Aging is often accompanied by lower intakes of food energy and consequent negative effects on health. To some extent this is due to declines in physiological ability, including the sensory responsiveness to regulate food intake. Fortunately, environmental factors may still influence food intake in older adults. Factors such as social facilitation, modeling, and nutrition knowledge and skills have been shown to stimulate their food intake. While environmental factors such as the eating location, portion size, food presentation, and labeling are known to influence eating behavior, their effectiveness in stimulating food intake in older persons is not well delineated. It is suggested that improving the environmental stimuli that promote food intake is a viable strategy to overcome age-related declines in nutrient intakes. This strategy is so promising that further research is warranted.

Awakening experiences are powerful and transcendent experiences that profoundly affect the individual. There appears to be an essential core experience of oneness. It is experienced as a completely subjective phenomenon where awareness contains reality and the notions of an external reality and a separate self are perceived as delusions. A model is presented of awakening experiences that postulates 3 layers of processing, sensory, perceptual, and cognitive, that separate external energy from awareness. The model hypothesizes that awakening experiences results from the progressive removal of the cognitive, perceptual, and sensory layers of information processing. This to some extent returns awareness to a primal state that was present before the development of neural information processing. The model simplifies, summarizes, and explains awakening experiences and is consistent with neural system activity observed during contemplative practice, transcendent states, and hallucinatory drug use and with the effects of changes in the neural systems on experiences.

Contemplative practices can have profound effects on mindfulness and on physical and sensory and mystical experiences. Individuals who self-reported meditation, yoga, contemplative prayer, or a combination of practices and their patterns of practice were compared for mindfulness, kundalini effects, and mystical experiences. The results suggest that the amount of practice but not the pattern and social conditions of practice influences mindfulness and possibly mystical experiences. Meditation, yoga, contemplative prayer, or a combination of practices all were found to be associated with enhancements of mindfulness, kundalini effects, and mystical experiences, but meditation had particularly strong associations and may be the basis of the associations of yoga and prayer with these outcomes. The results further suggest that the primary association of contemplative practices is with the real time awareness and appreciation of sensory and perceptual experiences which may be the intermediary between disparate practices and mindfulness, kundalini effects, and mystical experiences.

The present chapter describes the influence of satiety on intake as it occurs in the complex, multi-determinant environments where intake normally occurs. Rhythms, social facilitation, stomach contents, palatability, dietary density, restraint, and the built environment have all been shown to have significant, genetically affected, influences on intake, independent of each other and of the influence of satiety. Hence, in the real-world environments of humans, satiety appears to play a role affecting intake, but its impact is relatively small and embedded among a myriad of other factors.

The built environment has been implicated in the development of the epidemic of obesity. We investigated the differences in the meal patterns of normal weight vs. overweight/obese individuals occurring at home vs. other locations. The location of meals and their size in free-living participants were continuously recorded for 7 consecutive days. Study 1: 81 males and 84 females recorded their intake in 7-day diet diaries and wore a belt that contained a GPS Logger to record their location continuously for 7 consecutive days. Study 2: 388 males and 621 females recorded their intake in diet diaries for 7 consecutive days. In both studies, compared to eating at home, overweight/obese participants ate larger meals away from home in both restaurants and other locations than normal weight participants. Overweight/obese individuals appear to be more responsive to environmental cues for eating away from home. This suggests that the influence of the built environment on the intake of overweight/obese individuals may contribute to the obesity epidemic.

Cover: Stylised confocal image of a zebrafish retina 5 days after fertilisation. Müller glia extend processes throughout the retina, providing structural and non-cellautonomous support for retinal neurons. The zebrafish protein harmonin (red) localises to Müller cell bodies and processes. Müller cells are also labelled in green in this image, appearing yellow/orange when merged with the red. Defects or deletions in harmonin are causative of Usher syndrome type 1C (USH1C), a severe form of hereditary deafblindness. Zebrafish models of human USH1C implicate Müller cells as contributors to visual function and photoreceptor survival. See article by Phillips et al. on page 786. VOLUME 4 | NUMBER 6 | NOVEMBER 2011

The close correspondence between energy intake and expenditure over prolonged time periods, coupled with an apparent protection of the level of body adiposity in the face of perturbations of energy balance, has led to the idea that body fatness is regulated via mechanisms that control intake and energy expenditure. Two models have dominated the discussion of how this regulation might take place. The set point model is rooted in physiology, genetics and molecular biology, and suggests that there is an active feedback mechanism linking adipose tissue (stored energy) to intake and expenditure via a set point, presumably encoded in the brain. This model is consistent with many of the biological aspects of energy balance, but struggles to explain the many significant environmental and social influences on obesity, food intake and physical activity. More importantly, the set point model does not effectively explain the ‘obesity epidemic’ – the large increase in body weight and adiposity of a large proportion of individuals in many countries since the 1980s. An alternative model, called the settling point model, is based on the idea that there is passive feedback between the size of the body stores and aspects of expenditure. This model accommodates many of the social and environmental characteristics of energy balance, but struggles to explain some of the biological and genetic aspects. The shortcomings of these two models reflect their failure to address the gene-by-environment interactions that dominate the regulation of body weight. We discuss two additional models – the general intake model and the dual intervention point model – that address this issue and might offer better ways to understand how body fatness is controlled.

OBJECTIVE:America On the Move (AOM) is a national weight gain prevention initiative that promotes small lifestyle changes by increasing walking by 2000 steps/day and reducing energy intake by about 100 kcal/day. The study's intent was to determine the impact of these small changes recommendations on steps/day and energy intake. METHODS:In this cross-sectional study, food and fluid intake and physical activity in 116 healthy overweight adults (BMI: 25-36 kg/m(2); age: 18-60y) was compared between a non-intervention and an intervention week using diet diaries and pedometers. The major outcomes were steps/day, daily caloric intake, macronutrient intake and meal size. Within subject ANOVAs were conducted to compare results between intervention and non-intervention weeks. RESULTS:Total energy intake was lower during intervention week than non-intervention week (P < .01), including macronutrient contents (all P's < .01), meal size (P < .01), consumption of sugar (P < .01), sugared sodas (P < .01) and sodium (P < .01). Steps/day were higher during intervention week than non-intervention week (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS:The results support previous research showing that the message to increase steps/day results in an increase in physical activity. The results demonstrate for the first time that the message to reduce intake by 100 kcal/day does actually result in a lower intake in the short term. People seem to be able to make positive changes in diet and physical activity in response to these messages. If these small changes can be sustained, this approach could be effective in preventing further weight gain in the population.

Intake in the morning is associated with a reduction in the total intake for the day, while intake at night is associated with greater overall daily intake. These associations are macronutrient specific, with morning carbohydrate intake associated with reduced daily carbohydrate intake, morning fat intake associated with reduced daily fat intake and morning protein intake associated with reduced daily protein intake. Since different types of foods contain differing proportions of macronutrients, the present study investigated the associations of different types of foods ingested at various times of day with total daily and macronutrient intakes. The intakes of 388 male and 621 female free-living individuals reported in 7 d diet diaries were reanalysed. The intakes of twenty-four different types of foods and seven different drinks occurring during the morning (04.00–10.29 hours), afternoon (10.30–16.59 hours) and evening (17.00–02.00 hours) were identified and related to overall daily intakes. Dairy foods, ice cream, beef, other meats, potatoes, pastry, nuts, chips and snacks, condiments, alcohol and soda were significantly associated with higher total intake over the day, while fruit, soup, breakfast cereal, pasta, pizza, water, coffee/tea and diet soda were either not associated or were associated with lower overall intake. Dietary energy density appeared to mediate the associations between particular foods and beverages and overall energy intake. This suggests that eating low-density foods in the morning and avoiding high-density foods at night might aid in reducing overall intake and may be useful in dietary interventions for overweight and obesity.

Objective: The relation of cigarette smoking to food and fluid intakes was studied.Methods: Ninety-nine smoking and 551 non-smoking free-living adult humans provided a detailed record of their eating and drinking in 7-d diaries.Results: Cigarette smoking was associated with significant changes in overall intakes and meal pattern. Smokers had higher intakes of fluids in the form of drinks due to higher levels of alcohol and coffee/tea consumption. Smokers were less hungry but more responsive to social facilitation and time of day. There were also substantial gender differences in smoking relations to intake, with male smokers tending to have higher overall and meal intakes particularly of fats than non-smokers, whereas female smokers tended to have lower overall intakes, fewer rneals, and lower amounts of carbohydrates than non-smokers. Male smokers tended to be less responsive to their before-meal stomach content, their level of hunger, and the palatability of the meal than non-smokers, whereas females tend to be more responsive to all of these influences on meal size.Conclusion: These results suggest that smoking has very few direct simple effects on intake but rather influences intake indirectly through its covariation with alcohol and caffeine intakes and with dietary restraint and that smoking has different, sometimes opposite, influences in males and females. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intake in the morning is particularly satiating and associated with lower total amounts ingested for the day while intake at night is associated with greater overall daily intake. But, the influence of carbohydrates, fats or proteins ingested at various times of the day is unknown. The intakes of 375 male and 492 female free-living individuals that were acquired with 7 d diet-diary reports were reanalysed. The intakes of carbohydrates, fats and proteins, and the density of intake occurring during three 6 h periods (06.00 to 11.59 hours (morning), 12.00 to 17.59 hours (afternoon) and 18.00 to 23.59 hours (evening)) were identified and related to overall daily and meal intakes. Energy density of intake during all periods was found to be positively related to overall intake. When the proportion of daily carbohydrate ingested in the morning was high, less total food energy and carbohydrate were ingested over the entire day. When the proportion of daily fat ingested in the morning was high, less total food energy and carbohydrate and fat were ingested over the entire day. When the proportion of daily protein ingested in the morning was high, less protein was ingested over the entire day. Conversely, when intake was relatively high in the evening of either total food energy, carbohydrate or fat, then overall daily energy intakes tended to be higher. The results suggest that the morning intake association with reduced total intake is macronutrient specific, with morning carbohydrate, fat and protein intake associated with reduced daily carbohydrate, fat and protein intake, respectively.

h e i w b a d p t w How is it that a scientist comes to study eating behavior nd body weight regulation when he really is not particuarly interested in either? This sentiment often comes as a urprise to people. I once had a prospective graduate student ome to interview with me. When she entered my office, she id a double take and looked a bit startled. I asked what the atter was and she stammered that she was surprised beause she was expecting me to be obese. I asked her why he thought so and she answered that because I studied ating she assumed that I had a personal problem with it. he fact of the matter is I do not. I am actually one of the ucky ones who until recently could pretty much eat whatver I wanted and gain no weight. So why do I have an nterest in studying eating? First and foremost, I am a psychologist. If we look at the oot meaning of the word psychology, it roughly translates o the study of the mind. The human mind, its nature and echanism, has always fascinated me and the field of psyhology afforded me the opportunity to spend my career tudying it. Initially I thought the best way to study the mind as to focus on studying the organ of the mind, i.e., the ervous system. So I trained as a physiological psychologist nd spent my graduate career at the University of Massahusetts studying physiology and its relation to behavior. y initial research attempted to uncover the role of the rain’s limbic system in the control of behavior and mental rocesses. I employed the classic strategy of manipulating a neural tructure observing how the organism’s behavior was afected. This information was then used to infer what the unction of the structure might be. Putting aside the fact that n those days the manipulations were very crude, I realized hat there was a major logical flaw in the paradigm of ttempting to ascertain the function of a physical structure. he logic required that multiple measurements and manip-

The relationship of listening to music while eating with food consumption in the natural environment was assessed in 78 college students. They recorded their food intake along with environmental factors such as meal duration, music, including speed and volume, location, number of people present and the time of day in a detailed diet diary for 7 consecutive days. The data show that the presence of music is associated with higher food intake. Within subject comparisons revealed higher food and fluid intake and longer meal duration while listening to music but no significant differences in music speed or volume. The likelihood of listening to music appeared to be associated with the environmental variables of the number of people present and the time of day. The presence of music appears to be one of a set of environmental factors that influences food and fluid intake in the natural world.

Objectives: This study explored the influence of physiologic and subjective arousal on ambient factors of the food environment, such as the eating location, the presence of other people, sound, and time of day and on food intake. It was hypothesized that the influence of environmental stimuli on food intake would be mediated by arousal.Methods: College students were asked to wear heart rate monitors and to record their food intake in a 7-d diet diary. Subjective arousal (elation and excitement) and aspects of the eating environment were recorded for each meal occasion.Results: Results showed that subjective arousal seems to be related to food intake (P < 0.01) and appears to be affected by environmental stimuli such as the eating location (P < 0.01) and the number of people present (P < 0.01), but only small effects of some environmental stimuli on heart rate were found with higher average heart rates in restaurants (P < 0.05). No effects of heart rate on food intake were detected. Regression analyses failed to show arousal as a significant mediator between environmental stimuli and food intake.Conclusion: It can be concluded that, for normal individuals in their everyday environment, ambient influences on food intake are not mediated by changes in arousal. However, the environment and the emotional state of the individual appear to play a role in the individual's eating behavior. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dietary energy density has been shown to have large effects on short-term food intake. Little is known, however, about its origins. We investigated the influence of heredity, shared (familial) environment, and individual environment on dietary energy density and its relationship to food intake with 110 identical and 102 fraternal same-sex and 53 fraternal mixed gender adult twin pairs who were paid to maintain 7-day food intake diaries. From the diary reports, the total and meal intakes of food energy, the amounts of the macronutrients ingested, and dietary energy density were estimated. Linear structural modeling was applied to investigate the nature and degree of genetic and environmental influences. The analysis revealed significant genetic and individual environmental, but not shared (familial) environmental, influences on the dietary densities of the reported diets. But, there was no genetic or familial influences on the responsiveness of the individual to dietary density. Dietary energy density appears to be another component in a package of genetically determined physiological, sociocultural, and psychological processes that influence the regulation of energy balance.

Dietary energy density markedly influences the daily dietary intake of humans. The present study examined the relation of energy density to dietary intake and body size in 371 male and 581 female adults. The subjects were free-living and provided a detailed record of their everyday food and drink intake in 7-d food diaries. The reported diets were analyzed for the relation of energy density to body size and to per-meal, daily, and weekly dietary intake. High energy density was associated with greater (P < 0.001) total intake, especially of fat, when intake was correlated with energy density (r = 0.26, P < 0.001) and when the daily intake of individual participants was correlated with their daily dietary density (r = 0.66, P < 0.001). These results occurred regardless of sex, low reporting, or the inclusion of drinks in the energy density calculations. High energy density was also associated with a high rate of intake (r = 0.46, P < 0.001) and large meal sizes (r = 0.61, P < 0.001). However, energy density was not correlated with body size, height, weight, or body mass index. High energy density appears to be related to greater overall intake in the short-term, but there may be compensation over the long term, with no net effect on body size.