Health and Nutrition Research

Health and Nutrition

In this week’s article, we provide a roundup of some of the most recent health and nutrition-related articles in the news, five items comprising:

Skipping breakfast may help you lose weight – what hunter-gatherers can teach us

Obesity-related cancers rise for younger US generations, study says

Diets in decline: Vitamin and nutrient deficiencies on the rise

Eating healthily ‘significantly improves mood’

Caesarean rates related to better maternal nutrition, study finds

Skipping breakfast may help you lose weight – what hunter-gatherers can teach us 

Breakfast, we are told, is the most important meal of the day. Over the last 150 years, we have been bombarded with messages extolling the health benefits of processed cereals and porridge oats. We are told breakfast helps us reduce weight by speeding up our metabolism – this helps us avoid hunger pangs and overeating later in the day.

These are not just marketing messages, they are core to nutritional guidelines in developed countries, such as in the US, UK and Australia, prepared by expert scientific panels. These messages are mirrored in the media and websites worldwide. But what if the benefits of breakfast are just another diet myth?

Your guide to eating well 

Obesity-related cancers rise for younger US generations, study says

Cancers linked to obesity are rising at a faster rate in millennials than in older generations in the United States, the American Cancer Society has said.

It said a steep rise in obesity in the past 40 years may have increased cancer risk in younger generations. It warned the problem could set back recent progress on cancer.

The Society studied millions of health records from 1995 to 2014, publishing its findings in The Lancet Public Health.

In the last few decades, there has been mounting evidence that certain cancers can be linked to obesity. 

Diets in decline: Vitamin and nutrient deficiencies on the rise

Intakes of most vitamins and minerals have taken a nosedive since 2008, leading to an increase in deficiencies of key nutrients including vitamin A, fibre and iron, according to the UK’s latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey.

The report, covering the nine-year period from 2008 to 2017, shows the dietary trends of the nation and provides evidence to help form new dietary advice.

The results show that intakes of most vitamins and minerals have dropped for most groups but this was particularly marked for folate and vitamin A.

Eating healthily ‘significantly improves mood’ 

There is a positive association between the quantity of fruit and vegetables consumed and people’s self-reported mental well-being, according to new research by the University of Leeds.

The findings indicate that eating just one extra portion of fruit and vegetables a day could have an equivalent effect on mental well-being as around 8 extra days of walking a month (for at least 10 minutes at a time).

Dr. Neel Ocean, who authored the study, said: ‘It’s well-established that eating fruit and vegetables can benefit physical health. Recently, newer studies have suggested that it may also benefit psychological well-being. Our research builds on previous work in Australia and New Zealand by verifying this relationship using a much bigger UK sample.’

Caesarean rates related to better maternal nutrition, study finds

Improvements to diet and nutrition may well be behind the increasing numbers of mothers opting for caesarean section (c-section) deliveries as scientists also cite cultural factors as an influence.

The team based at the University of Vienna found mothers chose to deliver via c-section due to an improved diet and nutrition that contributes on average a disproportionately large foetus.

“The foetus is on average disproportionately large – and thus larger than the optimal dimensions for the maternal birth canal. Paradoxically, so much improved environmental conditions can make births more difficult and thus increase the caesarean rate.”