Asociación entre el sistema de recompensa del cerebro y elección de comida en adultos mayores y de mediana edad / Association between the reward system and food choice in middle-aged and older adults

Resumen Introducción. Todos los días las personas toman diferentes decisiones relacionadas con su elección de alimentos, lo que a su vez determina sus hábitos alimenticios. El sistema de recompensa del cerebro (SRC) permite asociar ciertas situaciones con una sensación de placer, lo que influye en la posterior elección de alimentos. Objetivo. Describir cómo influye el SRC en el proceso de elección de comida en adultos de mediana edad y en adultos mayores autosuficientes. Materiales y métodos. Se realizó una búsqueda de la literatura en PubMed y SciELO. Se buscaron artículos escritos en inglés y español y publicados entre 1996 y 2018 utilizando los siguientes términos (en ambos idiomas): "elección de la comida", "sistema de recompensa", "nutrición", "adulto", "adulto mayor", "estado nutricional" y "envejecimiento". Resultados. 50 artículos cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión. Solo 1 estudio estaba escrito en español; 22 fueron realizados en adultos mayores y el resto en adultos entre 20 y 40 años. Conclusiones. Teniendo en cuenta el escaso número de estudios sobre la conducta alimentaria en general, y en particular sobre la elección de comida en adultos mayores y de mediana edad, es necesario realizar más estudios en Latinoamérica sobre los procesos que subyacen al SRC y su relación con la elección de comida, y cómo estos cambian con la edad para predecir posibles conductas alimentarias e implementar intervenciones efectivas, pues una dieta saludable es esencial para un envejecimiento saludable.

Abstract Introduction: Every day, people make different decisions regarding the food they choose, which in turn determine their eating habits. The reward system (RS) allows associating certain situations to pleasure, which influences subsequent food choices. Objective: To describe how the RS influences the selection of foods in middle-aged and self-reliant older adults. Materials and methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed and SciELO. Articles written in English and Spanish and published between 1996 and 2018 were included in the search; the following search terms (in both languages) were used: "food choice", "reward system", "nutrition", "adult", "elderly", "nutritional status" and "aging". Results: 50 articles met the inclusion criteria. Only 1 study was written in Spanish; 22 were conducted on older adults and the rest on adults between 20 and 40 years old. Conclusions: Studies on eating behavior in general and on food choice in older and middle-aged adults in particular, are scarce. Therefore, further research in the Latin-America is needed to analyze the processes underlying the RS and its relationship to food choice, and how these processes change as people age in order to predict possible eating behaviors and implement effective interventions, since a healthy diet is essential for healthy aging.

Consumo de frutas, verduras y legumbres en universitarios chilenos / Consumption of fruits, vegetables and legumes among Chilean university students

RESUMEN Recomendaciones internacionales indican que se deben consumir diariamente 400 g/día o su equivalente a 5 porciones de frutas, verduras o legumbres. Nuestro objetivo fue determinar la frecuencia de consumo de frutas, verduras y legumbres en estudiantes universitarios chilenos. Materiales y Métodos: Estudio transversal. Fueron evaluados estudiantes universitarios (n= 1454) del norte, centro y sur de Chile. Ellos completaron una encuesta alimentaria que se utiliza para determinar hábitos alimentarios saludables (frutas, verduras y legumbres). El 78% era de sexo femenino. Al analizar la frecuencia de consumo de frutas, verduras y legumbres según universidad, sólo frutas y verduras mostraron de diferencia estadísticamente significativa (p< 0,01). El 70% de los estudiantes no cumple con la recomendación de consumo de frutas; 72% con la de verduras y 77% con la de legumbres. En mujeres, un 6,3% del total de la muestra cumple con la recomendación de frutas y en hombres el valor alcanza al 8,4%; en verduras se observa que la recomendación alcanza al 29,5% en mujeres y 21,3% en hombres, y en legumbres, es 2,4% en mujeres y 5% en hombres. Se observa un bajo consumo de frutas, verduras y legumbres en universitarios muy lejos de las recomendaciones internaciones.

ABSTRACT International recommendations indicate that 400 g/ day or its equivalent to 5 servings of fruits, vegetables or legumes should be consumed daily. Our aim was to determine patterns of consumption of fruits, vegetables and legumes among Chilean university students. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study. University students (n= 1454) from the north, center and south of Chile were evaluated. A self-assessment survey was used to evaluate healthy eating habits (fruits, vegetables and legumes). Seventy-eight percent of participants were women. When analyzing the consumption frequency of fruits, vegetables and legumes according to different universities, only fruits and vegetables showed a statistically significant difference (p< 0.01). Seventy percent of students do not meet recommended amounts for fruit consumption; 72% for vegetables and 77% for legumes. Among women, 6.3% of the total sample met the recommendation for fruit, while, for men, the value was 8.4%; for vegetables, we observed that 29.5 and 21.3% of women and men, respectively, met the recommendation; for legumes, 2.4% of women and 5% of men met the recommendation. There was a low consumption of fruits, vegetables and legumes among university students, with levels far from the international recommendations.

Actividad física y perfil de estilos de vida promotores de la salud en adultos mayores chilenos / Association of sedentariness and health promoting lifestyles in older adults

Background Part of having healthy lifestyles should be a regular practice of physical activities. Aim To evaluate the association between the practice of physical activity and healthy lifestyles in older people. Material and Methods The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile survey was applied to 1688 older people living in the community, aged 72 ± 7 years (61% women). This survey includes questions about regular physical activity. Results Twenty four percent of surveyed participants declared to practice physical activities at least three times per week, without gender differences. Sedentariness increased along with age. There was a negative association between low physical activity and healthy lifestyles (odds ratio (OR): 3.2 confidence intervals (CI): 2.3-4.5). There was also an association between sedentariness and low self-realization (OR 2.4 CI: 1.8-3.3), low responsibility with health (OR 1.6 CI: 1.22.1), low concern about nutrition (OR 1.8 CI: 1.4-2.4), low stress management (OR 2.0 CI: 1.5-2.7) and low interpersonal support (OR 2.0 CI: 1.5-2.6). Conclusions Sedentariness is negatively associated with health promoting lifestyles in this group of older people.

Caracterización del estado nutricional, hábitos alimentarios y estilos de vida de estudiantes universitarios chilenos: estudio multicéntrico / Lifestyles, body mass index and sleep patterns among university students

Background Health surveys in Chile show a worrisome high prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles among adults. Aim To characterize the nutritional status, food intake and sleep patterns in university students of both genders. Material and Methods Cross sectional study in seven Chilean universities. Students from six universities answered a feeding habits survey, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Insomnia Severity Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale. All were weighed and their height was measured. Results A total of 1,418 students aged 21 ± 3 years (22% males) were evaluated. Three percent were classified as underweight, 68% as normal weight, 24% as overweight and 4% as obese. Thirty three percent of males and 28% of females smoked. Twenty six percent consumed at least one glass of alcoholic beverages on the weekend, and only 18% of males and 5% of females were physically active. Men consumed unhealthy foods with a significantly higher frequency than females. Twenty seven percent had mild daytime somnolence, 24% had moderate daytime somnolence, 50% had subclinical insomnia, 19% moderate insomnia, and 1.4% had severe insomnia. Conclusions In this group of students a high frequency of unhealthy lifestyles and malnutrition caused by excess was observed. Also a high prevalence of insomnia, daytime somnolence, and inadequate sleep amounts were recorded.

Adenovirus 36 y su potencial contribución en el desarrollo de obesidad / The potential contribution of adenovirus 36 to the development of obesity

The evidence of the last 20 years shows a link between viral infections and obesity in animals and humans. There are five adenovirus which have been associated with development of obesity in animals. SMAM-1 virus was the first studied in humans associated with obesity. There is compelling evidence that Ad-36 virus could contribute to the development of obesity in humans and it is related with body mass index (BMI). This manuscript reviews the association between Ad-36 and the other four virus infections with obesity. An electronic search of articles in the databases PubMed and Scielo, with use of key words: obesity, infection, adipose tissue, Ad-36, 3T3-L1 was performed. The search was restricted "human" and "animals". The importance of the relationship between virus infections and obesity has increased over the past two decades. Ad-36 shows more compelling evidence in humans. There are reports involving this virus in the enhancement of adipogenesis, adipocyte differentiation, a lower secretion of leptin and an increased insulin sensitivity. Future work should focus in larger cohort studies to confirm this association, which explains the global obesity epidemic from a new perspective.

Relevant chemistry topics for the clinical practice of a physiotherapist / Tópicos de química relevantes para la práctica clínica de un fisioterapeuta / Tópicos químicos relevantes para a prática clínica de um fisioterapeuta

Physiotherapist is a discipline whose aim is to preserve, restore, and improve the health status of individuals with motor disturbances or at risk of developing and to improve the quality of life of people and community. The aim of this article was to determine which are the most important topics of general organic and biological chemistry courses within the physiotherapist undergraduate career at the University Bernardo O´Higgins. For this purpose we followed a model of qualitative study, applied in two different groups of people: educators of the physiotherapist career (PE) and clinical physiotherapist (CP), who were asked about the importance of topics related to chemistry courses, general, organic and biological (GOB courses). Each participant must choose a category for each topic: "important", "relevant" or "not important" for a physiotherapist clinical activity. Results show that the more frequently topics considered as "important" in both groups were from biological chemical course: proteins and its metabolism. Secondly, none of the interviewed subjects considered any of the topics of the course of organic chemistry as "important" for the clinical activity of a physiotherapist. Thus, the aim of the study is widely fulfilled and it might be concluded that future studies are required involving a larger sample size in these and other universities that will generate results for a good curricular articulation.

La fisioterapia es una disciplina cuyo objetivo es conservar, restaurar y mejorar la salud de los individuos que presentan o tienen riesgo de tener alteraciones motoras. El objetivo de este artículo fue determinar cuáles son los tópicos más importantes de química general, orgánica y biológica para la práctica clínica en la carrera de fisioterapia en la Universidad Bernardo O´Higgins. Para lo anterior se siguió un modelo de estudio cualitativo aplicado en dos grupos de personas: educadores de la carrera de fisioterapia (PE) y fisioterapistas clínicos (CP) que fueron encuestados en relación a los tópicos de los cursos de química general, orgánica y biológica, denominados cursos GOB. Cada participante debía elegir una categoría: "importante", "relevante" y "no importante" de acuerdo a la práctica clínica para cada uno de los tópicos preguntados. Los tópicos que presentaron mayor frecuencia como "importante" en ambos grupos entrevistados fueron tópicos del curso de química biológica: proteínas y su metabolismo. Además, ninguno de los encuestados consideró ninguno de los tópicos del curso de química orgánica como "importante" para la actividad clínica de los fisioterapistas. El objetivo del estudio se cumplió completamente y se puede concluir que son necesarios estudios a futuro que involucren mayor cantidad de encuestados de esta y otras universidades, de este modo se generarán más resultados para una buena articulación curricular.

A terapia física é uma disciplina cujo objetivo é conservar, restaurar e melhorar a saúde dos indivíduos que têm um estado de risco de comprometimento motor. O objetivo deste artigo foi determinar quais são os temas mais importantes da química geral, orgânica e biológica para a prática clínica na carreira de fisioterapia na Universidade Bernardo O'Higgins. Para o anterior efetuo-se um estudo qualitativo aplicado a dois grupos de pessoas: educadores da carreira de fisioterapia (PE) e fisioterapeutas clínicos (CP). Eles foram entrevistados em relação aos temas dos cursos de química geral, orgânica e biológica, chamados cursos GOB. Cada participante devia escolher uma categoria: "importante", "relevante" e "sem importância" de acordo com a prática clínica para cada um dos temas questionados. Os temas mais frequentemente apresentados como "importante" em ambos grupos entrevistados foram os temas do curso de química biológica: proteínas e metabolismo. Além disso, nenhum dos inquiridos considerou qualquer dos tópicos do curso em química orgânica como "importante" para a atividade clínica dos fisioterapeutas. O objetivo do estudo foi completamente cumprido, e pode-se concluir que são necessários estudos futuros envolvendo um maior número de entrevistados nesta e em outras universidades, desse jeito se gerarão mais resultados para uma boa articulação curricular.

Asociación entre obesidad y cáncer de ovario / Association between obesity and ovarian cancer

Obesity is a risk factor for cancer. Epidemiological evidences associate ovarian cancer with obesity. Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most common type of ovarian cancer and accounts for a high rate of mortality. The association between ovarian cancer and obesity could be explained by molecular factors secreted by adipose tissue such as leptin. In EOC, leptin increases cell proliferation and inhibits apoptosis. Additionally, adipose tissue synthesizes endogenous estrogens, which increase cell proliferation of epithelial ovarian cells. Also, obesity associated hyperinsulinism could increase ovarian estrogen secretion.