from CRC.

Comprehensive and psychometrically tested measures of availability and accessibility of food are needed in order to explore availability and accessibility as determinants and predictors of dietary behaviors. The main aim of this systematic review was to update the evidence regarding the psychometric properties of measures of food availability and accessibility among youth. A secondary objective was to assess how availability and accessibility were conceptualized in the included studies. A systematic literature search was conducted using Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Methodological studies published between January 2010 and March 2016 and reporting on at least one psychometric property of a measure of availability and/or accessibility of food among youth were included. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality. Existing criteria were used to interpret reliability and validity parameters. A total of 20 studies were included. While 16 studies included measures of food availability, three included measures of both availability and accessibility; one study included a measure of accessibility only. Different conceptualizations of availability and accessibility were used across the studies. The measures aimed at assessing availability and/or accessibility in the home environment (n = 11), the school (n = 4), stores (n = 3), childcare/early care and education services (n = 2) and restaurants (n = 1). Most studies followed systematic steps in the development of the measures. The most common psychometrics tested for these measures were test-retest reliability and criterion validity. The majority of the measures had satisfactory evidence of reliability and/or validity. None of the included studies assessed the responsiveness of the measures. The review identified several measures of food availability or accessibility among youth with satisfactory evidence of reliability and/or validity. Findings indicate a need for more studies including measures of accessibility and addressing its conceptualization. More testing of some of the identified measures in different population groups is also warranted, as is the development of more measures of food availability and accessibility in the broader environment such as the neighborhood food environment.

The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effect of diet on changes in parameters describing the body size phenotype of metabolically healthy obese subjects. The databases Medline, Scopus, Web of Knowledge and Embase were searched for clinical studies carried out between 1958 and June 2016 that reported the effect of dietary intervention on BMI, blood pressure, concentration of fasting triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting glucose level, the homoeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP) in metabolically healthy, obese subjects. Twelve clinical studies met inclusion criteria. The combined analyzed population consists of 1827 subjects aged 34.4 to 61.1 with a BMI > 30 kg/m². Time of intervention ranged from eight to 104 weeks. The baseline characteristics related to lipid profile were more favorable for metabolically healthy obese than for metabolically unhealthy obese. The meta-analyses revealed a significant associations between restricted energy diet and BMI (95% confidence interval (CI): −0.88, −0.19), blood pressure (systolic blood pressure (SBP): −4.73 mmHg; 95% CI: −7.12, −2.33; and diastolic blood pressure (DBP): −2.75 mmHg; 95% CI: −4.30, −1.21) and TG (−0.11 mmol/l; 95% CI: −0.16, −0.06). Changes in fasting glucose, HOMA-IR and hsCRP did not show significant changes. Sufficient evidence was not found to support the use of specific diets in metabolically healthy obese subjects. This analysis suggests that the effect of caloric restriction exerts its effects through a reduction in BMI, blood pressure and triglycerides in metabolically healthy obese (MHO) patients.