Parental love is blind

Tue. Oct 07, 2008

As parents, most of us tend to view our children as perfect in every way. We overlook behavioral and physical issues in our children that others have little difficulty seeing.  The extent to which parents are oblivious to apparently obvious issues with their children may pose a health risk according to Rona L. Levy, Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle. Measuring parental perceptions of their children's current weight and perceived risk for developing obesity as an adult, Levy found that few parents recognized obesity problems in their children.

During the study, Levy measured height and weight of children in the 5-9 age group at a routine medical visit. Parents of children with elevated body mass index, indicating increased risk of obesity related illness, were mailed a series of questionnaires. The questionnaires were designed to elicit information about the parent's perception of their child's current weight and potential future risk.

Less than 13 percent of the parents of overweight kids reported their child as currently overweight. Fewer than one-third perceived that their child's risk for adult obesity was above average or very high.

"Clearly there is a significant misperception by parents of their child's weight and risk for obesity,' said Dr. Levy. "If we are going to address the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, parents' description and awareness of their children's overweight will have to be much more accurate," said Dr. Levy.

SOURCE: American Journal of Gastroenterology

Helping obese children manage their weight

Thu. Oct 02, 2008

Participating in medium to high-intensity behavioral management programs helps school-age kids and teens lose weight and prevent further weight gain.

A report released by the US Department of Health and human Services said programs teaching techniques to improve dietary and physical activity habits, along with strategies such as goal setting, problem solving and relapse prevention were the most effective.

"Effective prevention is the best way to stem the childhood obesity epidemic, but we also have to find effective and healthy ways of helping our children and teens who already are obese get to a healthier weight," said Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., Director of the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ)

About 17 percent of U.S. children and teenagers are obese.  Obese children and adolescents are at higher risk for asthma, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea and other weight-related medical problems. They may also suffer psychological harm from being stigmatized because of their appearance.

"Obese children and their families may be discouraged about their weight, but our review found there are programs out there that can help kids to either gain weight more slowly as they grow or, where appropriate, lose weight," said Evelyn Whitlock, M.D., a co-author of the report.  
AHRQ's review found that intensive, health care-based programs generally had greater effects than school-based programs and that adding prescription drugs to a behavioral weight management program helped extremely obese adolescents lose weight. However, no studies evaluated maintenance of weight loss after drug treatment ended.

SOURCE: US Department of Health and Human Services

Higher weight gains during pregnancy for dieters

Wed. Oct 01, 2008

Low birth rate and preterm birth complications are often avoided when women gain appropriate amounts of weight during pregnancy.  However, women who diet regularly, or restrict their eating in other ways, are more susceptible to excessive weight gain during pregnancy and may require additional counseling and support.

The Institute of Medicine suggests that the amount of weight a woman should gain during pregnancy is based on her prepregnancy weight. Weight gain for underweight women should be 28 to 40 lbs while normal weight women should gain 25 to 35 lbs and overweight and obese woman should gain at15 to 25 lbs and 15 lbs respectively

Researchers at the University of North Carolina found that the practice of repeatedly gaining and losing weight, known as weight cycling, or habitually restricting dietary intake were associated with weight gains above the Institute of Medicine recommendations

Anna Maria Siega-Riz, PhD, RD, suggests that these findings "could potentially be used by dietitians and health care providers at a preconception care visit or during family planning to identify women at risk for unhealthy eating behaviors. Women who are identified, particularly those who are underweight, should be followed up for potential eating disorders. For women who are not underweight, counseling and extra support could be given on healthy eating behaviors, increasing physical activity levels, and ways to eliminate stress which may increase the consumption of foods in certain social settings or in reaction to life events. During pregnancy it would be useful to target these women with similar nutritional and physical activity strategies in order to avoid excessive weight gain and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as caesarean sections, Macrosomia, and large-for-gestational age (LGA) as well as shorter duration of breastfeeding and higher weight retention in the postpartum period."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Exercising your liver cuts fat and helps your heart

Mon. Sep 29, 2008

People with type 2 diabetes can reduce their risk of developing fatty liver disease by following a program of moderate aerobic exercise says exercise physiologist Kerry Stewart, Ed.D from Johns Hopkins University.

High liver fat is common among people with type 2 diabetes and may lead to heart disease. The condition can develop into nonalcoholic fatty liver, also called hepatic steatosis, which is associated with cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.

"People with type 2 diabetes have added reason to be active and to exercise, not just because it is good for their overall health, but also because our study results pinpoint a key benefit to trimming the fatty liver that complicates their illness and which could accelerate heart disease and liver failure," says Stewart

Following the current physical fitness guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine, Stewart studied the effect that moderate exercise along with light weight lifting three times weekly had on liver fat. Magnetic resonance imaging scans showed much lower levels of liver fat in study participants who exercised compared with another group who did not.

A majority of the quarter-million people who die each year from all kinds of diabetes do so as a result of some form of heart disease or stroke. And excess body fat is known to increase the likelihood of potentially life-threatening illness because the fat leads to more inflammation in the artery walls, high blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol levels.

Stewart concludes, "The benefits in improved fitness and fatness are clear, and physicians should really have all people with type 2 diabetes actively engaged in an exercise program."

SOURCE: John Hopkins University

Thinking may be bad for your weight

Thu. Sep 25, 2008

Intellectual work causes people to consume more calories say Canadian researchers from Laval University. The more thinking a person has to do, the more calories they are inclined to eat, regardless of the number of calories actually used during intellectual activities.

Observing the spontaneous food intake of student volunteers, the researchers found that the students consumed almost 30% more calories after activities requiring heavy thought than they did when they simply rested.  This equated to about 250 more calories after intellectual work even though the difference between energy required to think and that needed to rest on a couch was a mere three calories.

Blood tests taken during the study showed that sessions of intellectual work caused greater fluctuations in blood sugar and insulin levels than were seen during rest. 

These fluctuations could be caused by the stress of intellectual work or may demonstrate a biological adaptation during glucose combustion by the brain say the researchers.  Appetite stimulation may be a response to restore the glucose balance.

"Caloric overcompensation following intellectual work, combined with the fact that we are less physically active when doing intellectual tasks, could contribute to the obesity epidemic currently observed in industrialized countries," said Jean-Philippe Chaput, the study's main author. "This is a factor that should not be ignored, considering that more and more people hold jobs of an intellectual nature."

SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine

Many parents not helping their overweight and obese children

Sun. Sep 14, 2008

As the new school year begins, parents of obese children voice concerns about how their kids will treated by classmates, say results from a University of Michigan poll.

Parents with overweight children have higher concerns about bullying at school than they do about their child's obesity.

Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the National Poll on Children's Health says, "We found that parents with overweight or obese children actually view bullying as a greater problem than childhood obesity. Since bullying is known to be a problem for children with increased weight, bullying prevention programs will need to be mindful of obesity as a potential trigger for bullying behavior, and of parents' concerns surrounding this issue."

Despite parental concern, the poll reveals that two thirds of parents with overweight children are not enforcing limits on junk food, time spent watching TV and videos, and playing computer games as measures to help their children achieve a healthier weight.
The poll found that almost 40 percent of the families polled reported one or more overweight or obese children between ages 6 and 13. Significantly, about half of the families with overweight or obese children included an obese parent. This meant that overweight or obese children are almost twice as likely to have an obese parent as healthy weight children.

Dr Davis notes, "In many families, obesity is a two-generation phenomenon among parents and their children. This trend could be the result of genetics, or behaviors such as eating habits and physical activity that are shared among parents and their children."

SOURCE: University of Michigan

Sick Fat

Fri. Sep 05, 2008

Fat tissue in obese people does not function the way it does in lean people leading researchers at Temple University School of Medicine to believe they have found a more complete explanation of the link between obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

According to Lead author Guenther Boden, M.D, fat cells from obese people exhibit more inflammation than those in lean people and the part of the cell responsible for making proteins is significantly more stressed.

Because of this stress, the endoplasmic reticulum which is the cell structure responsible for protein synthesis, produces additional proteins implicated in developing insulin resistance. 

With Insulin resistance, muscle, fat, and liver cells do not use insulin properly. Insulin helps these cells take in glucose and convert it to energy, but when the cells are resistant to insulin, excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream.  This build up of glucose plays a major role in the development and progression of obesity-related conditions  

The National Institutes of Health recently reported that each time a body mass index (BMI) over 25 is raised by one point, the risk for diabetes increases 25 percent and the risk for heart disease increases 10 percent.

Reducing weight reduces stress on the endoplasmic reticulum which lowers the risk of developing insulin resistance and related conditions.

SOURCE: Dynamic Medicine

Hunger increases as we age

Fri. Aug 29, 2008

The rate at which our body's appetite controlling cells are destroyed is increased by eating carbohydrates and sugars and may be responsible for our tendency to eat more and become fatter as we age.  

Free radicals, which occur naturally in our bodies, attack the appetite suppressing cells and create an imbalance between our need for food and the messaging system that tells us when we have had enough.  "The more carbs and sugars you eat, the more your appetite-control cells are damaged, and potentially you consume more," says Dr Zane Andrews, a neuroendocrinologist at Monash University.

Highly reactive free radicals cause cellular damage when they react with cellular components such as membranes or DNA.  This damage can lead to death of the cells. According to Dr. Andrews, meals rich in carbohydrates and sugars cause more significant cellular damage.

"People in the age group of 25 to 50 are most at risk. The neurons that tell people in the crucial age range not to over-eat are being killed-off," says Dr. Andrews.

In most people, feelings of hunger are triggered by the release of the hormone ghrelin that occurs when the stomach is empty.  A set of neurons called POMC activate when we are full providing the signal to stop eating.  However, free radicals attack the POMC causing them to degenerate over time.  This makes it more difficult for people to judge fullness accurately. 

Carbohydrate rich diets have become more prevalent in modern societies in recent years and the resulting damage to appetite-suppressing cells may contribute to the escalating problem of adult-onset obesity currently experienced by most industrialized nations.

SOURCE: Nature

Addiction drug may work for obesity

Tue. Aug 26, 2008

A drug currently under investigation for its effectiveness in treating cocaine and methamphetamine addiction may hold hope for severely obese people say US scientists.

Vigabatrin (VYE-gab-a-trin), an anticonvulsant medication most commonly used for preventing epileptic seizures, is currently under evaluation for its effectiveness against some addictive disorders. 

Scientists at the DOE's Brookhaven Laboratory found that administering vigabatrin to rats genetically bred for obesity, resulted in a 19 percent loss of total body weight after two months of treatment.  Amy DeMarco, and senior scientist Stephen Dewey, suggest that the drug made the animals feel full. 

The Brokhaven team has researched vigabatrin for over 20 years and, after finding a strong link between obesity and addiction, believes examining the effectiveness of the drug as a potential obesity treatment is particularly relevant given today's obesity rates.

Dewey said that the fact the results occurred in the genetically obese animals offers hope that this drug could potentially treat severe obesity. He adds, "This would appear to be true even if the obesity results from binge eating, as this disorder is characterized by eating patterns that are similar to drug- taking patterns in those with cocaine dependency"

SOURCE: Synapse

Poor Coordination may lead to obesity

Thu. Aug 14, 2008

Clumsy people may have more to worry about than just breaking things. Poor physical control and coordination may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity later in life say Swedish researchers.

From a sample of over 11 thousand participants in the British National Child Development Study, researchers tested children at ages 7 and 11 for hand control, coordination and clumsiness. At age 33, body mass index (BMI) was recorded for adults who had participated in the study as children.  A BMI of 30 was considered obese.

Poorly coordinated children were more likely to become obese adults according to the results of the study. Authors of the study, Walter Osika and Scott Montgomery from Orebro University Hospital in Sweden said, "Some early life exposures [such as maternal smoking during pregnancy] or personal characteristics may impair the development of physical control and coordination, as well as increasing the risk of obesity in later life."

The researchers go on to say,  "Rather than being explained by a single factor, an accumulation throughout life of many associated cultural, personal, and economic exposures is likely to underlie the risks for obesity and some elements of associated neurological function."

SOURCE: BMJ