Cause behind behavioural difference in males and females found

Researchers have discovered a mechanism for how androgens -- male sex steroids -- sculpt brain development, which could ultimately help understand development of social behavioural differences  between males and females.

The team,  discovered a mechanism for how androgens sculpt the brains of male rats to produce behavioural differences, such as more aggression and rougher play behaviour. 

“We already knew that the brains of males and females are different and that testosterone produced during the second trimester in humans and late gestation in rodents contributes to the differences but we did not know how testosterone has these effects,” said one of the researcher.

The study, revealed that the number of newborn cells in the part of the brain called the amygdala, which controls emotions and social behaviours acts as a key contributor to the differences in behaviour between males and females. 

Males have fewer of these newborn cells, because they are actively eliminated by immune cells by endocannabinoids which plays a role in reproductive functions and response to stress.

Female rats were, however, found to be unaffected. Moreover, in females, the newborn cells differentiated into a type of glial cell, the most abundant type of cell in the central nervous system.
“These discoveries into brain development are critical as we work to tackle brain disorders as early in life as possible, even in pregnancy,” said a Prof. of Medicine.

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Mental health status may influence weight loss with intensive lifestyle intervention

Hispanic women with prediabetes and overweight or obesity who were assigned to an intensive lifestyle intervention for 1 year experienced a greater reduction in body weight if their mental health remained stable or improved vs. similar women whose mental health worsened during the same time, study data show.

“We found that all participants lost weight in the first 6 months, regardless of changes in their mental health measure,” an assistant professor of medicine and preventive medicine said. “However, weight trajectories diverged from 6 to 12 months, with weight regain among participants whose mental health worsened and continued weight loss among those whose mental health was improved or stable.”

The team analyzed data from 92 Hispanic women with prediabetes and overweight or obesity assigned to a group-based intensive lifestyle intervention (n = 33; mean age, 46 years; mean BMI, 34.4 kg/m²), 850 mg metformin twice daily (n = 29; mean age, 45 years; mean BMI, 32.7 kg/m²) or standard care (n = 30; mean age, 45 years; mean BMI, 32.2 kg/m²) for 12 months, as part of PREVENT-DM, a comparative effectiveness trial based on the Group Lifestyle Balance Program. Women assigned to the intensive lifestyle intervention attended 14 weekly sessions, followed by 10 biweekly or monthly sessions. Women in the metformin arm attended brief monthly study visits; women in the standard care arm attended two study visits over 12 months, in which they received written educational materials about diabetes prevention. Participants completed three questionnaires to measure mental health variables: Beck Depression Inventory (depression severity scores range from 0 to 28), Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (anxiety severity score ranges from 0 to 21) and Perceived Stress Scale (perceived stress score ranges from 0 to 40). Primary outcome was weight change from baseline to 12 months and its association with changes in depression, anxiety and perceived stress. Women whose symptom scores worsened on any one of the of the three measures were considered to have worsened mental health; those whose scores improved or remained stable on all three measures were considered to have improved or stable mental health.

Astudy reported, women in the study assigned to the intensive lifestyle intervention lost more weight at 12 months vs. those assigned to metformin (mean, –3.1 kg; P = .013) or standard care (mean, –4.8 kg; P = .001). There were no between-group differences in weight loss observed between the metformin and standard care arms.

In the intensive lifestyle intervention group, mean baseline scores for the Beck Depression Inventory, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale and the Perceived Stress Scale were 13.5, 4.7 and 23.9, respectively. Mean corresponding values in the combined metformin and standard care groups were 11.2, 4.3 and 22, respectively.

Researchers found that women assigned to the intensive lifestyle intervention experienced greater mean weight loss and larger mental health improvements overall vs. women assigned to metformin or standard care. Additionally, mean changes in weight and mental health measures were greater at 12 months for women assigned to the lifestyle intervention whose mental health status improved or remained stable when compared with women assigned to the lifestyle intervention whose mental health worsened.

Among the 30 women assigned to the lifestyle intervention who completed follow-up at 12 months, 17 experienced worsening mental health and 13 experienced stable or improved mental health. Those who experienced stable or improving mental health lost a mean 5.1 kg more vs. women assigned to the lifestyle intervention whose mental health worsened (95% CI, –7.9 to –2.3). However, among women assigned to the lifestyle intervention, those who worsened on only one mental health measure still experienced some weight loss (mean, –3 kg; 95% CI, –4.8 to –1.2). Women assigned to the lifestyle intervention who worsened on two or three mental health measures experienced nonstatistically significant weight loss or weight gain.

Mental health status was not associated with 12-month weight changes for the metformin and standard care arms, according to researchers.

“Our findings have implications for designing and implementing future behavioral weight-loss programs that include participants with common mental health problems,” the researcher said. “Such programs might consider focusing on mental health explicitly.”

The researcher said future studies should definitively examine the timing of changes in weight and mental health measures during behavioral weight-loss programs.

“We are also developing a behavioral weight-loss program that includes a focus on reducing perceived stress,” the researcher said. “We hope that this will result in greater weight loss and improvements in mental health measures than behavioral weight-loss programs that do not include a focus on mental health content.”

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Family meals could give children healthy eating habits for life

New research has found that regularly eating together as a family helps pass healthy eating habits onto children that last well into adulthood, potentially preventing obesity later in life.

Carried out by researchers, the new meta-analysis looked at 57 studies which together included a total of 203,706 of participants from across the world.

The team analyzed the relationship between family meals and children’s nutritional health using the measurements of body mass index (BMI), the number of portions of fruit and vegetables eaten per day (as an indicator of healthy diet), and the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, fast food, and salty snacks (as indicators of an unhealthy diet).

The researchers found that frequent family meals are associated with lower body mass index (BMI) and a healthy diet in children, with the relationship found across all countries and all ages.
The positive finding also held true whether meals were taken with just one parent or the whole family.

“Childhood is a unique window of opportunity for countering detrimental eating and lifestyle habits,” commented lead author. “Parents act as ‘nutritional gatekeepers’ in that they have a substantial influence on when, what, and how much children eat. So family meals offer a rich learning environment for setting up healthy eating habits in children.”

Co-author also added that, “The current research indicates that it’s not just the quality of food that’s important, but that psychological and behavioral factors also play a role. For example, mealtime routines such as positive parental role modeling or a pleasant atmosphere could improve children’s eating habits.”

However, for parents struggling to get the whole family together for meal times, or consistently provide home-cooked dinners, co-author  noted that children could still learn this healthy habits from others.

“Given the increasing trend for both parents to work, putting regular family meals on the table is a daily challenge for many families. In this context, it’s important to note that initial findings indicate that other communal meals, such as school lunches, can also have positive effects on children’s eating habits. For instance, one study showed that teachers can also serve as positive role models when eating together with their students.”
 

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