obesity Tag
08 Nov Childhood Depression and Antidepressants Associated With Weight Gain
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29498" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Lisa Bailey-Davis[/caption]
Lisa Bailey-Davis, DEd, RD
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Health Services Research
Associate Director, Obesity Institute
Geisinger Health Systems
Danville, PA 17822
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: National data from CDC suggest that 3.1% of 12-17 year olds self-reported using an antidepressant in 2005-2010, however we examined electronic health record orders at a large health system and found that antidepressants are ordered more frequently. Antidepressants were ordered for 7.2% of 13 year olds and 16.6% of 18 year olds in our population-representative data.
Five or more cumulative months of antidepressant use was strongly associated with increased body mass index, particularly among older youths. At age 18 years, youth treated with 12 or more months of antidepressants were likely to be 2.1 kg heavier than youth without antidepressants. Depression diagnosis, independent, of antidepressants was also associated with higher body mass index. At age 12 years, youth with at least 1 depression diagnosis had a higher average BMI than youth without such diagnosis.
08 Nov Brain Gray Matter Volume Predictive of Weight Loss Success
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Fatemeh Mokhtari Medical Imaging PhD Student VT-WFU SBES MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The objective of this study was to use baseline anatomical brain MRI scans to prospectively predict weight loss success following an intensive lifestyle intervention. In the study, 52 participants, age 60 to 79, were recruited from the Cooperative Lifestyle Interventions Programs II (CLIP-II) project. The participants were overweight or obese (BMI greater than 28 and less than 42) and had a history of either cardiovascular disease or metabolic syndrome. All participants had a baseline MRI scan, and then were randomized to one of three groups – diet only, diet plus aerobic exercise training or diet plus resistance exercise training. The goal of the 18-month diet and exercise program was a weight loss of 7 to 10 percent of body mass. Basic brain structure information garnered from the MRIs was classified using a support vector machine, a type of computerized predictive algorithm. Specifically, we trained a computational predictive model which mapped each subject’s brain scan to weight loss performance. Predictions were based on baseline brain gray and white matter volume from the participants’ MRIs and compared to the study participants’ actual weight loss after the 18 months. The accuracy of the model was then tested, and our prediction algorithms were 78% accurate in predicting successful weight loss. Brain gray matter volume provided higher prediction accuracy compared with white matter and the combination of the two outperformed either one alone.07 Nov ACTION Study Identifies Barriers to Obesity Management
MedicalResearch.com with: [caption id="attachment_29454" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Lee Kaplan[/caption]
Lee Kaplan, MD, PhD,
Director of the Obesity, Metabolism and Nutrition Institute Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center and
ACTION study steering committee member
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Today, nearly 100 million people in the U.S. have obesity. Despite the fact that many healthcare providers and others recognize obesity as a disease that can have a significant impact on health, many people with obesity do not have access to effective care for this disorder. As a result, obesity remains substantially under-diagnosed, under-addressed and under-treated. Since multiple parties could have a role in overcoming this barrier to effective obesity care, we sought to determine and compare the perspectives and experience of three important groups – health care providers, employers, and people with obesity themselves – about obesity and its care.
As the first national study looking simultaneously at these complementary perspectives, ACTION sought to help answer several important questions:
- Given that obesity is occurring at epidemic rates, why is it not being treated? What are the barriers to effective care?
- How could public and professional attitudes contribute?
- To what degree do limitations of resources or knowledge about the disease contribute?
04 Nov Tailored Weight Watchers Program Improved Weight Loss and Blood Sugar in Type II Diabetes
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29416" align="alignleft" width="144"]
Dr. Patrick M. O'Neil[/caption]
Patrick M. O'Neil, Ph.D.
Director, Weight Management Center
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC 29425
MedicalResearch.com: What is already known about the subject?
• Even modest weight loss (2-5%) from clinical interventions improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetes.
• Commercial weight loss programs, comparatively more affordable and accessible than clinic-based modalities, can produce weight losses in this range, although they typically do not offer diabetes-specific counseling.
• Data are sparse on such programs’ effects on glycemic control for adults with T2DM.
03 Nov Early Weight Loss Response To Liraglutide 3.0 mg Predicts Continued Success
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29373" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr Todd Hobbs[/caption]
Dr Todd Hobbs MD
Chief medical officer (CMO)
Novo Nordisk in North America
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There is little data that describes weight loss and other outcomes separately in early weight loss responders and early weight loss non-responders. Early weight loss, whether through lifestyle or pharmacotherapy, can be a good predictor of long-term weight loss. Consequently, all recently-approved weight loss medication labels include ‘stopping rules’ for discontinuing medication if a threshold weight loss is not achieved by a specified milestone. Bottom line, it’s important patients don’t continue on a therapy that isn’t working for them. This makes this form of research important from a clinical standpoint but also in the larger obesity treatment paradigm - including payers and how pharmaceutical treatments are labeled.
26 Oct Short Interventions By Primary Care Physicians Can Help Patients Lose Weight
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29164" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Prof. Paul Aveyard[/caption]
Paul Aveyard PhD MRCP FRCGP FFPH
Professor of Behavioural Medicine
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
University of Oxford
Radcliffe Primary Care Building
Radcliffe Observatory Quarter
Oxford
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We know that opportunistic brief interventions by physicians can be effective, but there is no evidence that they are so for obesity. Physicians worry that broaching this topic will be offensive, time-consuming, and ineffective. We needed a randomised trial to assess whether physicians’ fears were justified, or in fact brief interventions could be as effective for patients who are overweight as they are for smoking or problem drinking and that’s what we did.
26 Oct Balancing Omega 6 to Omega 3 To Prevent and Manage Obesity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29227" align="alignleft" width="130"]
Dr. Artemis P. Simopoulos[/caption]
Artemis P. Simopoulos, M.D. FACN
President, The Center for Genetics
Nutrition and Health
Washington, DC 20016
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: I have written extensively on the evolutionary aspects of diet, the diet of Crete prior to 1960 in which I pointed to the misinterpretation of the data of the Seven Countries Study by Keys et al. A major characteristic of these diets is a balanced omega-6/omega-3 ratio.
The recommendation to substitute saturated fats with omega-6 rich oils (sunflower, corn, soybean) increases inflammation and coronary heart disease. It has been shown in a number of studies that a high omega-6/omega-3 (20/1 instead of a balanced ratio) leads to an increase in white adipose tissue and prevents the formation of brown adipose tissue leading to obesity. The changes in the diet-high in omega-6 oils depletion of omega-3 and high fructose along with highly refined carbohydrates in processed foods and a sedentary lifestyle lead to obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and cancer.
The scientific evidence from the FAT-1 mouse and recent cohort studies clearly show that the current dietary guidelines as the previous ones are not based on science that takes into consideration genetics, metabolism, the concept that a calorie is not a calorie. It is important to consider that nutrients influence the expression of genes, the omega-6 fatty acids are the most pro-inflammatory nutrients, and inflammation is at the base of all chronic non-communicable diseases.
15 Oct Fatty Liver At Least Partially Mediated By Epigenetic Influences
Posted at 12:37h
in Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Genetic Research, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_28898" align="alignleft" width="180"]
Dr. Annette Schürmann[/caption]
Annette Schürmann PhD
Department of Experimental Diabetology
German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE)
Nuthetal
Germany German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD
München-Neuherberg Germany
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The aim of our study was to clarify why genetically identical mice respond very different to a high fat diet. Some of the mice react with an elevated body weight, others not. We analyzed the expression pattern
of liver at two time points, at the age of 6 weeks, (the earlierst time
point to distiguish between those that respond to the diet (responder
mice) and those that did not (non-responders)), and at the age of 20
weeks. One transcript that was significantly reduced in the liver of
responder mice at both time points was Igfbp2. The reason for the
reduced expression was an elevated DNA-methylation at a position that is
conserved in the mouse and human sequence. The elevated DNA-methylation
of this specifc site in human was recently described to associate with
elevated fat storage (hepatosteatosis) and NASH. However, as 6 weeks old
mice did not show differences in liver fat content between responder and
non-responder mice we conclude that the alteration of Igfbp2 expression
and DNA metyhlation occurs before the development of fatty liver.
Our data furthermore showed that the epigenetic inhibition of Igfbp2
expression was associated with elevated blood glucose and insulin
resistance but not with fatty liver.
27 Sep Can Low Dose Oral Nicotine Have Beneficial Health Effects?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_28356" align="alignleft" width="132"]
Dr. Ursula H. Winzer-Serhan[/caption]
Ursala. H. Winzer-Serhan Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics
Texas A&M Health Science Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Nicotine is a plant alkaloid that is naturally occurring in the tobacco plant. Smoking delivers nicotine to the brain where it acts as a stimulant. Tobacco and electronic cigarette smoking delivers many other chemicals to the body, which are harmful and can cause cancer.
However, the drug nicotine by itself is relatively benign and poses few health risks for most people. Nicotine acts in the brain on nicotinic receptors, which are ion channels that are widely expressed in the brain. They play an important role in cognitive functions. Research with rodents and in humans has shown that nicotine can enhance learning and memory, and furthermore, can protect neurons during injuries and in the aging brain. With the increasingly older population, it becomes more and more important to delay cognitive decline in the elderly. Right now, there is no drug available that could delay aging of the brain.
21 Sep Intestinal Microbiome Linked to Obesity and Fat Storage in Children
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_28185" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Dr. Nicola Santoro[/caption]
Nicola Santoro, MD, PhD
Associate Research Scientist in Pediatrics (Endocrinology)
Yale University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The study start from previous observations showing an association between the gut microbiota and obesity.
Similarly to what previously described in adults and in children, we found an association between the gut microbiota and obesity. We took a step further and also observed that the gut flora is associated to body fat partitioning (amount of fat in the abdomen). Moreover, we observed that the effect of microbiota could be mediated by the short chain fatty acids a product of gut flora.
19 Sep FTO Gene Make Obesity More Likely But Doesn’t Prevent Weight Loss
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_28116" align="alignleft" width="135"]
Prof. John C. Mathers[/caption]
Prof. John C. Mathers
Director, Human Nutrition Research Centre
Institute of Cellular Medicine and
Newcastle University Institute for Ageing
Newcastle University
Biomedical Research Building
Campus for Ageing and Vitality
Newcastle on Tyne
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: More than 90 different genetics variants are associated with body fatness and, of these, the FTO gene has the biggest effect. People who are homozygous for the unusual variant of FTO i.e. carry two copies of the risk allele, are on average 3kg heavier than those not carrying the risk allele. In addition, they have 70% greater risk of being obese. Since the FTO gene is associated with being heavier, we wondered whether it made it more difficult for people to lose weight.
16 Sep Socio-Economic Factors Influence Genetic Tendency Toward Obesity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_27851" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Prof. Timothy Frayling[/caption]
Professor Timothy Frayling PhD
Professor of Human Genetics
University of Exeter Medical School
Exeter, UK
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We know that genes and environmental factors influence our Body mass index. We know less about if and how they interact.
We wanted to answer the question of whether or not aspects of the environment and our lifestyles accentuate any genetic predisposition to obesity. The question is important as it may highlight aspects of the environment that cause some people to be particularly susceptible to gaining weight. Previous, separate, studies have suggested that specific aspects of the environment are to blame. These included sugary drinks, fried food and TV watching.
13 Sep Body Mass Index Linked to LV Mass in Career Male Firefighters
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_27860" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Maria Korre[/caption]
Maria Korre, ScD
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Environmental & Occupational Medicine & Epidemiology Program
Department of Environmental Health
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of on-duty death among firefighters (45% of on-duty fatalities) and a major cause of morbidity. It is crucial to note though, that the risk of on-duty CVD events is not evenly distributed among all firefighters, but is highly concentrated among the most susceptible individuals. Given that firefighting is an inherently dangerous occupation and many of its hazards cannot be engineered out of the job, we have concentrated our efforts on understanding what can make an individual firefighter susceptible.
As in the general population, these cardiovascular events are largely due to coronary heart disease (CHD), however, there is an increasing recognition of the role of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy/cardiomegaly in the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) independent of the presence of CHD. Evidence suggests an improved prognostic value, when LV hypertrophy is based on the accurate assessment of LV mass.
LV mass is a strong predictor of CVD events and despite it’s critical prognostic significance, it’s measurement and role in clinical practice has yet to be established.
In this paper we aimed to identify the most important predictors of LV mass after indexing for height among career male firefighters as assessed by both echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance.
06 Sep Overweight Girls, Underweight Boys May Be At Greater Risk of Adult Asthma
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Charlotte Suppli Ulrik MD DMSc et al. Dept. of Respiratory Medicine Hvidovre Hospital Copenhagen, Denmark MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Obesity is a risk factor for new-onset asthma, but the association is incompletely understood. Our aim was, therefore, to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) BMI in childhood and asthma admissions in early adulthood (until age 45 years). We used data on BMI measured annually (age 7-13 years) in 321,830 children enrolled in the Copenhagen School Health Records Registry. During the 36-years of follow-up, a total of 2,059 first-time ever hospital admissions for asthma were observed.02 Sep Low Uptake of Medicare Obesity Counseling Benefit
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_27587" align="alignleft" width="125"]
Dr. John Batsis[/caption]
John A. Batsis, MD, FACP, AGSF
Associate Professor of Medicine and The Dartmouth Institute
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Section of General Internal Medicine - 3M
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Lebanon, NH
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid implemented a regulatory coverage benefit to cover 22 brief, targeted 15-minute counseling visits by clinicians over the course of a 12-month period for Medicare beneficiaries with a body mass index exceeding 30kg/m2. This was an important policy determination in tackling the obesity epidemic in the United States. An emphasis on the importance of counseling, or intensive behavioral therapy, in a primary care setting set the foundation for this benefit.
Yet, it was unclear how and if this benefit (which would be free of charge without a copay or deductible for beneficiaries) was being implemented in clinical care. We therefore identified fee-for-service Medicare claims for the years 2012 and 2013 to determine whether the G0477 code (Medicare Obesity benefit code) was billed. We additionally explored the rate of uptake of the Medicare benefit in relation to the prevalence of obesity using the 2012 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System data.
31 Aug Parents Likely To Use Food To Soothe Fussy Infants
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_27521" align="alignleft" width="133"]
Dr. Kai Ling Kong[/caption]
Kai Ling Kong, PhD, MS
Assistant Professor
Division of Behavioral Medicine
Department of Pediatrics
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
State University of New York at Buffalo
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Infant temperament, or individual behavior styles, can be reliably measured and is related to weight status. However, we know very little about the association of infants’ temperament and their motivation to eat versus engage in other activities (relative food reinforcement). Examining such associations is an important step given the need to use behavioral strategies in obesity prevention in early life. The purpose of our study was to determine if infant temperament, specifically the factors that have been linked with obesity risk, are associated with infant relative food reinforcement.
25 Aug Number of Cancers Linked to Obesity More Than Doubled
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_27327" align="alignleft" width="125"]
Dr. Beatrice Lauby-Secretan[/caption]
Beatrice Lauby-Secretan, PhD
IARC – Section IMO (International Agency for Research on Cancer)
Lyon, France
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The IARC Handbook of Cancer Prevention Series perform systematic reviews and evaluations of the cancer-preventive effects of interventions and strategies. The summary article published today presents the conclusions of a Working Group of experts who examined and assessed the currently available literature on the link between overweight/obesity and cancer. Thus this is not a single study, but the report on more than 1000 individual studies.
18 Aug Vagal Nerve Blocking (vBloc) for the Treatment of Obesity Demonstrates Meaningful Weight Loss
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_27115" align="alignleft" width="145"]
Dr. Katherine Tweden[/caption]
Katherine Tweden Ph.D.
Vice President, Clinical and Regulatory
EnteroMedics® Inc
St. Paul, Minnesota 55113
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: This report summarizes 2 year outcomes of the pivotal study that evaluated the safety and efficacy of EnteroMedics’ vagal blockade (vBloc Therapy) delivered by our Maestro Rechargeable System neuromodulation device for the treatment of obesity. The study demonstrates that the device continues to have a promising safety profile and that the weight loss achieved through 2 years is clinically meaningful as shown by the positive impact of vBloc Therapy on participant’s co-morbid conditions, quality of life, and eating behaviors.
Specifically, the study showed 21% excess weight loss and approximately 50% reduction in pre-diabetes and metabolic syndrome for those participants who presented with the syndrome at baseline.
In addition, cardiovascular parameters improved in those at risk with approximately 10 mmHg drop in systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to baseline in participants with elevated blood pressure and 16 and 46 mg/dL drop in LDL and triglycerides, respectively, in participants with elevated lipids compared to baseline. In addition, metabolic parameters improved with a reduction in hemoglobin A1c of 0.3 percentage points. Participants’ quality of life improved by 20 units compared to baseline and their control over their eating behavior, such as hunger and the ability to control the amount they eat, was significantly improved by approximately 50% compared to baseline.
12 Aug Factors Identifying Risk of Poor Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery Identified
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26834" align="alignleft" width="143"]
Dr. Michelle Lent[/caption]
Dr. Michelle R. Lent, PhD
Geisinger Obesity Institute
Geisinger Clinic
Danville, Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: More than one-third of adults in the United States live with obesity. Currently, the most effective treatment for obesity is bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery patients are expected to lose 30 to 40 percent of their body weight, but not all patients are able to lose this amount of weight and others experience weight regain. Why some patients succeed in weight loss over time, while others are less successful, remains unclear.
In this study, we evaluated over 200 patient characteristics in relation to long-term weight loss after bariatric surgery (7 years or longer), including gender, age and weight at the time of surgery, lab tests, medical conditions and medications, among others. We found that patients who used insulin, had a history of smoking, or used 12 or more medications before surgery lost the most weight, while patients with high cholesterol, older patients and patients with higher body mass indexes at the time of surgery lost the least amount of weight after surgery.
06 Aug Obesity Linked To Prematurely Aged Brains
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26781" align="alignleft" width="153"]
Dr. Lisa Ronan[/caption]
Dr. Lisa Ronan, PhD
Department of Psychiatry
University of Cambridge Neuroscience
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: A growing body of literature relates common markers of aging to those observed in obesity and supports the hypothesis that obesity may accelerate or advance the onset of brain aging. To investigate this relationship at a population level we analysed the white matter volume of the brain in 473 adult subjects ages 20 - 87 years and contrasted these volumes between subjects who were lean (BMI between 18.5 - 25) and those who were overweight / obese (BMI > 25).
Our results suggest that the latter group had significantly smaller white matter volumes when compared to their lean age-matched counterparts. We found that this difference in volume equated to a brain-age increase of 10 years in the overweight / obese group. We found no evidence that obesity impacted on cognitive ability.
04 Aug Obesity Raises Risk of Diabetes But Not Heart Attacks in Twins
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26704" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Prof. Peter Nordstrom[/caption]
Prof. Peter Nordström PhD
Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation
Geriatrics, Umeå University
Umeå, Sweden
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Numerous studies has shown an association between BMI, CVD and death. However, it is not known to what extent genetic factors influence this relationship. We used over 4000 monozygous twin pairs that had different BMI. This mean that the difference in BMI must be due to environmental factors since the genetic setup is similar in monozygous twins.
Since the fatter twin did not have a higher risk of myocardial infarction (MI) or death, environmental factors that increase BMI is very unlikely to increase the risk of myocardial infarction or death. By inference the strong association between BMI, MI and death must be explained by the fact that the same genes control both obesity, MI and death. By contrast, the fatter twin had a higher risk of diabetes.
21 Jul Hormone Overcomes Genetic Cause of Morbid Obesity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Peter Kühnen MD Institute for Experimental Pediatric Endocrinology Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Kühnen: The patients, which were included in this study, are suffering from a genetic defect in a gene called POMC. This gene is cleaved into different hormones as e.g. MSH (melanocyte stimulating hormone). MSH is very important for the regulation of satiety by activation of the MC-4 receptor. For this reason these patients are persistent hyperphagic due to the lack of MSH and they gain weight very fast in the first months of their life. Setmelanotide activates the MC-4 receptor, which is important for the activation of satiety. By restoring the lost function Setmelanotide leads to a reduction of hyperphagia and to a reduction of body weight in this POMC deficient patients.15 Jul Animal Study Shows Gastric Bypass Surgery May Reverse Diabetes
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Xiang Gao, PhD State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animal for Disease Study Model Animal Research Center Nanjing Biomedical Research Institute and the Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development Nanjing University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Duodenum-jejunum gastric bypass (DJB) surgery has been used to treat morbid diabetic patients. However, neither the suitability among patients nor the mechanisms of this surgical treatment is well understood. Our research is based on a new mouse strain named Timo as type 2 diabetes model caused by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) deficiency. We hope to figure out whether DJB surgery can reverse the metabolic defects in this type of diabetes. If yes, what is the possible mechanisms. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: Our research showed that duodenum-jejunum gastric bypass surgery could cure diabetes of genetic (mutation) origin. We also showed that the alteration of gut microflora abundance and improved metabolism preceded the inflammation alleviation and BDNF protein levels increase after DJB surgery.15 Jul More Meals At Home Linked To Reduced Risk of Obesity and Diabetes
Posted at 01:33h
in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, Nutrition, PLoS, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Qi Sun Sc.D, M.D., M.M.S.
Dr. Geng Zong, Ph.D., a research fellow
Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Heath
Boston
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There is growing trend of eating meal prepared out of home in many countries. For example, energy intake from out-of-home meals has increased from less than 10% in mid 60s to over 30% in 2005-2008 among Americans, and average time spent on cooking has decreased by one third. In the meantime, the prevalence of diabetes and obesity of this country keep on growing. In the current study, we followed nearly 100 thousands middle-aged men and women for 26 years. In 1986, we asked people how often their lunch and dinner were prepared at home per week, which will be 14 meals in maximum, and updated this information during follow-up.
We found men and women with 11-14 meals prepared at home per week had 14% lower risk of diabetes compared to those had 6 or less meals prepared at home. If we look at lunch and dinner separately, people with 5 or more lunch prepared at home per week had 9% lower risk of diabetes, and those with 5 or more dinner prepared at home had 15% lower risk of diabetes compared to the group who had 2 or less than lunch or dinner at home per week.
We further investigated whether people with more meals prepared at home had lower risk of obesity or weight gain in our study. In the first eight years of follow-up, participants with 11-14 meals prepared at home had 14% lower risk of developing obesity compared to people had 0-6 meals prepared at home. For men, these people had 1.2kg less weight gain, and for women they had 0.3 kg less weight gain. Furthermore, we found potential impact of having meals at home and risk of diabetes became weaker. This suggest that weight gain could be one gearwheel that links eating meals prepared at home and diabetes risk.
15 Jul Any Amount of Excess Body Weight Associated With Higher Risk of Premature Death
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_26066" align="alignleft" width="103"]
Dr. Shilpa Bhupathiraju[/caption]
Dr. Shilpa Bhupathiraju, PhD
Harvard T.H. Chan
School of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We wanted to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality across major global regions. In doing so, we wanted to take into account important methodological limitations which plagued prior reports of BMI and mortality. One such limitation is reverse causality where a low body weight is the result of an underlying illness rather than the cause. Another major problem is confounding due to smoking where smokers have lower body weights than non-smokers but have much higher mortality rates.
Therefore, to obtain an unbiased association between BMI and mortality, our primary pre-specified analysis was restricted to never smokers and those who had no existing chronic diseases at the start of the study.
In this group, we found that those with a BMI of 22.5-<25 kg/m2 (considered a healthy weight range) had the lowest mortality risk during the time they were followed. The risk of mortality increased significantly with excess body weight. A BMI of 25-<27.5 kg/m2 (in the overweight range) was associated with a 7% higher risk of premature death; BMI of 27.5-<30 kg/m2 (also in the overweight range) was associated with a 20% higher risk; a BMI of 30.0-<35.0 kg/m2 was associated with a 45% higher risk; a BMI of 35.0-<40.0 kg/m2 was associated with a 94% higher risk; and a BMI of 40.0-<60.0 kg/m2 was associated with a nearly 3-fold risk. In general, we found that the association of excess body weight with mortality was greater in younger than older people and in men than women. Most importantly, the associations were broadly consistent in the major global regions we examined, including Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, East Asia, and South Asia.
12 Jul Larger Wrist Size May Suggest Unhealthy Metabolic Syndrome
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ilaria Cavallari, MD Department of Cardiovascular Sciences University Campus Bio-Medico Roma, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Obesity is a well-known risk factor for metabolic and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, more than the amount of adipose tissue, its function plays important roles in the development of CVD. Distribution of adiposity, evaluated by measuring body circumferences, is related to adipose dysfunction. Wrist circumference has been recently associated with insulin-resistance and diabetes. Therefore, body circumferences, wrist circumference in particular, are candidate easy and fast markers of cardiovascular risk, beyond the classical body mass index (BMI).10 Jul Study Identifies Pathway Linking Obesity With Pancreatic Cancer Progression
[caption id="attachment_23151" align="alignleft" width="144"]
Dr. Rakesh Jain[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with;
Dr. Rakesh K. Jain, PhD
A.W.Cook Professor of Radiation Oncology (Tumor Biology)
Director, E.L. Steele Laboratory
Department of Radiation Oncology
Harvard Medical School and
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA 02114
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and more than half of patients diagnosed with PDAC are overweight or obese. Among patients with PDAC, obesity more than doubles the already high risk of death, and our work aims to reveal the underlying mechanisms. Specifically, we identified that obesity increases desmoplasia – an accumulation of connective tissue and inflammation – hallmark of Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and discovered underlying mechanisms.
In our report published online in Cancer Discovery, we describe how interactions among fat cells, immune cells and connective tissue cells in obese individuals create a microenvironment that promotes tumor progression while diminishing the response to chemotherapy. We demonstrated the negative impact of obesity on numerous aspects of tumor growth, progression and treatment response in several animal models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and confirmed some of our findings in samples from cancer patients. Along with finding that tumors from obese mice or patients exhibited elevated levels of adipocytes or fat cells and of desmoplasia, both of which fuel tumor progression and interfere with treatment response, we identified the underlying causes.
The elevated desmoplasia in obese mouse models of PDAC was caused by the activation of pancreatic stellate cells through the angiotensin II type-1 receptor (AT1) signaling pathway. This activation was induced by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß) produced by fat cells as well as the immune cells called neutrophils within tumors. Inhibiting AT1 signaling with losartan, which is used clinically to treat hypertension, or the blockade of IL-1ß reduced obesity-associated desmoplasia and tumor growth and increased the response to chemotherapy in the obese mouse model but not in normal weight animals. Analysis of tumors from human PDAC patients revealed increased desmoplasia and fat deposits in samples from obese patients, and data from more than 300 patients showed that excess weight was associated with a reduction in patients.
24 Jun Could Regular Meal Times Reduce Obesity?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_25499" align="alignleft" width="125"]
Dr. Gerda Pot[/caption]
Dr. Ir. Gerda Pot PhD
Universitair Docent Gezondheid en Leven| Assistant Professor Health and Life
Faculteit Aard- en Levenswetenschappen | Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: I was inspired to start this work by my grandmother. She was a stickler for timekeeping of her meals and I wondered whether this was her secret for healthy aging.
It seems common wisdom but surprisingly very little scientific evidence exist. Therefore we conducted this review to see all the studies out there before setting out doing our own research.
22 Jun Obesity and Atherosclerotic Heart Disease Incidence Highest in Black Women
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Duke Appiah, PhD, MPH Postdoctoral Fellow Division of Epidemiology and Community Health University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55454 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Appiah: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) mortality has decreased in recent decades with the rate of decline greater in whites than blacks. Obesity and ASCVD events are disproportionately...