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Chocolate not linked to diabetes risk
Dr Emma Derbyshire PhD RNutr (Public Health) Nutritional Insight Ltd
Previous studies have shown that cocoa and chocolate may help to reduce diabetes risk. Now, a new paper has looked into whether chocolate eating is associated with the diagnosis of diabetes. Researchers examined data relating to the chocolate consumption of 18,235 non diabetic participants from the Physicians Health Study. Participants were questioned annually over a 14-year period to establish their chocolate eating habits and whether they had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Study findings showed that younger and healthy weight men who ate chocolate had lower rates of diabetes (p<0.05). These results indicate that, when eaten as part of a healthy and balanced diet, chocolate-eating is unlikely to cause diabetes. That said, randomised trials are also needed to reconfirm these findings. For more information see Matsumoto C and Petrone AB et al (2015). The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 101(2), pg 362-367.
Families’ perceptions of soft drinks
Sugary drinks are a popular choice amongst school age children, yet have been linked to obesity. Now, some new research that took place in Switzerland has looked at how sugary drinks are perceived by adults and children from a health perspective. Researchers asked 100 school-age boys, girls and one of their parents to rate 20 different soft drinks from ‘healthy’ to ‘unhealthy’ using a set of descriptors to rank healthiness. Sugar content, artificial sweeteners, fruit content and caffeine content were found to be the main predictors of parents’ and children’s health perceptions, with parents and children’s perceptions being similar. That said, fruit content was considered to be more important by children, which may affect their health perceptions. Overall, this work shows that parents and children have similar health perceptions about soft drinks. It also highlights the importance of parents being major role models to their children, as their opinions and knowledge seem to be similarly reflected in children. For more information see Bucher T and Siegrist M (2015). British Journal of Nutrition, 113(03), pg 526-535.
Latest on pregnancy and weight gain
Dr Emma Derbyshire is a freelance nutritionist and former senior academic. Her interests include pregnancy and public health. www.nutritionalinsight.co.uk hello@nutritionalinsight.co.uk
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It is well known that what we eat in pregnancy can affect the health of the baby, but now there is evidence that weight gain in pregnancy also has its own implications. The Colorado pre-birth cohort study consisted of 826 women who delivered babies at or after 37 weeks of pregnancy. Maternal weight gain was measured in early, mid and late pregnancy and the fat composition of newborns was measured within three days of birth. Study findings showed that a 1.0kg/m2 increase in pregnancy body
NHDmag.com April 2015 - Issue 103
mass index was associated with increased neonatal fat mass, fat-free mass and percentage of body fat. Equally, each 0.1-kg/wk increase in predicted GWG was associated with increases in these parameters. Overall, authors concluded that maternal weight gain during pregnancy seems to be directly related to the body fat composition of newborns. For more information see Starling AP and Brinton JT et al (2015). The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 101(2), pg 302-309.
