Author Interviews, JAMA, Osteoporosis, Weight Research / 01.11.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Radhika Seimon, PhD Research Fellow at the University of Sydney Amanda Salis, PhD - Professor of Obesity Research at the University of Sydney Senior Research Fellow National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Total meal replacement diets are severely energy-restricted diets that involve replacing all or almost all foods with nutritionally replete meal replacement products such as shakes, soups, or bars (i.e. total diet replacement). They are the most effective dietary treatment for obesity, resulting in greater short- and long-term weight loss compared with conventional food-based diets. However, there are concerns that total meal replacement diets may adversely affect body composition, notably lean mass and bone mineral density. (more…)
Mineral Metabolism, Nutrition / 02.07.2013

Scott M. Smith, Ph.D. Nutritionist, Manager for Nutritional Biochemistry Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences Division NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX 77058MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Scott M. Smith, Ph.D. Nutritionist, Manager for Nutritional Biochemistry Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences Division NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX 77058 Iron status and its relations with oxidative damage and bone loss during long-duration space flight on the International Space Station MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Smith:  The key finding from this study is that the increase in iron stores during spaceflight is related to both oxidative damage and bone loss.  Iron stores increase in microgravity because blood volume decreases during the initial weeks of spaceflight. The iron in excess red blood cells is not reused by new RBCs during spaceflight and is stored.  This increase in iron stores was associated with increased indices of oxidative damage, and furthermore, the magnitude of the increase in iron stores during flight (i.e., the area under the curve) was correlated with bone mineral density loss.  That is, the greater the iron stores, the more bone loss. (more…)