Is fat taste associated with diet quality? A cross-sectional study conducted among Tunisian adults.

The Tunisian population has experienced a nutrition transition with an increase in the incidence of obesity. As obesity has been associated with a poor orosensory detection of fat. We hypothesized that poor fat detection could be a driver of poor diet quality. This study examined the association between linoleic acid (LA) detection and adherence to a healthy diet among adult participants. A total of 104 LA taster participants were recruited for this study. Dietary assessment was conducted using the 24 h dietary recall method. Diet quality was assessed by determining the Mediterranean diet (MD) score and Health diet indicator (HDI). The relationship between diet quality and log LA detection threshold was done using adjusted linear regression for age, sex, and daily energy intake (only in the fully adjusted model). The predictive margins model (interaction: anthropometric status x LA threshold) was used to assess the difference between non-obese and subjects with obesity adherence to MD across LA detection values. We have observed that the increase in the concentration of linoleic acid detection by 1 log(mmol/L) is associated with an increase of HDI score by 0.12-point [95% CI: 0.02-0.21] and a decrease of the MD score by -0.14-point [-0.25 to -0.03] in the partially adjusted model. However, only the MD score remained negatively associated with LA detection threshold in the fully adjusted model. The subjects with obesity adherence to the Mediterranean diet was lower than subjects with normal weight for LA concentration less than 0 log(mmol/L). The present study suggests that poor orosensory detection of dietary lipids might be a driver for worsening diet quality. Hence, These subjects might be at risk for obesity and, consequently, exposed cumulatively to the harmful effects of excess adiposity and an unhealthy diet.

Physical Activity Level Assessed by Accelerometer and PAQ-C in Tunisian Children.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) is an important agent in the prevention of chronic diseases such as obesity. OBJECTIVES: To provide preliminary data on PA among school children and to correlate the PA with weight status. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 40 children aged between 8 and 11 years and attending Tunisian schools were recruited. The body composition was determined by using the deuterium oxide dilution technique. PA was determined by the PAQ-C (PA Questionnaire for Older Children). An objective monitoring of PA and sedentary time was achieved by using ActiGraph GT3X + accelerometers. RESULTS: PAQ-C data demonstrate that 20% of the sample had light PA levels and 80% had moderate PA levels. Times spent in sedentary (62.37%) and light (30.80%) activities were higher than that spent in moderate and vigorous (6.83%) activities. Furthermore, almost half of the sample spent more than 60 min per day in moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA). The average MVPA was significantly higher in normal weight than overweight and obese groups (67.68 ± 20.98 vs. 49.07 ± 19.09, p = 0.007). The proportion of overweight children who spent more than 60 min per day in MVPA was significantly higher than that of normal-weight (60.9 vs. 29.4%; p = 0.049). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that half of school children comply with the health-based guidelines for PA and sedentary behavior. Our findings also suggest that obesity was associated with decrease in PA in Tunisian children.

Relationship of body mass index to percent body fat determined by deuterium isotopic dilution and impedancemetry among Tunisian schoolchildren.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the relation of body mass index (BMI) to fat mass among children by two techniques impedancemetry and deuterium oxide dilution (D2O). Methods: This study was carried out in 156 schoolchildren aged between 8 and 11 years. The children received interrogation specifying lifestyle and food habits. Body composition was determined using the impedancemetry and D2O technique. Results: The results showed a difference between the percentage of obese and overweight children according to BMIZ classification (30.1%), bioelectrical impedance method (14.7%) and D2O technique (42.9%). Despite the difference between the last two classifications, we found a significant correlation between body fat percentages determined by impedancemetry and D2O technique (r = 0.695, p<0.01). Bioelectrical impedance analysis underestimated %BF by 78.02% in overall children, by 70.05% in boys and by 84.73% in girls compared to D2O technique. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that the percentage of overweight and obesity varied according the methods used. Further development of body composition methods is needed in children for the real determination of the obesity prevalence and therefore a better monitoring of this public health problem.

Loss of Sour Taste Is the Striking Feature among Four Basic Taste Qualities in Tunisian COVID-19 Patients.

BACKGROUND: Taste disorders (TDs) have been reported to be very common in patients suffering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In most of the hitherto conducted studies, a gustatory assessment was performed on the basis of surveys or self-reports by patients. The aim of our study was to undertake an objective assessment of four basic taste qualities by conducting tasting sessions that allowed detection thresholds in COVID-19 Tunisian patients and to study their associations with inflammation. METHODS: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 89 patients aged between 21 to 70 years who had been diagnosed with COVID-19. We used Burghart taste strips to assess taste perception of the four taste qualities, i.e., sour, bitter, sweet, and salty. Serum levels of interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured. RESULTS: Taste disorders were reported by 40.4% of the patients, while objective assessments revealed that 63.8% of participants were suffering from hypogeusia and/or ageusia. Sour taste was the most altered (70.8%) gustatory quality. Patients with severe COVID-19 had significantly lower sour and bitter taste scores when compared to patients with minor/moderate forms. There was no significant association between serum inflammatory markers and taste disorders. However, the relationship between bitter and sweet taste qualities and IL-1ß levels was significant (p = 0.018 and p = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate the interest in the objective assessment of taste dysfunctions in COVID-19 patients.

Impact of sleeve gastrectomy on abnormalities in carbohydrate tolerance in obese adult.

INTRODUCTION: Facing the repeated failures of the medical management of obesity, bariatric surgery offers a promising therapeutic option in terms of achieving weight loss and metabolic benefits. AIM: To evaluate the impact of sleeve gastrectomy on the carbohydrate profile of a group of obese subjects. METHODS: It is a prospective study including 40 obese patients (7 Men and 33 Women) who underwent sleeve gastrectomy between 2016 and 2018. Clinical and biological parameters were collected before the intervention, at six months and one year after. Insulin resistance was defined by a HOMA-IR index ≥2.4. Remission of diabetes was determined using the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery's (ASMBS) criteria. RESULTS: The mean patients' age was 34.65 ± 8.17 years. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 50.23 ± 8.3 kg/m². One year after sleeve gastrectomy, the frequency of insulin resistance, decreased from 89% to 4% (p<0.05). The evolution of carbohydrate tolerance abnormalities was marked by the diabetes and prediabetes remission in 75% and 100% of cases, respectively. The mean excess weight loss was 55.8% at 12 months. CONCLUSION: These results have expanded our knowledge of the short-term sleeve gastrectomy's effectiveness on the carbohydrate profile of obese subjects. However, it would be interesting to check the durability of this metabolic benefit in the medium and long term.

Development and validation of impedance-based equations for the prediction of total body water and fat-free mass in children aged 8-11 years.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Accuracy of impedance analysis depends on population-specific prediction equations. The aim of this study was to propose new prediction equations to estimate body composition using impedance analysis for healthy Tunisian children and validate them using the deuterium oxide dilution (D2O) technique. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Body composition was estimated by the Tanita impedance analyzer. The validity of this system was investigated in 134 school children aged between 8 and 11 years. The validity of other published equations was also tested in our sample. Total body water (TBW) and Fat-Free Mass (FFM) were determined using the D2O technique. Participants were divided equally into development (n = 67) and validation groups (n = 67) to develop prediction equation using linear regression models. RESULTS: The comparison between body composition obtained by Tanita system and by D2O technique illustrated a significant difference (p < 0.01). Compared to D2O technique, Tanita impedance analysis underestimates fat mass and overestimates FFM and TBW. The prediction equations for TBW and FFM were developed with sex, age, weight and resistance index as possible predictor variables. The selected equations presented the highest adjusted coefficient of determination (R2), the lowest standard error of the estimate (SEE) value and the lowest p-values. The pure error was 1.263 for the TBW equation and 1.646 for the FFM. The Bland Altman plot illustrated the good level of concordance between the TBW and FFM predicted by the new equations and measured by isotope dilution. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides valid prediction equations for estimation of TBW, FFM from impedance analysis measures for Tunisian children. These equations are applicable to children aged between 8 and 11 years.

Orosensory detection of bitter in fat-taster healthy and obese participants: Genetic polymorphism of CD36 and TAS2R38.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We assessed orosensory detection of a long-chain fatty acid, linoleic acid (LA), and a bitter taste marker, 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), and correlated lipid-taster subjects with PROP detection and polymorphism in genes encoding bitter and lipid taste receptors, respectively, TAS2R38 and CD36, in normal weight and obese subjects. DESIGN: The normal weight (n = 52, age = 35.3 ± 4.10 years, BMI = 23.22 ± 1.44 kg/m2) and obese (n = 52, age = 35.0 ± 5.43 years, BMI = 34.29 ± 5.31 kg/m2) participants were recruited to determine fat and bitter detection thresholds. The genomic DNA was used to determine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of CD36 (rs1761667) and TAS2R38 (rs1726866 and rs10246939). RESULTS: The study included the participants who could detect LA, i.e., lipid-tasters. There was a positive correlation between BMI and detection thresholds for fat and bitter taste in normal weight and obese subjects. Obese participants showed a positive correlation between LA and PROP detection thresholds. PROP detection thresholds were higher for CD36 SNP (rs1761667) and TAS2R38 SNPs (rs1726866 and rs10246939) in obese participants compared to normal weight subjects. LA detection thresholds were not high for CD36 SNP (rs1761667) or TAS2R38 SNP (rs1726866 and rs10246939) in obese participants. CONCLUSIONS: Orosensory detection thresholds for fat and bitter taste are associated with BMI, and CD36 and TAS2R38 genotypes are not always associated with taste phenotypes.