Influence of exclusive breastfeeding on hippocampal structure, satiety responsiveness, and weight status.

Longer exclusive breastfeeding duration has been associated with differences in neural development, better satiety responsiveness, and decreased risk for childhood obesity. Given hippocampus sensitivity to diet and potential role in the integration of satiety signals, hippocampus may play a role in these relationships. We conducted a secondary analysis of 149, 7-11-year-olds (73 males) who participated in one of five studies that assessed neural responses to food cues. Hippocampal grey matter volume was extracted from structural scans using CAT12, weight status was assessed using age- and sex-adjusted body mass index (%BMIp85 ), and parents reported exclusive breastfeeding duration and satiety responsiveness (Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire). Separate path models for left and right hippocampus tested: (1) the direct effect of exclusive breastfeeding on satiety responsiveness and its indirect effect through hippocampal grey matter volume; (2) the direct effect of hippocampal grey matter volume on %BMIp85 and its indirect effect through satiety responsiveness. %BMIp85 was adjusted for maternal education, yearly income, and premature birth while hippocampal grey matter volume was adjusted for total intercranial volume, age, and study from which data were extracted. Longer exclusive breastfeeding duration was associated with greater bilateral hippocampal grey matter volumes. In addition, better satiety responsiveness and greater left hippocampal grey matter volume were both associated with lower %BMIp85 . However, hippocampal grey matter volumes were not associated with satiety responsiveness. Although no relationship was found between breastfeeding and child weight status, these results highlight the potential impact of exclusive breastfeeding duration on the hippocampal structure.

Brain response to food brands correlates with increased intake from branded meals in children: an fMRI study.

Food branding is ubiquitous, however, not all children are equally susceptible to its effects. The objectives of this study were to 1) determine whether food brands evoke differential response than non-food brands in brain areas related to motivation and inhibitory control using blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and 2) determine the association between brain response and energy intake at test-meals presented with or without brands. Twenty-eight 7-10 year-old children completed four visits as part of a within-subjects design where they consumed three multi-item test-meals presented with familiar food brands, novel food brand, and no brand. On the fourth visit an fMRI was performed where children passively viewed food brands, non-food brands and control images. A whole-brain analysis was conducted to compare BOLD response between conditions. Pearson's correlations were calculated to determine the association between brain response and meal intake. Relative to non-food brands, food brand images were associated with increased activity in the right lingual gyrus. Relative to control, food and non-food brand images were associated with greater response in bilateral fusiform gyri and decreased response in the cuneus, precuneus, lingual gyrus, and supramarginal gyrus. Less activation in the bilateral fusiform gyrus to both food and non-food brands was associated with greater energy intake of the branded vs unbranded meal. These findings may help explain differences in the susceptibility to the intake-promoting effects of food advertising in children.

Increasing flavor variety with herbs and spices improves relative vegetable intake in children who are propylthiouracil (PROP) tasters relative to nontasters.

American children do not meet the recommended daily servings of vegetables, and previous research suggests children who can taste the bitterness of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) are more likely to have low vegetable intake. This study tested the hypothesis that adding multiple herb and spice blends to vegetables to increase flavor variety within a meal would increase vegetable intake in 3-5year-old children. Children attended two laboratory visits and consumed two test meals of common foods: macaroni and cheese, applesauce, carrots, milk, and water. On one visit, the meal included three servings of carrots with different herb and spice blends (Variety condition). On the other visit, all three servings of carrots were seasoned with the same herb and spice blend (No Variety condition). Overall, children consumed similar amounts of carrots by condition (36.5±40.5g versus 35.9±43.8g at the Variety and No Variety conditions, respectively); however, this relationship was moderated by PROP status. Children who tasted PROP as bitter (tasters) consumed a greater proportion of carrots during the Variety condition relative to nontasters (p=0.03). These findings suggest that children who taste PROP as bitter may be more receptive than nontasters to manipulations that increase flavor-variety of vegetables using herbs and spices.