In developed countries which are at the epicenter of the obesity pandemic, pulse crop consumption is well below recommended levels. In a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of 21 randomized controlled clinical trials, pulse consumption was associated with improved weight control and reduced adiposity, although the underlying mechanisms were a matter of speculation. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most widely consumed pulse crop and was the focus of this investigation. Using outbred genetic models of dietary induced obesity resistance and of dietary induced obesity sensitivity in the rat, the impact of bean consumption was investigated on the efficiency with which consumed food was converted to body mass (food efficiency ratio), body fat accumulation, adipocyte morphometrics, and patterns of protein expression associated with lipid metabolism. Cooked whole bean as well as a commercially prepared cooked bean powders were evaluated. While bean consumption did not affect food efficiency ratio, bean reduced visceral adiposity and adipocyte size in both obesity sensitive and resistant rats. In liver, bean consumption increased carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1, which is the rate limiting step in long chain fatty acid oxidation and also resulted in lower levels of circulating triglycerides. Collectively, our results are consistent with the clinical finding that pulse consumption is anti-obesogenic and indicate that one mechanism by which cooked bean exerts its bioactivity is oxidation of long chain fatty acids.

Clinical studies indicate that eating common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L., plays a role in body weight regulation but mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the anti-obesogenic activity of white kidney bean in a mouse model of dietary-induced obesity. Bean consumption reduced the accumulation of adipose tissue in male and female C57BL6 mice. The anti-obesogenic effect of white kidney bean was not due to alterations in energy intake, energy excreted in the feces, or feed efficiency ratio. While bean consumption increased the mass of the intestine, no marked differences were consistently observed in crypt height, mucin content of goblet cells, proliferation index or zone of proliferation. However, significantly higher concentrations of total bacteria and of Akkermansia muciniphila were detected in cecal content of bean-fed mice, and the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes was reduced. Bile acid content was higher in the ileum of bean-fed mice, but transcript levels of farnesoid X receptor were not significantly affected. Whether changes in bile-acid-mediated cell signaling play a role in bean-related differences in fat accumulation and/or overall metabolic health requires further investigation.

The gut microbiome is involved in the host’s metabolism, development, and immunity, which translates to measurable impacts on disease risk and overall health. Emerging evidence supports pulses, i.e., grain legumes, as underutilized nutrient-dense, culinarily versatile, and sustainable staple foods that promote health benefits through modulating the gut microbiota. Herein, the effects of pulse consumption on microbial composition in the cecal content of mice were assessed. Male mice were fed an obesogenic diet formulation with or without 35% of the protein component comprised by each of four commonly consumed pulses—lentil (Lens culinaris L.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), or dry pea (Pisum sativum L.). Mice consuming pulses had distinct microbial communities from animals on the pulse-free diet, as evidenced by β-diversity ordinations. At the phylum level, animals consuming pulses showed an increase in Bacteroidetes and decreases in Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Furthermore, α-diversity was significantly higher in pulse-fed animals. An ecosystem of the common bacteria that were enhanced, suppressed, or unaffected by most of the pulses was identified. These compositional changes are accompanied by shifts in predicted metagenome functions and are concurrent with previously reported anti-obesogenic physiologic outcomes, suggestive of microbiota-associated benefits of pulse consumption.

Introduction: Healthy body weight is an important factor for prevention of breast cancerrecurrence. Yet, weight loss and weight gain are not currently included inclinical-practice guidelines for posttreatment of breast cancer. The work reportedaddresses one of the questions that must be considered in recommending weight lossto patients: does it matter what diet plan is used, a question of particularimportance because breast cancer treatment can increase risk for cardiovasculardisease. Methods: Women who completed treatment for breast cancer were enrolled in a nonrandomized,controlled study investigating effects of weight loss achieved by using twodietary patterns at the extremes of macronutrient composition, although both dietarms were equivalent in protein: high fat, low carbohydrate versus low fat, highcarbohydrate. A nonintervention group served as the control arm; women wereassigned to intervention arms based on dietary preferences. During the 6-monthweight-loss program, which was menu and recipe defined, participants had monthlyclinical visits at which anthropometric data were collected and fasting blood wasobtained for safety monitoring for plasma lipid profiles and fasting glucose.Results from 142 participants are reported. Results: Adverse effects on fasting blood lipids or glucose were not observed in eitherdietary arm. A decrease in fasting glucose was observed with progressive weightloss and was greater in participants who lost more weight, but the effect was notstatistically significant, even though it was observed across both diet groups(P = 0.21). Beneficial effects of weight loss on cholesterol (4.7%;P = 0.001), triglycerides (21.8%; P = 0.01), and low-densitylipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (5.8%; P = 0.06) were observed in bothgroups. For cholesterol (P = 0.07) and LDL cholesterol (P =0.13), greater reduction trends were seen on the low-fat diet pattern; whereas,for triglycerides (P = 0.01) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)cholesterol (P = 0.08), a decrease or increase, respectively, was greateron the low-carbohydrate diet pattern. Conclusions: Because an individual's dietary preferences can affect dietary adherence andweight-loss success, the lack of evidence of a negative effect of dietary patternon biomarkers associated with cardiovascular risk is an important consideration inthe development of breast cancer practice guidelines for physicians who recommendthat their patients lose weight. Whether dietary pattern affects biomarkers thatpredict long-term survival is a primary question in this ongoing clinicaltrial.

Rodent models have been used extensively to study mammary gland development and for studies of toxicology and carcinogenesis. Mammary gland gross morphology can visualized via the excision of intact mammary gland chains following fixation and staining with carmine using a tissue preparation referred to as a whole mount. Methods are described for the automated collection of digital images from an entire mammary gland whole mount and for the interrogation of digital data using a "masking" technique available with Image-Pro® plus image analysis software (Mediacybernetics. Silver Spring, MD).

Women who are obese at the time of breast cancer diagnosis have higher overall mortality than normal weight women and some evidence implicates adiponectin and leptin as contributing to prognostic disadvantage. While intentional weight loss is thought to improve prognosis, its impact on these adipokines is unclear. This study compared the pattern of change in plasma leptin and adiponectin in overweight-to-obese post-menopausal breast cancer survivors during weight loss. Given the controversies about what dietary pattern is most appropriate for breast cancer control and regulation of adipokine metabolism, the effect of a low fat versus a low carbohydrate pattern was evaluated using a non-randomized, controlled study design. Anthropometric data and fasted plasma were obtained monthly during the six-month weight loss intervention. While leptin was associated with fat mass, adiponectin was not, and the lack of correlation between leptin and adiponectin concentrations throughout weight loss implies independent mechanisms of regulation. The temporal pattern of change in leptin but not adiponectin was affected by magnitude of weight loss. Dietary pattern was without effect on either adipokine. Mechanisms not directly related to dietary pattern, weight loss, or fat mass appear to play dominant roles in the regulation of circulating levels of these adipokines.