Experts question Google’s new ‘moonshot’ project: mapping human genome biomarkers

SHANE DINGMAN

The Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Jul. 25 2014, 8:46 PM EDT

Last updated Friday, Jul. 25 2014, 9:40 PM EDT

Canadian experts have concerns about a report that Google Inc. is planning to create a map of the biomarkers in the “healthy” human genome.

Researchers have told The Globe and Mail they would welcome the search giant to this area of study, which they say is underfunded, but they questioned how useful Google’s project would be based on the relatively small number of people it would involve (just 175 initially).

The leader of the genome study, known as Project Baseline, told the Wall Street Journal this week that it will be run out of Google X, the search engine company’s research arm, which has produced such “moonshot” projects as the self-driving car and Google Glass face computers.They also wondered how the researchers would protect the subjects’ privacy, and whether the data would be available to other researchers.

Project lead Andrew Conrad – who said he had amassed dozens of biochemistry, optics and molecular biology experts – speculated that the study might find genetic keys to fighting obesity, or markers that can detect cancer andheart disease early.

In such a study, researchers take tissue samples from subjects and sequence their DNA. The Google team plans to create a database that will serve as a profile, or baseline, for the genetic components of good health.

Google said on Friday that no one from the company would be commenting on the project.

Khosrow Adeli, professor of clinical biochemistry at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, points out that “baseline” is not as simple a concept as it may sound.

“You’d be surprised to learn that we have very little information on what is the baseline or reference when it comes to many, many things,” he said.

A SickKids project documenting clinical baselines for children found variations wrought by environment and gender, or age and ethnicity, can complicate attempts to define “normal,” and that children have different clinical biomarkers than adults.

Over the past five years, Dr. Adeli profiled 8,600 blood samples for a project known as CALIPER (Canadian Laboratory Initiative on Paediatric Reference Intervals), which produced a database that can be used inmore than 150 different clinical tests for illness in children.

The database is available on iTunes in a recently released app.

Dr. Adeli said the idea that one reference point can be established for all of humanity does not account for differences.

“In my view, every country should have a large health survey of their population and determine these baselines for adult and child populations,” he said.

Similar projects to CALIPER are under way in Germany, Scandanavia and Australia. One positive result of Google’s work might be that it “may induce others to actually become interested and get involved,” Dr. Adeli said.

Other researchers expressed concern that Google might not make its findings public.

“I don’t know their agenda, the issue here would be the transparency, are they going to make all this data available?” said Dr. George Yousef of St. Michael’s Hospital.

Privacy of the data is another issue, said Igor Jurisica, a senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, whose lab at the IBM LifeSciences Discovery Center specializes in the complex bioinformatics necessary to analyze millions of possible biomarker interactions.

Even though Google said subjects would remain anonymous, Dr. Jurisica cautions that an individual could be identified from the genetic data.

Follow Shane Dingman on Twitter: @shanedingman

HEALTH & WELLNESS: To cure obesity, we need therapies that address overeating’s link to depression, mood disorders

To cure obesity, we need therapies that address overeating’s link to depression, mood disorders

Dr. David Macklin, Special to National Post | July 7, 2014 | Last Updated:Jul 7 6:22 PM E
T

More from Special to National Post

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP filesObesity is a persistent problem that kills many people every year and which we don't entirely understand, Dr. David Macklin, an expert on the disease, writes.

As a family physician whose practice deals exclusively in the treatment of obesity, it strikes me as remarkable how little we understand the disease, which is Canada’s second-leading cause of preventable death.

Recently, though, the fight against obesity is showing signs of joining the 21st century. For example, this autumn many in the medical profession expect the Food and Drug Administration in the United States to approve what I believe will be a really promising pharmaceutical therapy for obesity.In every region of the developed world, rates of obesity doubled in the 20 years between 1988 and 2008, according to World Health Organization, which now counts more than a half-billion of Earth’s population as obese. The Public Health Agency of Canada says obesity costs our country somewhere between $4.6-billion to $7.1-billion every year. Even with these stark facts, the most effective long-term therapy we’ve come up with to treat the disease is bariatric surgery — a comparatively radical procedure that sees a surgeon restrict the size of the stomach, or cut off a piece of it.

The drug’s development stems from an evolving understanding of a certain type of overeating that arises from stress-triggered depression. The path to obesity may begin for some people with a stressful event that the person perceives as threatening — ranging from early life abuse to the loss of a job or a loved one. The resulting release of stress hormones interferes with the brain’s stimulus-reward circuitry. Essentially, the stress takes away one’s ability to feel pleasure. The resulting condition is referred to as “anhedonia,” and it’s one of the two primary symptoms of depression.  

The next step sees some anhedonia sufferers go off in search of other ways to activate their reward circuitry and feel pleasure. Most of the options remaining to them are unhealthy. Drugs and alcohol will get the job done, as can three substances that are far less regulated than intoxicants — sugar, salt and fat.

With few other options available to feel pleasure, the anhedonic person turns to the consumption of calorie-dense foods to fire their pleasure receptors. And over time, conditioning leads to a powerful drive to overeat — with stress and common settings such as a couch and a TV triggering an overwhelming impulse to consume.

We live in a stressful world where we have virtually unlimited access to sugar, fat and salt — foods laden with them are available at any time of day, nearly anywhere, and are often super-sized and inexpensive. Throw stress at us and studies show that while 30% of us will lose weight, the remaining 70% of us will eat more and gain weight. And interestingly, 70% of Canadians are obese or overweight.

I have spent more than 12,000 hours treating obesity in the last 10 years and it is becoming increasingly apparent to me that this stress-anhedonia-overeating pathology may be contributing to the struggles of a majority of my patients.

Understanding that a link exists between stress, depression and obesity is allowing the pharmaceutical industry to tailor treatments to address the connections and the pathway that makes them possible. For example, a California-based company called Orexigen Therapeutics is in the final stages of seeking FDA approval for a drug it’s marketing under the name of Contrave. The pharmaceutical therapy actually is a combination of two drugs — an anti-depressant, buproprion, and naltrexone, an anti-addiction drug currently used to treat people for alcohol dependence. The buproprion alleviates the anhedonia that triggers the overeating, and in clinical trials, Contrave, combined with behavioural modification treatment, helped subjects lose an average of 10% of their body weight. And 10% weight loss is sufficient to treat early-stage diabetes. It’s expected to be approved by the FDA this fall, suggesting the possibility of a similar decision down the road by Health Canada. And other pharmaceutical therapies that combine anti-depressants with other drugs also are in the pipeline.

More exciting than any single drug, though, is the fact that the medical profession is developing new and more sophisticated ways to manage overeating itself. Will the new understanding stem the rise of obesity-related deaths? Could treatments based on our new understandings of why many overeat help you, or someone you know, address a developing weight problem? The only certainty is that the medical profession needs more tools, in addition to surgery, to address the growing obesity epidemic — and with new behavioural and pharmaceutical treatments we are getting them.

—Dr. David Macklin directs the weight management program at the Medcan Clinic, a leading preventive health clinic in Toronto. Dr. James Aw is on sabbatical. For more information, visit medcan.com.

HEALTH & WELLNESS: New York’s Highest Court Kills Restriction on Big Sodas

New York’s Highest Court Kills Restriction on Big Sodas

Josh Long

July 02, 2014 - Blogs

Print

• E-Mail
• inShare

Nearly two years after the Big Apple adopted a controversial restriction on large sodas in an effort to combat obesity, New York’s highest court has permanently killed the “Portion Cap Rule."

New York City lawyers have exhausted their appeals. That’s good news for the beverage and restaurant industries. They claimed in a 2012 lawsuit that the rule—the brainchild of former mayor Michael Bloomberg—would have imposed undue burdens and was arbitrary and capricious because it excluded a number of businesses.
Sixteen months ago, a state judge enjoined local officials from enforcing the restriction on sugary drinks, and two appeals courts in New York have upheld the ruling invalidating the city’s decision. The most recent ruling by the New York State Court of Appeals comprised the final blow to the Portion Cap Rule.

“We are pleased that the lower courts’ decisions were upheld.  It would have created an uneven playing field for thousands of small businesses in the city and limited New Yorkers’ freedom of choice," said Chris Gindlesperger, a spokesman with the American Beverage Association. “With this ruling behind us, we look forward to collaborating with city leaders on solutions that will have a meaningful and lasting impact on New Yorkers and families across the country."
New York City officials said the decision wouldn’t dissuade them from pursuing solutions to address obesity. "The June 26 ruling does not change the fact that sugary drink consumption is a key driver of the obesity epidemic," Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said, “and we will continue to look for ways to stem the twin epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes by seeking to limit the pernicious effects of aggressive and predatory marketing of sugary drinks and unhealthy foods."

Zachary Carter, New York City Law Department Corporation Counsel, echoed those remarks. “Given the magnitude of this epidemic, we have no doubt that the Board will continue to address the obesity crisis and the role of over-consumption of sugary drinks," he said.

Relying on a 1987 case that distinguished between legislative action and rulemaking, the New York State Court of Appeals found the health board exceeded its authority, encroaching on the powers of the City Council.
“An agency that adopts a regulation, such as the Portion Cap Rule or an outright prohibition of sugary beverages, that interferes with commonplace daily activities preferred by large numbers of people must necessarily wrestle with complex value judgments concerning personal autonomy and economics," Associate Justice Eugene Pigott wrote for the majority. “That is policy-making, not rule-making."

But in a dissenting opinion in which Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman concurred, Associate Justice Susan Read said the majority rendered the wrong decision because the health board had authority to impose the restriction on sugary drinks.

New York’s “legislature has entrusted the Board to act with a great deal of discretion, while also ensuring that it will address specified areas of concern, and has provided procedures for doing so," Read declared. “That the residents of New York City no longer count typhoid and dysentery among their chief health concerns is a sign that those scourges have been conquered, not a ground for preventing the Board from turning its attention to contemporary public health threats."

The majority’s ruling will most certainly not end the contemporary debate on how the United States should tackle an obesity epidemic compromising the health of millions of Americans and whether Congress, states and local governments should impose restrictions on fatty and sugary foods and beverages. In fact, California recently proposed a state law that would have required a warning label on sugar-sweetened beverages. But the bill recently died after it failed to clear the California Committee on Health.

The conversation over the role of government in promoting nutrition could soon shift to Capitol Hill where Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) intends to introduce a bill to tax sugar-laden beverages.

Expect vigorous opposition to such legislation from the beverage industry.

“If we want to get serious about obesity, it starts with education – not laws and regulation," said Gindlesperger of the American Beverage Association. “Politicians should focus on what matters most – education, jobs and the economy – and leave the grocery shopping to us.  What you eat, drink and feed your family is your choice and not the government’s.  People don’t support taxes and bans on common grocery items, like soft drinks.  That’s why the public policy debate has moved on from taxes and bans and onto real solutions."

But DeLauro indicated the relatively inexpensive cost of soda is contributing to the overconsumption of sugar.
“Added sugar is pervasive and almost inescapable at the supermarket," she recently said. "And of course many times it is the sugary foods and drinks that are the easiest for families living on the edge of poverty to afford. When a two-liter cola is 99 cents and blueberries are over three dollars, something has gone very wrong."

HEALTH & WELLNESS: Saturated Fat Triggers Genetic Predisposition to Obesity

Saturated Fat Triggers Genetic Predisposition to Obesity

Rachel Adams

June 09, 2014 - Blogs

Print

• E-Mail
• inShare

• 0 Comments

Limiting saturated fat could help people whose genetic make-up increases their chance of being obese.

In a new study, researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University identified 63 gene variants related to obesity and used them to calculate a genetic risk score for obesity for more than 2,800 white, American men and women enrolled in two large studies on heart disease prevention. People with a higher genetic risk score, who also consumed more of their calories as saturated fat, were more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI).

This isn’t the first time a saturated-fat consumption has been associated with health risks. In fact, the health perils of a diet high in saturated fats is well documented. The 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming less than 10 percent of calories as saturated fats. To read more, download the free Digital Issue, “Survival Guide: Fats & Oils."

"We already know there are certain genes that interact with dietary fat and affect BMI," said senior author José M. Ordovás, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory, USDA HNRCA, and professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. "In the current study, we analyzed dozens of variants of those genes and other genes frequently associated with obesity risk and saw that, while total fat intake was related to higher BMI, people who were genetically predisposed to obesity and ate the most saturated fat had the highest BMIs."

The findings, which account for possible confounding factors such as age, sex, and physical activity levels, are published online ahead of print in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Ordovás and colleagues hypothesize that people who have these gene variants that predispose them to obesity may be more sensitive to saturated fat, which is found mostly in fatty cuts of meats, including beef and pork, as well as butter, cheese and other high-fat dairy products.

"Little is known about the mechanisms that might explain the role of saturated fat intake in obesity," said Ordovás. "Some clinical models suggest that saturated fat might interfere with activity in the part of the brain that lets us know we're full, in addition to a few studies in people that suggest a diet high in saturated fat interferes with satiety. More research is needed to know whether those findings would also apply to gene function."

Genetic risk score could be useful in identifying people who are predisposed to obesity and could ultimately lead to personalized dietary recommendations. "If further research can clarify a relationship between obesity related genes and saturated fat, people with higher scores would have even more incentive to follow advice to limit their saturated fat intake as part of an obesity prevention strategy," Ordovás said.

Ingredient innovation is helping food product designers to create products with reduced saturated-fat content while maintaining quality. According to Dilip Nakhasi, director of innovation, Bunge North America, new technology can create saturate-sparing fats that have less saturates and virtually no trans fatty acids while maintaining functionality of typical shortening systems. The technology combines two components—the manipulation of fatty acids and added fiber ingredients. For a closer look, watch the FoodTech Toolbox video, “Saturate-Sparing Fats."

Innovations Driving Global Chocolate Confectionery Growth

Innovations Driving Global Chocolate Confectionery Growth

Judie Bizzozero

June 05, 2014 - Blogs

Print

• E-Mail
• in

Innovations of new products in dark chocolate and milk chocolate segment with new flavors and low-calorie chocolates will help drive moderate growth of the U.S. retail chocolate industry to an estimated $19.3 billion by 2018, according to a trends and forecast report from Research and Markets.

Consumers’ concern of obesity and related health risks serve as challenges to increasing category sales. In deciding to buy chocolate, 89 percent of consumers buy it as a treat or reward and 87 percent buy it as a snack option, while 83 percent of consumers look at the size of chocolate candy packages to determine the best value for the money and 72 percent buy chocolate to improve their mood or provide an energy boost.

Major manufacturers realized the importance of consumer’ concerns and launched miniature versions of their major brands in 2013 to help drive sales among the growing snacking sector. Snacking in-between meals has become more common as a simple way to stay satiated all day and smaller bite-sized portions help fill the snacking desire. The smaller pieces allow for increased calorie control on the part of the consumer who might think an entire chocolate bar is too much.

(FPD Factoid: in 2013 lower-calorie food products drove 82% of the sales growth among the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) member CPG companies, increasing $1.25 billion, compared to less than $300 million for high-calorie products.)

In the United States, the chocolate confectionery is dominated by two companies—The Hershey Co. and Mars, Inc.—that accounted for a combined 65% share of overall value sales. Euromonitor International predicts the U.S. chocolate confectionery market will have constant value growth of 7 percent between 2013 and 2018; however, higher prices and smaller pack sizes are expected to drive retail volume sales down by 1 percent over the forecast period.

Looking at the bigger picture, the global retail chocolate industry is growing at an impressive rate and is expected reach $117.3 billion by 2018, with the milk chocolate segment predicted to emerge as the largest-growth market.

Consumer awareness of the many health benefits of chocolate will be a key driver of industry growth. Vitamin- and calcium-rich sugar-free chocolates, dark chocolate, and organic and natural products are some products expected to escalate the global chocolate industry toward high growth rates in future. In terms of health and wellness concerns, consumers are embracing low-calorie or sugar-free chocolate products.

While global concern about obesity and wellness, manufacturers need to pay special attention to designing great tasting lower-calorie chocolate products that will keep consumers wanting more. With each generation of high-intensity sweeteners improving upon the last, reducing both the sugar and the calories in sweets has become less of a dream and more of a reality. The trend in confections is to reduce calories and reduce sugar, but one can’t be reduced without the other because sugar is where calories are, yet it is also where sweetness is. Find out how product designers are accomplishing this in the “Confections for a Slimmer Society" Slide Show from Food Product Design’s FoodTech Toolbox.

And for something a little offbeat, check out “Seeing the Light: Holographic Chocolate"  to learn how food science and physics came together to make hologram chocolates out of molding technology and the properties of light.

HEALTH ALERT: U.S. Adult Obesity Rate Rises to 27.7%

U.S. Adult Obesity Rate Rises to 27.7%

Rachel Adams

May 29, 2014 - Blogs

Print

• E-Mail
• inShare

• 0 Comments

U.S. adult obesity rates are climbing already in 2014, up to 27.7 percent from an average of 27.1 percent in 2013, according to Gallup. Fingers have long been pointed at sugar consumption as a primary cause, despite the fact sugar consumption has steadily declined for more than 10 years.

Rates were measured using the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which uses respondents’ self-reports of their height and weight to calculate body mass index (BMI) scores. Individual BMI values of 30 or above are classified as “obese," 25–29.9 are “overweight," 18.5–24.9 are “normal weight," and 18.4 or less are “underweight."

For the past six years, nearly two-thirds of Americans have had BMIs higher than are recommended. And, so far in 2014, 35.3 percent of adults are considered “overweight," in addition to those considered obese. Sugar-sweetened beverages are being routinely blamed for the obesity epidemic.

For instance, a 2013 study evaluated the relationship between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight, and found one daily serving of a sugary beverage was associated with an increase in BMI in children and adults. And recently, a focus on consumption of “added sugars" is turning up the heat. FDA proposed revising the Nutrition Facts label to include added sugars to clue consumers in on how much “extra" sweetener is inside. (For specifics on the proposed label changes, check out this FoodTech Toolbox infographic). FDA says consumption of added sugars tend to increase the total amount of calories consumed, along with reducing consumption of nutrient-dense foods.   

This, combined with obesity rates that continue to rise, is making sugar reduction the talk of the town. And let’s not forget Katie Couric’s recent Fed Up documentary, which blames obesity almost entirely on sugars.
What the film doesn’t mention is, sugar consumption is on the decline, and has been since 1999.

According to USDA, calories derived from added sweeteners reached about 429 calories per capita—or 22 percent of average total caloric intake—in 1999, but fell to an estimated 379 calories—or about 15 percent of average total caloric intake—by 2010. USDA actually credits the drop, in part, to a reduction in consumption of sweetened carbonated beverages.

Still, the focus on sugar reduction isn’t going anywhere. Product designers will have to get innovative to create reduced-sugar products that deliver on taste, while also adhering to consumer demands for “natural" ingredients and clean labels. Many newer products are already finding a happier balance, especially in the beverage arena. For a closer look at better-for-you beverages—along with other trends in weight management—check out the Boardroom Journal’s “Thinking Big: Chipping Away at Obesity," which dives into stevia’s growing role in sugar-reduction in juices, soft drinks and other products, among other sugar-reduction strategies.

Sources:

• Gallup: In U.S., Adult Obesity Rate Now at 27.7%

HEALTH ALERT: EATING RICE BOOSTS DIET QUALITY, REDUCES BODY WEIGHT

EATING RICE BOOSTS DIET QUALITY, REDUCES BODY WEIGHT

Published April 9, 2014 in Food Product Design

Posted in News, Rice, Grains, Grains / Pasta / Tuber, Healthy, Healthy Foods, Diet, Nutrition, Whole Grain, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Iron Deficiency, Fiber, Satiety, Digestive Health, Fats/Oils, Fatty Acids, Low Fat, Fat Reduction, Saturated Fats, Fruits / Vegetables, Proteins, Meat Products, Processed Meats, Poultry, Chicken, Beef, Beans, Sodium, Low Sodium, Children, Demographic, Weight Management, Obesity

ARLINGTON, Va.—Adults who consume rice were shown to also have a better overall diet quality along with higher consumption of key nutrients, such as potassium, magnesium, iron, folate and fiber while eating less saturated fat and added sugars, according to a new study published in the journal Food and Nutrition Sciences.

Brown Rice

Researchers analyzed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) datasets from 2005-2010 and evaluated the association of rice consumption with overall diet quality and key nutrient intakes in a nationally representative sample of 14,386 U.S. adults.

"Our results show that adults who eat rice had diets more consistent with what is recommended in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, and they showed higher amounts of potassium, magnesium, iron, folate and fiber while eating less saturated fat and added sugars," said lead author Theresa Nicklas of Baylor College of Medicine. "Eating rice is also associated with eating more servings of fruit, vegetables, meat and beans," she added.

Americans enjoy some 27 pounds of enriched white and brown rice per person per year with the majority (70%) of rice consumption coming from enriched white rice. Americans eat a variety of grain-based foods, but rice stands out because it is eaten primarily as an intact grain that is naturally sodium free and has only a trace amount of fat, with no saturated fat. Consumers can control adding fat, salt and flavors at their discretion.

This research builds on two previously published studies that showed the positive contribution of rice to diet quality. A 2009 observational study using NHANES datasets and Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII), found that rice eaters consumed significantly less fat and saturated fat and consumed more iron, potassium, fiber, meat, vegetables and grains. A follow-up study in 2010, also using NHANES datasets, included children in the study group and further confirmed that rice consumption was associated with greater intake of a range of healthier foods and nutrients.

Brown rice and other whole grains—whether familiar whole wheat or so-called ancient grains, such as quinoa, amaranth and spelt—are becoming a popular way to add health and appeal to everything from bread to breakfast cereal to soup, and can even create some gluten-free products. In the Food Product Design FoodTech Toolbox, the Gallery: Whole and Ancient Grains: From Amaranth to Zizania delves into what makes these grains special, including their nutritional value.
.

Sources:

• PR Newswire: Eating Rice Boosts Diet Quality, Reduces Body Weight And Improves Markers For Health