Review of policies to increase fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity in 49 low- and middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate physical activity (PA) and consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) are known risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Consequently, the World Health Organization (WHO) encourages the development of policies to increase PA and FV consumption. We reviewed available policies between 2004 and 2013 to increase FV consumption and PA from a convenience sample of 49 LMICs. METHOD: Information on national policies were obtained from government ministries involved with the formulation of nutrition and PA policies, WHO databases and from PubMed and Scopus. RESULTS: Of the 49 countries, 57% had policies to increase FV consumption, and 76% had policies to promote PA. Policy reviews indicated strategies that focus on schools, communities, the general public, the environment, the economy, mass media and WHO recommendations. Of the 28 countries with FV policies, 18% had formulated policies that met the WHO recommendations for daily intake of FV. Likewise, of the 37 countries with PA policies, 24% had policies that promoted the WHO recommendations for daily PA. CONCLUSION: Greater progress has been made in developing policies to increase PA compared to policies to increase FV consumption in low- and middle-income countries. However, most countries are still lagging behind in developing policies to meet the WHO recommendations.

Quantifying Interparticle Forces and Heterogeneity in 3D Granular Materials.

Interparticle forces in granular materials are intimately linked to mechanical properties and are known to self-organize into heterogeneous structures, or force chains, under external load. Despite progress in understanding the statistics and spatial distribution of interparticle forces in recent decades, a systematic method for measuring forces in opaque, three-dimensional (3D), frictional, stiff granular media has yet to emerge. In this Letter, we present results from an experiment that combines 3D x-ray diffraction, x-ray tomography, and a numerical force inference technique to quantify interparticle forces and their heterogeneity in an assembly of quartz grains undergoing a one-dimensional compression cycle. Forces exhibit an exponential decay above the mean and partition into strong and weak networks. We find a surprising inverse relationship between macroscopic load and the heterogeneity of interparticle forces, despite the clear emergence of two force chains that span the system.

Phytoestrogens and breast cancer: a complex story.

Genistein is an isoflavone with oestrogenic activity that is present in a variety of soy products as a constituent of complex mixtures of bioactive compounds, whose matrix profiles play an important role in determining the overall oestrogenic bioactivity of genistein. We review data on how the profile of soy bioactive compounds can modulate genistein-stimulated oestrogen-dependent tumour growth. Our research has focused on the effects of dietary genistein on the growth of oestrogen (E)-dependent mammary tumours both in vitro and in vivo. Genistein enhances the proliferation of E-dependent human breast cancer tumour growth. In a similar manner, dietary genistein stimulates tumour growth in the chemically-induced (NMU) mammary cancer rodent model. Genistin, the glycoside of genistein, simulates growth similar to that of genistein and withdrawal of either genistein or genistin results in tumour regression. The extent of soy processing modulates the effects of dietary genistein in vivo as soy protein isolate, a highly purified and widely used source of protein that is processed to contain low, medium, and high amounts of isoflavones, stimulate the growth of the E-dependent mammary tumours in a dose dependent manner. In contrast to the more purified diets, studies with soy flour of equivalent genistein levels did not stimulate the growth of E-dependent breast cancer tumours in vivo. However, the size of these tumours also did not regress as is observed in control groups in which oestrogen and genistein have been withdrawn. The expression of the oestrogen-target genes of pS2, progesterone receptor, and cyclin D1 correlates with the growth of E-dependent tumours and has been consistently observed to be induced in response to treatment with dietary genistein. To evaluate whether dietary genistein interacts with current anti-oestrogen breast cancer therapies such as tamoxifen (TAM), we implanted E-dependent tumours into ovariectomized athymic mice and administered oestradiol, oestradiol plus TAM, or oestradiol, TAM, and dietary genistein. In these studies dietary genistein was able to negate the inhibitory effect of TAM on E-stimulated tumour growth. In summary, genistein can act as an oestrogen agonist resulting in proliferation of E-dependent human breast cancer tumours in vivo and its activity can be modulated by the presence of other bioactive components in complex soy foods. Additionally, dietary genistein can negate the inhibitory effects of TAM on E-stimulated growth of MCF-7 cell tumours implanted into ovariectomized athymic mice.