Weight Loss: October 2006 Archives

Good health isn't just in the details, but small things can certainly add up.

Eat 100 calories extra a day and you could weigh 10 pounds more at the end of the year. Wearing the same shoes every day can strain your body. Regular exposure to subway noise can not only affect your hearing, but also raise your blood pressure and levels of stress hormones. A poorly organized workspace can result in back and neck discomfort that shouldn't be ignored.

"Those little aches and pains — that's your body telling you something isn't right," says Alan Hedge, Ph.D., professor of ergonomics at Cornell University.

BOSTON, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Studies presented at a meeting of the Obesity Society in Boston have suggested that water helps weight loss and low-fat foods may hinder it.

The first study, which analyzed data from 240 overweight women, aged 25 to 50 and using popular carbohydrate-limiting diet plans, found that dieters who replaced all the sugary drinks in their diets with water lost an average of 5 pounds more a year than dieters who continued to consume the beverages, USA Today reported Wednesday.

By Madelyn Fernstrom, Ph.D., CNS

My column earlier this week on dieters who take prescription medications that aren’t approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for weight-loss purposes, “Quick-fix diet drugs: Effective or harmful?,” prompted many “Today” readers to ask if there are any diet aids that could make it easier for them to lose some extra pounds more manageable. Losing weight is really hard, and we’re all looking for ways to make it easier. Here are some of your thoughts and queries that I hope will help you add effective tools to what I called your “weight-loss toolbox.”

Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) is urging new mothers to eat healthily as they battle to lose their post-baby weight, after she successfully slimmed down following the birth of her son, Kingston.

The singer avoided drastic crash diets taken by many celebrity mothers and lost weight gradually after Kingston's birth in May.

The milk ads want you to believe that milk drinkers weigh less, but if they are indeed lighter, it's not because of the calcium in the milk.

Taking calcium supplements does not help overweight and obese people slim down, researchers from the National Institutes of Health found in a randomized study of 340 adults.

After two years, people who were assigned to take calcium pills twice daily did not weigh any less than people assigned to a placebo. These findings were presented today at the Obesity Society meeting in Boston.

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by Gary Matthews, http://www.maximumfitness.com

Lets face it, every regime has its own supply of useless folklore and half-truths that get passed on down the line from person to person. But I'd put weight loss up against any of them for what has to be the most time wasting and even the most dangerous myths out there.

There is a ton of free advice seen in the media these days and if it is taken seriously, can really set you back on your weight loss endeavours. This can lead to the kind of frustration that makes people think they are "destined to remain fat for the rest of their life".

This in not true, Have a look at the Weight loss myths below and draw your own conclusions.

BOSTON - The "Freshman 15" is more like 5 to 7, but it is followed by the "Sophomore 2 or 3," say researchers who led two of the largest and longest studies ever done of weight gain among college students.

The research also showed that males piled on significantly more pounds than females.

Doctors say it is good news that the number of pounds gained is less than the widely believed 15, but bad news that "Generation XL" kids seem to be learning patterns of gradual weight gain that could spell trouble way beyond graduation.

Saint James Hospital has announced the first implantation of a gastric band in Malta, during an operation performed at St James Hospital on 5 October.

This procedure is the latest surgical treatment to help morbidly obese patients achieve sustained weight loss, resulting in reduced mortality and an improved quality of life.

Obesity, defined as a disease of excess fat storage sufficient to harm health, is now recognised as a global public health problem, with an estimated 135 million people in Europe alone classified as obese (six million of these are classified as morbidly obese). It is now the second-highest preventable cause of death, after smoking. Obesity is a complex disorder, not solely caused by over-eating. Genetic, environmental, physiological, and physical factors can all predispose a person to excessive weight gain.

OSTON, Massachusetts (AFP) - Obesity -- which affects one in every three Americans -- and the illnesses associated with it cost the United States some 90.7 billion dollars a year in health care costs, a University of Pennsylvania researcher said.

Among developed countries, the United States has the most obese and overweight people, representing 66 percent of its overall population.

Costs tied to excess pounds (or kilograms) account for 5.04 percent of all US health care costs

Can people get fat -- and risk debilitating diabetes -- without overeating?

The answer may be yes, according to Timothy Kieffer, a University of British Columbia researcher, who has found that imbalance in the action of a hormone called leptin produces obesity and major disturbance in blood sugar levels, even when food intake is at normal levels.

The findings were published this month in Cell Metabolism.

No, I am not going to write about how Britney Spears goes on shopping spree to celebrate her weight loss.. This is just sad.

Latest numbers on overweight and obesity.
I am 10 kg over my normal weight. How about you?

A billion people out of the world's six billion population are now considered overweight, compared with 800 million who do not have enough to eat.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Two years ago, Denmark declared war on artery-clogging oils, making it illegal for any food to have more than 2 percent trans fats. Offenders now face hefty fines — or even prison terms.

The result? Today, hardly anyone notices the difference. The french fries are still crispy. The pastries are still scrumptious. And the fried chicken is still tasty.Denmark’s experience offers a hopeful example for places like Canada and New York City, which are considering setting limits on the dangerous artery-clogging fats.

A trend for children and adolescents to stay up later and sleep less may be linked to rising levels of obesity, according to a review of existing research published on Thursday.

Bristol University researcher Shahad Taheri said televisions, computers, mobile phones and other gadgets should be banned from children's bedrooms to enable them to get a good night's sleep.

Really? Check this article out. It is based on some review done in Austrialia back to 1985.

Read on

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mothers who breast-feed their infant may help reduce the child's risk of becoming obese, even mothers who have diabetes and are obese, according to the findings of a study published in the October issue of Diabetes Care.
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The results of a previous large study found that breast-feeding had a protective effect against excess weight gain in adolescence - and that the protective effect increased the longer the infant was breast-fed. For the current study, Dr. Elizabeth J. Mayer-Davis, of the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and colleagues examined if this protective effect is reduced if the mother had diabetes or was obese during pregnancy.

Overweight youngsters are put off by campaigns that try to get them to lose weight by concentrating on the way they look - and are likely to gorge even more, a study shows.

They are no more motivated to change their eating habits than those who are happy with their appearance, say researchers.

But getting children of all shapes and sizes to think more about their bodies - not necessarily favourably or unfavourably - makes them much more receptive to campaigns about losing weight and keeping healthy.

- say scientists

It is bad for your blood pressure, knocks years off your life and is a strain on your heart. Now scientists have discovered that gaining weight lowers your intelligence.

The findings follow last week's government figures that show Britain as the "fat man" of Europe, with nearly a quarter of adults and more than 14 per cent of children under 16 classified as obese.

The new five-year study of more than 2,200 adults claims to have found a link between obesity and the decline in a person's cognitive function. The research, conducted by French scientists, which is published in this month's Neurology journal, involved men and women aged between 32 and 62 taking four mental ability tests that were then repeated five years later.

It's not unusual to occasionally lose track of your weight-loss program and slip back into old patterns of unhealthy eating and minimal exercise. In fact, you can expect it to happen and have a plan in place to recover when it does. It takes time and regular reinforcement for your new healthy behaviors to become habits.

Use these tips to help you deal with occasional weight-loss setbacks:

• Take charge. Accept responsibility for your own behavior. Remember that ultimately only you can help yourself lose weight.
• Avoid risky situations. If all-you-can-eat buffets are just too much temptation, avoid them, at least until you feel more in control of your new eating behavior.

by Gary Matthews, 14 Oct 2006

Are you sick and tired of being fat and unable to lose weight!! There is an answer! Please listen; if you want your weight loss regime to work you will have to perform

'Strength training' and there is just no getting around it.

It is absolutely imperative that during the course of a lifetime not only for your weight loss goals but also for general health and well being that you must use these valuable tool.

By Debra Sherman, Reuters, 13 Oct 2006

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Stomach-stapling surgery to combat obesity may be done in the future with a tube inserted through the mouth, making the procedure safer than using an incision and opening the way for more people to undergo it, doctors say.

Doctors have performed about 1 million bariatric surgeries worldwide, in which the stomach is stapled to make it smaller so people eat less, and experts say it's the best method to lose weight and keep it off.

Doing the surgery without incisions will make it a lower-risk, lower-cost proposition and may be applicable to patients who are less obese than those who are currently considered for surgery, said Dr. Philip Schauer, head of bariatric surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, which is hosting a three-day meeting on obesity.

NEW YORK - Health experts Friday dismissed claims that a new green tea-based drink that claims to burn calories by speeding up the drinker’s metabolic rate would help people lose weight.

Beverage giant Coca-Cola Co. unveiled plans on Thursday to start selling Enviga, a sparkling, caffeinated soft drink, claiming that consuming three 12-ounce cans over 24 hours could burn off between 60 to 100 calories.

Coke has developed the drink, which will come in three flavors — green tea, berry and peach —in partnership with Swiss food giant Nestle SA.

by Kim Dixon and Debra Sherman, Reuters, 12 Oct 2006

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - The new head of Johnson & Johnson's surgical-device unit is campaigning to convince employers to cover an increasingly popular but pricey surgery for obesity.

Nearly one-third of the U.S. adult population is obese and patients are lining up for the surgery, but U.S. employers are having trouble swallowing the minimum $25,000 price tag. The cost can double if complications emerge after surgery.

by Miranda Hitti, WebMD, 11 Oct 2006

Have you shed some extra pounds? A new medical study provides tips for keeping the weight off.

People who weigh daily and meet regularly with others trying to maintain a new, lower weight are more successful, according to the study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

"Most dieters regain about a third of the weight lost during the next year and are typically back to baseline [their pre-diet weight] in 3 to 5 years," write Rena Wing, PhD, and colleagues.

TUESDAY, Oct. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity increases the risk that patients will suffer complications during spinal surgery, U.S. researchers report.

In the study, a team from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia reviewed 332 cases of thoracic and lumbar spinal surgery for routine degenerative conditions.

Of the patients in the study, 71 percent were overweight, including 39 percent who were obese.

The study compared mental abilities to body mass index (BMI), a measurement of weight in relation to height used to define overweight and obesity. A BMI of 25 or more indicates overweight, and 30 or more is obese.

The finding may help explain why overweight men are likely to be diagnosed when their disease is more advanced, the researchers wrote the journal Cancer.

The test is for prostate specific antigen, or PSA. This protein is produced only by prostate cells and circulates in the blood.

by Malcolm Burgess , 8 Sep 2006

SYDNEY (AFP) - Governments must wake up to the scourge of obesity or it will soon be too late to win the battle against the global epidemic, a senior World Health Organization official warned.

Professor Robert Beaglehole's warning concluded a week-long summit at which 2,000 delegates exchanged research on a health problem the WHO says now affects more than one billion people globally --- nearly one in six people.

Beaglehole, the WHO's director of chronic disease, said public health bodies must learn from the fight against tobacco to "harangue" and educate health ministers who doubted the urgency of acting on obesity.

"The critical lesson from tobacco is waiting too long -- 50 years -- from the first evidence," he said.

"There would not be one minister of health who doesn't now appreciate the importance of tobacco control."

Obesity is out of control and there is sufficient evidence to convince governments to take urgent action, he said.

Children can't change their exercise and eating habits by themselves. They need the help and support of their families and other caregivers. This is why successful prevention and treatment of childhood obesity starts at home.

Childhood obesity is usually caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little. So creating new family habits around healthy eating and increased physical activity can help a child lose weight and can also improve the health of other members of the family.

PARIS (AFP) - The belief that obesity can be thwarted by getting tubby kids to exercise more is misplaced, says a study among nursery-school children. In an unusual experiment, British researchers tested the exercise theory among 545 preschoolers among 36 nurseries in the Scottish city of Glasgow, where fatty diets and a couch potato lifestyle are entrenched.

With the consent of the children's parents and help of nursery-school staff, the researchers had half of the children do three 30-minute sessions of physical activity each week, while the other half followed their normal kindergarten routine.

Parents in the "exercise" group were also given an information pack about encouraging physical play and reducing the time a child spent watching TV. The leaflets did not mention changes to diet.

After six months, and again after a year, the doctors checked the children to measure their body mass index (BMI) -- a height-to-weight ratio that is a good indicator of fat.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese individuals who undergo stomach surgery may not properly absorb certain medications and nutrients from vitamins, minerals and dietary supplements afterwards, a review of published studies suggests.

"Patients should always inform all of their healthcare professionals, including pharmacists and other physicians, that they have undergone bariatric (stomach) surgery and ask them if their medications, vitamins, minerals, or dietary supplements will be properly absorbed," advises Dr. Kelly M. Smith of the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy in Lexington.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The amount of time people spend sleeping may affect their weight, study results suggest.

The study looked at people living in rural areas. Previous studies conducted in urban and suburban areas have had similar results, which suggests that sleep loss may play a role in the increasing rates of obesity in the US.

Researchers have proposed that shorter sleep duration may affect levels of two weight-control hormones: reduced levels of leptin, a hormone associated with satiety, and increased levels of ghrelin, associated with hunger.