Todays Newsbites

Researchers in Sweden have reclassified diabetes into five different types, each with unique characteristics that could help doctors to identify people most at risk of diabetes complications and treat the disease more effectively.

A study of Japanese adults with diabetes found a possible link between eating slowly and maintaining a healthy body weight, according to a research in BMJ Open.

Consumption of ultraprocessed foods is associated with greater risk of cancer, according to new research study in the BMJ. This is the first study that specifically links highly processed foods to cancer.

The influential US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has concluded there is adequate evidence that intensive weight loss or weight-loss maintenance programs based on behavior change help people with obesity to lose enough weight to prevent chronic diseases.

According to a small study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, changes in metabolism and physical activity during fasting in the month of Ramadan did not lead to weight loss. During Ramadan, observant Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, providing researchers a natural experiment to observe the effects of intermittent fasting on body weight. Previous studies have observed mixed results, from no weight loss to modest but temporary weight loss.

Living in an area with a higher number of gyms and other exercise facilities nearby is associated with smaller waistlines, lower body mass index (BMI) and less body fat, according to a study in Lancet Public Health. Researchers tapped a national database of health information on about 400,000 people, ages 40 to 70, from across the United Kingdom. They correlated these data with information on the number of exercise facilities such as gyms, swimming pools and playing fields within about a half mile.

Eating almonds or almonds and dark chocolate together, but not dark chocolate alone, improves blood cholesterol, says a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Thirty-one overweight or obese participants, ages 30 to 70, consumed four test diets for 4 weeks each, in random order. Each of the test diets included take-home meals consistent with an average American diet, with one serving as a control and the other three being enhanced with (a)…

Older adults who ate 1 to 2 daily servings of leafy green vegetables showed less age-related decline in memory and other mental skills than those eating less, according to a study in Neurology.

A national survey of registered dietitians predicts that 2018s top consumer interest will be fermented foods, such as yogurt, kefir, kombucha (fermented sweet tea), sauerkraut, tempeh, some pickles, kimchi and miso. Pollock Communications, a public relations firm, and the magazine Todays Dietitian conducted the survey of 2,050 nutrition professionals.

A large umbrella review of 218 studies on coffee and health found that people who drink 3 to 4 cups a day are at lower risk of a range of diseases and conditions, says a study in The BMJ. The umbrella review combined the results of 218 meta-analyses, each of which combined findings from multiple studies. These studies of studies included 17 with randomized clinical trials, which-compared to observational studies-produce stronger evidence that coffee may directly reduce the risk of certain diseases.