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1. The thermic effect of a glucose load (50 g) was studied in ten control and eleven obese female subjects, using both direct and indirect calorimetry simultaneously. Experiments were done under conditions of thermal equilibrium (28° and 30% relative humidity).. 2. Thermal balance (heat production measured by indirect calorimetry minus heat losses measured directly) was negative in the control group during the fasting period (heat deficit - 14.2 ± 5.0 kJ/m2 per h), whereas that of the obese group was in equilibrium (+ 1.4 ± 4.8 kJ/m2 per h).. 3. After the glucose load, metabolic rate increased 13.0 ± 1.5 and 5.2 ± 1.3% in the control and obese groups respectively.. 4. In contrast to the metabolic rate, total heat losses were not significantly altered in either group after the glucose load. Total heat losses of the obese group were significantly lower than those of the control group throughout the experimental period.. 5. During the experiments the amount of heat stored was increased in both groups. Thermal balance in the control group became positive while that of the obese group remained positive.. 6. During the fasting period, the control subjects oxidized more carbohydrates (90.4 mg/min) than lipids (68.8 mg/min), whereas obese subjects oxidized more lipids (103.7 mg/min) than carbohydrates (50.2 mg/min). After the glucose load, the oxidation rate of carbohydrates was increased in both groups to 158.1 mg/min in control subjects and 95.6 mg/min in obese subjects.. 7. The mean skin temperature of the control subjects was significantly higher than that of the obese subjects and remained higher throughout the postprandial period.. 8. These results indicate that: (a) during the fasting period, the energy sources utilized and the thermal balance of the two groups were different; (b) the thermic effect of glucose was less in the obese subjects and, therefore, might be a factor contributing to their low energy expenditure

In the Fall of 2003, UNESCO will consider the introduction of an international agreement on cultural diversity. Proponents of this convention view the commitments made by countries in trade agreements as weakening the ability of countries to pursue domestic policies to preserve and promote cultural diversity. We review the existing draft wording for a convention and conclude that it fails to meet the necessary conditions for an enforceable rules-based international agreement. Countries are given rights to introduce policies that promote cultural diversity but have no clear obligations. What constitutes cultural diversity is self-defined by each member country. When there is a clash between countries in the exercise of rights, no effective dispute resolution mechanism has been set out. No procedure is outlined to determine how commitments made in other trade agreements, such as the WTO affecting cultural goods and services, will be managed. The requirements for developing an effective dispute resolution mechanism are absent. In our view, a sectoral agreement within the WTO is a more promising route to follow.

The development of an appropriate regime for trade, investment and the movement of creative and professional workers in the cultural industries will be among the issues for negotiation at the WTO in 2002 and beyond. One proposal calls for a New Instrument on Cultural Diversity (NICD), an international agreement outside the WTO. Cultural diversity at the international level is akin to a domestic policy of multiculturalism adopted by some countries. We examine the rationale and enforcement of multicultural policies within Canada, a country that historically has been committed to biculturalism, English and French, and to the concerns of aboriginal cultures. The Canadian multicultural budget is insignificant in comparison to government expenditure encouraging better communication and understanding among the two established cultures and multiculturalism has had almost no effect on the complex of regulatory, tax, and subsidy policies supporting the Canadian cultural industries. The Canadian case illustrates that a modern democracy is unlikely to support multicultural policies that do more than recognize and integrate immigrant cultures into the polity. An international trade agreement cannot impose by force the cultural preferences of a majority, as a country can opt out of the agreement. There is more diversity, both of a good and bad type depending on the perspective, among those countries opting in than would occur if a global democratic state existed. A cultural industry agreement negotiated under the WTO would permit more degrees of bargaining freedom in accommodating different cultural interests among members and be enforceable on members. The NICD, in contrast, consists of gratuitous promises and fails to address the problems at issue. Proponents of the NICD believe that policies of its member countries could not be challenged under international law. Since the United States would surely retaliate to restrictions imposed on it, either the NICD’s interpretation of i

1. The thermic effect of a glucose load (50 g) was studied in ten control and eleven obese female subjects, using both direct and indirect calorimetry simultaneously. Experiments were done under conditions of thermal equilibrium (28° and 30% relative humidity).. 2. Thermal balance (heat production measured by indirect calorimetry minus heat losses measured directly) was negative in the control group during the fasting period (heat deficit - 14.2 ± 5.0 kJ/m2 per h), whereas that of the obese group was in equilibrium (+ 1.4 ± 4.8 kJ/m2 per h).. 3. After the glucose load, metabolic rate increased 13.0 ± 1.5 and 5.2 ± 1.3% in the control and obese groups respectively.. 4. In contrast to the metabolic rate, total heat losses were not significantly altered in either group after the glucose load. Total heat losses of the obese group were significantly lower than those of the control group throughout the experimental period.. 5. During the experiments the amount of heat stored was increased in both groups. Thermal balance in the control group became positive while that of the obese group remained positive.. 6. During the fasting period, the control subjects oxidized more carbohydrates (90.4 mg/min) than lipids (68.8 mg/min), whereas obese subjects oxidized more lipids (103.7 mg/min) than carbohydrates (50.2 mg/min). After the glucose load, the oxidation rate of carbohydrates was increased in both groups to 158.1 mg/min in control subjects and 95.6 mg/min in obese subjects.. 7. The mean skin temperature of the control subjects was significantly higher than that of the obese subjects and remained higher throughout the postprandial period.. 8. These results indicate that: (a) during the fasting period, the energy sources utilized and the thermal balance of the two groups were different; (b) the thermic effect of glucose was less in the obese subjects and, therefore, might be a factor contributing to their low energy expenditure

1. Total carbohydrate (CHO) and ingested glucose oxidation was measured in five obese subjects with normal glucose tolerance after an oral load of 100g naturally-labelled [13C]glucose using indirect calorimetry and mass spectrometry respectively. 2. CHO utilization rate (107 ± 14 mg/min in the post-absorptive state) increased 30 min after the glucose load to reach a plateau (245±25 mg/min) between 90 and 120 min. It then decreased to basal values at 330 min. Cumulative CHO oxidation over 480 min was 66±7 g and the CHO oxidized above basal levels was 26 ± 7g. 3. Enrichment of expired carbon dioxide with 13c began at 45 min and maximum values were observed between 210 and 300 min. At 480 min, cumulative oxidation of the ingested glucose was 24± 2 g. 4. Compared with controls, the obese subjects exhibit an impairment of CHO utilization which precedes glucose intolerance. This impairment can be explained by an increased availability of free fatty acids which favours lipid oxidation at the expense of ingested [13C]glucose oxidation

1. Carbohydrate (CHO) oxidation was measured simultaneously in a group of five normal subjects after an oral load of 100 g naturally-labelled [13C]glucose, using indirect calorimetry and mass spectrometry. 2. CHO utilization, calculated from the results of indirect calorimetry, increased 30 min after the glucose load to reach a peak at 90 min. It then decreased to reach basal values at 380 min. Cumulative total CHO oxidation at 480 min was 83±8g, and CHO oxidized above basal levels, 37±3 g. 3. Enrichment of expired carbon dioxide with 13C began at 60 min and maximum values were observed at 270 min. At 480 min, cumulative CHO oxidation measured by use of [13C]glucose was 29 g. The difference from calorimetric values can be attributed in part to the slow isotopic dilution in the glucose and bicarbonate pools. 4. Thus, approximately 30% of the glucose load was oxidized during the 8 h after its ingestion and this accounts for a significant part of the increased CHO oxidation (37 g), as measured by indirect calorimetry