Author Interviews, Prostate Cancer, Weight Research / 01.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Reina Haque, PhD, MPH Research scientist, Kaiser Permanente Department of Research & Evaluation MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The main study findings are that men who are overweight or obese when they are diagnosed with prostate cancer are more likely to die from the disease than men who are of healthy weight. In patients with more aggressive forms of prostate cancer, the researchers also found an even stronger correlation between obesity and mortality. The study was restricted to patients undergoing surgical treatment for prostate cancer, rather than other treatments such as radiation or hormone therapy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 30.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview Jennifer M. Poti PhD Candidate, Nutritional Epidemiology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Consumption of solid fat and added sugar (SoFAS) by children exceeds recommendations, but it was not known where kids obtain these “empty calories.” Analyzing data from over 22,000 US children, we found that children consumed about 1/3 of their calories as solid fat and added sugar for foods consumed from retail food stores (including grocery stores and supermarkets), schools, or fast food restaurants in 2009-2010, despite significant decreases from 1977 to 2010 at each location. These mean levels of empty calorie intake greatly exceeded recommended amounts not just for fast foods, but also for foods consumed from schools and from stores. For all survey years, foods consumed by children from schools were higher in solid fat content than foods obtained and consumed from retail food stores. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Diabetes, NYU, Weight Research / 26.09.2013

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 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). (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Hip Fractures, Weight Research / 25.09.2013

Professor Tuan V. Nguyen Osteoporosis and Bone Biology Program Garvan Institute of Medical Research 384 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010 AustraliaMedicalResearch.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. (more…)
Author Interviews, Weight Research / 25.09.2013

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, MarylandMedicalResearch.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. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Exercise - Fitness, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 18.09.2013

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. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Metabolic Syndrome, Nature, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 13.09.2013

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. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 11.09.2013

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 02114Dr. 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. (more…)
Author Interviews, JCEM, Weight Research / 28.08.2013

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. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Weight Research / 17.08.2013

  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. (more…)
Author Interviews, General Medicine, McGill, Sugar, Weight Research / 09.08.2013

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. (more…)
Author Interviews, Weight Research / 24.07.2013

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. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Disability Research / 23.07.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Abigail Franklin Vice President for Development & Communications The New York Academy of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Overweight and Obesity Brief was derived from information gathered for the NYS Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The BRFSS is an annual statewide telephone survey of adults administered by the provide information on behaviors, risk factors, and utilization of preventive services. The survey conducted in 2011 found that nearly 25% of adults in NYS are obese and another 36% overweight. It also found that obesity rates are higher among adults who are Black (32.5%), earn an annual household income less than $25,000 (26.8%), have less than a college education (27.1%), or are currently living with a disability (34.9%). These findings bring to light that social and economic factors in our communities can be a major contributor to health disparities, like greater risk of obesity among people of color, low income individuals, and people who are disabled. (more…)
Author Interviews, Emergency Care, Nature, Weight Research / 02.05.2013

MedicalResearch.com eInterview with Professor David McDonald Taylor Emergency Department, Austin Health PO Box 5555, Heidelberg, Vic. 3084, Australia MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Overall, obese and non-obese patients have similar experiences during their ED stay. However, while obese patients tend to be younger and less sick, their more frequent presentation with potentially cardiac-related disease is reflected in their management. The excess of liver function tests and abdominal xrays performed on obese patients is likely to reflect examination difficulties and over investigation. Obese patients do experience more attempts at IV cannulation. (more…)