間食が子どもの成長に影響する可能性(Snacking may impact children’s growth)

ad

2025-04-15 カーディフ大学

カーディフ大学の研究によると、食事を1日3回に分けてとる「定時食」ではなく、間食(スナッキング)を繰り返す食習慣が、子どもの成長に悪影響を及ぼす可能性があることが判明した。研究チームはラットとマウスを用いた実験で、成長ホルモンとグレリン(空腹時に分泌されるホルモン)のレベルを比較。定時食をとる個体の方が骨の成長板が厚く、成長が促進される傾向が見られた。さらに、ヒトを対象とした経鼻栄養チューブによる実験でも同様の傾向が確認された。この研究は、食事パターンと成長ホルモンの分泌との関連を科学的に示すものである。

<関連情報>

成長ホルモンのリズムをグレリン依存的に高めることで、摂食は骨格の成長を促進する Meal-feeding promotes skeletal growth by ghrelin-dependent enhancement of growth hormone rhythmicity

Amanda K.E. Hornsby, Richard C. Brown, Thomas W. Tilston, Harry A. Smith, Alfonso Moreno-Cabañas, Bradley Arms-Williams, Anna L. Hopkins, Katie D. Taylor, Simran K.R. Rogaly, Lois H.M. Wells, Jamie J. Walker, Jeffrey S. Davies, Yuxiang Sun, Jeffrey M. Zigman, James A. Betts, and Timothy Wells
Journal of Clinical Investigation  Published: April 1, 2025

Graphical Abstract

間食が子どもの成長に影響する可能性(Snacking may impact children’s growth)

Abstract

The physiological impact of ultradian temporal feeding patterns remains a major unanswered question in nutritional science. We have employed automated and nasogastric feeding to address this question in male rodents and human volunteers. While grazing and meal-feeding reduced food intake in parallel (compared to ad libitum-fed rodents), body length and tibial epiphysial plate width were maintained in meal-fed rodents via the action of ghrelin and its receptor, GHS-R. Grazing and meal-feeding initially suppressed elevated pre-prandial ghrelin levels in rats, followed by either a sustained elevation in ghrelin in grazing rats or pre-prandial ghrelin surges in meal-fed rats. Episodic growth hormone (GH) secretion was largely unaffected in grazing rats, but meal-feeding tripled GH secretion, with burst height augmented and two additional bursts of GH per day. Continuous nasogastric infusion of enteral feed in humans failed to suppress circulating ghrelin, producing continuously elevated circulating GH with minimal rhythmicity. In contrast, bolus enteral infusion elicited post-prandial ghrelin troughs accompanied by reduced circulating GH, with enhanced ultradian rhythmicity. Taken together, our data imply that the contemporary shift from regular meals to snacking behaviour may be detrimental to optimal skeletal growth outcomes by sustaining circulating GH at levels associated with undernourishment and diminishing GH pulsatility.

医療・健康
ad
ad
Follow
ad
タイトルとURLをコピーしました