Weight Research
29 Oct C.diff and Obesity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nahid Bhadelia, MD, MALD Assistant Professor Associate Hospital Epidemiologist, Section of Infectious Diseases Director, Infection Control National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL) Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA Summary of Findings: Dr. Bhadelia: Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are a growing problem related to healthcare exposure and antibiotic use. Over the last decade, these infections have been noted...
22 Oct Hearing Loss in Women: BMI, Waist Circumference, Physical Activity
Posted at 11:10h
in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Hearing Loss, Medical Research Centers, Vitamin D, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Sharon Curhan, MD, ScM
Channing Division of Network Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA 02115
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Curhan: The main findings of our study are that higher body mass index and larger waist circumference are associated with an increased risk of acquired hearing loss, and higher level of physical activity is associated with a decreased risk of acquired hearing loss in women. Specifically, after adjusting for potential confounders, compared with women with BMI <25 kg/m2, the relative risk for hearing loss was 25% higher for women with BMI >40. Compared with women with waist circumference <71 cm, the relative risk for hearing loss was 27% higher for women with waist circumference >88 cm. Higher physical activity was inversely related to risk; compared with women in the lowest quintile of physical activity, women in the highest quintile of physical activity had a 17% lower risk of hearing loss. Walking, the most common form of physical activity among these women, was associated with a lower risk; women who walked 2 hours per week or more had a 15% lower risk of hearing loss than women who walked less than one hour per week. These findings provide evidence that maintaining healthy weight and staying physically active, potentially modifiable lifestyle factors, may help reduce the risk of hearing loss.
18 Oct Metabolically Healthy Obesity – Weight Discordant Twin Study
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Jussi Naukkarinen, M.D., Ph.D
Research Scientist
Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM)
Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine
Helsinki Finland
and National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
Division of Welfare and Health Promotion
Public Health Genomics Unit
and University of Helsinki
School of Medicine Dept. of Medical Genetics
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: We found in this sample of relatively young, Finnish twins that there are clearly two different kinds of obesity. While most individuals with BMIs in the "obese" category will go on to develop the usual pathologies associated with obesity (namely diabetes, hypertensio, dyslipidemia), a fraction of the obese population seems to be spared. These "metabolically healthy obese" individuals displayed a number of features that were associated with a healthy metabolic profile despite considerable overweight: a capacity for hyperplasia of the adipose tissue (as opposed to just hypertrophy) seemed to be associated with maintained mitochondrial function, lack of inflammation and liver fat.
17 Oct Anorexia Nervosa: Optimized Psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavior Therapy
MedicalResearch.com Interview with Stephan Zipfel MD Professor of Medicine & Dean of Medical Education Head Department of Internal Medicine VI (Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy) University Medical Hospital Tuebingen President of the German College of Psychosomatic Medicine (DKPM) Co-Director of the centre for nutritional Medicine Tuebingen-Hohenheim 72076 Tuebingen / Germany MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Zipfel: Outpatient treatment of adults with anorexia nervosa by either enhanced cognitive-behaviour therapy, focal psychodynamic therapy, or optimised treatment as usual led to relevant weight gains and a decrease in general and eating disorder-specific psychopathology during the course of treatment. These positive effects continued beyond treatment until 12-month follow-up. Most patients completed treatment and the acceptance of both specific therapy approaches was high among both patients and therapists.14 Oct Comparison of Bariatric Surgery Procedurues and Glucose Tolerance
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Mitchell S. Roslin, MD
Lenox Hill Hospital Manhattan Minimally Invasive & Bariatric Surgery
186 E 76th Street, 1st Floor New York, NY 10021.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Roslin: The cornerstone of medical management for weight loss and to prevent weight gain is to regulate glucose and insulin and prevent wide fluctuation. Yet, Gastric bypass, widely considered the gold standard operation, accentuates these fluctuations. The purpose of our study was to compare glucose tolerance of gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and a modified version of duodenal switch that preserves adequate intestine. We found that all operations improve insulin resistance, but that duodenal switch normalizes the curve, whereas gastric bypass causes wide spikes in insulin and glucose.
14 Oct HDL Function: Improved with Strength Training, Even in Overweight
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christian K. Roberts Exercise and Metabolic Disease Research Laboratory, Translational Sciences Section, School of Nursing University of California, Los Angeles, CA MedicalResearch.com: How would you best summarize the main findings/results of this study? Answer: Our main finding was that HDL functioned better in its antioxidant role in subjects who participated in resistance exercise training (i.e. weight training) a minimum of 4 days a week, regardless of their weight—one group was lean (BMI <25) and the other overweight/obese (BMI >27) —than those who didn’t exercise (overweight, BMI >27, and untrained). In addition, HDL had similar effectiveness as an antioxidant in the overweight-trained group as in the as lean-trained group. Although indices of weight were associated with dysfunctional HDL, differences in fitness may be a better measure of who has healthier functioning HDL.02 Oct Opiod Use after Bariatric Surgery
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Marsha A. Raebel, PharmD, BCPS, FCCP
Investigator in Pharmacotherapy
Institute for Health Research
10065 E. Harvard Ave Suite 300
Denver, CO 80231.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: We found that in a group of patients who took chronic opioids for non-cancer pain and who underwent bariatric surgery there was greater chronic use of opioids after surgery compared with before surgery, findings that suggest the need for proactive management of chronic pain in these patients after surgery.
01 Oct Emergence of New Fat Cells and Response to Diet and Cold
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Philipp E. Scherer, PhD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Director, Touchstone Diabetes Center
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX 75390-8549
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Scherer: This is the first study that tracks the emergence of new fat cells in response to various physiological stimuli, such as high fat diet and cold exposure.
26 Sep Obesity-Related Cancers and Blood Glucose Levels
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Niyati Parekh, PhD, RD
Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Public Health,
Director of Doctoral Program in Clinical Nutrition,
Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, Steinhardt School and
Department of Population Health, NYU Langone School of Medicine, New York University
411 Lafayette Street NY. NY-10003.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Parekh: The objective of the study was to investigate disturbances in blood glucose levels in relation to risk of obesity-related cancers. We observed an increased risk of obesity-related cancers, specifically colon cancer among persons with abnormal glucose values. These findings were stronger among persons who had this abnormality for longer duration (>10years).
25 Sep Bariatric Surgery: Centers of Excellence Programs and Minority Access
Posted at 11:57h
in Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, Medicare, Race/Ethnic Diversity, University of Michigan, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation
Dr. Lauren Hersch Nicholas Ph.D
Research Affiliate, Population Studies Center.
Faculty Research Fellow, Survey Research Center
University of Michigan
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Nicholas: We found that a Medicare policy designed to improve the safety of bariatric surgery was associated with 17% decline in the share of Medicare patients from minority groups receiving bariatric surgery.
25 Sep Hip Fracture Risk and Link to Obesity Gene
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Professor Tuan V. Nguyen
Osteoporosis and Bone Biology Program
Garvan Institute of Medical Research
384 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Australia
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Nguyen: We analyzed polymorphisms of the FTO (fat mass and obesity) gene in 934 elderly women of Caucasian background, and found that carriers of minor genotype (AA) of the SNP rs1121980 had a two-fold increase in the risk of hip fracture compared with carriers of major genotype (GG). Approximately 20% of women are carriers of the AA genotype. We estimate that about 17% of hip fracture cases could be attributed to the variation within the gene.
25 Sep Anti-Obesity Medication Use in US
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Christian Hampp PhD
Division of Epidemiology-I, Office of Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology
Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Silver Spring, Maryland
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Hampp: We investigated the use of prescription antiobesity drugs, including duration of use, in the United States from 2002 through 2011. We found that in 2011, approximately 2.74 million patients used antiobesity drugs, predominantly phentermine (2.43 million patients), while the use of prescription orlistat and sibutramine was relatively uncommon. Eighty-five percent of antiobesity drug users were female, 62% were aged 17-44 years, and 4.5% had a body mass index of ≤24.9 kg/m2. Duration of use was generally short and most patients only had one episode of antiobesity drug use during the observation period. The longest episode of use was ≤30 days in 47- 58% of patients. Approximately one quarter of patients used antiobesity drugs for longer than 90 days. Only 1.3- 4.2% of antiobesity drug users used them for >1 year.
18 Sep Obesity: Low Childhood IQ Raises Risk of Midlife Obesity and Late-Life Dementia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniel Belsky, PhD NIA Postdoctoral Fellow Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development Duke University Box 104410 Durham, NC 27708 Is Obesity Associated With a Decline in Intelligence Quotient During the First Half of the Life Course? MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Belsky: Midlife obesity is linked with...
18 Sep Adolescents: Bending the Obesity Curve
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ronald J. Iannotti, PhD Prevention Research Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland Trends in Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, Diet, and BMI Among US Adolescents, 2001–2009 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Iannotti: Although average BMI percentile increased from 2001 to 2005 it did not increase from 2005 to 2009. This is consistent with some recent studies that suggest the increase in overweight and obesity may be leveling off. We suggest that we may be 'bending the curve'. During the same period, physical activity and consumption of fruits and vegetables increased while television watching and consumption of sweets and sweetened beverages decreased. We cannot say whether television watching was replaced with more time spent on computers but we did not find an increase in computer use from 2005 to 2009.13 Sep Obesity: Gene Ecscr is New Target for Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome
Posted at 18:23h
in Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Metabolic Syndrome, Nature, Surgical Research, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Koji Ikeda, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Cardiology
Graduate School of Medical Science,
Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
Kyoto, Japan
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Ikeda: The main findings of this study is the identification of a novel mechanism that regulates glucose homeostasis and energy metabolism, provided by Ecscr. Consequently, Ecscr modifies the insulin sensitivity and the progression of obesity, indicating that Ecscr is a new target for the treatment of metabolic syndrome.
11 Sep Childhood Obesity Prevention: Improving Household Routines
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Elsie Taveras
Massachusetts General Hospital for Children
Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics
100 Cambridge St, 15th Floor
Boston, MA 02114
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Taveras: The main findings of the study were that, overall, the body mass index of children in the intervention group dropped an average of 0.18, while it rose 0.21 in the control group. Children in the intervention group were sleeping about 45 minutes longer than children in the control group. Time spent watching television on weekends dropped about an hour per day in the intervention group, leading to a significant difference from the control group, which increased weekend TV viewing. Both groups had a small reduction in weekday TV viewing, with a greater decrease in the intervention group, as well.
10 Sep Weight Loss: Influence of Genetics on Success of High-Fat vs Low Fat Diets
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Lu Qi, MD, PhD, FAHA
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Assistant Professor of Nutrition
Harvard School of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: It has been known that weight loss diets may improve metabolic status, in parallel with reduction of body weight. We found that the beneficial of various weight loss diets, such as high-fat and low-fat diets, may be different for people carrying different genotype.
03 Sep CVD Risk: Metabolic Health, not BMI, determined risk in young women
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Søren Skøtt Andersen and Dr Michelle Schmiegelow Study done in collaboration between Roskilde University Hospital and Gentofte University Hospital in Denmark. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The main finding of this study of young women was that a body mass index above or equal to 25 kg/m2 in metabolically healthy women was not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction or ischemic stroke) within 5 years of follow-up. A BMI >= 25 kg/m2 in women with any metabolic disorder was associated with a 4-fold significant increased risk of the end-point. As increasing BMI is strongly associated with risk of developing metabolic disorders, the key message of this study is to stress the importance of preventing the development of metabolic disorders in overweight/obese women during this possible "window of opportunity".31 Aug Gestational Diabetes: Associated with Low Pre-Pregnancy Adiponectin Levels
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Monique Hedderson, PhD
Research Scientist
Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Oakland, CA 94612
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Hedderson: It is fascinating to discover that metabolic abnormalities appear to be present, even years before pregnancy, in a large proportion of women who develop gestational diabetes. The findings from this study emphasize the importance of the pre-pregnancy period in future pregnancy outcomes.
28 Aug Obesity: Inflammatory Markers May Detect Risk of Diabetes, Heart Disease
MedialResearch.com Interview with: Dr Catherine M. Phillips Health Research Board Centre for Diet and Health Research Room 4.033, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Western Gateway Building, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland MedialResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Obesity is associated with increased risk of diabetes and heart disease leading to reduced life expectancy. However in recent years it has been recognized that not all obese individuals are at increased risk – these individuals have been described as being metabolically healthy obese (MHO) in that despite carrying excess weight they do not have the typical abnormal metabolic features associated with obesity such as hypertension, insulin resistance and alterations to their lipid profile. It is not clear what factors determine whether an obese person becomes metabolically healthy or unhealthy. In this study conducted at the Dept. of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College Cork, Ireland, we examined levels of a range of inflammatory markers in 2047 middle-aged Irish adults to investigate to what extent differences between metabolically healthy and unhealthy obese and non-obese male and female adults are explained by inflammatory status. Participants, who were between the ages of 50 and 69, completed lifestyle questionnaires, physical and clinical assessments, and underwent blood testing so their body mass index (BMI), metabolic profiles and inflammatory markers could be determined. We found that, regardless of a person’s BMI, having a favorable inflammatory profile was associated with being metabolically healthy. Specifically metabolically healthy individuals presented with lower levels of complement component 3, C reactive protein, tumour necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 6, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, reduced white blood cell count and higher adiponectin levels compared to their metabolically unhealthy counterparts.17 Aug Obesity Among Schoolchildren and Breastfeeding
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michiyo Yamakawa MHSc Department of Epidemiology Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that breastfeeding was associated with decreased risk of overweight and obesity at the age of 7 and 8 years compared with formula feeding. Moreover, the protective associations for obesity were greater than those for overweight.15 Aug Maternal Obesity Raises Health Risks, Even for Their Adult Children
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rebecca M Reynolds, Professor of Metabolic Medicine Endocrinology Unit, BHF/University Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh EH14 6TJ, UK MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that the adult offspring of women who were obese at the start of pregnancy were 35% more likely to die prematurely than offspring of normal-weight women. We also found that children born to mothers who were overweight when they became pregnant had an 11% increased risk of premature death. Adult offspring of mothers who were obese were also at increase risk of hospital admissions for cardiovascular events.09 Aug Obesity in US: Aggravated by Agricultural Policy That Encourages High-Fat/Sugar Foods
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Caroline Franck, MSc Dvisions of Cardiology and Clinical Epidemiology McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that, although subsidies are needed to protect farmers from production risks, the current allocation of payments encourages the sustained overproduction of a handful of grains and oilseeds. Overproduction contributes to making the end products cheaper, which are then processed into energy-dense and high-fat/sugar foods. Obesity should be treated as a systems problem, in which farm production plays an important role.06 Aug Weight Gain in 2- to 5-Year-Old Children : Role of Sugar Sweetened Drinks
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mark D. DeBoer, MD Associate Professor of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Endocrinology University of Virginia Health System P.O. Box 800386 Charlottesville, VA 22908 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. DeBoer: Preschool and kindergarten children drinking SSB (compared to infrequent/non-drinkers) were more likely to be obese and among 2 year-olds had more unhealthy weight gain over the next 2 years. SSB consumption is thus linked to higher weight status in children age 2-5 years.24 Jul Weight Loss, Satiety Improved by Healthy Snacking
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Roberta Re, Ph.D.
Nutrition research manager at Leatherhead Food Research in Surrey, England.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Re: The main finding of the study on snacking is that consumption of nuts (almonds and peanuts in particular) can help to a reduced subjective perception of appetite and reduce energy intake at the next meal.
24 Jul Physicians During Residency: Study of Overweight Status
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maya Leventer-Roberts, MD, MPH Fellow Trainee Department of Preventive Medicine Mount Sinai School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Leventer-Roberts: Overweight status among medical and surgical residents is more likely by increasing PGY of training. Overweight residents are also unlikely to acknowledge their overweight status. These changes can differ significantly from matched controls and may affect long-term health.19 Jul Pre-Diabetes: Early Weight Loss Reduces Longer-Term Diabetes Risk
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nisa M. Maruthur, MD, MHS Assistant Professor of Medicine & Epidemiology The Johns Hopkins University Early Response to Preventive Strategies in the Diabetes Prevention Program MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Maruther: For patients engaged in a lifestyle intervention to prevent diabetes, weight loss early on (at 6 months) is an extremely strong predictor of whether they will develop diabetes down the road. Even in the setting of substantial weight loss (>10%) at 6 months, it is still beneficial to lower fasting glucose. These results are unique in that we previously understood that weight loss over time (years) is important to prevent diabetes, but now we know the impact of early weight loss on longer-term diabetes risk.16 Jul Diet Sodas: Adverse Effects of Altered Metabolism, Weight Gain
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Susan E. Swithers PhD
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Department of Psychological Sciences and Ingestive Behavior Research Center
Purdue University, 703 Third Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Swithers: The paper examined the last 5 years of studies that looked at risks associated with consuming artificially sweetened beverages like diet soda. These studies indicated that those who consume diet soda were at significantly greater risk for a variety of negative health outcomes like type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension and stroke, along with being more likely to gain excess weight. These effects might be due to a disruption of basic learned response. The idea is that normally things when things that taste sweet are consumed, the body receives calories and sugar. Our bodies can learn to prepare to deal with these calories and this sugar by starting up our digestive processes as soon as the sweet taste hits our mouth, for example by releasing hormones that not only help us regulate blood sugar, but also can contribute to feelings of fullness. When we consume diet sodas, the mouth gets the sweet taste, but the body doesn't get the calories or the sugar. The body may then learn that a sweet taste in the mouth doesn't always predict sugar and calories, so it makes adjustments in how many hormones it releases. So when we actually consume real sugar, the body doesn't produce the same kinds of physiological responses, which can lead to overeating, higher blood sugar, and over the long term could contribute to diseases like diabetes and stroke.
31 May Exercise Training and Changes in HbA1c, Body Fat and Fitness
MedicalResearch.com eInterview with
Martin Sénéchal, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
The Manitoba Institute of Child Health
University of Manitoba
511E- 715 McDermot Ave Winnipeg, Manitoba
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: The main finding of this study is that reducing central adiposity and increasing fitness in men and women with Type 2 diabetes are key components for successfully improving glycemic control.
A secondary finding of the study is that improvement in both central adiposity (reduction) and fitness (increasing) simultaneously; increase the likelihood of reducing HbA1c, one of the most widely used indicators of glucose control, and/or Type 2 diabetes medications.