Vitamin A and thyroid hormone status was investigated in 27 patients with anorexia nervosa. Subjects were divided into three groups based on eating behavior and serum carotene concentrations: anorexic (dietary restriction), normal carotene; anorexic, elevated serum carotene; bulimic, elevated serum carotene. All bulimic subjects fulfilling selection criteria were hypercarotenemic (weight loss and reduced metabolic rate). Data were compared to normal healthy volunteers. Serum retinol and retinol-binding protein levels were normal in all subjects whereas retinyl esters were elevated in the hypercarotenemic groups. Hypercarotenemia was primarily a result of elevation of vitamin A active carotenoids, especially beta-carotene. Diet was excluded from the etiology of hypercarotenemia. Thyroid hormones T4 and T3 were significantly depressed in hypercarotenemic groups and rT3 increased. A concomitant alteration in vitamin-hormone status is observed with progressive metabolic alterations: low T3, T4, and elevated retinyl esters in subjects with the hypercarotenemia associated with anorexia nervosa.

Scotland's population has become increasingly ethnically diverse. The aim of this study was to better understand future changes to the ethnic profile of the population and the implications for population health. The literature regarding ethnicity and health, particularly in the Scottish context, was reviewed alongside analyses of past trends and new future projections (2011-2031) of the size of the non-White ethnic minority population in Scotland and Glasgow (Scotland's largest and most ethnically diverse city). The literature emphasises that the relationships between ethnicity, socioeconomic position (SEP) and health are extremely complex. In Scotland this complexity is arguably enhanced, given the different, less disadvantaged, SEP profile of many ethnic minority groups compared with those in other countries. Although indicators of overall health status have been shown to be better among many non-White ethnic minority groups compared with the White Scottish population, such analyses mask varying risks of particular diseases among different groups. This complexity extends to understanding the underlying causes of these differences, including the 'healthy migrant' effect, 'acculturation', and the impact of different types and measures of SEP. The proportion of the population belonging to a non-White ethnic group increased four-fold in both Scotland and Glasgow between 1991 and 2011. New projections suggest that by 2031, around 20% of Glasgow's total population (and 25% of children) will belong to a non-White minority group. Given this, there is a clear need for policy-makers and serviceplanners to seek to understand the implications of these changes to the Scottish population.

In the last twenty years, powerful new molecular techniques were introduced that made it possible to advance knowledge in human biology using a reductionist approach. Now, the need for scientists to deal with complexity should drive a movement toward an integrationist approach to science. We propose that nutritional science is one of the best reservoirs for this approach. The American Society for Nutritional Sciences can play an important role by developing and delivering a cogent message that convinces the scientific establishment that nutrition fills this valuable niche. The society must develop a comprehensive strategy to develop our image as the reservoir for life sciences integration. Our efforts can start with our national meeting and publications, with the research initiatives for which we advocate, with our graduate training programs and with the public relations image we project for ourselves. Defining the image and future directions of nutrition as the discipline that can integrate scientific knowledge from the cell and molecule to the whole body and beyond to populations can be the most important task that our society undertakes. If we do not effectively meet this challenge, a golden opportunity will pass to others and nutritional scientists will be left to follow them.

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