(1) Background: Emotional eating is considered as the propensity to eat in response to emotions. It is considered as a critical risk factor for recurrent weight gain. Such overeating is able to affect general health due to excess energy intake and mental health. So far, there is still considerable controversy on the effect of the emotional eating concept. The objective of this study is to summarize and evaluate the interconnections among emotional eating and overweight/obesity, depression, anxiety/stress, and dietary patterns; (2) Methods: This is a thorough review of the reported associations among emotional eating and overweight/obesity, depression, anxiety/stress, and dietary patterns. We compressively searched the most precise scientific online databases, e.g., PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar to obtain the most up-to-date data from clinical studies in humans from the last ten years (2013–2023) using critical and representative keywords. Several inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied for scrutinizing only longitudinal, cross-sectional, descriptive, and prospective clinical studies in Caucasian populations; (3) Results: The currently available findings suggest that overeating/obesity and unhealthy eating behaviors (e.g., fast food consumption) are associated with emotional eating. Moreover, the increase in depressive symptoms seems to be related with more emotional eating. Psychological distress is also related with a greater risk for emotional eating. However, the most common limitations are the small sample size and their lack of diversity. In addition, a cross-sectional study was performed in the majority of them; (4) Conclusions: Finding coping mechanisms for the negative emotions and nutrition education can prevent the prevalence of emotional eating. Future studies should further explain the underlying mechanisms of the interconnections among emotional eating and overweight/obesity, depression, anxiety/stress, and dietary patterns.

Low muscle mass combined with changes in physical function and muscle quality is defined as sarcopenia. In people > 60 years, sarcopenia reaches 10% and tends to increase with age. Individual nutrients, such as protein, may have a protective role against sarcopenia, but recent evidence suggests that protein alone has been ineffective in increasing muscle strength. Dietary patterns, instead, with a high “anti-inflammatory” potential, such as the Mediterranean dietary pattern, have been considered as an emerging dietary remedy against sarcopenia. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence of the role of Mediterranean diet in sarcopenia prevention and/or improvement, including recent data, in healthy elders. We searched published studies about sarcopenia and the Mediterranean diet until December 2022 in Pubmed, Cochrane, Scopus search engine and grey literature. In total, ten articles were identified as relevant: four cross-sectional studies and six prospective. No clinical trial was identified. Only three studies assessed sarcopenia presence and four measured muscle mass, which is an essential criterion in sarcopenia diagnosis. Mediterranean diet adherence had, in general, a positive role in muscle mass and muscle function, while the results were less clear with regard to muscle strength. Additionally, there was no evidence of a positive effect of the Mediterranean diet on sarcopenia. There is a need for conduction of clinical trials in order to reach cause–effects conclusions regarding the importance of the Mediterranean diet in sarcopenia prevention and management in Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean populations.

Background: Cancer cases are continuously increasing, while the prevalence rates of physical inactivity are also continuously increasing. Physical inactivity is a causative factor in non-communicable diseases, including cancer. However, the potential beneficial effects of exercise on cancer treatment have not received much attention so far. The aim of this study was to highlight the relationship between cancer and exercise on a molecular basis. Methods: Comprehensive and in-depth research was conducted in the most accurate scientific databases by using relevant and effective keywords. Results: The mechanisms by which exercise may reduce cancer risk and/or progression may include the metabolic profile of hormones, systemic inflammation reduction, insulin sensitivity increase, antioxidant capacity augmentation, the boost to the immune system, and the direct effect on the tumor. There is currently substantial evidence that the effect of exercise may predict a stronger association with cancer and could supplementarily be embedded in cancer clinical practice to improve disease progression and prognosis. Conclusion: The field of this study requires interconnecting the overall knowledge of exercise physiology with cancer biology and cancer clinical oncology to provide the basis for personalized targeting strategies that can be merged with training as a component of a holistic co-treatment approach to optimize cancer healthcare.

This study aimed to review the current evidence on the independent and combined effects of diet and exercise and their impact on skeletal muscle mass in the elderly population. Skeletal muscle makes up approximately 40% of total body weight and is essential for performing daily activities. The combination of exercise and diet is known to be a potent anabolic stimulus through stimulation of muscle protein synthesis from amino acids. Aging is strongly associated with a generalized deterioration of physiological function, including a progressive reduction in skeletal muscle mass and strength, which in turn leads to a gradual functional impairment and an increased rate of disability resulting in falls, frailty, or even death. The term sarcopenia, which is an age-related syndrome, is primarily used to describe the gradual and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass (mainly in type II muscle fibers) and function. Multimodal training is emerging as a popular training method that combines a wide range of physical dimensions. On the other hand, nutrition and especially protein intake provide amino acids, which are essential for muscle protein synthesis. According to ESPEN, protein intake in older people should be at least 1 g/kgbw/day. Essential amino acids, such as leucine, arginine, cysteine, and glutamine, are of particular importance for the regulation of muscle protein synthesis. For instance, a leucine intake of 3 g administered alongside each main meal has been suggested to prevent muscle loss in the elderly. In addition, studies have shown that vitamin D and other micronutrients can have a protective role and may modulate muscle growth; nevertheless, further research is needed to validate these claims. Resistance-based exercise combined with a higher intake of dietary protein, amino acids, and/or vitamin D are currently recognized as the most effective interventions to promote skeletal muscle growth. However, the results are quite controversial and contradictory, which could be explained by the high heterogeneity among studies. It is therefore necessary to further assess the impact of each individual exercise and nutritional approach, particularly protein and amino acids, on human muscle turnover so that more efficient strategies can be implemented for the augmentation of muscle mass in the elderly.

Circadian rhythms are generated by the circadian clock, a self-sustained internal timing system that exhibits 24-h rhythms in the body. Many metabolic, cellular, behavioral and physiological processes are regulated by the circadian clock in coordination with environmental cues. The present study is a comprehensive review of the currently existing evidence concerning the relationship between circadian rhythms and sleep, metabolic, and cardiovascular disorders. We thoroughly searched the online databases PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to find the existing clinical studies from the last twenty-three years (2000–2023). Circadian misalignment was found to be associated with an increase in the risk of metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity, as well as inadequate sleep quality. In this review article, all the included studies had a strength protocol design and all of them were conducted on humans. However, the most common limitations of them were the small sample size and the short time of the intervention. In conclusion, managing the factors that disrupt the optimal function of central and peripheral clocks can help to reduce the risk of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, improving also sleep quality. Future studies should further explore the underlying mechanisms of the interconnections between circadian clocks and sleep, metabolic, and cardiovascular disorders. This may provide new opportunities for advance chronotherapy approach.

Postpartum depression, with a prevalence ranging between 14% and 25% worldwide, has been considered an urgent health concern that negatively affects both mothers’ and their infants’ health. Postpartum depression may negatively affect maternal sociodemographic and anthropometric parameters and lifestyle factors. Nutrition has recently been identified as a crucial factor for the management and co-treatment of postpartum depression. This survey aims to determine the possible association of postpartum depression with mothers’ socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, perinatal outcomes, breastfeeding practices, and Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence. Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey, which was performed on 3941 women during the postpartum period. Postpartum depression was assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Anthropometric parameters and perinatal outcomes were retrieved from mothers’ medical records. Sociodemographic data and breastfeeding practices were recorded by face-to-face interviews between enrolled mothers and trained personnel. Mediterranean diet adherence was assessed by MedDietScore. Both univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression were applied for analyzing our data. Results. Postpartum depression was significantly associated with lower educational level, Greek nationality, higher prevalence of multiparity and overweight/obesity postpartum, higher incidence of caesarean section and not breastfeeding, and lower levels of MD adherence. In multivariate analysis, postpartum depression was independently associated with mothers’ educational level, postpartum BMI status, type of delivery, breastfeeding practices, and MD adherence after adjusting for multiple confounding factors. Conclusions: This study has provided evidence that elevated MD compliance was related to a decreased risk of postpartum depression. Additionally, postpartum depression was associated with multiple sociodemographic and anthropometric parameters, perinatal outcomes, and breastfeeding practices. Future well-designed, prospective studies with high-quality methodology should be performed to obtain conclusive results.