July 21, 2017
8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Palace Hotel
2 New Montgomery St., San Francisco, California
Open to the public with registration (form below)
The importance of diet to health was clear when scientists unraveled the relationship of Vitamin C to scurvy, Vitamin B1 to beriberi, and Vitamin D to rickets. However, how important is this relationship today, when these and other essential dietary components are available as supplements, and the leading cause of death worldwide is cardiovascular disease? Yes, everyone knows that diet is important with regard to how much we eat. Excess calorie intake causes accumulation of excess body fat, and excess body fat is associated with increased risk for cardiometabolic disease. However, as long as we are consuming all the dietary essentials, either in food or by supplementation, does it matter what we eat? Is it only the quantity of calories that matters, or are there specific pathways/mechanisms by which commonly-consumed dietary components may contribute to obesity and cardiometabolic diseases independently of their energy content?
This is the question we will explore at the 2017 CrossFit Foundation Academic Conference “Diet and Cardiometabolic Health - Beyond Calories.” Leading researchers will present pathways and mechanisms by which the foods we eat might adversely affect cardiometabolic health. In the morning session, the focus will be on foods and pathways that may make “beyond calorie” contributions to adiposity. Dr. Laura Schmidt will introduce the conference with a discussion of the implications of a “beyond calories” perspective for science, public policy, and public health. Dr. Eric Stice will discuss elevated brain reward region response to high-calorie, highly palatable foods. Dr. Peter Turnbaugh will discuss the involvement of gut microbes in diet-induced obesity. Dr. Allison Sylvetsky will discuss whether non-nutritive sweeteners are helpful or harmful in preventing obesity. Dr. Anja Bosy-Westphal and Dr. Arne Astrup will debate whether the high carbohydrate diet promotes adiposity compared to the high fat diet.
Our focus will then turn to foods and pathways that may increase cardiometabolic risk independently of adiposity. Dr. Kimber Stanhope will contrast the effects of specific carbohydrates on risk factors, including fructose, glucose, fructose + glucose and starch. Dr. Jean-Marc Schwarz will address the weight-independent effects of fructose on the liver, including de novo lipogenesis, fat accumulation and insulin resistance. Dr. Michael Goran will discuss the possibility that a high sugar maternal diet can mediate adverse health effects before a baby ever has its first spoonful of sugar. Dr. Ron Krauss will present the latest science comparing saturated fats, unsaturated fats, and carbohydrates on cardiometabolic risk and cardiometabolic treatment. In conclusion, Dr. Janet King will summarize the totality of the evidence and the real-world application for each topic.
We expect plenty of provocative questions and stimulating discussion, as some of the leading experts in nutrition and metabolism will be in attendance: Drs. Dennis Bier, George Bray, Christopher Gardner, Peter Havel, James Hill, Michael Jensen, Vasanti Malik, Eric Ravussin, Michael Rosenbaum, and Jean Welsh. These experts will work with the speakers and the chairperson of the conference consensus statement planning session, Dr. MRC Greenwood, to summarize the topics and conclusions presented at the conference for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Schedule
Introduction: Public Health, Public Policy
9 a.m. Laura Schmidt, University of California, San Francisco
"It’s not just the calories”—Implications for science, public policy, and public health
Emerging Concepts in Nutritional Effects on Adiposity
9:25 a.m. Eric Stice, Oregon Research Institute
Elevated brain reward region response to high-calorie, highly palatable foods: Does it lead to weight gain and can it be prevented?
10:05 a.m. Peter Turnbaugh, University of California, San Francisco
Microbes and diet-induced obesity: Fast, cheap, and out of control
10:25 a.m. Allison Sylvetsky, The George Washington University
Non-nutritive sweeteners: Helpful or harmful for weight management and chronic disease prevention?
10:45 a.m. Anja Bosy-Westphal, University of Hohenheim, and Arne Astrup, University of Copenhagen
Debate: Does high carbohydrate diet promote obesity?
Nutritional Effects on Cardiometabolic Health
1:50 p.m. Kimber Stanhope, University of California, Davis
Fructose and glucose and starch: Carbohydrates on different paths
2:30 p.m. Jean-Marc Schwarz, Touro University – California College of Osteopathic Medicine; University of California, San Francisco
Weight-independent effects of fructose on hepatic de novo lipogenesis, liver fat, lipid profile and insulin resistance
3:10 p.m. Michael Goran, University of Southern California
Secondhand sugars: Role of dietary sugars in the early development of obesity and metabolic risk
3:50 p.m. Ronald Krauss, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute
Saturated fats vs. unsaturated fats vs. carbohydrates for cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment
Conclusion
4:30 p.m. Janet King, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute
Diet and health: Thoughts and applications beyond calories in the real world
