Grazing, a type of maladaptive eating behavior, has been associated with poor weight outcomes in bariatric patients. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the association between grazing behavior and weight regain post-bariatric surgery. Literature searches, study selection, design of the method, and quality appraisal were carried out by two independent authors. The search strategy was performed until October 2017 in Medline, Embase, Cochrane, Lilacs, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ProQuest Dissertation & Theses, and Open Grey. Of a total of 3764 articles, five papers met the inclusion criteria (four original articles and one thesis), comprising 994 subjects, mostly women. The prevalence of grazing behavior ranged from 16.6 to 46.6%, and the highest prevalence of significant weight regain was 47%. The association between grazing and weight regain was observed in four of the five evaluated studies. Our findings support an association between grazing behavior and weight regain after bariatric surgery, regardless of surgery type and contextual concept of grazing. Further studies are needed to confirm the clarity of the real prevalence and interfering factors related to grazing behavior and weight outcomes.

Background: Human ageing is a process characterized by loss of muscle mass, strength, and bone mass. We aimed to examine the efficacy of low‐dose creatine supplementation associated with resistance training on lean mass, strength, and bone mass in the elderly.Methods: This was a 12‐week, parallel‐group, double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial. The individuals were randomly allocated into one of the following groups: placebo plus resistance training (PL + RT) and creatine supplementation plus resistance training (CR + RT) . The participants were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. The primary outcomes were lean mass and strength, assessed by dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) and ten‐repetition maximal tests (10 RM), respectively. Secondary outcomes included the lumbar spine, right and left femoral neck, both femur and whole body bone mineral density (BMD), and whole body bone mineral content (BMC), assessed by DXA.Results: The CR + RT group had superior gains in lean mass when compared with the PL + RT group (P = 0.02). Changes in the 10 RM tests in bench press and leg press exercises, body composition, BMD, and BMC of all assessed sites did not significantly differ between the groups (P > 0.05).Conclusions: Twelve weeks of low‐dose creatine supplementation associated with resistance training resulted in increases in lean mass in the elderly.

A dark chocolate containing phytosterols (PS) esters was developed to reduce cholesterol in individuals. However, oxidative instability during chocolate processing and storage could reduce the PS bioactivity. Chocolate bars were prepared containing palm oil (CONT) or 2.2 g of PS (PHYT). All samples were stored at 20 °C and 30 °C during 5 months. A peak of hydroperoxides formation was observed after 60 days at 20 °C and after 30 days at 30 °C. PS-enriched samples presented higher values of hydroperoxides than control samples, which could be attributed to the higher level of alpha-linolenic acid present in the PHYT samples. All chocolate bars became lighter and softer after 90 days of storage. However, these physical changes did not reduce their sensory acceptability. In addition, PS bioactivity was kept during the storage, since no significant alterations in the PS esters were observed up to 5 months. However, some PS oxidation occurred in the PHYT bars, being sitostanetriol, 6-ketositosterol, 6β-hydroxycampesterol and 7-ketocampesterol the major phytosterol oxidation products (POPs). The POPs/PS ratio was low (0.001). Therefore, the dark chocolate bars developed in this study kept their potential functionality after 5 months of storage at room temperature, representing an option as a functional food

Vitamin D is essential to bone health; severe and prolonged deficiency can lead to rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. As the main source of vitamin D is exposure of the skin to ultraviolet rays, it has long been assumed that living in a sunny country ensures adequate vitamin D levels (i.e. the optimum level of serum vitamin D to prevent detrimental effects to bone health). However, there is increasing evidence that vitamin D insufficiency may have been underestimated in low latitude, tropical countries. Brazil is a unique country to study as it is the only country in the world that has both the line of equator and that of the tropic of Capricorn running through its territory. Recent findings of a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in countries, such as Brazil, suggest that vitamin D deficiency may be increasing at a global level. More robust and large studies are needed for an accurate estimate of the prevalence of insufficient vitamin D levels in populations in sunny countries and the relative contribution of key influential factors, such as individual sun exposure, dietary intake, skin pigmentation and lifestyle.

This integrative aimed to evaluate the effects and the potential mechanism of action of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics on constipation-associated gastrointestinal symptoms and to identify issues that still need to be answered. A literature search was performed in the PubMed database. Animal models (n = 23) and clinical trials (n = 39) were included. In animal studies, prebiotic, probiotic, and synbiotic supplementation showed a decreased colonic transit time (CTT) and an increase in the number and water content of feces. In humans, inulin is shown to be the most promising prebiotic, while B. lactis and L. casei Shirota probiotics were shown to increase defecation frequency, the latter strain being more effective in improving stool consistency and constipation symptoms. Overall, synbiotics seem to reduce CTT, increase defecation frequency, and improve stool consistency with a controversial effect on the improvement of constipation symptoms. Moreover, some aspects of probiotic use in constipation-related outcomes remain unanswered, such as the best dose, duration, time of consumption (before, during, or after meals), and matrices, as well as their effect and mechanisms on the regulation of inflammation in patients with constipation, on polymorphisms associated with constipation, and on the management of constipation via 5-HT. Thus, more high-quality randomized control trials (RCTs) evaluating these lacking aspects are necessary to provide safe conclusions about their effectiveness in managing intestinal constipation.