METHODS: In this study, the rats were randomly divided into six groups i.e., (1) Normal Diet (ND); (2) Normal Diet and 175 mg/kgBW of EECCL (ND + 175 mg/kgBW); (3) Normal Diet and 350 mg/kgBW of EECCL (ND + 350 mg/kgBW); (4) High Fat Diet (HFD); (5) High Fat Diet and 175 mg/kgBW of EECCL (HFD + 175 mg/kgBW); (6) High Fat Diet and 350 mg/kgBW of EECCL (HFD + 350 mg/kgBW). The anti-obesity potential was evaluated through analyses of changes in body weight, visceral fat weight, and blood biochemicals including total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), leptin, insulin, adiponectin, ghrelin and fecal fat content. In addition, metabolite profiling of EECCL was carried out using NMR spectroscopy.

Methods: A purposive design in combination with a convenience sampling approach was used to recruit 24 women ages 26 to 55 of Malay, Indian, and Chinese descent across 15 university departments in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Audio recordings of the individual semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analyzed using grounded theory.

Results: Women identified two important life transitions, getting married and having children, as particularly influential in changing eating behavior. Women reported a desire to eat healthier that was in tension with pressures to cater to the taste preferences of their household members and to accommodate their work schedules. Persistent social norms of eating in group settings and difficulty in accessing foods perceived as nutritious were reported as barriers to changing individual eating behavior. Regardless of education level and marital status, women agreed that the act of eating was closely connected with cultural values and embodied important meanings that took precedence over eating as a health-promoting behavior. While all participants expressed a desire to eat healthier, many reported limited confidence in their ability to consistently give up familiar and tasty foods for healthier alternatives. Shifts in eating behavior such as trying new healthy recipes and adopting a more restrictive diet were reported as most feasible and personally applicable after learning about a family member's declining health.

Conclusions: In this urban, multiethnic population, increasing the accessibility of nutritious foods and changing cultural perceptions of the relationship between food and nutrition may be important for enabling healthy eating behaviors.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study included adolescents aged 15-17 years from five randomly selected secondary schools in the Hulu Langat district of Selangor state, Malaysia. Waist circumference (WC) was measured at the midpoint between the lower margin of the last palpable rib and the top of the iliac crest. Information on sociodemographic data, dietary habits, physical activity levels and duration of sleep was obtained via interviewer-administered questionnaires. Participants' habitual food intake was determined using a 73-item Food Frequency Questionnaire.

RESULTS: Among 832 participants, 56.0% were girls; 48.4% were Malay, 40.5% Chinese, 10.2% Indian and 0.8% of other ethnic groups. Median age and WC were 16 (interquartile range [IQR] 15-16) years and 67.9 (IQR 63.0-74.6) cm, respectively. Overall prevalence of AO (> 90th percentile on the WC chart) was 11.3%. A higher proportion (22.4%) of Indian adolescents were found to have AO compared with Malay and Chinese adolescents. Logistic regression analysis showed that female gender (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 7.064, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.087-23.913; p = 0.002), Indian ethnicity (adjusted OR 10.164, 95% CI 2.182-47.346; p = 0.003), irregular meals (adjusted OR 3.193, 95% CI 1.043-9.774; p = 0.042) and increasing body mass index (BMI) (adjusted OR 2.867, 95% CI 2.216-3.710; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with AO.

METHODS: Forty-two female Sprage-Dawley rats were randomized into 7 groups (6 in each group). The ovariectomized (OVX) and OVX + 6%, 3%, and 1.5% EBN and OVX +estrogen groups were given standard rat chow alone, standard rat chow +6%, 3%, and 1.5% EBN, or standard rat chow +estrogen therapy (0.2mg/kg per day), respectively. The sham-operation group was surgically opened without removing the ovaries. The control group did not have any surgical intervention. After 12 weeks of intervention, blood samples were taken for serum estrogen, osteocalcin, and osteoprotegerin, as well as the measurement of magnesium, calcium abd zinc concentrations. While femurs were removed from the surrounding muscles to measure bone mass density using the X-ray edge detection technique, then collected for histology and estrogen receptor (ER) immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS: Ovariectomy altered serum estrogen levels resulting in increased food intake and weight gain, while estrogen and EBN supplementation attenuated these changes. Ovariectomy also reduced bone ER expression and density, and the production of osteopcalcin and osteorotegerin, which are important pro-osteoplastic hormones that promote bone mineraliztion and density. Conversely, estrogen and EBN increased serum estrogen levels leading to increased bone ER expression, pro-osteoplastic hormone production and bone density (all P<0.05).

Methods: Subjects' food intakes were calculated by using dietary history questionnaire and food frequency questionnaire for polyphenols. The subjects' mental health and cognitive status were measured by general health questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and Rey's auditory verbal learning test (RAVLT).

Results: More than 40% of middle-aged adults were identified as having signs of poor mental health. A total of 67.9% of the subjects had poor cognitive status according to RAVLT immediate recall. Hierarchical binary logistic regression indicated that fat intake was associated with somatic symptoms for both men [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.04; P < 0.05] and women (AOR = 1.06; P < 0.05). Intake of lignan (AOR = 1.071; P < 0.05) was associated with better RAVLT immediate recall among women. Additionally, high cholesterol (AOR = 3.14; P < 0.05) was associated with poor score of RAVLT delayed recall for women.

Methods: Mice (n = 48) were fed high-fat diet (HFD) for 25 weeks to induce obesity, after which half were maintained on HFD and half switched to low-fat diet (LFD)while they were given normal water (H2O) or 0.1% (w/v) SCE in water at week 0-4 which was increased to 1% (w/v) at week 5-9. Effects of treatment with SCE were compared between HFDH2O, HFDSCE, LFDH2O and LFDSCE groups. Respiratory exchange ratios (RER) were measured at weeks 0, 5 and 10. Food, water intake and body weight were measured weekly. Plasma lipid profile and organ weights were determined at week 10.

Results: SCE had significantly reduced RER at week 9 (P = 0.011). Food intake, body weight, and abdominal adipose tissue weight were not altered by SCE at weeks 5 and 10. However, significant increase in plasma and liver cholesterol (P < 0.050) was observed.