Lack of a Synergistic Effect on Cardiometabolic and Redox Markers in a Dietary Supplementation with Anthocyanins and Xanthophylls in Postmenopausal Women.

Fruits and vegetables are pivotal for a healthy diet due partly to their content in bioactive compounds. It is for this reason that we conducted a parallel study to unravel the possible effect on cardiometabolic parameters of the ingestion of anthocyanins, xanthophylls, or both groups of bioactives together in postmenopausal women. Seventy-two postmenopausal women were randomized into an 8-month parallel study: a group consuming 60 mg/day anthocyanins (Group A), a group consuming 6 mg lutein and 2 mg zeaxanthin per day (Group X), and a third group consuming a combination of anthocyanins and xanthophylls in the same amounts (Group A+X). Non-targeted metabolomic analysis was done in plasma samples at baseline and after the 8-month intervention by HPLC-QTOF-MS. Inflammatory, antioxidant, and cardiometabolic parameters were measured at the beginning of the study and after 4 and 8-months intervention. Compared with baseline values, none of the 8-month treatments significantly (p < 0.05) changed systolic or diastolic blood pressure (BP), plasma C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 or matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9. Only plasma glucose levels were significantly decreased by treatment A+X after 8 months, and the plasma metabolomic profile was clearly affected by all three dietary supplementations after 8 months. In parallel, there was an increase, also for the three groups, in the plasma ferric reducing antioxidant power value that did not show any synergistic effect between the two groups of bioactives. Postmenopausal women could benefit from an increase in anthocyanins and xanthophylls intake, through the consumption of fruits and vegetables rich in these two types of compounds. Accordingly, plasma glucose and, above all, the reducing power in plasma, could be improved.

Association between excessive body fat and eating-disorder risk in adolescents: the AFINOS Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Overweight and obesity, together with eating disorders, are important public health concerns in adolescence. The aim of this study was to assess the association between excessive body fat and the risk of eating disorders. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: The sample consisted of 195 adolescents (97 girls) aged 13 to 18 years. Eating-disorder risk was evaluated by applying the SCOFF questionnaire. Body mass index, sum of 6 skinfolds, waist and hip circumferences and waist-hip and waist-height ratios were used to assess body fat. RESULTS: 24.7% of girls and 17.3% of boys were at risk of eating disorders, and 31.6% of boys and 21.6% of girls presented overweight (including obesity) according to Cole's cut-off points. Those adolescents classified above the 85th percentile on all the anthropometric measurements, as well as overweight adolescents, were at increased risk of developing an eating disorder (OR: 2.8-4.30, all p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Regardless of the anthropometric measurements used, adolescents with excessive body fat showed a higher risk of having eating disorders than those with normal weight.