Restricting meals to early in the day did not affect weight among overweight adults with prediabetes or diabetes(糖尿病), according to a research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2020.

“We have wondered for a long time if when one eats during the day affects the way the body uses and stores energy,” said study author Nisa M. Maruthur, associate professor of medicine in Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “Most previous studies have not controlled the number of calories, so it wasn't clear if people who ate earlier just ate fewer calories. In this study, the only thing we changed was the time of eating in the day.”

Maruthur and colleagues followed 41 overweight adults in a 12-week study. Most participants(参与者)（90%）were African American women with prediabetes or diabetes, and average age of 59 years. Twenty-one of the adults followed a time-restricted eating pattern, limiting eating to specific hours of the day and ate 80% of their calories before 1 pm. The remaining 20 participants ate at usual times during a 12-hour window, consuming half of their daily calories after 5 pm for the entire 12 weeks. All participants consumed the same pre-prepared, healthy meals provided for the study. Weight and blood pressure were measured at the beginning of the study；then at 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks.

The analysis found that people in both groups lost weight and had decreased blood pressure no matter when they ate. "We thought that the time-restricted group would lose more weight,” Maruthur said. “Yet that didn't happen. We did not see any difference in weight loss for those who ate most of their calories earlier versus later in the day. We did not see any effects on blood pressure either.”

The researchers are now collecting more detailed information on blood pressure recorded over 24 hours, and they will bring this information together with the results of a study on the effects of time-restricted feeding on blood sugar, insulin(胰岛素)and other hormones and making analyses on the data. "Together, these findings will help us to more fully understand the effects of time-restricted eating on cardiometabolic(心血管代谢)health," Maruthur said.

It should come as no surprise that the more stressed parents are at work, the greater the burden on their family is. 【小题1】 After all, the more time parents spend working, the less time and energy they have to plan and prepare healthful meals. Previously, most studies have focused on the role of working mothers while fathers were ignored. 【小题2】 It adds a new wrinkle to the relationship between work stress and family nutrition. Mom’s work related stress is still a central factor in how well families eat because they typically do most of the food shopping and cooking. 【小题3】

The study finds that when mom or dad experience high levels of work related stress, their families are eating one-and-a-half fewer family meals per week, and the parents themselves report eating fewer fruits and vegetables, more fast food, and are less likely to eat breakfast regularly.

It’s worth noting that the study looks mainly at low income families who belong to ethnic or minority groups. 【小题4】 But the implications are wide-ranging.

【小题5】 Teaching kids, especially teenagers, to help with grocery shopping and to cook actual meals, instead of just putting a frozen pizza in the microwave, could be an important piece of the puzzle in helping families improve their eating habits.

Mental health conditions are an increasing problem in Australia and around the world. Around one in two Australians will experience a mental health issue in their lifetime. Globally, about 1 in 10 people live with a mental health disorder.

Eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is associated with less stress, according to a new research from Edith Cowan University(ECU). The findings revealed people who ate at least 470 grams of fruit and vegetables daily had 10 percent lower stress levels than those who consumed less than 230 grams. Lead researcher, Simone Radavelli-Bagatini said, “We found that people who have higher fruit and vegetable intakes are less stressed than those with lower intakes, which suggests diet plays a key role in mental health.”

According to Ms Radavelli-Bagatini, some stress is considered normal, but long-term exposure can lead to a range of health problems including heart disease, depression and anxiety, so we need to find ways to prevent and possibly reduce mental health problems in the future.

Previous studies have shown the link between fruit and vegetable consumption and stress in younger adults. But this is the first time we’re seeing similar results across adults of all ages,” said Radavelli-Bagatini. While the mechanisms (机制)behind how fruit and vegetable consumption influences stress are still unclear. Radavelli-Bagatini said key nutrients could be a factor.

“Vegetables and fruits contain important nutrients such as vitamins, minerals andcarotenoids(类胡萝卜素) that can reduce inflammation(发炎) and oxidative (氧化应激) stress which are recognized factors that can lead to increased stress, anxiety and lower mood, and therefore improve mental health,”. she said. These findings encourage more researches into diet and specifically what fruits and vegetables provide the most benefits for mental health.