Increased abdominal fat mass and high fat consumption in young school children with congenital heart disease: results from a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: We have previously found that infants with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) experience growth failure despite high-energy dietary supplementation. This is a follow-up and comparison with healthy controls at 9 years of age regarding body composition and macronutrient intake, especially in relationship to the diet provided during infancy. METHODS: Anthropometric changes in 10 children with CHD at 12 months and at 4 and 9 years of age were analysed as Z-scores. To assess body composition and food intake at 9 years of age, a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan and a 3-day food diary were completed and compared with age- and gender-matched controls using Wilcoxon's signed-rank test for matched pairs. RESULTS: Growth changes from 12 months to 9 years, converted to Z-scores for weight for height and height for age, were significantly different within the group of children with complex CHD, although no growth differences were seen in comparison with healthy controls at 9 years of age. However, the children with CHD had statistically higher abdominal fat mass index and higher daily intake of fat, particularly from saturated fatty acid in g kg-1 compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: At 9 years of age, children with complex CHD with growth failure and high fat intake in infancy have normalised growth but increased abdominal fat mass and higher intake of saturated fatty acid compared to their peers. Nutritional monitoring in early childhood may detect unhealthy diet quality and prevent later health risks in this group.

Growth performance, carcass criteria, and serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens supplemented with either synbiotic or prebiotic under hot climatic conditions.

1. Two separate experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of either prebiotic or synbiotic on growth performance, carcass yield, organ weights, and serum metabolic profile of broilers under hot climatic conditions. 2. In experiment 1, 150 1-d-old Ross 308 male broiler chickens were fed dietary synbiotic (Biomin® IMBO, 0, 1 or 1.5 g kg-1 of the starter diets and 0, 0.5 or 0.75 g kg-1 of the grower diets) for 6 weeks. In experiment 2, 150 1-d-old Ross 308 male broiler chickens were fed dietary prebiotic (Mannan oligosaccharide 0, 0.5 or 1 g kg-1 of the starter diets and 0, 0.25 or 0.5 g kg-1 of the grower diets) for 6 weeks. Each treatment had 10 replicates containing 5 broiler chickens each. 3. Supplementation of synbiotic at 1 or 1.5 g kg-1 feed to broiler diets during 1-21 d and 0.5 or 0.75 g kg-1 feed, respectively, during 22-42 d improved (P < 0.01) body weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and decreased (P < 0.01) abdominal fat, serum total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in experiment 1. 4. Similarly, supplementation of the prebiotic at 0.5 or 1 g kg-1 in broiler diets during 1-21 d and 0.25 or 0.50 g kg-1 feed, respectively, during 22-42 d improved (P < 0.01) body weight gain, FCR, and decreased (P < 0.01) abdominal fat, serum cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol levels in experiment 2.

Effects of Supplemental Chromium Source and Concentration on Growth, Carcass Characteristics, and Serum Lipid Parameters of Broilers Reared Under Normal Conditions.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary chromium (Cr) source and concentration on growth performance, carcass traits, and some serum lipid parameters of broilers under normal rearing conditions for 42 days. A total of 252 1-day-old Cobb 500 commercial female broilers were randomly allotted by body weight (BW) to one of six replicate cages (six broilers per cage) for each of seven treatments in a completely randomized design involved in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments with three Cr sources (Cr propionate (CrPro), Cr picolinate (CrPic), Cr chloride (CrCl3)) and two concentrations of added Cr (0.4 and 2.0 mg of Cr/kg) plus a Cr-unsupplemented control diet. The results showed that dietary Cr supplementation tended to increase the breast muscle percentage compared with the Cr-unsupplemented control group (P = 0.0784), while Cr from CrPic tended to have higher breast muscle percentage compared with Cr from CrCl3 (P = 0.0881). Chromium from CrPic also tended to increase the breast intramuscular fat (IMF) compared with Cr from CrCl3 (P = 0.0648). In addition, supplementation of 0.4 mg/kg Cr tended to decrease low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (P = 0.0614). Compared with the control group, broilers fed Cr-supplemented diets had higher triglyceride (TG) (P = 0.0129) regardless of Cr source and Cr concentration. Chromium from CrPro and CrPic had lower total cholesterol (TC) compared with Cr from CrCl3 (P = 0.0220). These results indicate that dietary supplementation of Cr has effects on carcass characteristics and serum lipid parameters of broilers under normal rearing conditions, while supplementation of organic Cr can improve carcass characteristics and reduce the cholesterol content in serum.

The modification of the muscle fatty acid profile by dietary supplementation with Aspergillus awamori in broiler chickens.

The present study was conducted to show that dietary supplementation with a fungus, Aspergillus awamori, modifies muscle fatty acid profiles in broiler chickens. A total of thirty chicks, selected from a group of 100 chicks aged 15 d, were divided into a control group and two treatment groups (ten birds per treatment). The control group was fed a basal diet, and the treatment groups were fed basal diets supplemented with A. awamori at levels of 0·05 and 0·2 %. From the start of the study at 15 d, the birds were raised for an additional 12 d, and growth and the muscle fatty acid profile were evaluated. Although feed intake was decreased by the fungus, body-weight gain and breast muscle weight were increased, and thus, feed efficiency was improved. Abdominal fat and plasma cholesterol and TAG were decreased, while plasma HDL-cholesterol and breast muscle fat content were increased. Interestingly, muscle α-tocopherol content was increased and muscle thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances were decreased by A. awamori. Furthermore, there was an observed decrease in SFA and an increase in unsaturated fatty acids in the muscle fat due to the fungus feeding. The mRNA of fatty acid synthase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase and Δ-6 desaturase in the muscle were all increased, while the mRNA of 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase and carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1A were decreased by the fungus. In conclusion, the present study clearly shows that the muscle lipid profile could be modified by the addition of A. awamori to the diet.

Dietary long-chain inulin reduces abdominal fat but has no effect on bone density in growing female rats.

New strategies to improve Ca absorption and bone health are needed to address the current state of osteoporosis prevention and management. Inulin-type fructans have shown great promise as a dietary intervention strategy, but have not yet been tested in a young female model. Our objective was to investigate the effect of long chain (LC) inulin on bone mineralization and density in growing, female rats, as well as the quality of growth. Weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to inulin or cellulose treatments for either 4 or 8 weeks. Growth was measured weekly and quality of growth assessed using fat pad weights and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Whole body (WB) and selected regions were analysed for bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition by DXA. Serum markers of bone turnover were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Ca and P concentrations were determined in excised femurs by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. Feeding inulin resulted in 4 % higher femoral weight (adjusted for body weight) and 6 % less feed intake. Inulin did not affect WB or regional BMD, but was associated with a 28 % lower parametrial fat pad mass, 21 % less WB fat mass and 5 % less WB mass. In summary, LC-inulin lowered body fat mass, without consequence to bone density in growing female rats.