Were policies in Brazil effective to reducing trans fat from industrial origin in foods?

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To determine the trans fatty acids content of processed foods frequently consumed by adults living in a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after the enactment of a mandatory trans fatty acids labelling policy. METHODS Between February 2014 and January 2015, a specifically dietary questionnaire was completed by 107 adults to assess the frequency of processed foods consumption. The most commonly consumed products from the survey, including vegetable oils, margarine, biscuits, snacks, cheese bread (pão de queijo), french fries, cheeseburger and ice cream, were then analyzed for their trans fatty acids content using gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector. RESULTS Differences in the levels of trans fatty acids were observed among 22 products analyzed, considering that trans fatty acids content ranged between 0.0 g/100 g in samples of cream cracker biscuit 1 and olive oil to 0.83 g/100 g in samples of cheeseburger (fast food), 0.51 g/100 g in samples of frozen pão de queijo and 12.92 g/100 g in samples of chocolate sandwich cookies with cream filling 2. The overall trans fatty acids content of the different samples of margarine brands was 0.20 g/100 g for brand 1 and 0.0 g/100 g for brand 2. These data are significantly lower than those observed in a survey conducted in 2003, when the regulation had been enacted. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that Brazilian regulation is very likely implicated in the observed drop in trans fatty acids of the most processed foods but has yet to eliminate them, which reinforces the urgent need to revise the legislation, since a minimum amount of trans fat does not mean that the food product does not contain this type of fat.

Adipocitocinas: uma nova visão do tecido adiposo / Adipokines: a new view of adipose tissue

A identificação da leptina, hormônio secretado pelos adipócitos, cujo efeito sobre o sistema nervoso simpático e a função endócrina confere participação ativa no controle do dispêndio energético, bem como do apetite, acrescentou às funções do tecido adiposo no organismo humano o papel de órgão multifuncional, produtor e secretor de inúmeros peptídeos e proteínas bioativas, denominadas adipocitocinas. Alterações na quantidade de tecido adiposo, como ocorrem na obesidade, afetam a produção da maioria desses fatores secretados pelos adipócitos. Ainda que essas alterações estejam freqüentemente associadas às inúmeras disfunções metabólicas e ao aumento do risco de doenças cardiovasculares, permanece sob investigação o envolvimento do tecido adiposo no desenvolvimento dessas complicações, considerada a sua função endócrina. As concentrações de várias adipocitocinas elevam-se na obesidade e têm sido relacionadas à hipertensão (angiotensinogênio), ao prejuízo da fibrinólise (inibidor do ativador de plasminogênio-1) e à resistência à insulina (proteína estimuladora de acilação, fator de necrose tumoral-alfa, interleucina-6 e resistina). De outro modo, leptina e adiponectina têm efeitos sobre a sensibilidade à insulina. Na obesidade, a resistência insulínica também está relacionada à resistência à leptina e aos teores plasmáticos reduzidos de adiponectina. Leptina e adiponectina ainda exercem efeitos orgânicos adicionais distintos: frente à participação da leptina no controle da ingestão alimentar, a adiponectina apresenta potente ação anti-aterogênica. Algumas drogas utilizadas no controle do diabetes elevam a produção endógena de adiponectina, em roedores e humanos, indicando que o desenvolvimento de novos medicamentos com alvo nas adipocitocinas pode representar uma alternativa terapêutica de prevenção da resistência insulínica e da aterosclerose em indivíduos obesos.

Leptin is a hormone secreted by adipocytes whose effect on the sympathetic nervous system and endocrine function confers active participation in the control of energy expenditure and appetite. Its identification added to the fat tissues in the human body the role of a multifunctional organ that produces and secretes a number of bioactive peptides and proteins, called adipocytokines. Changes in the amount of fat tissue, such as the ones that occur in obesity, affect the production of most of these factors secreted by adipocytes. Even if these changes are frequently associated with many metabolic disorders and increased risk for cardiovascular diseases, the role of fat tissue in the development of these complications, considered its endocrine function, continue to be investigated. The concentration of various adipocytokines increase in obesity and have been associated with hypertension (angiotensinogen), fibrinolysis impairment (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1) and insulin resistance (protein that stimulates acylation, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukine-6 and resistin). On the other hand, leptin and adiponectin affect insulin sensitivity. In obesity, insulin resistance is also associated with leptin resistance and reduced plasma levels of adiponectin. Leptin and adiponectin still have complementary and distinct organic functions: adiponectin has potent antiatherogenic activity while leptin participates in the control of food intake. Some medications used to control diabetes increase adiponectin production in rodents and humans, suggesting that the development of new medications that target the adipocytokines can represent a new therapeutic alternative to prevent insulin resistance and atherosclerosis in obese individuals.