Can Diet Alter the Intestinal Barrier Permeability in Healthy People? A Systematic Review.

Dietary factors can modify the function of the intestinal barrier, causing permeability changes. This systematic review analyzed evidence on the link between diet or dietary interventions and changes in intestinal barrier permeability (IBP) in healthy individuals. A systematic search for primary studies was conducted using the virtual databases EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Scopus. This review adhered to PRISMA 2020 guidelines, assessing the methodological quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for observational studies and ROB 2.0 for randomized clinical trials. Out of 3725 studies recovered, 12 were eligible for review. Chicory inulin and probiotics reduced IBP in adults with a moderate GRADE level of evidence. The opposite result was obtained with fructose, which increased IBP in adults, with a very low GRADE level of evidence. Only intervention studies with different dietary components were found, and few studies evaluated the effect of specific diets on the IBP. Thus, there was no strong evidence that diet or dietary interventions increase or decrease IBP in healthy individuals. Studies on this topic are necessary, with a low risk of bias and good quality of evidence generated, as there is still little knowledge on healthy populations.

Amateur ballet practicing, body image and eating behaviors: a comparative study of classical ballet dancers, gym users and sedentary women.

BACKGROUND: Ballet dancers are a risk group for body image (BI) distortion, dissatisfaction and eating disorders (ED), but few studies have investigated these aspects in amateur adult practitioners. This study aimed to evaluate if amateur female adult classical ballet dancers presented different BI and behaviors for ED than gym users and sedentary women. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study where classical ballet dancers (n = 19) were compared to gym users (n = 19) and sedentary women (n = 19). Body mass index (BMI) was assessed, and a figure rating scale was applied to assess BI distortion/dissatisfaction. The body shape questionnaire (BSQ) was used to measure BI concern. The eating attitudes test (EAT-26) and the bulimic investigatory test, Edinburgh (BITE) were used for behaviors toward anorexia and bulimia. RESULTS: BMI was significantly lower in ballet dancers than gym users and sedentary women (F, p = .04). BI distortion did not differ among the studied groups. BI dissatisfaction was lower (X2, p = .041) in ballet dancers (75.0%) and gym users (70.6%) compared to sedentary women (100%). Correspondence analysis showed ballet dancers were mostly not concerned with BI, which was not observed among the other groups. The EAT-26 did not differ between the studied groups. The BITE score was lower (Tukey's post hoc test, p = .005) in the ballet dancers [mean 5.3 (5.6)] compared to the sedentary women [mean 10.9 (4.8)]. CONCLUSIONS: Data suggest that amateur classical ballet practicing is associated to better BI and fewer behaviors for ED in the studied population. The lower BMI in ballet dancers might explain these findings, and further studies should explore these associations.