A change in socio-economic status generally brings change in food habits, which then gets reflected in the changed disease profile. "Indian consumers are increasingly taking to packaged food due to accessibility, affordability and attractive marketing," said Dr B Sesikeran, director, National Institute of Nutrition.

Addressing a conference on National Priorities in Nutrition Research here on Monday, Dr Sesikiran added, "The incidence of diabetes has nearly doubled among the rural population over the last decade which is more than that observed in the urban populace."

A book of revised Dietary Guidelines for Indians, was released on the occasion, which reveals the increase in lifestyle-related diseases among both the urban and rural population.

Dr Sesikeran said the book meant for the general public, monitors the shifting profile of nutrition-related diseases over time. "The data presented indicates that the average blood pressure has increased in Indians due to increased consumption of processed foods and snacks," said the director.

A new guideline has been specifically included about 'regular physical activity', keeping in mind the increasingly sedentary lifestyle being followed. The upper limit for Body Mass Index (BMI) which determines whether a person is considered obese has been lowered from 25 to 23, as Asians are at a higher risk of obesity and cardiac arrests at marginally high BMIs, he added.

However, the new-found affluence has failed to trickle down to those at the bottom, as the poor remain calorie-deficient and incidence of anaemia among children and pregnant women has increased.

He said the book recommends an increase in fat intake by 20 percent than what it was in 1998. "The book also recommends increase in calcium intake for children and adolescents to 600-800 mg per day considering under-nutrition and stunted growth still prevails," added Dr Sesikeran.

New treatment approach shall soon be ready for use in Usher syndrome patients / Publication in "Human Gene Therapy".

Usher syndrome is the most common form of combined congenital deaf-blindness in humans and affects 1 in 6,000 of the population. It is a recessive inherited disease that is both clinically and genetically heterogeneous. In the most severe cases, patients are born deaf and begin to suffer from a degeneration of the retina in puberty, ultimately resulting in complete blindness. These patients experience major problems in their day-to-day life. While hearing loss can be compensated for with hearing aids and cochlea implants, it has not proven possible to develop a treatment for the associated sight loss to date. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany have now developed a new treatment approach to this disease.

In previously conducted research into this subject, the research team headed by Professor Uwe Wolfrum of the Institute of Zoology at Mainz University had already gained insight into of the fundamental molecular processes and mechanisms causing this debilitating syndrome. Using the results of this successful basic research, the Usher treatment team in Mainz headed by Dr Kerstin Nagel-Wolfrum has now evaluated potential ocular treatment options. Their attention was focused on a mutation identified in a specific German family known to develop the most severe form of Usher syndrome. This mutation is a so-called nonsense mutation in the USH1C gene, which leads to the generation of a stop signal in a DNA base, resulting in premature termination of protein synthesis.

The Mainz research team has now published its latest work on pharmacogenetic strategies for the treatment of Usher syndrome patients with nonsense mutations in the May edition of the journal "Human Gene Therapy". The researchers were able to show that a small molecule known as PTC124 (Ataluren) causes the stop signal in the mutated USH1C gene to be ignored, thus resulting in continuing protein synthesis and the formation of the functional genetic product in cell and organ cultures. In addition to its ability to cause readthrough of stop signals, the active agent PTC124 has also been demonstrated to be highly compatible with murine and human retina cultures. Moreover, the team managed for the first time to demonstrate readthrough of an eye mutation codon in vivo.

"PTC124 is already being tested in clinical trials for its efficacy in treating other diseases involving nonsense mutations, such as cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We therefore hope that this treatment approach will soon be ready for use in Usher syndrome patients," explains Dr Kerstin Nagel-Wolfrum.

Currently putting the finishing touches on his doctoral thesis, Tobias Goldmann is comparing the efficiency of the readthrough rate and the biocompatibility of other molecules that induce the readthrough of nonsense mutations. The focus is particularly on modified aminoglycosides, i.e. derivatives of commercially available and clinically tested antibiotics. These are being designed and synthesized by an Israeli cooperation partner, Professor Timor Bassov of the Haifa Technicon, and have already been successfully used by researchers in Mainz for readthrough of nonsense mutations in Usher genes. In addition to conducting further preclinical studies of the ocular applications of these new substances, the Usher laboratory in Mainz is planning to use this new method of treating this specific form of Usher syndrome in hospital patients as soon as possible.

Snacking and super sizing are two of the dieter's worst enemies, research suggests.

The average daily calorie intake in the US has increased by almost a third in 30 years, reaching 2,374 kilocalories.

The influence of bigger portion sizes and excessive snacking outweighs the shift towards high-calorie foods, say experts.

Focusing on reducing how much and how often people eat could help tackle obesity, they report in PLoS Medicine.

Obesity levels have risen sharply in many Western countries since the 1970s. In the US, where the study was carried out, a third of all adults - more than 72 million people - are now categorised as obese.

A team from the University of North Carolina analysed data from food surveys carried out in the seventies, eighties, nineties and the last decade. The surveys record all food and drink a person consumes over a 24-hour period. The average daily energy intake of a US citizen increased from 1,803 kcal in 1977-78 to 2,374 kcal in 2003-06. In the last decade of the study alone, the average daily calorie intake went up by 229 kcal.

Several factors are involved in energy intake - the number of calories (energy) in a specific amount of food (energy density), portion size and how many meals and snacks a day eaten. The researchers say that while all of these have gone up, increases in the number of eating occasions and portion size seem to account for most of the change.

They suggest efforts to prevent obesity should focus on reducing the number of snacks and meals a day as well as portion size.

"These findings suggest a new focus for efforts to reduce energy imbalances in US adults," write Kiyah Duffey and Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina in the journal PloS Medicine.

Commenting on the paper, Dr Aine O'Connor, a scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation said: "Many factors influence total energy intake that can lead to [being] overweight and obesity but it is possible that having more eating occasions through the day, for example by frequent snacking, would increase calorie consumption and so lead to weight gain.

"This study also looked at portion size and studies have shown that having larger portions of food leads to an increased intake.

"The researchers were based in the US, but many of the factors causing the obesity epidemic there are mirrored in the UK and, for those trying to control their weight, it is important to manage both how much and how often they eat."