METS-IR is a novel score to evaluate cardiometabolic risk in healthy and at-risk subjects and a promising tool for screening of insulin sensitivity.

BackgroundFibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) increases glucose uptake. It is unknown if FGF21 serum levels are affected by exercise.Methodology/Principal FindingsThis was a comparative longitudinal study. Anthropometric and biochemical evaluation were carried out before and after a bout of exercise and repeated after two weeks of daily supervised exercise. The study sample was composed of 60 sedentary young healthy women. The mean age was 24±3.7 years old, and the mean BMI was 21.4±7.0 kg/m2. The anthropometric characteristics did not change after two weeks of exercise. FGF21 levels significantly increased after two weeks of exercise (276.8 ng/l (142.8–568.6) vs. (460.8 (298.2–742.1), p<0.0001)). The delta (final–basal) log of serum FGF21, adjusted for BMI, showed a significant positive correlation with basal glucose (r = 0.23, p = 0.04), mean maximal heart rate (MHR) (r = 0.54, p<0.0001), mean METs (r = 0.40, p = 0.002), delta plasma epinephrine (r = 0.53, p<0.0001) and delta plasma FFAs (r = 0.35, p = 0.006). A stepwise linear regression model showed that glucose, MHR, METs, FFAs, and epinephrine, were factors independently associated with the increment in FGF21 after the exercise program (F = 4.32; r2 = 0.64, p<0.0001).ConclusionsSerum FGF21 levels significantly increased after two weeks of physical activity. This increment correlated positively with clinical parameters related to the adrenergic and lipolytic response to exercise.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01512368

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BackgroundThe effects of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) on glucose metabolism and appetite regulating hormones are not clear. There is an ongoing debate concerning NNS use and deleterious changes in metabolism.ObjectivesThe aim of this review is to analyze the scientific available evidence regarding the effects of NNS on glucose metabolism and appetite regulating hormones.Data Sources and Study Eligibility CriteriaWe identified human observational studies evaluating the relation between NNS consumption and obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, in addition to clinical trials evaluating the effects of NNS in glucose metabolism and appetite regulating hormones.ResultsFourteen observational studies evaluating the association between NNS consumption and the development of metabolic diseases and twenty-eight clinical trials studying the effects of NNS on metabolism were included. Finally, two meta-analyses evaluating the association between the consumption of NNS-containing beverages and the development of type 2 diabetes were identified.ConclusionsSome observational studies suggest an association between NNS consumption and development of metabolic diseases; however, adiposity is a confounder frequently found in observational studies. The effects of the NNS on glucose metabolism are not clear. The results of the identified clinical trials are contradictory and are not comparable because of the major existing differences between them. Studies evaluating specific NNS, with an adequate sample size, including a homogeneous study group, identifying significant comorbidities, with an appropriate control group, with an appropriate exposure time, and considering adjustment for confounder variables such as adiposity are needed.

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