Greater perceived ability to form vivid mental images in individuals with high compared to low BMI.

Obese individuals report more frequent food cravings than their lean counterparts. Since mental imagery plays a role in eliciting and maintaining craving we hypothesized that one's ability to image may be associated with body mass index (BMI) and account, at least in part, for the association between BMI and craving. Twenty-five participants (BMI range: 17.7 kg/m(2)-34.2 kg/m(2)) completed three measures of perceived mental imagery ability (The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, The Vividness of Olfactory Imagery Questionnaire, The Vividness of Food Imagery Questionnaire), and one measure of craving (Food-Craving Inventory). As predicted, correlation analyses revealed positive associations between BMI and perceived ability to image odors and foods, but not visual objects. Olfactory imagery was singled out as the best predictor of BMI in a hierarchical regression analysis. A second experiment with 57 participants (BMI range: 19.1 kg/m(2)-38.7 kg/m(2)) then confirmed the significant positive association between BMI and perceived ability to image odors. These results raise the possibility that imagery ability may play a role in the heightened food cue reactivity observed in obese individuals.

Nutritional and exercise-based interventions in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Disease pathogenesis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) involves a number of interconnected mechanisms all resulting in the rapid deterioration of motor neurons. The main mechanisms include enhanced free radical production, protein misfolding, aberrant protein aggregation, excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation and apoptosis. The aim of this review is to assess the efficacy of using nutrition- and exercise-related interventions to improve disease outcomes in ALS. METHODS: Studies involving nutrition or exercise in human and animal models of ALS were reviewed. RESULTS: Treatments conducted in animal models of ALS have not consistently translated into beneficial results in clinical trials due to poor design, lack of power and short study duration, as well as differences in the genetic backgrounds, treatment dosages and disease pathology between animals and humans. However, vitamin E, folic acid, alpha lipoic acid, lyophilized red wine, coenzyme Q10, epigallocatechin gallate, Ginkgo biloba, melatonin, Cu chelators, and regular low and moderate intensity exercise, as well as treatments with catalase and l-carnitine, hold promise to mitigating the effects of ALS, whereas caloric restriction, malnutrition and high-intensity exercise are contraindicated in this disease model. CONCLUSIONS: Improved nutritional status is of utmost importance in mitigating the detrimental effects of ALS.