1. A test was carried out simultaneously in Shinfield, Reading, England, and Columbus, Ohio, USA, using typical British and American rations for growing pigs. The rations were compounded in their country of origin; half of each consignment was used at the home station and the other half shipped to the overseas station. 2. Both restricted feeding and ad lib. feeding methods were used at each station. 3. A similar pattern of results was obtained at Shinfield and Columbus. Pigs receiving the American ration, which was higher in energy content, grew faster and required less feed per kg live-weight gain than pigs receiving the British ration. The higher energy content of the ration was probably responsible also for the poorer carcass quality of the pigs receiving the American ration, particularly the high fat content. The comparison between restricted feeding and ad lib. feeding was not affected by the type of ration. Restricted feeding resulted in slower growth rate, slightly better efficiency of feed conversion and considerably better carcass quality.

1. The B-vitamins in milk from baboons (Papio cynocephalus) at various stages of lactation were measured microbiologically.

2. Mature milk contained, on average (μg/ml): thiamin 0.18, riboflavin 0.74, nicotinic acid 3.2, folate 0.03, vitamin B6 0.70, vitamin B12 0.002, pantothenic acid 2.63, biotin 0.0065.

3. Colostrum contained much less vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid than mature milk; otherwise, there were only slight changes in composition as lactation progressed. Neither these changes, nor the absolute values, resembled those for human or cow's milk.

4. The average daily secretion of B-vitamins in milk represented less than 10% of the mother's dietary intake; that of folate was less than 0.5% of the mother's dietary intake.

5. Baboon milk was calculated to provide infants with approximately the following quantities of B-vitamins (/d): thiamin 0.06 mg, riboflavin 0.25 mg, nicotinic acid 1.1 mg, folate 10 μg, vitamin B6 0.25 mg, vitamin B12 0.7 μg, pantothenic acid 0.9 mg, biotin 2.2 μg.

Solving complex problems in large-scale research programmes requires cooperation and division of labour. Simultaneously, large-scale problem solving also gives rise to unintended side effects. Based upon 5 years of researching two large-scale nutrigenomic research programmes, we argue that problems are fragmented in order to be solved. These sub-problems are given priority for practical reasons and in the process of solving them, various changes are introduced in each sub-problem. Combined with additional diversity as a result of interdisciplinarity, this makes reassembling the original and overall goal of the research programme less likely. In the case of nutrigenomics and health, this produces a diversification of health. As a result, the public health goal of contemporary nutrition science is not reached in the large-scale research programmes we studied. Large-scale research programmes are very successful in producing scientific publications and new knowledge; however, in reaching their political goals they often are less successful.

The aim of the present work was to show that cottonseed flour introduced into rehabilitation diets is not nutritionally harmful. The cottonseed flour obtained from glandless seeds contains traces of gossypol. As gossypol is known to have pathological hepatic and testicular actions, the effects on hepatic variables and on the histological appearance of liver and testis of diets containing cottonseed flour were compared with those without cottonseed flour. Seventy growing male Wistar rats were divided into two groups. The control group (C) received a balanced diet (200 g casein+3 g methionine/kg) for 78 d and the experimental group was fed on a low-protein diet (20 g casein+3 g methionine/kg) for 29 d. After the period of protein deprivation, the depleted rats were divided into four groups and each group was refed with a different diet, for 49 d: a balanced diet (200 g casein+3 g methionine/kg; rC), maize–soya-bean flour–milk (60:30:5, by wt; MSM), maize–cottonseed flour–milk (60:30:5, by wt; MCM) or rice–cottonseed flour–milk (60:30:5, by wt; RCM). Each diet was supplemented with a vitamin mixture (10 g/kg) and a salt mixture (40 g/kg). In the liver, protein, total lipid, fatty acid composition and nucleic acid contents were determined after 29 d of protein deprivation and after 2, 14, 29, 49 d of refeeding. The refeeding of rats with either diet MSM or RCM promoted a higher growth than that with diet MCM or diet rC. In all groups, a progressive decrease in relative liver weights with age was observed. The highest values were obtained with diets rC and MSM. After 49 d of refeeding, the lowest values for lipid, DNA and protein: RNA and the highest values for RNA and RNA:DNA were obtained with the cottonseed diets (MCM and RCM). Rats fed on the cottonseed-flour diets for a 49 d period after severe protein malnutrition showed no change in size or shape of their hepatocytes compared with those obtained with the control casein diet, and all stages of spermatogenesis occurred normally and spermatozoa were accurately formed. Therefore, our findings show that a low level of gossypol administrated during 49 d, even to an organism weakened by protein malnutrition, does not affect hepatic variables and the histological appearance of liver and testis.

1. Groups of rabbits were given diets containing different proportions of butterfat and maize oil. After the animals had been given the experimental diets for 40 weeks the plasma phospho- lipids were fractionated and the fatty acid composition of each fraction was determined.

2. Phosphatidyl choline and lysophosphatidyl choline accounted for about 75 and 12% respectively of the total plasma phospholipids: phosphatidyl ethanolamine, sphingomyelin and phosphatidyl serine accounted for only about 5.3, 5.0 and 2.6% respectively. Changes in the linoleic acid content of the diet had little effect on the relative proportions of the individual plasma phospholipids, but there was an over-all decrease in the concentration of total phospholipids in the plasma as the linoleic acid content of the diet was increased from 0.25 to 10.6%.

3. When the diet contained 0.25 % linoleic acid, the linoleic acid:oleic acid ratio in the phosphatidyl choline (1.3) was similar to that in the phosphatidyl ethanolamine (1.2), but as the linoleic acid content of the diet was increased to 10.6% the linoleic acid:oleic acid ratio in the phosphatidyl choline increased to 48, whereas that in the phosphatidyl ethanolamine increased only to 2.2. Increases in the linoleic acid content of the diet resulted also in increases in the linoleic acid:oleic acid ratios in the phosphatidyl serine, lysophosphatidyl choline and sp hingomyelin.

4. When the linoleic acid content of the diet was increased, the stearic acid:palmitic acid ratio in the phosphatidyl choline increased, whereas it decreased in the phosphatidyl ethanol- amine and remained relatively unaltered in the phosphatidyl serine. The stearic acid contents of the lysophosphatidyl choline and sphingomyelin were unaltered by dietary treatments, but the palmitic acid content of these two phospholipids decreased as the linoleic acid content of the diet increased.

5. The results are discussed in terms of the metabolic relationships that exist between the various phospholipids.

We evaluated whether early-life protein restriction alters structural parameters that affect β-cell mass on the 15th day and 20th day of gestation in control pregnant (CP), control non-pregnant (CNP), low-protein pregnant (LPP) and low-protein non-pregnant (LPNP) rats from the fetal to the adult life stage as well as in protein-restricted rats that recovered after weaning (recovered pregnant (RP) and recovered non-pregnant). On the 15th day of gestation, the CNP group had a higher proportion of smaller islets, whereas the CP group exhibited a higher proportion of islets larger than the median. The β-cell mass was lower in the low-protein group than that in the recovered and control groups. Gestation increased the β-cell mass, β-cell proliferation frequency and neogenesis frequency independently of the nutritional status. The apoptosis frequency was increased in the recovered groups compared with that in the other groups. On the 20th day of gestation, a higher proportion of islets smaller than the median was observed in the non-pregnant groups, whereas a higher proportion of islets larger than the median was observed in the RP, LPP and CP groups. β-Cell mass was lower in the low-protein group than that in the recovered and control groups, regardless of the physiological status. The β-cell proliferation frequency was lower, whereas the apoptosis rate was higher in recovered rats compared with those in the low-protein and control rats. Thus, protein malnutrition early in life did not alter the mass of β-cells, especially in the first two-thirds of gestation, despite the increase in apoptosis.

We examined whether lipid metabolism in orchiectomised (ORX) rats was affected by fructose ingestion and the amount of ingested fructose. Sucrose was used as a fructose source. Sham-operated and ORX rats were fed one of the following three diets for 28 d: a maize starch-based diet without sucrose (SU0), a diet by which half or all of maize starch was replaced by sucrose (SU50 or SU100). Body-weight gain and food intake were increased by sucrose ingestion, but decreased by ORX. Plasma total cholesterol concentration was increased by ORX and dose-dependently by sucrose ingestion. Plasma TAG concentration was decreased by ORX, but was increased dose-dependently by sucrose ingestion. Plasma insulin concentration was decreased by ORX, but was not affected by sucrose ingestion. Liver TAG was increased by sucrose ingestion and ORX; however, liver cholesterol concentration was not affected by sucrose ingestion and ORX. The hepatic activity of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase 1 was not affected by sucrose ingestion and ORX; however, faecal excretion of bile acids was decreased. The mRNA level of microsomal TAG transfer protein, which is the gene related to hepatic VLDL production, was increased by ORX and sucrose ingestion. The mRNA level of uncoupling protein-1 was decreased by ORX, but not by sucrose ingestion. Plasma insulin concentration tended to correlate with the level of sterol-regulatory element-binding protein-1c mRNA (r 0·747, P = 0·088). These results show that lipid metabolism in ORX rats would be affected by the consumption of fructose-rich sweeteners such as sucrose and high-fructose syrup.

Malnutrition is a key factor in metabolic syndrome (MS) and sarcopenia, assessing the nutritional status of these patients is a pressing issue. The purpose of this study was to clarify sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in patients with MS based on nutritional status. This was a case–control study between MS/non-MS. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Muscle function was assessed by handgrip strength, five times sit-to-stand test, gait speed test and short physical performance battery (SPPB). The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) was performed to assess the nutritional status in the participants in this study. Overall, a total of 56 % and 13 % of participants suffered from possible sarcopenia and sarcopenia, respectively. There was a higher rate of possible sarcopenic obesity in the MS group than in the non-MS group (48·9 % v. 24·7 %, P < 0·01), and all the sarcopenia participants in the MS group had sarcopenic obesity. MNA score was significantly associated with sarcopenia status (P < 0·01). The MNA combined with body fat score showed better acceptable discrimination for detecting sarcopenic obesity and sarcopenia in MS (AUC = 0·70, 95 % CI 0·53, 0·86). In summary, there was a higher prevalence of possible sarcopenic obesity in MS, and all the MS patients with sarcopenia had sarcopenic obesity in the present study. We suggest that the MNA should be combined with body fat percentage to assess the nutritional status of MS participants, and it also serves as a good indicator for sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in MS.

Nutritional studies shifted the focus of attention to the analysis of food quality, addressing general diet considering the foods, food groups and nutrients included. This study evaluates the association between diet quality index, food and nutrient intake and metabolic parameters of adolescents from Recife, northeastern Brazil. It is a cross-sectional study involving adolescents aged 12 to 19 years. Food intake was assessed using the FFQ to estimate the adapted Diet Quality Index for Adolescents for Brazilians (DQIA-BR-A). The analysis included metabolic parameters (glucose, lipid profile, apo A1 and B, α-1-acid glycoprotein, retinol, β-carotene, α-tocopherol, 25-hydroxyvitamin D and parathormone). Multiple linear regression analysis between the DQIA-BR-A and daily nutrient intake showed a positive correlation (R2 adjusted = 0·29) for linoleic fatty acid, Ca and folate and a negative correlation for oleic fatty acid, carbohydrates and vitamins B2 and C, in addition to a low correlation (R2 adjusted < 0·07) with all metabolic parameters. However, the DQIA-BR-A correlated significantly (R2 adjusted = 0·62; P < 0·001) with food intake. In this way, the DQIA-BR-A can be considered as an accurate and useful instrument for assessing the overall quality of adolescent diets. The diet of the adolescents was considered to be of moderate quality. Changes are required to ensure a balanced diet, considering the high-sugar intake and consumption of sweets as well as the low consumption of vegetables, milk and dairy products, oils, fats and seeds. Such changes should prioritise the consumption of foods rich in essential fatty acids and poor in saturated fat.

The association between dairy products consumption in adults and the likelihood of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been described, but more information on the adolescent population is needed. This nationally representative, cross-sectional school-based study aimed to describe the consumption of dairy products and their subtypes and to evaluate their association with prediabetes and T2DM in adolescents. The Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (ERICA) includes adolescents aged 12–17 years. Dairy products consumption was evaluated by 24-h food recall. Associations with fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and insulin resistance, as measured by homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), were evaluated by multivariate linear regression. Poisson regression was also used to assess the association between dairy products consumption and the combined prevalence of prediabetes and T2DM. Models were adjusted for sociodemographic, nutritional, behavioural and anthropometrics. The final sample analysed consisted of 35 614 adolescents. Total intake of dairy products was inversely associated with fasting blood glucose levels after adjusting for all covariates (β = −0·452, 95 % CI −0·899, −0·005). The associations were stronger for overweight and obese adolescents. Findings were similar for full-fat dairy products and yogurt. Higher consumption of low-fat dairy products and cheese were associated with a 46 % (prevalence ratio, PR 1·46, 95 % CI 1·18, 1·80) and 33 % (PR 1·33, 95 % CI 1·14, 1·57) higher combined prevalence of prediabetes and T2DM, respectively. The total consumption of dairy products and full-fat dairy products was associated with a lower combined prevalence of prediabetes and T2DM, while the consumption of cheese and low-fat dairy products was associated with higher combined prevalence of prediabetes and T2DM in Brazilian adolescents.