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Aim: To examine the relationship between racial/ethnic disparities and substance use behaviours (alcohol and tobacco use) and their impact on the sleep health of South Korean adolescents., Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional study data from the 2021 Korea Youth Risk Behaviour Web-based Survey dataset., Methods: Given that Korean society has historically linked its racial/ethnic identity to a shared bloodline, we categorized 2644 adolescents from the Korea Youth Risk Behaviour Web-based Survey based on their racial/ethnic status, determined by their parents' birthplaces. Using multiple linear regression, we investigated whether the impact of racial/ethnic disparities on sleep health (sleep duration, debt, and timing) varies depending on substance use behaviours (alcohol and tobacco use) after controlling for age, sex, household economic status, depressed mood, suicidal ideation, perceived excessive stress, and anxiety level., Results: Despite no statistical differences in sleep health and the prevalence of substance use between racial/ethnic groups, racial/ethnic minority adolescents experienced greater sleep debt than racial/ethnic majority adolescents when consuming alcohol. Moreover, racial/ethnic minority adolescents were more likely to report psychosocial distress and had lower parental education level., Conclusion: Racial/ethnic minority adolescents were more vulnerable to the detrimental effects of alcohol use on sleep health compared to racial/ethnic majority adolescents. This heightened vulnerability may be attributed to the more pronounced psychosocial challenges and the lower socioeconomic status of parents in the racial/ethnic minority group., Impact: Racial/ethnic disparities are concerning in South Korea, particularly since the negative effects of substance use on sleep health are intensified among racial/ethnic minority adolescents. Nurses and other healthcare providers should recognize the importance of addressing the social disadvantages linked to racial/ethnic disparities. Beyond just advocating for the cessation of substance use, it is crucial to address these underlying issues to reduce sleep disparities among South Korean adolescents., Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aging involves seemingly paradoxical changes in energy metabolism. Molecular damage accumulation increases cellular energy expenditure, yet whole-body energy expenditure remains stable or decreases with age. We resolve this apparent contradiction by positioning the brain as the mediator and broker in the organismal energy economy. As somatic tissues accumulate damage over time, costly intracellular stress responses are activated, causing aging or senescent cells to secrete cytokines that convey increased cellular energy demand (hypermetabolism) to the brain. To conserve energy in the face of a shrinking energy budget, the brain deploys energy conservation responses, which suppress low-priority processes, producing fatigue, physical inactivity, blunted sensory capacities, immune alterations and endocrine 'deficits'. We term this cascade the brain-body energy conservation (BEC) model of aging. The BEC outlines (1) the energetic cost of cellular aging, (2) how brain perception of senescence-associated hypermetabolism may drive the phenotypic manifestations of aging and (3) energetic principles underlying the modifiability of aging trajectories by stressors and geroscience interventions., (© 2024. Springer Nature America, Inc.)

The gut microbiome may be related to the prevalence of overweight and obesity, but high interindividual variability of the human microbiome complicates our understanding. Obesity often occurs concomitantly with micronutrient deficiencies that impair energy metabolism. Microbiota composition is affected by diet. Host-microbiota interactions are bidirectional. We propose three pathways whereby these interactions may modulate the gut microbiome and obesity: (1) ingested compounds or derivatives affecting small intestinal transit, endogenous secretions, digestion, absorption, microbiome balance, and gut barrier function directly affect host metabolism; (2) substrate availability affecting colonic microbial composition and contact with the gut barrier; and (3) microbial end products affecting host metabolism. The quantity/concentration, duration, and/or frequency (circadian rhythm) of changes in these pathways can alter the gut microbiome, disrupt the gut barrier, alter host immunity, and increase the risk of and progression to overweight and obesity. Host-specific characteristics (e.g., genetic variations) may further affect individual sensitivity and/or resilience to diet- and microbiome-associated perturbations in the colonic environment. In this narrative review, the effects of selected interventions, including fecal microbiota transplantation, dietary calorie restriction, dietary fibers and prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids, on the gut microbiome, body weight, and/or adiposity are summarized to help identify mechanisms of action and research opportunities., (© 2024 The Author(s). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.)

Food sensory evaluation mainly includes explicit and implicit measurement methods. Implicit measures of consumer perception are gaining significant attention in food sensory and consumer science as they provide effective, subconscious, objective analysis. A wide range of advanced technologies are now available for analyzing physiological and psychological responses, including facial analysis technology, neuroimaging technology, autonomic nervous system technology, and behavioral pattern measurement. However, researchers in the food field often lack systematic knowledge of these multidisciplinary technologies and struggle with interpreting their results. In order to bridge this gap, this review systematically describes the principles and highlights the applications in food sensory and consumer science of facial analysis technologies such as eye tracking, facial electromyography, and automatic facial expression analysis, as well as neuroimaging technologies like electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, we critically compare and discuss these advanced implicit techniques in the context of food sensory research and then accordingly propose prospects. Ultimately, we conclude that implicit measures should be complemented by traditional explicit measures to capture responses beyond preference. Facial analysis technologies offer a more objective reflection of sensory perception and attitudes toward food, whereas neuroimaging techniques provide valuable insight into the implicit physiological responses during food consumption. To enhance the interpretability and generalizability of implicit measurement results, further sensory studies are needed. Looking ahead, the combination of different methodological techniques in real-life situations holds promise for consumer sensory science in the field of food research., (© 2024 Institute of Food Technologists®.)

Background: Food-specific response inhibition training has been implemented as a strategy to modify food choices and reward-related eating behaviours, but short-term studies have produced equivocal findings., Objective: To longitudinally assess the effect of a smartphone-based response inhibition intervention on food reward, hedonic eating drive, and cravings in a free-living setting., Methods: 84 adults (M age  = 30.49, SD age  = 13.01, 52 female) with high responsivity to food cues or overweight/obesity were randomly assigned to a response inhibition training intervention (n = 45) or a control game (n = 39) at home during a training week, followed by a week with no training. Primary analyses compared groups on measures of explicit liking and implicit wanting for food of different energy densities, food cravings, and reward-related eating throughout this two-week period., Results: A reduction was observed in explicit liking and implicit wanting for energy-dense foods from baseline to post-training independent of condition (ps < .001). These changes from baseline were sustained after a 1-week latency period, also independent of condition (ps < .001). These effects coincided with similar observations of hedonic eating drive, tonic cravings, and control over cravings during the observation period (ps < .01)., Conclusions: Although significant reductions in reward-related appetite were observed, free-living response inhibition training did not offer additional benefit over a control activity. Future intervention studies with observable food intake are needed to investigate which appetitive mechanisms most reliably predict eating behaviour over time., Trial Registration: Retrospectively registered with ANZCTR [ACTRN12622001502729]., (© 2023 The Authors. British Journal of Health Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

The circadian rhythm system regulates lung function as well as local and systemic inflammations. The alteration of this rhythm might be induced by a change in the eating rhythm. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG) is a key molecule involved in circadian rhythm regulation, lung functions, and metabolic processes. We described the effect of the PPARG agonist pioglitazone (PZ) on the diurnal mRNA expression profile of core circadian clock genes (Arntl, Clock, Nr1d1, Cry1, Cry2, Per1, and Per2) and metabolism- and inflammation-related genes (Nfe2l2, Pparg, Rela, and Cxcl5) in the male murine lung disrupted by reversed feeding (RF). In mice, RF disrupted the diurnal expression pattern of core clock genes. It decreased Nfe2l2 and Pparg and increased Rela and Cxcl5 expression in lung tissue. There were elevated levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, total cells, macrophages, and lymphocyte counts in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) with a significant increase in vascular congestion and cellular infiltrates in male mouse lung tissue. Administration of PZ regained the diurnal clock gene expression, increased Nfe2l2 and Pparg expression, and reduced Rela, Cxcl5 expression and IL-6, TNF-alpha, and cellularity in BAL. PZ administration at 7 p.m. was more efficient than at 7 a.m., (© 2023 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.)

White adipocytes play a key role in the regulation of fat mass amount and energy balance. An appropriate level of white adipocyte differentiation is important for maintaining metabolic homeostasis. Exercise, an important way to improve metabolic health, can regulate white adipocyte differentiation. In this review, the effect of exercise on the differentiation of white adipocytes is summarized. Exercise could regulate adipocyte differentiation in multiple ways, such as exerkines, metabolites, microRNAs, and so on. The potential mechanism underlying the role of exercise in adipocyte differentiation is also reviewed and discussed. In-depth investigation of the role and mechanism of exercise in white adipocyte differentiation would provide new insights into exercise-mediated improvement of metabolism and facilitate the application of exercise-based strategy against obesity., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

We carried out an exhaustive review regarding human skin color variation and how much it may be related to vitamin D metabolism and other photosensitive molecules. We discuss evolutionary contexts that modulate this variability and hypotheses postulated to explain them; for example, a small amount of melanin in the skin facilitates vitamin D production, making it advantageous to have fair skin in an environment with little radiation incidence. In contrast, more melanin protects folate from degradation in an environment with a high incidence of radiation. Some Native American populations have a skin color at odds with what would be expected for the amount of radiation in the environment in which they live, a finding challenging the so-called "vitamin D-folate hypothesis." Since food is also a source of vitamin D, dietary habits should also be considered. Here we argue that a gene network approach provides tools to explain this phenomenon since it indicates potential alleles co-evolving in a compensatory way. We identified alleles of the vitamin D metabolism and pigmentation pathways segregated together, but in different proportions, in agriculturalists and hunter-gatherers. Finally, we highlight how an evolutionary approach can be useful to understand current topics of medical interest., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Accumulating knowledge on the biology and function of the adipose tissue has led to a major shift in our understanding of its role in health and disease. The adipose tissue is now recognized as a crucial regulator of cardiovascular health, mediated by the secretion of several bioactive products, including adipocytokines, microvesicles and gaseous messengers, with a wide range of endocrine and paracrine effects on the cardiovascular system. The adipose tissue function and secretome are tightly controlled by complex homeostatic mechanisms and local cell-cell interactions, which can become dysregulated in obesity. Systemic or local inflammation and insulin resistance lead to a shift in the adipose tissue secretome from anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic towards a pro-inflammatory and pro-atherogenic profile. Moreover, the interplay between the adipose tissue and the cardiovascular system is bidirectional, with vascular-derived and heart-derived signals directly affecting adipose tissue biology. In this Review, we summarize the current knowledge of the biology and regional variability of adipose tissue in humans, deciphering the complex molecular mechanisms controlling the crosstalk between the adipose tissue and the cardiovascular system, and their possible clinical translation. In addition, we highlight the latest developments in adipose tissue imaging for cardiovascular risk stratification and discuss how therapeutic targeting of the adipose tissue can improve prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.