Allergan Gastric Band: Europe Questions Long Term Benefits

It's a worldwide phenom!

Pharma giant Allergan is under attack in Europe concerning a new weight loss device to hit the market full force, the Lap-Band System. This system was recently U.S. FDA approved for those with a lower body mass index (BMI) than ever before, but is catching some flack in European studies.

A new study has questioned the long-term effectiveness of the popular Lap-Band weight-loss device, finding that many patients suffered major complications and half of them eventually had the device removed.

Bad device news travels fast.

Ear Infections Linked to Obesity

Quiet! I can't hear myself eating too much.

Chronic otitis media may trigger changes in taste that could be related to obesity, researchers suggested.

Wanna bet?

Loneliness Leads To Comfort Eating

Chicken or egg?

Now why would these people be lonely?

Mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, meatloaf...they may be bad for your arteries, but according to an upcoming study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, they're good for your heart and emotions. The study focuses on "comfort food" and how it makes people feel...

"Throughout everyone's daily lives they experience stress, often associated with our connections with others," Troisi says. "Comfort food can serve as a ready-made, easy resource for remedying a sense of loneliness. Keeping in mind this new research, it seems humans can find a number of ways to feel like we're connected with others."

A real mystery.

Sporadic Exercise, Even Sex, May Boost MI, Death Risk

The solution? Start and never stop.

Couch potatoes beware: Episodic bouts of physical or sexual activity may carry a risk of heart attack or sudden cardiac death, researchers reported.

But the risk drops with regular physical activity, according to Issa Dahabreh, MD, and Jessica Paulus, ScD, both of Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

Now that is a prescription many would be willing to follow.

Hey, after all, it is your health that is at stake.

'Junk Food' Moms Have 'Junk Food' Babies

There are no "junk foods."

It is because fat parents have fat kids.

A new research report published online in The FASEB Journal suggests that pregnant mothers who eat high sugar and high fat diets have babies who are likely to become junk food junkies themselves. According to the report, which used rats, this happens because the high fat and high sugar diet leads to changes in the fetal brain's reward pathway, altering food preferences.
Not only does this offer insight into the ever-increasing rate of human obesity, but it may also explain why some people easily resist fatty and sugary foods, while others seem hopelessly addicted.

Bulls**t. It offers no darn insight.

If you do not overfeed the kids Calories, they will not become fat.

The source matters not.

Fire the researchers.

Maternal Obesity May Lead To Infertility In The Next Generation

Since fat parents have fat kids, this is one way to stop the cycle of nutritional child abuse.

Levels of the hormone ghrelin are low in obese women and a recent study accepted for publication in Endocrinology, a publication of The Endocrine Society, reports that mice whose mothers had low ghrelin levels were less fertile due to a defect in implantation.

Whatever it takes.

Having A Dog Significantly Improves Your Physical Activity Targets

Wrong. Note the catch.

If you want to reach federal benchmarks on physical activity, get a dog. Researchers from Michigan State University found that individuals who had a dog and walked it had a 34% higher chance of attaining federal physical activity targets. Their result findings have been published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health

The authors say their findings suggest that promoting dog ownership and walking your dog could have a significant impact on improving the general health of Americans. In the USA today less that half of the population meets recommended levels of free-time physical activity.

"...and walking" it.

A fatal "catch."

Time Lived With Obesity Linked With Mortality

Adios, fatsos.

Monash University researchers have found the number of years individuals live with obesity is directly associated with the risk of mortality.

The research shows that the duration of obesity is a strong predictor of mortality, independent of the actual level of Body Mass Index (BMI). As the onset of obesity occurs earlier and the number of years lived with obesity increases, the risk of mortality associated with adult obesity in contemporary populations is expected to increase compared with previous decades.

Using data from the Framingham Heart Study, 5209 participants were followed up for 48 years from 1948. The current study however only included participants who were free from pre-existing diseases of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

The research showed that for those who had a medium number of years lived with obesity (between five years and 14.9 years), the risk of mortality more than doubled than for those who had never been obese. The risk of mortality almost tripled for those with the longest duration of obesity (more than 15 years).

To paraphrase Snagglepuss, "Exit, 6 feet under."

Negative Emotions Surface As We Exert More Self Control In Our Daily Choices

At last - an explanation for why action heroes are not fat slobs.

People who make an effort to exert self-control are attracted to aggressive art and public policy appeals, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. They also don't appreciate messages that nag them to control their behavior.

"We set out to examine whether exerting self-control can indeed lead to a wide range of angry behaviors and preferences subsequently, even in situations where such behaviors are quite subtle," write authors David Gal (Northwestern University) and Wendy Liu (University of California San Diego).

"Research has shown that exerting self-control makes people more likely to behave aggressively toward others and people on diets are known to be irritable and quick to anger," the authors explain. The researchers found that people who exerted self-control were more likely to prefer anger-themed movies, were more interested in looking at angry facial expressions, were more persuaded by anger-framed appeals, and expressed more irritation at a message that used controlling language to convince them to change their exercise habits.

In one study, people who choose an apple instead of a chocolate bar were more likely to choose movies with anger and revenge themes than milder movies.

In another study, participants who exerted financial restraint by choosing a gift certificate for groceries over one for a spa service showed more interest in looking at angry faces rather than at fearful ones.

In a third experiment, dieters had more favorable opinions toward a public policy message that used an anger-framed appeal (if funds are not increased for police training, more criminals will escape prison) than they did toward a sad message.

Finally, participants who chose a healthy snack over a tastier, less-healthy one were more irritated by a marketer's message that included controlling language (words such as "you ought to," "need to," and "must").

"Public policy makers need to be more aware of the potential negative emotions resulting from encouraging the public to exert more self control in daily choices," the authors write. "Instead behavioral interventions might rely on a broader range of methods to foster positive behaviors toward long-term goals."

No wonder fat people are filled only with feelings of goodness and light.

They have so little self-control.

Oh, that's not the case?

You mean fat people are aggressive, too?

And it starts in childhood?

So much for this research.

Humana And Alliance For A Healthier Generation Embark On Initiative To Reduce Childhood Obesity In Wisconsin

More doomed to fail foolishness, not worth the cost.

Today, one in three children in the U.S. and 31 percent of kids in Wisconsin are overweight or obese, putting them at risk for myriad chronic diseases and making childhood obesity one of today's leading health issues. Humana, in collaboration with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation - a nonprofit organization founded by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation - is working with local companies to provide comprehensive health benefits for the prevention, assessment and treatment of childhood obesity.

The Humana initiative provides coverage - to qualified children ages 3 to 18 with a body mass-index in the 85th percentile or higher - for visits with a primary-care doctor for obesity exams. It also includes visits with a registered dietician for nutrition counseling. These health care professionals work with children and their families to establish and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

I am taking bets.

Obese and Overweight Women, Children Underestimate True Weight, Study Finds

Overfatness causes unawareness = unfit parenting.

Overweight and obese mothers and their children think they weigh less than their actual weight, according to research reported at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions.

In the study of women and children in an urban, predominantly Hispanic population, most normal weight women and children in the study correctly estimated their body weight, but most obese women and children underestimated theirs.

"Obesity is a well-known risk factor for the development of many diseases, including heart disease and diabetes," said Nicole E Dumas, M.D., lead author and an internal medicine resident at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. Dumas and colleagues surveyed women and their pre-adolescent children attending an urban, primary care center in New York City. They asked the subjects about their age, income, heart disease risk factors, and perceptions of their body size using silhouette images that corresponded to specific body mass index (BMI) types -- for example, underweight, normal and overweight.

The researchers also recorded participants' height, weight and BMI, which is a measurement of body weight based on height. A BMI of 25-29 is overweight, and a BMI over 30 is obese.

The researchers found:

65.8 percent of the mothers surveyed were overweight or obese.

38.9 percent of children surveyed were overweight or obese.

81.8 percent of obese women underestimated their weight compared to 42.5 percent of overweight and 13.2 percent of normal weight women; similarly, 86 percent of overweight or obese children underestimated their weight compared to 15 percent of normal weight children.

Of mothers with overweight or obese children, almost half (47.5 percent) thought their children were of normal weight.

Children selected larger body images than those chosen by their mothers to describe an "ideal" or "healthy" body image for a woman.

41.4 percent of the children in the study thought their moms should lose weight.

The fat should not have kids.

Persuasive Health Information Could Be Misleading

"Could be"?

The most persuasive health information won't always serve patients' best interests, U.S. doctors said Wednesday.

In a new report, they describe how both patients and physicians making hypothetical treatment decisions are more easily swayed by impressive-sounding numbers than useful ones.

Note the ones fooled included physicians.

Caveat patient.

It is better not to become a patient.

The best way to avoid that is to become fit.

Metabolic Abnormalities in Obese Teens May Relate to Poor Diets

More nutritional child abuse.

Obese teens may feel healthy, but blood tests show they have inflammation, insulin resistance, and high homocysteine levels, researchers report at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions.

"The metabolic abnormalities suggest that the process of developing heart disease has already started in these children, making it critical for them to make definitive lifestyle and diet changes," said Ashutosh Lal, M.D., senior author of the study and a pediatric hematologist at the Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland in California.

Researchers compared the diets and blood test results of 33 obese youthss (ages 11 to 19) with 19 age-matched youths of normal weight. Obesity in youths is a body mass index (BMI) higher than the 95th percentile of children the same age.

Normal weight youths had a BMI below the 85th percentile. Body mass index is a measure of weight related to height. Two thirds of the participants in both groups were girls. All of the participants were receiving regular health maintenance care at an inner city clinic in Oakland.

Blood tests revealed that the obese teens had:

C-reactive protein levels almost ten times higher than controls, indicating more inflammation in the body.
Insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes, with greater amounts of insulin needed to keep blood sugar levels normal.
Homocysteine levels 62 percent higher than controls. High levels of the amino acid homocysteine are related to greater heart disease risk.
Total glutathione levels 27.9 percent lower than controls, with oxidized glutathione levels 125 percent higher. A higher ratio of oxidized to non-oxidized glutathione indicates oxidative stress, an imbalance in the production of cell-damaging free radicals and the body's ability to neutralize them. Oxidative stress leads to more inflammation and an increase in blood vessel damage and stiffening.

Fat parents have fat kids.

Kudos,fatsos.

Obesity Experts Meet With FDA on Weight-Loss Drugs

More pressure to drug the fat.

Obesity experts met with the head of FDA's drug division on Tuesday to discuss a way forward for weight-loss drugs after the agency rejected three such drugs in the past six months.

"We're trying to move the dialogue forward," Louis Aronne, MD, clinical professor of medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, told MedPage Today. "There have been three medicines presented and they're not moving forward, so the question is, what are we not communicating?"

It is not what you are not communicating.

It is what you are not understanding.

The drugs do not work and they have complications.

Go away.

Look to overweight, not overseas, for source of U.S. health problems, says surgeon general

The pig speaks.

Her first report as surgeon general, her “Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation,” tackles the issue of obesity and overweight by advocating a cultural change that elevates the role of exercise as an everyday value. People are tired of being told what they can’t eat, or what they can’t do, she said.

““I’m trying to change a negative conversation about being obese and overweight to a positive conversation,” Benjamin said.

She cited First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign as a good example, and she’s staged group walks of doctors and healthcare workers in several cities to show people how simple the idea of moving is. Benjamin, who has felt the heat of public criticism about her own extra poundage, even invited television cameras to follow her on a hike from one rim of the Grand Canyon to the other to show that “if I can do it, anyone can.”

But she hasn't done it.

She remains fat.

And so has the other pig, i.e., the moronette in the White House.

Children's Hospital gets $10 million for obesity program from beverage nonprofit

It won't make a difference, but the article is a good example of why the MSM deserves an unequivocal "F**k You" and why no one should listen to them.

When City Council was considering a soda tax last spring, doctors from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia testified about the dangers of sugar-sweetened drinks. On Wednesday, the hospital announced that it would expand its obesity program with the help of $10 million from the very industry that produces them.

And how exactly does the industry produce them?

Who makes the adult pigs and child piglets overconsume Calories?

No one, except themselves. And they do it voluntarily.

Fat is a choice.

FDA Wrong About Menthol Cigarettes, Group Says

Another reason not to trust the experts in weight loss and fitness - the experts get it wrong and/or the data conflict.

In the matter of weight loss, they get it wrong. It is all about the Calories.

Nothing else. The rest are lies.

Menthol cigarettes are no harder to quit than nonmenthol cigarettes, and they may actually be less likely to cause lung cancer, according to a new study.

The findings stand in sharp contrast to the FDA advisory committee report released last week that called menthol cigarettes a public health threat.

The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that menthol cigarettes are no more harmful to the health of smokers than regular cigarettes and comes as the FDA is mulling what to do about menthol cigarettes. The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act barred tobacco manufacturers from adding candy-like flavors to their products -- such as cloves and vanilla -- but the law left a determination on menthol to the FDA.

"These findings should inform any decision-making process by the Food and Drug Administration to single out menthol cigarettes as uniquely more harmful than nonmenthol cigarettes," wrote the authors of the new study, led by William Blot, PhD, of the International Epidemiology Institute in Rockville, MD.

Still think they have any idea what they are talking about?

The moments that make us fat

There aren't any. More crap from the MSM and the same perp of the IMHO National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) fraud.

If you're trying to lose weight, close your eyes for a minute and imagine the moments that make you fat.

Think through your day, and you'll see them, as big and obvious as a hot fudge sundae sitting right in front of you. You've been good all day, and wham, your friends suggest you go to a buffet for dinner; or you've diligently worked out and wham, you end up at a cocktail party with an array of the most killer desserts ever.

Don't rely on your willpower to get you through these tough times, advises James Hill, executive director of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado.

Fat happens over time, i.e., it is a cumulative effect of many choices.

Incidentally, the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado apparently does not exist.

Let's hope it never does.

Patterns: For Heart Risk, No Telltale Body Shape

One more time: it is the fat, stupid.

“Whatever your shape is doesn’t really matter,” said Dr. Emanuele Di Angelantonio, a lecturer at the University of Cambridge and a member of the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration, which carried out the study.

He emphasized that being overweight or obese is one of the main modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and is often an early sign of future risk. But he said, “Whatever form of obesity or overweight you have is all the same.”

Lose it.

SGO: Mutation Link to Ovarian Cancer Disputed

Another reason not to rely on genetics for an obesity "cure."

Developers of a genetic-susceptibility test for ovarian cancer might have jumped the gun, according to a research consortium that found no association between a KRAS mutation and risk of the cancer...

The investigators also found no association between KRAS mutation and overall survival or progression-free survival, as reported here at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting.

"These data exclude the possibility of an association between the KRAS single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and a clinically significant risk of sporadic or familial ovarian cancer," said Andrew Berchuck, MD, of Duke University.

So much for the accuracy of genetics.

AHA "Sets the Record Straight" on Bariatric Surgery

At last.

The American Heart Association (AHA) is trying to get the message out that bariatric surgery is appropriate only for severely obese patients who have exhausted all the other options to lose weight to reduce their cardiovascular risk.

Which means the end of fat person surgery.

No fat person has ever exhausted the possibility of fewer Calories in than out.

That has to work 100% of the time.

Good riddance to the IMHO malpractice of bariatric surgery.

More than 60% of pregnant mums obese or overweight

More early nutritional child abuse.

More than half of women who gave birth in Belfast's Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital last year were either obese or overweight, the BBC has learned.

Obesity is arguably one of the biggest challenges facing the health service and increasingly among pregnant women.

Last year at Jubilee Maternity, 62% of mothers were overweight with almost half of them having a Body Mass Index of over 30 meaning they were obese.

This could lead to complications with evidence of higher miscarriage rates.

An overweight mother could also suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes and thrombosis.

Recommends

There are also a greater number of caesarean operations performed on obese women and they carry more risk of developing infections following the baby's delivery...

"These caesarean sections can be very difficult. You sometimes require all of the obstetrics staff that are on call, with maybe four doctors to actually access the baby," she said.

"There could be a delay in delivering the baby.

"The baby has a higher chance of being admitted to the neo-natal unit."

Fat people should not get pregnant.

Long-Term Plan Announced for Diabetes Research

Certain failure.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has announced its 10-year strategic plan for diabetes research.

"By setting priorities and identifying the most compelling research opportunities, the strategic plan will guide NIH, other federal agencies, and the investigative community in efforts to improve diabetes treatments and identify ways to keep more people healthy," NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, MD, said in a statement...

Obesity is another focus of the plan because of its status as a major risk factor for diabetes.

Areas of interest in obesity include:

Obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance, and macrophage function. "Macrophages and inflammation appear to be activated by excess nutrients and subsequently play a role in eliciting insulin resistance as a consequence of obesity," the report authors noted. "Research is needed to clarify the mechanisms and outcomes of tissue-specific inflammation in obesity."

Mechanisms underlying energy homeostasis. "Untangling the complex networks of hormonal and neural mechanisms that control energy balance in the body could point to new therapeutic targets to prevent or treat obesity," according to the report.

Central nervous system control of thermogenesis. "New technologies are needed to facilitate study of the complex control of energy expenditure and how it contributes to weight maintenance and obesity in people," the authors wrote.

Discovering genetic and intrauterine determinants of obesity susceptibility that predispose people to developing diabetes.

Adipose tissue biology. "Adipose tissue research is key to the development of treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes," the authors noted. "Understanding the mechanisms that regulate fat cell number, size, distribution, and signaling, and developing new technologies for studying adipose tissues are urgent research goals."

Obesity prevention and treatment. "Behavioral strategies are needed to prevent inappropriate weight gain and promote or maintain weight loss in individuals across the lifespan, as well as in communities or large populations," the authors wrote. "The development and testing of such strategies would be supported by research on the nonbiological determinants of obesity and obesity prevention and the use of technologies to tailor the delivery of interventions to individuals."

Eat fewer Calories than are burned.

Weight is lost.

Done.

F**k you, NIDDK.

You are a waste.

Period.

Lap-Band Outcomes Called Poor Over Time

More of the IMHO bariatric surgery malpractice.

Nearly half of patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric banding for obesity eventually needed to have the devices removed because of erosion or some other malfunction, researchers said.

Among 82 patients followed for at least 12 years after lap-band surgery at a single institution, 49 had at least one reoperation for complications or device failure, according to Jacques Himpens, MD, of Saint Pierre University Hospital in Brussels, and colleagues.

They also reported online in Archives of Surgery that 41 had the bands removed during follow-up, with 14 then undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. In all but a few cases, inadequate weight loss or device breakdown was the reason for band removal...

They suggested that the patients lost to follow-up probably had lost little weight, insofar as regular postoperative evaluations and treatment are "a critical factor for success in bariatric procedures."

Among the 82 with follow-up data, 32 indicated they had suffered major complications. These included nine cases of pouch dilation (requiring band removal in six) and 23 instances of band erosion.

The latter was discovered after a mean of four years (SD 2.9) and led to band removal or gastric bypass surgery in 19 cases.

As one might expect, weight loss during follow-up was greatest in patients whose bands remained in place. From a baseline mean BMI of 42, the mean at follow-up was about 33 in patients retaining the bands, versus 37.5 in those whose bands were removed.

Himpens and colleagues also found that the prevalence of obesity-related illnesses remained the same or increased over time in the cohort:

Arterial hypertension: 25.6% at baseline, 29.5% at follow-up
Type 2 diabetes: 6.4% at baseline, 14.1% at follow-up
Treatment for obstructive sleep apnea: 2.6% at baseline, 7.7% at follow-up

Time to make this procedure go away.

University Of Michigan Awarded $4.9 Million To Help Reduce Obesity In Preschool Children

More money down the tube.

The USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded $4.9 million to the University of Michigan to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity among Head Start preschoolers in Michigan.

The preschool years are a critical time for developing eating behaviors. Among 4-year-olds in the United States, nearly 1 in 5 is obese, and low-income children are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to be overweight than middle- or upper-income children...

With the NIFA grant, Lumeng and her team will develop an obesity intervention program based on the premise that enhancing a child's ability to control certain emotions and behaviors is a key component of effective obesity prevention.

The ability to inhibit an impulse and calm oneself in the face of stress are two examples of self-regulatory abilities.

"These abilities may be relevant to obesity prevention because children who are better able to cope with stress may be less likely to eat impulsively or in response to stress," says Lumeng, an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Child Behavioral Health, and assistant research scientist at the Center for Human Growth and Development.

And who provides them the Calories to satisfy their impulses?

A-dolts.

Body Fat Tied to LV Diastolic Problems

That would be your heart, fat people.

Carrying around too much weight appears to be associated with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction among older individuals, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, researchers found.

After accounting for age, sex, left ventricular mass, hypertension, diabetes, and heart rate, obese individuals (BMI ≥30) had an increased likelihood of diastolic dysfunction compared with their normal-weight counterparts (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.41), according to Marco Di Tullio, MD, of Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues.

A similar degree of increased risk was also found among individuals who were overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9) but not obese (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.22), the researchers reported in the March 22 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

"Whereas in the past attention was paid essentially to obesity, our study demonstrates that subclinical signs of left ventricular diastolic function impairment are present in overweight subjects too, and that these abnormalities are independent of associated risk factors," the authors wrote.

Kudos, fatsos.

Waist Measure May Not Be Major Predictor of Heart Disease

As we have claimed all along and as Fitness Watch readers should know, the BMI is a darned good metric.

"Obesity puts people at risk for a variety of diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, arthritis, sleep apnea, and pulmonary emboli," she wrote. "Therefore, it should always be assessed and recommendations should be made on weight loss."

The study findings do, however, contradict previous studies that found abdominal obesity -- indicated by an "apple-shaped" body type with the weight concentrated around the middle -- to be a much stronger indicator of cardiovascular risk than BMI...

"Furthermore, results from our study indicate that the long-term reproducibility of BMI is superior to that of waist-to-hip ratio (or waist circumference)."...

"...BMI continues to be useful as an indicator of adiposity, despite its obvious and occasional misrepresentation of muscular people and lack of sensitivity to body shape and composition," they wrote. "BMI used with good clinical judgment is highly appropriate in adults because it is so strongly associated with chronic disease risk...

Yep.

Advanced Practitioners Leading The Way In Nutrition, Australia

Then why are Aussies getting fatter and fatter?

The Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) is proud to announce the latest recipients of the Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian (AdvAPD) credential.

As the peak nutrition body in Australia, the Association and its members continuously strive for, and achieve high levels of practice.

Because of expert diet advice.

Don't hurt yourselves patting your own backs, morons.

Temple Receives $3.7M To Study Parenting Styles' Effect On Childhood Obesity

Right idea, doomed to fail.

Temple's Center for Obesity Research and Education recently received a five year, $3.7 million grant from the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to fund a project aimed at preventing obesity among low-income pre-schoolers.

The focus will be to teach mothers simple yet authoritative strategies to promote appropriate food choices and portion sizes to their children. The grant was awarded to Jenifer Orlet Fisher, associate professor of public health and director of CORE's Family Eating Laboratory, and Elena Serrano, associate professor of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech.

Without doubt the parents are the problem.

Without doubt, unless there is a consequence to pay for fattening their kids for the kill, this program will have near-zero effect.

Only accountability has a chance to result in success.

Until then, the nutritional child abuse will continue.

Weight-Loss Surgery Successful in Treating Overweight Adolescents, Study Suggests

Not the point, of course. Unnecessary removal of both legs will treat toenail fungus.

"Bariatric surgery" refers to several different surgical procedures designed to assist weight loss by limiting the amount of food someone eats or the amount they absorb during digestion. It has been used for several years to treat obesity in adults. A new study published in the journal Clinical Obesity reveals that bariatric surgery can result in significant weight loss in severely obese adolescents.

Bariatric surgery is not needed and is to be performed only when other weight loss attempts have failed.

The problem arises because fat people are not told that the diet on which they were placed was impossible. (e.g., see here, here and here)

Bariatric surgery, IMHO, remains malpractice in nearly all instances.

More Progress, More Quickly On Tackling Poor Diet And Alcohol Misuse, UK

More bulls**t.

The Responsibility Deal shows how partnership and challenge can be the most effective way of tackling some public health objectives, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced today as he unveiled signatories to the first phase of the deal. Working in partnership with members of the voluntary sector, business, industry and the retail sector, the Deal can deliver faster and better results than a regulatory route, which is not always available.

Since September, five groups working on food, alcohol, behavioural change, physical activity and health at work have developed a series of pledges for action.

"Pledges for action."

Only in an insane/stupid world does pledge = action.

Here are some pledges. You decide how much progress they represent.

Rep. Kind, Senator Harkin Reintroduce FIT Kids Act, Calling For More P.E. In Schools

Won't work and proven not to work, already. (see here, here, here and here)

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today reintroduced the Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids Act (FIT Kids Act), a bill to combat childhood obesity by strengthening physical education programs in schools throughout the country.

The FIT Kids Act, H.R. 1057, renews the emphasis on physical education in schools. The Act would work to ensure kids are active during the school day and are given opportunities that promote overall health and wellness. The legislation would engage parents and the public by requiring all school districts and states to report on students' physical activity, including the amount of time spent in required physical education in relation to the recommended national standard. The Act would further ensure appropriate professional development for health and physical education teachers, fund research to examine the link between children's health and their academic achievement, and recommend effective ways to combat childhood obesity and improve healthy living and physical activity.

The emphasis needs to be on parental responsibility.

The overfeeding at home will undo any effects of increased physical activity.

Physical activity remains an idiot's game for weight loss/weight control (unless one is a member of the leisure class).

Weight Control Registry Reveals Secrets To Lasting Weight Loss

Fraud.

For the millions of Americans who struggle to lose weight and keep it off, there may be help. According to a report published by the American College of Sports Medicine in the March/April issue of ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal®, the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) has identified methods that thousands of individuals have used to successfully maintain weight loss...

"One of the most important predictors of continued weight maintenance is sustained high levels of physical activity," said Dr. Hill, who is also the executive director of the Anschutz Health & Wellness Center, a new health promotion and disease prevention center scheduled to open in spring 2012 at the University of Colorado. "Successful weight loss maintenance depends on sustaining the healthy lifestyle behaviors for which NWCR members are most known."

Individuals looking to maintain weight loss should follow these seven tips, suggested by the NWCR:

1. Be active. More than half (54 percent) of NWCR members expend more than 2,000 calories each week. This equals about 200 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise...

3. Enjoy a low-calorie, low-fat diet. The average NWCR member consumes 1,380 calories per day, and less than 30 percent of these calories come from fat...

6. Show some restraint. NWCR members exert great control over their eating habits, and they rarely overeat.

Total caloric intake is a lie.

If they consume on average 1,380 Calories per day and "more than half" burn more than 2,000 Calories per week, then the net consumption of Calories per day is less than 1,094.3 per day.

This is about the same number of Calories the Nazis fed people in Dachau. See here, here, and here.

It is impossible that they "rarely overeat" since it is claimed that they need to burn more than 2000 Calories per week to maintain their weight loss. They are overeating more than 2000 Calories per week, otherwise they would lose weight.

Moderate intensity "exercise" is defined as burning 3.5 - 7.0 kcal per minute. 200 minutes would equal between 700 and 1400 kcal.

Fraud.

Lies.

Crap.

Bulls**t.

All from your experts. They sure as heck are not mine.

Cost of obesity could hit $4B

The fat tax the rest of us pay to keep the calorically irresponsible alive.

Barring a crash diet by the nation's fattest state, health care costs for obese Mississippians will skyrocket to $3.9 billion by 2018 - and taxpayers could foot up to half that bill.

"If we don't reverse this trend of obesity, the health care costs associated with obesity are going to overwhelm our health care system," said Dr. John Hall, Arthur G. Guyton professor and chairman of physiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. "That figure was estimated to be $925 million in 2008. We in Mississippi can't afford the $3.9 billion related to obesity, and I think that's an underestimate."

Cut 'em loose from the money trough.

If they want to live, then let them pay for their increased costs and leave the rest of us out of it.

Vital sign guidelines 'miss sick children'

More evidence that they have no idea what they are talking about.

Guidelines for children's heart and breathing rates are inaccurate and not based on evidence, according to researchers.

These measurements are often used to decide treatment, but the study in the Lancet says current rules would mean half of healthy 10-year-olds were diagnosed with abnormal vital signs.

Just as in the domains of weight loss and fitness.

Important Report Into Healthy Childcare Food Shouldn't Be Ignored, Says Heart Charity, UK

An admission of how impractical expert nutrition advice is.

A new report has highlighted confusion about exactly what under-fives should be eating and drinking when they're in childcare The review by a Government-commissioned panel of experts found there was a need for practical guidance about food and nutrition in childcare.

Still, it won't make a difference, I'll wager.

One In Five Children In Sweden Is Overweight

Endangered species.

Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Karolinska Institutet have carried out the first ever national study of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren. It reveals that one in five children in Sweden is overweight, and that there is a link between low levels of education and overweight children.

Unfortunately, there is no shortage of stupid people to keep the supply of fat people growing.

Lambs Provide Crucial Link in Understanding Obesity

Human stupidity exposed in lame, er, lamb experiment.

The question of whether children born to obese mothers will become obese themselves is one step closer to being answered as a result of new research which studied lambs born to overweight sheep...

We are getting closer to understanding what causes obesity in humans." concluded Nathanielsz

Wrong.

We are there. We know the cause.

The only cause is too many Calories in.

Insane.

European Cereal Boxes Linked to Cancer Not a Danger for U.S. Consumers

A family of carcinogens.

Does Shrek cause cancer?

Some recycled cardboard cereal boxes sold in Europe have been found to contain dangerous levels of mineral oils — types of petroleum hydrocarbons. The oils, which may be carcinogenic, are even leaching through the plastic bags inside the boxes and onto the cereal.

We will see.

Vitamin D and Cancer Mortality: Not to be Taken Lightly

Shines a light on the hysteria surrounding the cure du jour.

The findings suggest that we don't yet have the final word on the relationship between vitamin D and human health and that claims that vitamin D protects against specific cancers are not necessarily supported by the facts.

Yep.

Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Age at Hepatocellular Carcinoma Onset

Among the cancers that are good to avoid, count liver cancer.

The incidence and mortality associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been increasing worldwide, and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection plays an important role in the pathogenesis of HCC. Previous studies have suggested that host factors, such as sex, alcohol consumption, smoking, diabetes mellitus, and obesity, are important risk factors for HCC. Meanwhile, it has been reported that HCV infection causes insulin resistance and leads to oxidative stress, potentiating fibrosis and hepatic carcinogenesis. However, the factors that influence the development of HCC in HCV-infected patients remain largely unknown...

The results suggest that achieving an adequate body weight along with a reduction of alcohol intake in patients with chronic hepatitis C could help prevent hepatic carcinogenesis.

Kudos, fatsos.

Multiple Taste Cell Sensors Contribute To Detecting Sugars: Better Understanding Needed To Limit Overconsumption Of Sweet Foods

A "better understanding" is not needed. Self-control is.

A new research study dramatically increases knowledge of how taste cells detect sugars, a key step in developing strategies to limit overconsumption. Scientists from the Monell Center and collaborators have discovered that taste cells have several additional sugar detectors other than the previously known sweet receptor.

Nothing else will work.

And to inspire self-control, make the fat pay more for their own sick care.

Protein Study Helps Shape Understanding Of Body Forms

BFD.

Scientists have shed light on why some people are apple-shaped and others are pear-shaped.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have pinpointed a protein that plays a part in how fat is stored in the body.

The latest findings give greater understanding of how the protein works, which could help development of medicines to treat obesity.

Fewer Calories in than out treats it just fine, thank you.

Fatty Liver Independently Associated With Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Fat people get fatty livers.

Although associated with insulin resistance, fatty liver diagnosed on ultrasound examination also appears to increase the risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus independently, according to the findings of a new study.

Kudos, fatsos.

Cartoons And Cereal Choices; Can Shrek Make Kids Eat Brussels Sprouts Too?

No - just as posting Calorie information in restaurants did not affect people.

Cartoons on food packaging, and in particularly down the cereal aisle, certainly influence a child wanting their parents to buy the package with Shrek, Donkey or Princess Fiona on them.

It is the parents who give their kids the shaft.

Shrek and Friends Make Cereal Taste Better, Kids Say

So what? Adults will buy a diet program endorsed by AdipOprah.

Seeing Shrek, Dora the Explorer, and other popular animated characters on cereal boxes appears to influence kids' perceptions of how good the cereals taste, researchers say.

Just like their parents.

Diabetes In 15 Mainly Southern US States Make Up Bulk Of National Incidence

So move.

644 counties in mostly 15 southern states have diabetes rates considerably higher than the rest of the population, significantly due to two preventable factors - physical inactivity and obesity and overweight - researchers have revealed in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. In the 1960s we had the stroke belt, today there is the diabetes belt.

Add a moving company to your health plan.

One-Quarter of US Adults Had Hypertension in 2008

The mascot for hypertension.

Yet another set of numbers has been published exposing the soaring rates of hypertension in America, this time from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) [1].

In a statistical brief released last night, using data from the 2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, William Carroll writes that 59 million Americans age 18 and older--over one-quarter of the adult US population--have been told by a healthcare provider that they have hypertension.

The AHRQ report comes within weeks of two Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports also looking at hypertension prevalence in the US: one noted that the prevalence of hypertension has been increasing among men and women over age 45 but remaining stable in adults in the 20- to 44-year age group; the other noting that hypertension is uncontrolled in more than half of US adults with the disease.

The AHRQ reports that:

...Increasing body weight, increased stress levels, and reduced activity levels were all associated with increased likelihood of a hypertension diagnosis.

One-quarter of all overweight adults and half of all morbidly obese adults had been diagnosed with hypertension, as compared with 15% of normal-weight adults.

Oinker-tension.

Hidden Veggies Effective Strategy to Reduce Energy Intake in Adults

How cute. You have to hide the veggies from the full-grown infants so they will eat them.

Adding pureed vegetables to entrees reduces the number of calories the meals pack without sacrificing texture or taste, according to Pennsylvania State University researchers who tried it on unsuspecting adult study subjects.

Using "stealth vegetables" to pad dishes provided a double-helping of dietary benefit, the University Park group reports, because some of the participants more than doubled their intake of fiber- and vitamin-packed veggies - without even knowing it.

And just like the babies they are, the veggies needed to be puréed.

So much for food labels, just in case someone looked at the ingredients.

New Insight Into Why Poor Diet During Pregnancy Negatively Affects Offspring's Long Term Health

More insights into nutritional child abuse.

Poor diet during pregnancy increases offspring's vulnerability to the effects of aging, new research has shown for the first time.

The research, by scientists from the University of Cambridge, provides important insight into why children born to mothers who consumed an unhealthy diet during pregnancy have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (a significant contributing factor to heart disease and cancer) later in life.

Stop nutritional child abuse.

Calorie Labeling For Restaurants Recommendations Coming Soon

Oh, joy!

"For nearly 20 years, consumers have benefitted from nutrition labels on packaged foods, but have remained in the dark about the nutritional quality of their restaurant meals," says Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a co-author of the menu labeling provision in the law. "The passage of menu labeling closes this glaring loophole."

"Benefitted"? Which explains why Americans are so fat.

By March 23, the one year anniversary of the passage of the health law, the Food and Drug Administration is required to propose labeling regulations that will govern everything from the font restaurants must use to post calorie information to how the calorie counts of items on menus are determined.

Final regulations are expected by the end of the year and consumers will see most calorie information by mid-2012, predicts Margo Wootan, the Center for Science in the Public Interest's nutrition director.

But will that information do much good? Three studies conducted in New York and Seattle examined habits at fast food chains where menu labeling laws are already in place. They found that calorie knowledge isn't enough to change most consumers' choices. That raises questions about how effective the government's new labeling rules will be in improving public health and reducing the rate of obesity, which is linked to multiple chronic diseases including high blood pressure and diabetes.

It does not raise questions.

It answers the questions.

Daylight Saving Time: How to Cope With the Loss of an Hour

Excellent example of how pathetically weak people are as brought to you by the morons from ABCNews.

This weekend, the clocks spring forward into daylight saving time -- the bittersweet adjustment that brightens the evenings while wreaking havoc on sleep schedules.

For most people, the shift is a nuisance. But for some, it provokes weeks of sleep deprivation that take a heavy toll on mood and productivity, according to Dr. Phil Gehrman, clinical director of the University of Pennsylvania's Behavioral Sleep Medicine program.

One hour and all this ruckus + the need for "expert" advice.

One hour is 0.01 % of a year.

No wonder there is so much whining about weight loss and other ways to care for one's self.

Leptin Resistance May Block The 'Full' Message And Lead To Obesity

Resistance to reality leads to obesity.

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a signaling pathway in the brain that's sufficient to induce cellular leptin resistance, a problem that decreases the body's ability to "hear" that it is full and should stop eating.

"Leptin resistance is a significant factor, yet the mechanisms that underlie the problem remain unclear," said Dr. Joel Elmquist, professor of internal medicine and pharmacology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study appearing in the March issue of Cell Metabolism. "The fact that this cellular pathway may be involved is a novel observation."

The leptin angle is bulls**t.

Doubts emerge over heart risk to 'apple shape'

Still think they have any idea what they are talking about?

At Fitness Watch, we debunked this crap years ago. (e.g., here and here)

Doubts have been raised over the idea that being overweight and "apple shaped" increases heart attack risk.

A study in the Lancet found the risk of heart attack was not increased by fat being concentrated around the waist.

It contradicts previous work that found overweight people with "apple shaped" bodies were three times as likely to suffer heart attacks than those with more generally distributed fat.

But experts warned obesity was bad for the heart, no matter where the fat was.

And that last sentence is the bottom line.

Vital Statistics: Women play weighting game in different ways

If it is so important, then why are so many women so fat?

How important is losing weight to the average American woman?

Apparently, it's very important. So much so that a poll of 2,400 women by FITNESS Magazine found that 51 percent would skip sex for a year if it meant they'd be skinny...

When including overweight women, the number climbs to nearly two-thirds. Nationally, the picture is a little bit better, but not by much.

Here are some interesting results gleaned from a poll in FITNESS Magazine's March issue:

» To stay skinny, 71 percent of women would rather exercise every day and eat anything they want.

» To drop pounds, 43 percent of women have skipped meals regularly; 39 percent have popped diet pills; 23 percent have gone on crash diets; and 20 percent have exercised daily for two or more hours at a time.

» 65 percent of women say the size they wear is a bigger deal than the number on the scale.

» 25 percent of women say a friend has tried to sabotage their weight-loss efforts; 86 percent prefer to get slim solo.

» Only 7 percent of women say they never allow themselves to eat junk food.

» 22 percent of women say the hardest part about being on a diet is following a regular workout plan.

Skip sex?

The fat ones are likely not getting sex and/or lying about it.

Ending Diabetes, Supporting Healthy Living And Encouraging Lifestyle Changes For A Better Quality Of Life

Diabetes is quaking in its boots.

In an effort to reduce the risks of diabetes and obesity while improving cardiovascular health, Boston Medical Center (BMC) today announced it has partnered with the YMCA of Greater Boston to form the Exercise and Nutrition to Decrease Diabetes (END Diabetes) Program. The goal of this program is to show that with lifestyle changes and modest weight reduction, the risk of cardiovascular disease can be reduced. Funding for the program has been provided by a grant from AstraZeneca Healthcare Foundation. BMC is one of 14 institutions nationwide to receive this inaugural grant as part of the Foundation's Connections for Cardiovascular Health program.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I meant it is laughing in the face of these fools.

Lawsuit Says New USDA Dietary Guidelines Are Deceptive

I called for the end to the pyramid (and the conventional food label) years ago. If you read the latest DGA, you will see what an obtuse document it is.

A nonprofit physicians organization came out hard against updated dietary guidelines recently issued by the US Department of Agriculture (UDSA), suing the government to force the USDA to change its recommendations.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) alleges that the USDA knowingly hides harmful foods behind obscure language in the report.

Though I hsve no great love for the PCRM, on this issue, they are mostly in the right.

Study: 50-year-old with diabetes dies 6 yrs sooner

Type 2 diabetes is fat person diabetes.

A 50-year-old with diabetes dies six years sooner than someone without the disease, and not just from a heart attack or a stroke, new research suggests.

The large international effort to measure diabetes' toll found the disease also raises the risk of dying prematurely from a host of other ailments, even breast cancer and pneumonia.

"It's quite a wide sweep of conditions," said Dr. John Danesh of Cambridge University in Britain, who led the team of researchers. While most people think of heart problems, diabetes surprisingly "appears to be associated with a much broader range of health implications than previously suspected."

Putting the six years lost in context, he said, long-term smoking shortens life by 10 years.

The analysis used pooled medical information for 820,900 people from nearly 100 studies done mostly in Europe and North America. The results are published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Diabetes, the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S., affects about 26 million Americans, or 8 percent, including 7 million who haven't been diagnosed. Most in the study were thought to have the most common kind — Type 2 — which occurs when the body makes too little insulin or cannot use what it does make to regulate blood sugar.

Kudos, fatsos.

An Apple A Day Keeps The Grim Reaper Away

Good news for fruit flies.

Scientists are reporting the first evidence that consumption of a healthful antioxidant substance in apples extends the average lifespan of test animals, and does so by 10 percent. The new results, obtained with fruit flies - stand-ins for humans in hundreds of research projects each year - bolster similar findings on apple antioxidants in other animal tests. The study appears in ACS's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Bad news for humans: longer-lived fruit flies.

Discrimination Often Leads To Declining Physical Health For Obese Individuals

More of the blame game.

The discrimination that obese people feel, whether it is poor service at a restaurant or being treated differently in the workplace, may have a direct impact on their physical health, according to new research from Purdue University.

"Obesity is a physiological issue, but when people have negative interactions in their social world - including a sense of being discriminated against - it can make matters worse and contribute to a person's declining physical health," said Markus H. Schafer, the doctoral student in sociology and gerontology who led the study. "We found that around a third of the severely obese people in the United States report facing some form of discriminatory experience, and the experience of weight discrimination plays into people's own perspective about their weight. It seems that many people are internalizing the prejudice and stigma they feel, and it contributes to stress, which ultimately affects their health."

And whose fault was it that they got so fat in the first place?

Clearly, it is the fault of the rest of us.

Oh,yeah. Nearly forgot...

F**k you, fatsos.

AMA Supports Ban On Junk Food Advertising, Australia

More punishing the rest of us for the caloric irresponsibility of the fat.

AMA Vice President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the AMA strongly supports a ban on the broadcast advertising of junk food to children, particularly during children's television times.

Fat parents have fat, i.e., nutritionally abused, kids.

It is time to stop accommodating child abusers, i.e, the parents of fat kids.

Instead make them pay for their actions.

Weight Gain Linked To Dementia: Study, Australia

Chicken or egg?

Dementia and obesity are two of Australia's biggest public health problems and the relationship between them is now one step closer to being understood, thanks to new research from The Australian National University.

The review study, conducted by Professor Kaarin Anstey from the Centre for Mental Health Research in the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, found that people who are very underweight, overweight or obese in mid-life (40-60 years) have an increased risk of developing dementia in late-life (60 upwards).

No matter.

Either way, to get or remain fat, you have to have some compromise of cognitive functioning.

Stigma Weighs Heavily on Obese People, Contributing to Greater Health Problems

Victimizers:



Victims:





How cute. The fat are blaming the real victims for their overfatness.

The discrimination that obese people feel, whether it is poor service at a restaurant or being treated differently in the workplace, may have a direct impact on their physical health, according to new research from Purdue University.

Note that it is what they "feel" which can be very different from what actually happens.

"Obesity is a physiological issue, but when people have negative interactions in their social world -- including a sense of being discriminated against -- it can make matters worse and contribute to a person's declining physical health," said Markus H. Schafer, the doctoral student in sociology and gerontology who led the study. "We found that around a third of the severely obese people in the United States report facing some form of discriminatory experience, and the experience of weight discrimination plays into people's own perspective about their weight. It seems that many people are internalizing the prejudice and stigma they feel, and it contributes to stress, which ultimately affects their health."

Fact is, the rest of us are hostage to the fat.

We are the real victims.

We pay for their diseases of choice. We are expected to pay higher costs for food that fat people abuse. Etc.

Do not tolerate it any longer.

Fight back.

Media Character Use On Food Packaging Appears To Influence Children's Taste Assessment

And celebrity endorsements do what for adults?

The use of media characters on cereal packaging may influence children's opinions about taste, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Try, "influences their opinions about stuff."

Some Overweight Adolescents May Be at Risk for Weak Bones

Another bad outcome from nutritional child abuse.

Overweight adolescents already struggling with risk factors such as insulin resistance may need to add weak bones to their list of health concerns, researchers report.

A study of 143 overweight 14-18 year olds showed those with risk factors such as the precursor for diabetes and low levels of the blood-vessel protecting HDL cholesterol have less bone mass -- an indicator of bone strength -- than their overweight but otherwise healthy peers, according to researchers at Georgia Health Sciences University's Georgia Prevention Institute.

Other risk factors included high fat levels in the blood, higher blood pressure and a larger waist size, said Dr. Norman Pollock, GHSU bone biologist and corresponding author of the study published in The Journal of Pediatrics. In fact, total body fat didn't seem to impact bone mass: it was fat around the middle, or visceral fat, that seemed to increase the risk for bad bones just like it does the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Fat parents have fat kids. With bad bones.

Kudos, fatsos.

Benefiting From Free Radicals

More harm from antioxidants.

Free radicals are molecules that react readily with other substances in the body, and this can have negative effects on health in certain circumstances, through the damage caused to cells. Free radicals can be counteracted by substances known as 'antioxidants', which are common ingredients in many dietary supplements. The idea that free radicals are generally dangerous and must be counteracted is, however, a myth, according to scientists who have conducted a new study of the role that free radicals play in heart physiology.

"As usual, it's a case of everything in moderation. In normal conditions, free radicals act as important signal substances, but very high levels or long-lasting increases can lead to disease", says Professor Håkan Westerblad, who has led the study...

"Free radicals play an important role, since they contribute to the heart being able to pump more blood in stress-filled situations", says Håkan Westerblad. "On the other hand, persistent stress can lead to heart failure, and chronically increased levels of free radicals may be part of the problem here."

Still think they have any idea what they are talking about?

Millions Of Overweight People Unaware Of Cardiometabolic Dangers

Millions of fat people are unaware the they or their kids are fat.

Experts meeting at the 2nd International Congress on Abdominal Obesity (ICAO) issued a warning that millions of individuals around the globe are at risk from the cardiometabolic consequences of being overweight. Worryingly, the experts suggest that these people are not being identified by their doctors.

The International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk (ICCR) released the statement from the ICAO, at a symposium sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline. The statement suggests that the media tends to focus on extremes when discussing obesity: either skinny celebrities who gain or lose a few pounds or the morbidly obese who need the help of fire-fighters to leave their homes. As the proportion of the general population which is overweight or obese increases, so the perception of what is the norm of a healthy weight is being reset. In the minds of society as a whole, including healthcare practitioners, the mental picture of an overweight or obese person has been reset inaccurately to a far heavier model.

Yet it is the millions across the world with BMIs above 25 who may already be suffering the early stages of high blood pressure, dyslipidemia and diabetes, who could benefit most from early intervention, say ICCR.

What did you expect?

CDC: A third of Americans don't sleep 7 hours

Must be the third that is not overfat.

More than a third of U.S. adults sleep less than seven hours a night...

Good for them.

575-pound Spokesman For The Heart Attack Grill Dies Aged 29

Truth in packaging, which is more than we can say for the IMHO cons like Oprah and her experts.

Blair River, 6ft 8inches tall, spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill, died from what appeared to be a complication of flu - pneumonia. The 575-pound man's job was to promote a restaurant unashamed of its high-calorie, unhealthy menu.

At Chandler's Heart Attack Grill, staff walk around in nurses uniforms and the owner, John Basso, has a doctor's white coat - however, the menu is definitely not for those interested in good health or looking after their figure.

The restaurant has meals in excess of 8,000 calories. An active 200lbs man who is 6ft 2ins tall does not require more than 3,000 calories per day. Consuming 8,000 in just one sitting, plus whatever else that person might eat during their other meals would most definitely result in weight gain. The menu features milkshakes, French fries cooked in pig lard and giant hamburgers.

A large sign warns "Caution. This establishment is bad for your health."

R.I.P.

Sugary Drinks Could Boost BP

Killer fruit - agents of destruction.

Patients with hypertension may have to start watching their sugar as well as their salt, new research suggests.
Data from more than 2,600 patients found that those with the highest intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages like soda and fruit juices seemed to have higher blood pressure readings, Ian J. Brown, MD, of Imperial College London, and colleagues reported in Hypertension.

The data "suggest that individuals who consume more soda and other sugar-sweetened soft drinks may have higher blood pressure levels than those who consume less, and the problem may be exacerbated by higher salt intake," Brown said in an e-mail to MedPage Today and ABC News.

Past studies have linked fructose to high blood pressure. So to further investigate the association, Brown and colleagues assessed data from the INTERMAP study, which included 4,680 patients from Japan, China, the U.K., and the U.S.

They focused their analysis on the 2,696 patients who hailed from the U.S. and the U.K., gathering information from urine collections and blood pressure readings. Patients also reported on their regular diet over a period of four days.

The analysis showed that intake of sugar-sweetened beverages was related to blood pressure. In fact, those who drank the most sugary drinks had the highest blood pressure levels.

Beware.

Kaboom!

Study: US has much higher obesity rate than Canada

Yeah, so?

American adults have a significantly higher rate of obesity than their neighbors to the north, a new study says.

About 24 percent of Canadians are obese compared to more than 34 percent of Americans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Wednesday.

An excellent reason for neither to be proud.

Docs Can Help More in Weight Loss

That's not what the AMA says. (see below)

Office-based strategies for long-term weight loss and maintenance remain challenging and disappointing, and more efforts by clinicians are needed, researchers involved in two studies reported.

In one randomized trial that compared a structured program of lifestyle counseling by nurse practitioners with usual care by primary care physicians, no difference was found in mean weight change between the two groups after three years (−1.2% versus −0.6%, P=0.37), according to Nancy C.W. ter Bogt, MSc, of University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues.

Yet, in the second study, U.S. patients who had simply been told by their physicians that they were overweight or obese were more likely to have tried to lose weight in the previous year (OR 2.51, 95% CI 2.15 to 2.94 and OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.74 to 2.88, respectively), according to Robert E. Post, MD, of Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and colleagues.

Note: "tried to lose weight."

This is different from having lost weight.

And here is what the AMA had to say about the effectiveness of physicians re: weight loss:

Traditionally, physicians have counseled patients to change habits by sharing facts about health and illness (informational power) and/or using their professional credentials (expert power). However, research shows that these means of persuasion are not effective for promoting the lasting behavior changes needed for successful weight management.

This is from Booklet Three of the AMA's Roadmaps for Clinical Practice dealing with overweight/obesity.

Believe that the advice of physicians is not helpful.

Districts recording BMI of students for state

Good, if they use the data properly, as in go after the parents and enablers of nutritional child abuse - which they likely will not.

Body mass index screenings are under way at Zanesville City Schools and will begin at Crooksville Exempted Village School District this month.

Kindergarten, third-, fifth- and ninth-grade students will have their BMI taken, which will be turned into the Ohio Department of Health to track overweight and obese children.

Too bad.

Obesity And Diabetes May Be A Downside Of Human Evolution

No.

New research in the FASEB Journal suggests that a gene called CMAH has been lost during the course of recent evolution, and may lead to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes in humans

As if the recent prediction that half of all Americans will have diabetes or pre-diabetes by the year 2020 isn't alarming enough, a new genetic discovery published online in the FASEB Journal provides a disturbing explanation as to why: we took an evolutionary "wrong turn." In the research report, scientists show that human evolution leading to the loss of function in a gene called "CMAH" may make humans more prone to obesity and diabetes than other mammals.

Fat people are a downside of human evolution.

10,000 treated in hospital for being dangerously fat as admissions rise TENFOLD in a decade

It has to be an infection or something like that, eh?

The number of patients needing urgent treatment because they are overweight has risen tenfold in the last decade.

Official figures published today reveal the scale of Britain’s obesity crisis.

Some 10,571 patients were admitted to hospital last year because doctors feared they were so fat that their health was in immediate danger.

Kudos, fatsos.

Children given sweets when they are good are the most likely to end up fat and unhappy

There must be an awful lot of good children out there.

A poll of more than 2,000 people has found those given edible treats in childhood for behaving well had a higher chance of becoming heavily overweight, or of developing an eating disorder, than those who were not.

Those who recalled being regularly given food as a reward were four times as likely to have been overweight since childhood than those whose parents did not use snacks to endorse good conduct, the research found.

But, probably not.

Potential Mechanisms for Future Anti-Obesity Drugs Identified

They are called putting too many Calories in the piehole and swallowing.

An interdisciplinary group of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has, for the first time, identified the neurological and cellular signaling mechanisms that contribute to satiety -- the sensation of feeling full -- and the subsequent body-weight loss produced by drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes. More comprehensive knowledge of these mechanisms could form the basis for anti-obesity medications.

Glad we got that settled.

Texas city updating ambulances to haul heavier passengers.

Oink.

A Texas ambulance service is replacing its fleet to accommodate the growing number of overweight patients.

Medstar is converting its older Ford chassis to heavier Chevrolets, which cost $7,000 more but can carry an additional 800 pounds, said Matt Zavadsky, Medstar associate operations director.

"It's built to carry the extra weight and not be so saggy," he said.

Too bad humans are not designed to carry the extra weight and not be so saggy.

1.6 Million San Diegans are Overweight or Obese

Images from an environment not conducive to being an intended-size human.

Fifty percent of San Diego County children and adults are overweight or obese; that’s a whopping 1.6 million people.

Radio and television commercials will begin airing February 28 across San Diego County, promoting easier access to locally- grown fresh food, nutritious meals in schools and safe bike paths and walkways.

And what is their excuse?

Apparently conditions are not perfect enough in SDC for people to do the politically correct things in order to be intended-size humans.

It will never be perfect enough.

No matter how much money is thrown at lazy, fat, slobs.

F**k you, SDC whiners.

Limit Red Meat To Reduce Risk Of Bowel Cancer, UK Advice

Meat is bad again. Downgraded from good.

People should limit their consumption of red and processed meat to no more than 70g a day to help reduce their risk of bowel cancer, the Department of Health for England announced on Friday.

By red meat, they mean beef, lamb and pork plus minced meat or offal from the same animals. Examples of processed meat include ham, bacon, pâté, burgers, sausages, corned beef and salami...

This is the first time that the UK government has issued such advice, which follows the publication of a new report from the independent expert Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) that reviewed the evidence so far on links between consumption of red and processed meat and risk of colorectal or bowel cancer.

The report concluded that eating red and processed meat probably increases the risk of developing bowel cancer, and people who eat on average 90g a day or more should consider cutting down to an average of 70g a day or less.

What to believe, what to believe.

Study Reveals A Dismal 1 In 1,900 People Met AHA's Definition Of Ideal Heart Health

That's a whopping 0.05%. Who knew it was that high?

Only one out of more than 1,900 people evaluated met the American Heart Association (AHA) definition of ideal cardiovascular health, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their findings were recently published online in Circulation.

Ideal cardiovascular health is the combination of these seven factors: nonsmoking, a body mass index less than 25, goal-level physical activity and healthy diet, untreated cholesterol below 200, blood pressure below 120/80 and fasting blood sugar below 100, explained senior investigator and cardiologist Steven Reis, M.D., associate vice chancellor for clinical research at Pitt.

"Of all the people we assessed, only one out of 1,900 could claim ideal heart health," said Dr. Reis. "This tells us that the current prevalence of heart health is extremely low, and that we have a great challenge ahead of us to attain the AHA's aim of a 20 percent improvement in cardiovascular health rates by 2020."

Fat chance.

AAN: CV Risk Factors Also Linked to Cognitive Decline

Guess who is most likely to have cardiovascular risk factors. Hint: fatsos.

Middle-age men and women with cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension and high cholesterol are at risk not only for coronary heart disease, but also for later dementia, according to French researchers.

In a study of almost 5,000 people, an adjusted analysis found that each 10-point increment in risk on the Framingham General Cardiovascular Risk Profile was associated with poorer cognitive performance on tests that included thinking, memory, reasoning, phonemic and semantic fluency, and vocabulary (P<0.001 for all), reported Sara Kaffashian, MSc, and colleagues.

Clearly.

The flip side of the obesity crisis: How some U.S. parents are putting their BABIES on diets

And the problem is? Shouldn't parents control what their children consume?

With one in ten children under two overweight, in the U.S. the obesity crisis is getting worse each year. But some parents are so worried about preventing the problem, they are putting their babies on diets.

Leading paediatricians have revealed how increasing numbers of mothers and fathers are controlling the intake of food in children as young as seven months...Dr Hammond said that Mrs Hasan was not concerned when Maya - who is at the low end of the recommended healthy weight bracket for her age - had not gained any weight between check-ups.

Normal is normal.

Shut up, meddling doctors.

Cholesterol 'does not predict stroke in women'

Well this will be news to the American Heart Association.

High levels of cholesterol do not predict the risk of stroke in women, according to researchers in Denmark.

They did detect an increased risk in men, but only when cholesterol was at almost twice the average level.

The report in Annals of Neurology recommends using a different type of fat in the blood, non-fasting triglycerides, to measure the risk.

The Stroke Association said triglyceride tests needed to become routine to reduce the risk of stroke.

A total of 150,000 people have a stroke in the UK each year. Most are ischemic strokes, in which a clot in an artery disrupts the brain's blood supply.

The research followed 13,951 men and women, who took part in the Copenhagen City Heart Study.

During the 33-year study, 837 men and 837 women had strokes.

Poor predictor

They reported that the cholesterol levels in women were not associated with stroke, while there was only an association in men with levels higher than 9mmol/litre. The average in UK men is 5.5.

The researchers at Copenhagen University Hospital said this was "difficult to explain" as LDL, or bad, cholesterol is known to cause atherosclerosis which can block arteries.

And it will also be news to the National Stroke Association.

Oops.

Still think they have any idea what they are talking about?

When Man's Best Friend Is Obese

Abusing animals as if they were the owner's children.

The main culprit: owners who routinely overfeed pets, don't exercise them enough and are unaware of the severe, and costly, health problems caused by excess weight. Common woes include diabetes, arthritis, kidney failure, high blood pressure and cancer. Research also suggests that pets fed less over their lifetime can live significantly longer.

Yup.

Vitamin D Insufficiency

More about the cure du jour. (This piece is from an update sent by PDRNetwork)

While vitamin D deficiency is defined by the presence of bone disease (either rickets or osteomalacia), the term "insufficiency" has been used to describe suboptimal levels of vitamin D that are often associated with other skeletal and nonskeletal health outcomes...However, unlike the well-established skeletal benefits of vitamin D, the evidence for other presumed effects is based mainly on observational studies.

A study published in the January issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings examined the evidence for making clinical decisions based on the strongest research to date for the potential benefits of vitamin D associated with numerous outcomes. These included lower mortality rate; lower cardiovascular mortality; less musculoskeletal pain; and reduced risk of diabetes mellitus, cancer, multiple sclerosis, allergy and asthma, infection, mental illness, and renal disease...

Overall, the authors concluded that most of the current data on vitamin D is mainly based on observational, epidemiological outcomes, which are "useful for generating hypotheses but not for proving causality." Therefore, the evidence for benefits beyond bone health is not strong.

You betcha.