Features of Food, Diet and Obesity:

• summarizes key research which links diet and obesity
• trends in obesity are examined
• contributory factors to obesity are investigated, including lifestyle and genetics
• looks at developing effective weight control strategies
• written by a distinguished team of international experts

Part 1 looks at the range of contributing factors to obesity, from nutrient-gene interactions, energy metabolism and physical activity to sensory responses to food, portion size and the psychology of overeating.

Part 2 looks at macronutrients and their role in weight gain or loss, with chapters on topics such as energy density, dietary fat, carbohydrates, protein and dietary fibre.

Part 3 discusses issues in developing effective strategies for weight control, from gaining consumer acceptance of weight-control food products, through functional food ingredients, to community-based public health approaches in preventing obesity.

Contents

Global trends in obesity

• Trends in obesity
• Dietary changes: more fat, more added caloric sweeteners, more animal source foods
• Changes in physical activity: work, leisure, home and travel
• Some key causes of change

Part 1: Contributing Factors

Nutrient–gene interactions contributing to the development of obesity

• Genetic influences on obesity
• Nutrient-sensitive genes
• Interactions between genetic background and diets
• Managing obesity: dietary and other strategies

Energy metabolism and obesity

• How to measure energy expenditure
• Major components of daily expenditure
• Interaction between energy intake and physical activity
• Energy expenditure at different ages
• Energy expenditure and balance in obesity
• Producing a negative energy balance in obese subjects

Physical activity and obesity

• Activity-induced energy expenditure and obesity
• Activity types, level and obesity
• The role of activity in weight loss programs
• Physical activity, physical fitness and weight maintenance
• Implications and recommendations for physical activity and weight management

Infant nutrition and adult obesity

• Trends in children’s diets as a factor in obesity
• Obesity and chronic disease risk in children and adolescents
• Increased body fat and health risk in children
• Nutrition-based prevention and treatment of obesity and related disease risk
• Summary and implications: multiple targets for treatment and prevention

The psychology of overeating

• Historical overview
• Modern theories of overeating and its causes
• Types of overeating
• Implications for reducing obesity

Sensory responses, food acceptance and obesity

• Sensory perception, preference and food intake
• Changing sensory responses to food intake
• Sensory perception and preference of food by obese consumers
• Making weight control foods more attractive to consumers

Portion size and food intake

• The growth in portion sizes
• Studies showing that portion size effects energy intake
• Eating out and portion size
• Portion size, energy intake and obesity
• Strategies to moderate the influence of portions size on energy intake
• The future: the eating environment and obesity

Part 2: Macronutrient Influences on Weight Loss

Energy density and weight control

• Definitions
• Influence of diet composition on energy density
• Relationships between food composition, energy density and energy intake
• Relationship between obesity, food choice and energy density
• Energy density and learned aspects of satiety
• Energy density in the context of other influences on intake
• Implications for the global food industry and public health strategies

Dietary fat and weight control

• Dietary fat and obesity: epidemiological studies
• Dietary fat and obesity: cohort studies
• Mechanisms linking dietary fat and weight gain
• Low-fat diets and weight loss

Carbohydrates, glycemic responses and weight control

• The glycemic index (GI): definition and methodological issues
• Factors affecting the glycemic index of foods
• Glucose response and chronic disease
• GI foods, food intake and weight control

Protein intake and weight control

• Protein intake and satiety
• Protein intake and energy intake
• Short and long term studies of protein intake and its effects
• Very low carbohydrate, high protein diets
• Safety of high protein diets

Alcohol, energy balance and obesity

• Drinking patterns
• Links between moderate alcohol ingestion and body weight
• Alcohol and energy intake
• Alcohol and body composition

The use of fat replacers for weight loss and control

• Types of fat replacers
• The role of fat replacers in weight loss

Intense sweeteners and sugar replacers in the regulation of food intake and body weight

• Intense sweeteners, sugar replacers and weight control
• Caloric sugar replacers: sugar alcohols
• Non-caloric sugar replacers: high-intensity sweeteners

Dietary fibre and weight control

• Defining dietary fibre
• Defining obesity
• Dietary fibre and the treatment of obesity
• Dietary fibre and chronic diseases associated with obesity

Part 3: Commercial Strategies, Functional Targets and Agents in Weight Control

Consumer determinants and intervention strategies for obesity prevention

• Behavioural determinants of obesity
• Intervention strategies

Fat oxidation, appetite and weight control

• Inhibition of fatty acid oxidation and food intake
• Increased peripheral fatty acid oxidation and food intake
• Increased fatty acid oxidation in the brain
• Effects of changes in fatty acid oxidation on glucose tolerance

The use of very low calorie diets (VLCDs) and meal replacers for weight control

• Tailoring nutritional advice for weight control
• Physical activity approaches
• Behaviour modification
• Comparative weight loss with different nutrition approaches
• Very-low-calorie diets
• Low-calorie diet use
• Meal replacement use

The effectiveness of popular diets: an overview

• Weight control practices amongst consumers
• Criteria for evaluating weight loss programs
• Evaluating the main types of weight management program
• Physical activity and weight loss programs
• Delivery methods used in weight loss programs

Calcium and obesity

• Possible mechanisms linking calcium/dairy intake and body weight regulation
• Epidemiological studies
• Randomized trials in humans
• Human metabolic studies
• Gaps in the literature and directions for future research

Community-based approaches to prevent obesity

• What has worked in other public health epidemics? Elements in a community-based approach to obesity prevention
• Evaluating community-based projects for obesity prevention

Behavioural and metabolic targets for the prevention and control of obesity

• Controlling energy intake through eating behaviour
• Satiety
• The effects of conjugated linoleic acid and other ingredients on energy efficiency and body composition
• Energy intake, expenditure and storage: a synthesis

A commercial R&D perspective on weight control foods

• Commercial approaches to weight control
• Formulating weight control products
• Efficacy testing of weight control products

Index

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