Obesity and Healthy Eating Habits

Obesity is a growing problem, most prevalent in the developed countries, especially US. Children and adolescents are gaining weight at a fast pace as compared to their parents. Although, it is very complicated to exactly know the cause of obesity, its risk factors, its prevention in different populations, yet, it has been observed that changes in life style and particularly in eating habits has contributed to an increased obesity incidence globally. These habits include eating junk food, synthetic and bakery products, increased hoteling, increased consumption of meat and unstaturated fats. If we compare the urban and rural regions at a global scale, we may come to know that Obesity and gastrointestinal problems are more prevalent in urban areas. It also indicates that these disorders are mostly attributed to bad eating habits and wrong choices of food which lack nutritional value but cause various disorders. Atleast 2 decades ago, when there was less digitalization and technological advancements, if people consumed high cholesterol diet or meat, they could digest it as they were physically very active. But in these days, there is less physical activity and our digestive systems cannot digest such food. Moreover, junk food may contribute to obesity. No doubt genetics may also has some role which cannot be denied but the modifiable risk factors can be controlled, monitored and may prevent such disorders. However, global investigations in this regard are direly needed to know the dietary habits and patterns worldwide, their effects in different populations, so that policies may be devised and implemented. Parents are also not aware of a proper healthy pattern that meets the requirements of their children. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) Surveys and then awareness campaigns may play a positive role in this regard. Teaching healthy dietary patterns for different age groups at school level may also serve the purpose.

Characterization and Bioevaluation of Inulin Based Designer Food

Instant research was conducted to explore the fat replacing functionality of inulin in cakes and to highlight its therapeutic potential against hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia. Purposely, inulin was extracted from chicory roots and Jerusalem artichoke tubers and its various physicochemical attributes were assessed. The results revealed the inulin content as 90.95±2.43 and 93.76±3.21% for chicory roots and Jerusalem artichoke, respectively. Regarding techno-functional attributes, chicory inulin exhibited more solubility (118.67±3.26g/L) than Jerusalem artichoke inulin (4.62±0.18g/L). Moreover, reported values for oil holding capacity for both the inulin were 1.51±0.02g/g (chicory) and 4.95±1.13g/g (Jerusalem artichoke). Afterwards, extracted inulin was used as a fat replacer in cakes. Purposely, eleven types of cakes were prepared by varying the concentration of chicory inulin (T1 to T5) and Jerusalem artichoke inulin (T6 to T10) @ 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% along with control (T0). The results of cake batter illustrated that viscosity decreased with increasing concentration of inulin and the highest reported value (11324.64±226.92cP) for this trait was observed in T0 (control) whereas, lowest value (6311.13±124.23cP) was recorded in T5 (50% chicory inulin). On the other hand, batter density increased from 1.04g/cm3 in control to 1.19 g/cm3 in T5 containing 50% chicory inulin. Regarding cake volume, highest reported value was 539.53±18.46cm3 (control). An inverse relationship was observed between water loss and increased inulin concentration. Lightness for both the crust and crumb decreased with higher doses of inulin. Treatments based on acceptability scores were selected to be used in bioefficacy trial involving normal, hypercholesterolemic and hyperglycemic rats referred as study I, study II and study III, respectively. All the studies were subdivided into three groups and correspondingly three types of diets were prepared such as control (G0), diet containing chicory inulin (G1) and diet containing Jerusalem artichoke inulin (G2). In bioefficacy trial, inulin proved effective in managing the cholesterol level. Highest reduction in cholesterol levels was attained in study II (hypercholesterolemia) as 11.60% for G1 and 11.20% for G2. Likewise, more reduction in LDL levels was observed in hypercholesterolemic rats (study II). An up surge of 5.99% and 7.47% in HDL levels was observed in G2 (Jerusalem artichoke inulin containing diet) and G1 (chicory inulin containing diet) in hypercholesterolemic rats. A noticeable decline in triglycerides levels was also witnessed in study II with the administration of functional diets when compared to control and the percent reduction recorded was 17.0% (G1) and 14.66% (G2). Furthermore, serum glucose levels expressed a significant decline i.e. 9.52% and 10.42% in study III by G1 and G2, respectively. In hyperglycemic rats, an upsurge of 7.12% and 6.09% in insulin levels was observed for G1 and G2, respectively. Besides, kidney and liver functioning parameters were also improved by inulin based diet in comparison to control diet. Fecal pH was determined and reduction was observed in inulin fed groups in comparison to control. Conclusively, it has been explored that chicory roots and Jerusalem artichoke tubers can be used as therapeutic ingredients due to the presence of health promoting moieties such as inulin which can be tailored to develop various food formulations in order to attenuate the lifestyle related disorders.