Cereal β-glucans are beneficial health ingredients that reduce cholesterolemia and postprandial glycaemia. However, their impact on digestive hormones and gut microbiota is not yet fully established. Two randomized, double-blind, controlled studies were conducted. In the first study, 14 subjects ingested a breakfast with or without β-glucan from oats (5.2 g). Compared to the control, β-glucan increased orocecal transit time (p = 0.028) and decreased mean appetite score (p = 0.014) and postprandial plasma ghrelin (p = 0.030), C-peptide (p = 0.001), insulin (p = 0.06), and glucose (p = 0.0006). β-glucan increased plasma GIP (p = 0.035) and PP (p = 0.018) without affecting leptin, GLP-1, PYY, glucagon, amylin, or 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one, a biomarker of bile acid synthesis. In the second study, 32 subjects were distributed into 2 groups to ingest daily foods with (3 g/day) or without β-glucan for 3 weeks; stools were collected before/after treatment. No changes in fecal microbiota composition/diversity (deep sequencing) were detected with β-glucans. These results indicate that acute intake of 5 g β-glucan slows transit time and decreases hunger sensation and postprandial glycaemia without affecting bile-acid synthesis, these changes being associated with decreased plasma insulin, C-peptide, and ghrelin, and increased plasma GIP and PP. However, regular daily intake of 3 g β-glucan is not sufficient to have an effect on fecal microbiota composition.

Background: Psychological distress is a constant problem for university students, it can be related to excessive academic work, fear of failure, emotional exhaustion, and social pressures, which could affect eating behaviour and body composition. The objective was to relate psychological distress with eating behaviour and body composition in health occupations students. Methods: Cross-sectional correlational study in 92 subjects’ undergraduate health careers. The instruments applied were Kessler's psychological distress scale (K10) and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), body composition was determined by multi-frequency bioimpedance measurement. Spearman's rho was used to determine the correlations. Results: 57% of the sample presented high or very high psychological distress, psychological distress was significantly correlated with the percentage of fat (Rho=0.269: p=0.009), and with the three TFEQ factors: cognitive restriction (Rho=0.296: p=0.004), uncontrolled eating (Rho=0.289: p=0.005) and emotional eating (Rho=0.398: p

Introducción: Se ha descrito que las fibras dietéticas (FD) podrían tener efectos favorables en el control de sentimientos subjetivos relacionados a sensaciones postprandiales de apetito y saciedad, propiedad que en el contexto epidemiológico actual podrían ser beneficiosos. Objetivo: Evaluar el efecto agudo de 3 tipos de FD sobre la percepción subjetiva de sensaciones postprandiales. Material y métodos: Estudio randomizado, doble ciego, controlado, cruzado. 21 sujetos sanos con índice de masa corporal entre 18.5-24.9 Kg/m2, fueron asignados aleatoriamente para consumir 4 desayunos separados por a lo menos 2 días. Los desayunos fueron fortificados con 3 g de: β-glucano de avena (BETA), pectinas de manzana (PECT), celulosa microcristalina (CELL) y maltodextrina como control (MALT). Los sentimientos subjetivos postprandiales se determinaron con una Encuesta Visual Análoga (EVA) antes del desayuno y a los 15, 30, 60, 90 y 120 min. Resultados: En análisis de varianzas (ANOVA) mostró una diferencia significativa a los 15 minutos (p<0,05) en la percepción de saciedad subjetiva de los desayunos fortificados con pectina de manzana versus β-glucano de avena. β-glucano de avena produjo el menor efecto en la saciedad subjetiva (p<0,05). Un ANOVA de medidas repetidas no mostró efectos de los tipos de fibras adicionadas a los desayunos en el sentimiento subjetivo de apetito. Conclusiones: Las pectinas de manzana parecen ser más efectiva que otros tipos de FD para aumentar la percepción subjetiva de saciedad y disminuir el apetito, especialmente en el periodo postprandial temprano.

Medir capital cultural es un desafío de larga data, sin embargo, resulta compleja su medición en su forma interiorizada debido al carácter simbólico de esta. El artículo tiene como objetivo la validación de un cuestionario que mide este tipo de capital interiorizado en estudiantes de educación superior. Estudio no experimental, descriptivo-transversal. Con una muestra de 283 estudiantes de una universidad de la región del Maule (Chile). Se construyó un cuestionario con escala tipo Likert de 16 ítems. Su elaboración constituyó una evaluación de juicio de expertos y análisis factorial. La medida KMO fue 0,725, con un test de esfericidad p

Background/Objectives: Intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IHH) induces various physiological and metabolic adaptations. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a seven-day IHH exposure on nutritional status, body composition, gut microbiota, movement intensity, and energy expenditure in 10 workers. Methods: A pre–post comparative design was employed, with measurements taken at the beginning and end of the exposure period. Nutritional status, body composition, and phase angle (PhA) were assessed via bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Gut microbiota composition was analyzed through fecal DNA extraction and qPCR for specific bacterial families. Movement intensity and energy expenditure were monitored using accelerometry. An initial statistical analysis was performed, which included paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results: A significant increase in PhA (mean difference: 0.40; p = 0.0053 for t-test, p = 0.0136 for Wilcoxon) and a significant decrease in BMI (mean difference: −0.38; p = 0.0311 for t-test, p = 0.0546 for Wilcoxon). Conclusions: While the original paper reported no significant changes in nutritional status or body composition, our re-analysis suggests a significant change in BMI. The original paper also reported significant changes in specific gut bacterial families (butyrate-producing bacteria, p = 0.037; Lactobacillus species, p = 0.006). Physical activity levels remained consistently low.

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate an online questionnaire to assess eating habits and physical activity of university students under confinement due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19).Design: Generation of a cross-sectional online survey to university students conducted during confinement due to COVID-19. The study was divided into two phases.Settings: Students, Chile.Participants: Phase 1 considered the process of translation and back translation, expert panel, cultural adaptation and the generation of a pilot to validate a preliminary format of the questionnaire. In Phase 2, information from the instrument was collected from two hundred and sixty-eight university students, ages 16 to 30 years old, with a mean age of 21·6 (3·3) The major proportion of participants were female (82 %).Results: The adapted questionnaire was statistically validated in three dimensions: (A) eating habits and behaviours during quarantine, (B) perception of risk and (C) physical activity changes during the quarantine. The reliability of Cronbach’s α for dimensions A, B and C was 0·59, 0·85 and 0·97, respectively. The complete questionnaire obtained 0·61 in internal consistency and 0·61 (0·58–0·67) ICC reliability. A statistically significant positive correlation matrix was observed.Conclusions: This questionnaire is a practical tool to obtain accurate information about the relation of COVID-19 confinement on people’s eating habits and physical activity. Therefore, it could contribute to establishing appropriate strategies to prevent negative effects on people’s health.