Absorbing science

By Dr Ayse Zengin (UK)...

There were excellent back to back talks in the nutrition and metabolism session yesterday afternoon.

The session began with Martin Bidlingmaier from Munich, Germany, who explained that there is a lot more to low-carbohydrate high fat diets than simply weight loss. Macronutrients are essential for a number of systems in the body. For instance, despite being an effective mediator of weight loss, these diets do not improve glucose/insulin homeostasis. They also have a detrimental effect on bone mineral density. All these effects were seen in a male rat model, which raised the question of sex-specific effects of these diets...

John Kopchick from Ohio, USA eloquently explained the importance of growth hormone in the regulation of growth and glucose homeostasis. Unpublished work from his lab questioned the use of growth hormone as a therapeutic for diabetes. Animal experiments showed that a high dose of growth hormone treatment to obese diabetic mice does not resolve the hyperinsulinemia.

Giles Yeo from Cambridge, UK gave the final talk of the session which was very entertaining and engaging. He discussed the possibility of the FTO gene acting as a nutrient sensor and which genes were responsible for obesity.