This review paper provides an overview of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN’s) report ‘Feeding young children aged 1 to 5 years’. The purpose of the report was to (1) review the scientific basis of current recommendations for feeding children aged 1 to 5 years, (2) consider evidence on developmental stages and other factors that influence eating behaviour and diversification of the diet in the early years and (3) make recommendations for policy, practice and research. This report was based on a comprehensive assessment of the systematic review (SR) literature and also evidence provided by the Diet and Nutrition Survey of Infants and Young Children and the National Diet Nutrition Survey. Dietary survey data indicated that the diets of children aged 1 to 5 years in the UK did not meet current dietary recommendations for several nutrients. Intakes of energy, free sugars and protein exceeded recommendations, while dietary fibre intakes were below the recommended level for this age group. Children from lower socio-economic status households or from certain ethnic groups may be at risk of inadequate intakes of Fe, Zn, vitamin A and vitamin D. SR evidence indicated that in children aged 1 to 5 years, higher free sugars intake is associated with increased dental caries, higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with increased risk of overweight/obesity and higher child BMI is associated with higher risk of adult overweight/obesity. Based on the evidence, SACN has made recommendations to improve the diets of young children in the UK.

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is used when sufficient oral or enteral nutrition is not possible or feasible. Current guidelines provide limited practical guidance in emergency surgical patients, and the evidence is sparse. The EATERS trial aims to investigate the effect of early supplemental PN on postoperative infections in major emergency abdominal surgery patients. The EATERS trial is an investigator-initiated, multicentre, randomised controlled trial. The trial will include 342 adults with reduced oral intake after emergency abdominal surgery, randomising them in a 1:1 ratio to early or postponed supplemental PN. The intervention group (early) will receive supplemental PN starting on postoperative day (POD) 2 for up to five days. The control group (postponed) will receive standard care and, if oral intake remains insufficient, will begin supplemental PN on POD5 for up to five days. The primary outcome is the incidence of postoperative nosocomial infections during admission. Outcome assessors and the statistician will be blinded to the treatment allocation. The secondary outcomes include non-infectious complications during admission, length of stay, mortality risk at 30 and 90 d, energy and protein intake, serious adverse events and readmission risk within 30 and 90 d of surgery. Analyses will follow the intention-to-treat principle and logistic regression used for primary outcome analysis. The EATERS trial will provide novel insights into the timing of PN in a high-risk patient population. This protocol and statistical analysis plan will reduce bias and increase transparency in the conduct and analysis of the trial.

Phenolic compounds may reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, but evidence on inflammatory markers is limited. This study investigated associations between phenolic compounds intake and ten inflammatory markers in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). The cross-sectional analysis included participants from the full cohort (n 14 151) and a São Paulo subsample (n 681). Food intake was assessed using a semiquantitative FFQ, and phenolic content was estimated from Phenol-Explorer and Brazilian Food Composition Database. Logistic regression models compared the highest v. lowest tertiles of phenolic intake for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), glycoprotein acetylation (GlycA), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), E-selectin, transforming growth factor β1, TNF α, IL-6, IL-10, fibrinogen and leptin levels. Inflammatory markers were dichotomised as low (tertiles 1–2) or high (tertile 3), except hs-CRP (> 3 mg/l). Multiple testing was corrected using P < 0·0036. Mean age was 52·1 years for hs-CRP/GlycA and 45·6 years for other markers. Compared with T1, participants in T3 of total phenolics, phenolic acids and flavonoids had 14 %, 18 % and 18 % lower odds of elevated hs-CRP, respectively. For GlycA, higher intakes of phenolic acids, stilbenes and other phenolics were associated with 18–48 % lower odds of high levels (all P ≤ 0·003). Higher intake of hydroxybenzoic acids and stilbenes was associated with lower E-selectin levels, while phenolic acid intake showed an inverse association with MCP-1. No associations were observed for other markers. Higher intakes of phenolic compounds were associated with lower systemic inflammation, suggesting a role in preventing inflammation-related chronic diseases.

Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) is the principal biomarker for assessing iodine status; however, it is subject to marked fluctuations and practical challenges. This proof-of-concept study evaluated protein-corrected salivary iodide (SI/P) as a potential alternative biomarker, comparing it with spot UIC in distinguishing between iodine-deficient and iodine-adequate individuals, assessing its responsiveness to short-term dietary iodine restriction and exploring its correlation with 24 h urinary iodine excretion (UIE). Twenty-six participants were categorised into low-iodine (n 17) and high-iodine (n 9) groups based on 24 h UIE collected on Day-1. Postprandial spot urine and unstimulated saliva samples were collected under habitual diet (Day-1) and low-iodine diet (Day-2). SI/P was significantly higher in the high-iodine group at all time points on both Day-1 (post-breakfast [1-PB]: 61·28 v. 27·89 µg/g, P = 0·03; post-lunch [1-PL]: 71·03 v. 27·4 µg/g, P = 0·003; post-dinner [1-PD]: 114·13 v. 31·58 µg/g, P = 0·002) and Day-2 (2-PB: 81·86 v. 26·51 µg/g, P = 0·013; 2-PL: 54·56 v. 18·83 µg/g, P < 0·001; 2-PD: 38·2 v. 18·79 µg/g, P = 0·043), whereas UIC only differed significantly post-dinner on Day-1 (156·15 v. 36·63 µg/l, P = 0·009). SI/P also showed stronger correlation with 24 h UIE (1-PB: r = 0·65, P = 0·001; 1-PL: r = 0·70, P < 0·001; 1-PD: r = 0·67, P < 0·001; 2-PB: r = 0·70, P < 0·001; 2-PL: r = 0·65, P = 0·001; 2-PD: r = 0·50, P = 0·01) compared with UIC (1-PB: r = 0·49, P = 0·011; 1-PL: r = 0·38, P = 0·055; 1-PD: r = 0·58, P = 0·002; 2-PB: r = 0·68, P < 0·001; 2-PL: r = 0·52, P = 0·007; 2-PD: r = 0·44, P = 0·027). Unlike UIC, which is primarily suited for population-level monitoring, SI/P demonstrated stable performance irrespective of diet/sampling time, suggesting utility as a reliable, individual-level biomarker of iodine status.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder that is mediated by psychological and metabolic factors, yet it is unclear how these factors interact. The NAMA trial objective is to clarify the metabo–psychiatric interaction and identify how it affects AN patients’ behaviour. This randomised trial will recruit thirty-six treatment-naïve female AN patients, 13–18 years of age, and thirty-six matched healthy controls. Participants will undergo psychiatric assessments followed by 12-h overnight fasting. The next morning, baseline assessments of outcomes will be performed. Patients will be randomly allocated 1:1 to receive a mixture with calories or receive a mixture without calories. Healthy controls will also be allocated to receive mixtures with/without calories. Mixtures will be standardised for taste and appearance, and allocation will be masked. The primary outcome measure is resting-state functional MRI 60 min post-consumption of the mixture. Secondary outcomes include (1) blood samples to study markers reflecting metabolic states, hunger/satiety and stress responses, (2) psychometric evaluations of subjective experiences and (3) assessment, in a second meal 3 h later, of the effects of previous calorie intake on subsequent food consumption. This article describes the study protocol, including the analysis plan, for a randomised controlled trial to comprehensively evaluate the effects of calorie intake in AN. The trial will distinguish psychological and metabolic neuronal networks associated with food intake and uncover how their integration affects food intake and other hallmark symptoms in AN. The aim is to accelerate treatment development by identifying brain mechanisms that drive AN.

A high serum total cholesterol (TC) concentration is a major risk factor for CVD, and lifestyle modifications including a healthy diet are among the first-line strategies for lowering cholesterol concentration and reducing CVD risk. Several studies in rodents have demonstrated a lower circulating TC concentration after intake of cetoleic acid (CA, C22:1n-11). The primary aim was to investigate the effect of consuming herring oil (HERO) containing CA or a CA concentrate (CECO) on the circulating TC concentration in obese hypercholesterolaemic rats. Secondary aims included investigating effects of CA on a selection of hepatic enzymes and receptors involved in cholesterol metabolism, lipogenesis and VLDL assembly. Thirty male obese Zucker fa/fa rats were fed a diet containing either HERO or CECO, containing 0·70 or 1·40 wt% CA, respectively, or a Control diet with soyabean oil for 5 weeks. Data were analysed using one-way ANOVA. The serum TC concentration was lower in the HERO and CECO groups compared with the Control group (17 and 20 percent, respectively). Both the HERO and the CECO diets down-regulated de novo lipogenesis, cholesterol esterification and lipidation of VLDL in the liver compared with the Control diet, but did not affect the hepatic cholesterol synthesis, the LDL receptor or the faecal excretion of cholesterol and bile acids. To conclude, rats fed the HERO or CECO diets had a lower serum concentration of TC, probably as a result of down-regulated VLDL secretion in response to lower lipogenesis. This may have relevance for lowering TC in hypercholesterolaemic humans.