1. Sixty healthy subjects aged 35-44 years (thirty men and thirty women) were randomly selected from electoral registers to participate in a dietary survey using the 7 d weighed-intake method during June-August 1985.

2. Energy intake (MJ/d) was 12.5 for men and 8.4 for women. Fat contributed 36.0 and 39.1% of the total energy intake of men and women respectively. When this was adjusted to exclude energy derived from alcoholic beverages, the corresponding values were 38.8 and 39.7 % respectively. The major sources of dietary fat (%) were spreadable fats (28), meat (23), milk (12) and biscuits and cakes (11).

3. The subjects were divided into low- and high-fat groups both on the relative intake of fat (< 35 % or > 40 % dietary energy from fat) and on the absolute intake of fat (> or < 120 g fat/d). By either criterion, high-fat consumers had lower than average intakes of low-fat, high-carbohydrate foods such as potatoes, bread, fruit and table sugar, and higher intakes of milk, butter and confectionery products. Meat intake was higher among high-fat eaters only when a high-fat diet was defined as a percentage of energy.

1. Abdominal obesity is associated with numerous metabolic complications. Deep abdominal adipose tissue is critical in the association between the level of abdominal obesity and cardiovascular risk factors.

2. Adipose tissue localization was assessed by computed axial tomography (CAT), and its association with body density and anthropometric measurements was investigated in a sample of fifty-one obese women (percentage body fat 45·9 (SD 5·6)) aged 35·7 (SD 5·5) years. The CAT scans were performed at three levels: lower chest, abdomen and mid-thigh.

3. The total adipose tissue volume computed from these three scans was highly correlated with body fat mass (r 0·94, P < 0·001). The proportion of deep abdominal fat as measured by the ratio of deep: total adipose tissue areas at the abdominal level was not significantly correlated with body fat mass, but it was moderately associated with the ratio of waist: hip circumferences (WHR) (r 0·49, P < 0·001). The absolute amount of deep abdominal fat was, however, significantly correlated with body fat mass (r 0·72, P < 0·001).

4. The subscapular (r 0·38) and the abdominal (r 0·38) skinfolds were the only two skinfolds that were significantly associated with the proportion of deep abdominal fat (P < 0·01). These skinfolds were also those which showed the highest correlation with the absolute amount of deep abdominal fat (r 0·65, P < 0·001, for both skinfolds).

5. A three-site CAT-scan procedure can be used for the estimation of body fat mass in premenopausal obese women.

6. In these obese women, there was no significant association between total adiposity and the proportion of deep adipose tissue at the abdominal level.

7. In premenopausal obese women, the absolute amount of deep abdominal fat can be predicted from anthropometric measurements with more accuracy than the relative amount of deep abdominal fat.

1. Sprague–Dawley rats were injected for 16 d with long-acting insulin, and energy balance was calculated using the comparative carcass technique. Two experiments were carried out with females (starting weights 150 and 90 g respectively), and one with males (starting weight 150 g). In a fourth experiment, cytochrome c oxidasc (EC 1.9.3.1) activity was measured as an indicator of the capacity for substrate oxidation.

2. Insulin increased weight gain by up to 57% (P < 0.01 for all studies). Metabolizable energy intake (kJ/d) was also consistently higher in the treated groups, by up to 34% (P < 0.01 for all studies). The excess weight gained by the insulin-treated rats was predominantly due to fat deposition.

3. Energy expenditure, calculated as the difference between metabolizable intake and carcass energy gain. was expressed on a whole-body basis, or relative to either metabolic body size (kg body-weight0.75) or fat-free mass. Insulin consistently raised energy expenditure, regardless of the method of expression, but this change reached statistical significance in only two of the nine comparisons.

4. Cytochrome c oxidase activity was not affected by insulin treatment in either interscapular brown adipose tissue or gastrocnemius muscle. In liver, total enzyme activity (U/tissue) was increased from 2928 (se 162) in the controls to 3940 (se 294) in the treated group (P < 0.02), but specific activity (U/mg protein) was unchanged.

5. It is concluded that, despite causing substantial hyperphagia, insulin treatment only slightly increases energy expenditure in rats. The costs of increased tissue deposition may account for this change.

1. Sprague–Dawley rats were given corticosterone for 4 to 14 d either by subcutaneous injection (50 mg/kg body-weight per d) or as a higher dose in the diet (1 g/kg diet). Energy balance was calculated using the comparative carcass technique.

2. Corticosterone significantly suppressed growth rate by at least 50% (P < 0·001 in all experiments). The reduction in growth was more marked in males than in females.

3. Hormone treatment significantly reduced metabolizable intake (kJ/d) in males but not in females. Expressed relative to either metabolic body size (kg body-weight0·75) or fat-free mass, metabolizable intake tended to be increased in the treated groups.

4. Energy expenditure, calculated as the difference between metabolizable intake and gain and expressed as kJ/d, did not differ between treated and control rats. Relative to either metabolic body size or fat-free mass, expenditure was consistently increased in treated rats. This change was statistically significant in five of the eight comparisons.

5. The corticosterone-treated rat is characterized by high energy intake and expenditure relative to its body size and growth rate. Alterations in the relative sizes of different lean tissues may contribute to these changes.

1. Mothers were followed from 1 month post-partum up to 12 months post-partum to measure changes in their body-weight and triceps skinfold thickness.

2. Overall there was a significant weight loss in the first few months but this levelled off by 7 months.

3. The triceps skinfold increased significantly up to 5 months post-partum and then decreased.

4. These changes in body-weight and skinfold were not affected by the duration of lactation, smoking or the educational achievement of the mothers, but were influenced by the initial body mass index and the desire to lose weight.

1. During a period of 2·5 years, every 3 months 221 different food items forming a ‘market basket’ were purchased, prepared and divided into twenty-three food-commodity groups. The ‘market basket’ was based on a study of the dietary intake of 18-year-old male, Dutch adolescents. In the (homogenized) food groups various minerals and trace elements were determined.

2. The mean daily amounts of cadmium (21 μg), mercury (0·7 μg), lead (32 μg), tin (0·65 mg), arsenic (38 μg) and bromine (8 mg) in the diet of adolescents, as calculated from the concentrations analysed in the food groups, were all (well) below the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization acceptable daily intake (ADI) value (Codex Alimentarius Commission, 1984).

3. The mean daily amounts of zinc (14 mg) and selenium (72 μg) seemed to be adequate compared with the Dutch recommendations, (Voedingsraad (Dutch Nutrition Council) 1986). The amounts of copper (mean value 1·5 mg/d) and iron (mean value 14 mg/d) in the total diet were marginal. Contents of calcium (1340 mg/d), magnesium (433 mg/d) and iodine (402 μg/d) were all well above the Dutch recommendations for male adolescents. Sodium intake, corresponding to 11 g sodium chloride/d, was higher than advised.

4. It is concluded that the amounts of As, Br and toxic heavy metals in Dutch total-diet samples of male adolescents are of little concern as regards health aspects. Among the essential trace elements, Fe and Cu contents seem to be marginal. Some concern regarding the salt content is indicated.

1. The suggestion that there is a sustained enhancement in metabolic rate after exercise was investigated during the course of a study in which six normal-weight volunteers (three men, three women) took part in a 9-week training programme. Baseline values were assessed in a 3-5 week control period of minimal activity before training. At the end of the study the subjects were capable of running for I h/d, 5 d/week.

2. Throughout the entire study the subjects were maintained on a constant diet. Measurement of energy expenditure by the doubly-labelled water (2H218O) method showed that the subjects had an energy imbalance of +3% in the control and -20% at the end of the training period. The subjects were in positive (1·1 (se 0·2) g) nitrogen balance in the second week of the control, and in negative (-0·6 (se 0·3) g) N balance in the last week of the exercise period.

3. Over the course of the study maximum oxygen consumption (Vo2max) and high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol levels increased by 30%. Heart rate at rest and when performing a standard step test fell significantly.

4. Body composition was assessed weekly by 40K counting and skinfold thickness measurements, in addition to 2H2 dilution at the beginning and end of the study. Fat-free mass was apparently gained in the early phases of the study, but there was lack of agreement between the different methods of assessing body composition. Changes in body-weight were not significant.

5. Basal metabolic rate (BMR), overnight metabolic rate (OMR) and sleeping metabolic rate (SMR) were measured on three occasions: in the control period, and the beginning and end of the training periods. Average BMR in the control period was 5·91 (se 0·39) MJ/24 h and was not changed with activity. There were no changes in OMR (5·71 (se 0·27) MJ/24 h in the control) nor in SMR (5·18 (se 027) MJ/24 h in the control), nor in BMR, OMR or SMR when expressed per kg body-weight, or per kg fat-free mass.

6. These results do not support the suggestion that there is a sustained increase in BMR following exercise that can usefully assist in weight-loss programmes.

1. Eighteen pigs were offered diets containing 130, 170 or 210 g protein/kg with three barrows and three gilts per diet from 20 to 60 kg live weight. Oxygen consumption, Na1, K1-ATPase (EC 3·6·1· 3)-dependent and -independent respiration and protein synthesis were measured in vitro in intercostal and sartorius muscle preparations from these pigs.

2. Increasing dietary protein concentration increased (P < 0·01) daily gain and dissectible muscle in carcass.

3. O2 consumption and Na+, K+-ATPase-dependent respiration of the intercostal and sartorius muscles increased linearly (P < 0·01) with increase in dietary protein concentration. The requirement for the support of the transport of Na+ and K+ across the cell membrane in these muscles, on average, accounted for 22–25% of the O2 consumption.

4. Synthesis rate (mg/g per d) of protein in the sartorius muscle increased (P < 0·05) from 3·05 to 5·07 and increased (P < 0·1) from 2·57 to 4.06 in the intercostal muscle as dietary protein increased from 130 to 210 g/kg diet.

5. Regression of Na+, K+-ATPase-dependent respiration against protein synthesis in each of intercostal and sartorius muscles showed a linear relation, an attestation of a close link between productive processes and auxiliary energy expenditure.

1. Because so little is known about the properties of lactitol as a possible alternative bulk sweetener to sucrose, it was tested in two large-scale experiments in laboratory rats. Matched groups of caries-active Osborne-Mendel rats were fed on uniform diets containing lactitol and compared with a sucrose control in both experiments, plus a xylitol control in the first experiment.

2. In the early stages of the experiments weight gains and food utilization were better on the sucrose than on the lactitol regimens. Body-fat storage was higher on the sucrose than on the polyol regimens.

3. At the end of 8 weeks the mandibular molars were examined for dental plaque accumulation and dental caries. The dental caries scores when 160 g sucrose/kg in the diet was replaced by lactitol were lower by a highly significant margin, bringing them down to the same low level as those on a 160 g xylitol/kg regimen.

4. Testing lactitol in a manufactured food product, shortbread biscuits, in comparison with ordinary sucrose biscuits, showed differences in plaque scores (significant) and caries levels (highly significant), with 60% fewer lesions on the lactitol regimen.

5. The results confirm the low cariogenic potential of lactitol, but show metabolic differences compared with sucrose.

1. The effect of different doses of ouabain, an inhibitor of the sodium pump, or saline (9 g sodium chloride/1; the vehicle) on the metabolic rate of guinea-pigs weighing 500 g was measured by indirect calorimetry for 120 min.

2. Ouabain (0·02–0·07 nmol/g body-weight) decreased the oxygen consumption in a dose-related manner. When higher doses of ouabain (0·10 nmol/g body-weight or greater) were injected the animals were observed to shiver. Ouabain (0.07 nmol/g body-weight) reduced Na+, K+-ATPase (EC 3. 6. 1. 3) activity of liver, kidney and skeletal muscle by 18·0 (se 6·6), 21.5 (se 6·0) and 21·9 (se 6·8)% respectively. An Eadie-Hofstee plot of percentage decrease in O2 consumption v. percentage inhibition ÷ dose of ouabain showed that maximal inhibition of O2 consumption was 39·4 %.

3. It is concluded that Na pump activity contributed to about 40 % of the resting O2 consumption.

1. Body fat, fat-free mass and total body water of ten lactating women were estimated from deuterium-dilution spaces and from skinfold thickness measurements. Deuterium-dilution spaces were calculated from the 6 h (equilibration) and zero-time (extrapolation) deuterium enrichments in saliva, urine, human milk and breath water vapour samples.

2. The deuterium spaces obtained by equilibration were statistically larger than those obtained by extrapolation. Isotope dilution spaces derived from deuterium enrichments in saliva, breath water vapour and human milk did not differ with the exception of the 6 h equilibration value of milk, which was greater than that estimated from saliva. Deuterium-dilution spaces estimated from urine were consistently smaller than those derived from the other biological fluids.

3. No significant differences in body fat, fat-free mass and total body water were observed between anthropometric measurements and deuterium-dilution methods, except for extrapolated values derived from deuterium enrichments in urine.