BACKGROUND: Sarcopenic obesity significantly burdens health and autonomy. Strategies to intervene in or prevent sarcopenic obesity generally focus on losing body fat and building or maintaining muscle mass and function. For a lifestyle intervention, it is important to consider psychological aspects such as behavioral change techniques (BCTs) to elicit a long-lasting behavioral change.PURPOSE: The study was carried out to analyze BCTs used in exercise and nutritional interventions targeting community-dwelling adults around retirement age with sarcopenic obesity.METHODS: We conducted an analysis of articles cited in an existing systematic review on the effectiveness of exercise and nutritional interventions on physiological outcomes in community-dwelling adults around retirement age with sarcopenic obesity. We identified BCTs used in these studies by applying a standardized taxonomy.RESULTS: Only nine BCTs were identified. Most BCTs were not used intentionally (82 %), and those used derived from the implementation of lifestyle components, such as exercise classes ("instructions on how to perform a behavior," "demonstration of the behavior," "behavioral practice/rehearsal," and "body changes"). Only two studies used BCTs intentionally to reinforce adherence in their interventions.CONCLUSIONS: Few studies integrated BCTs in lifestyle interventions for community-dwelling persons around retirement age with sarcopenic obesity. Future studies on interventions to counteract sarcopenic obesity should include well-established BCTs to foster adherence and, therefore, their effectiveness.
ContextRetirement is an opportune time for people to establish new healthy routines. Exercise and nutritional interventions are promising in the prevention and treatment of sarcopenic obesity.ObjectiveThis systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of nutritional and exercise interventions for the treatment of sarcopenic obesity in persons of retirement age.Data SourcesPubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and CENTRAL databases were searched in September 2021 for randomized controlled trials; a manual search was also conducted. The search yielded 261 studies, of which 11 were eligible for inclusion.Data ExtractionStudies of community-dwelling individuals with sarcopenic obesity receiving any nutritional or exercise intervention ≥ 8 weeks with the mean age ± standard deviation between 50 and 70 years were included. Primary endpoint was body composition, and secondary endpoints were body mass index, muscle strength, and physical function. The literature review, study selection, data extraction, and risk-of-bias assessment were performed by two reviewers independently. Data were pooled for meta-analysis when possible.ResultsMeta-analysis was only possible for the exposure “resistance training” and the exposure “training (resistance or aerobic)” in combination with the exposure “added protein” as compared with “no intervention” or “training alone.” Resistance training led to a significant body fat reduction of −1.53% (95%CI, −2.91 to −0.15), an increase in muscle mass of 2.72% (95%CI, 1.23–4.22), an increase in muscle strength of 4.42 kg (95%CI, 2.44–6.04), and a slight improvement in gait speed of 0.17 m/s (95%CI, 0.01–0.34). Protein combined with an exercise intervention significantly reduces fat mass (−0.80 kg; 95%CI, −1.32 to −0.28). Some individual studies of dietary or food supplement interventions for which data could not be pooled showed positive effects on body composition.ConclusionResistance training is an effective treatment for persons of retirement age with sarcopenic obesity. Increased protein intake combined with exercise may increase reductions in fat mass.Systematic Review RegistrationPROSPERO registration no. CRD42021276461.
Multimodal prehabilitation programs to improve physical fitness before surgery often include nutritional interventions. This study evaluates the efficacy of and adherence to a nutritional intervention among colorectal and esophageal cancer patients undergoing the multimodal Fit4Surgery prehabilitation program. The intervention aims to achieve an intake of ≥1.5 g of protein/kg body weight (BW) per day through dietary advice and daily nutritional supplementation (30 g whey protein). This study shows 56.3% of patients met this goal after prehabilitation. Mean daily protein intake significantly increased from 1.20 ± 0.39 g/kg BW at baseline to 1.61 ± 0.41 g/kg BW after prehabilitation (p < 0.001), with the main increase during the evening snack. BW, BMI, 5-CST, and protein intake at baseline were associated with adherence to the nutritional intervention. These outcomes suggest that dietary counseling and protein supplementation can significantly improve protein intake in different patient groups undergoing a multimodal prehabilitation program.
The composition of diets and supplements given to bovine cattle are constantly evolving. These changes are driven by the social call for a more sustainable beef and dairy production, interests to influence the nutritional value of bovine products for human consumption, and to increase animal health. These adaptations can introduce (new) compounds in the beef and milk supply chain. Currently, the golden standard to study transfer of compounds from feed or veterinary medicine to cows and consequences for human health is performing animal studies, which are time consuming, costly and thus limited. Although animal studies are increasingly debated for ethical reasons, cows are still in the top 10 list of most used animals for animal experiments in Europe. There is, however, no widely applicable alternative modelling tool available to rapidly predict transfer of compounds, apart from individual components like cattle kinetic models and simple in vitro kinetic assays. Therefore, this project aims to develop a first-of-a-kind generic bovine kinetic modelling platform that predicts the transfer of compounds from medicine/supplements and feed to bovine tissues. This will provide new tools for the efficacy and safety evaluation of veterinary medicine and feed and facilitates a rapid evaluation of human health effects of bovine origin food products, thereby contributing to an increased safety in the cattle production chain and supporting product innovations, all without animal testing. This will be accomplished by integrating existing in silico and in vitro techniques into a generic bovine modelling platform and further developing state-of-the-art in vitro bovine organoid cell culturing systems. The platform can be used world-wide by stakeholders involved in the cattle industry (feed-/veterinary medicine industry, regulators, risk assessors). The project partners involve a strong combination of academia, knowledge institutes, small and medium enterprises, industry, branche-organisations and Proefdiervrij, all driven by their pursuit for animal free innovations.
Along with the rapidly growing number of disabled people participating in competitive sports, there is an increased need for (para)medical support in disability sports. Disabled athletes experience differences in body composition, metabolism, training load and habitual activity patterns compared with non-disabled athletes. Moreover, it has been suggested that the well-recognized athlete triad, and low energy availability and low bone mineral density in particular, is even a greater challenge in disabled athletes. Therefore, it is not surprising that sport nutritionists of disabled athletes have expressed an urgency for increased knowledge and insights on the nutritional demands of this group. This project aims to investigate energy expenditure, dietary intake, body composition and bone health of disabled athletes, ultimately leading to nutritional guidelines that promote health and optimal sports performance for this unique population. For this purpose, we will conduct a series of studies and implementation activities that are inter-related and build on the latest insights from sports practice, technology and science. Our international consortium is highly qualified to achieve this goal. It consists of knowledge institutes including world-leading experts in sport and nutrition research, complemented with practical insights from nutritionists working with disabled athletes and the involvement of athletes and teams through the Dutch and Norwegian Olympic committees. The international collaboration, which is a clear strength of this project, is not only focused on research, but also on the optimization of professional practice and educational activities. In this regard, the outcomes of this project will be directly available for practical use by the (para)medical staff working with disabled athletes, and will be extensively communicated to sport teams to ensure that the new insights are directly embedded into daily practice. The project outcomes will also be incorporated in educational activities for dietetics and sport and exercise students, thereby increasing knowledge of future practitioners.
Along with the rapidly growing number of disabled people participating in competitive sports, there is an increased need for (para)medical support in disability sports. Disabled athletes experience differences in body composition, metabolism, training load and habitual activity patterns compared with non-disabled athletes. Moreover, it has been suggested that the well-recognized athlete triad, and low energy availability and low bone mineral density in particular, is even a greater challenge in disabled athletes. Therefore, it is not surprising that sport nutritionists of disabled athletes have expressed an urgency for increased knowledge and insights on the nutritional demands of this group. This project aims to investigate energy expenditure, dietary intake, body composition and bone health of disabled athletes, ultimately leading to nutritional guidelines that promote health and optimal sports performance for this unique population. For this purpose, we will conduct a series of studies and implementation activities that are inter-related and build on the latest insights from sports practice, technology and science. Our international consortium is highly qualified to achieve this goal. It consists of knowledge institutes including world-leading experts in sport and nutrition research, complemented with practical insights from nutritionists working with disabled athletes and the involvement of athletes and teams through the Dutch and Norwegian Olympic committees. The international collaboration, which is a clear strength of this project, is not only focused on research, but also on the optimization of professional practice and educational activities. In this regard, the outcomes of this project will be directly available for practical use by the (para)medical staff working with disabled athletes, and will be extensively communicated to sport teams to ensure that the new insights are directly embedded into daily practice. The project outcomes will also be incorporated in educational activities for dietetics and sport and exercise students, thereby increasing knowledge of future practitioners.
