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Washington Post: Childhood obesity raises heart disease risk

This WAPO article , via the Houston Chronicle, reports on a large new study that clearly links childhood obesity to heart disease in later life.  “The study of more than 276,000 Danish children found those who were overweight when they were 7 to 13 years old were much more likely to develop heart disease between the ages of 25 and 71 — even those who were just a little chubby as kids, and possibly regardless of whether they lost the weight when they grew up.”The authors of the Danish study from the Institute of Preventative Medicine in Copenhagen indicated that this was the first study to link excess childhood weight with problems in adulthood.

Since childhood obesity is showing an inexorable increase year after year, the study lends credence to those who are concerned about obesity’s impact on our nation’s health.  “This offers a frightening glimpse of what we have in store,” said David Ludwig of
Harvard Medical School.”

“Melinda Sothern, a childhood obesity expert at Louisiana State University in New Orleans, said the findings were disturbing because they suggested overweight children were not only experiencing more disease and disability in childhood, but many also were destined to be more sickly young adults.”While this study is the first to show a confirmed link between childhood obesity and heart disease later in life, the results are hardly unexpected.  The obesity tsunami threatens

NYT: Core strength key to back health

Gretchen Reynolds of the New York Times pens an excellent on backs.  Among her key points:

Competitive sports can have debilitating effects on the back. She particularly mentions tennis, football, cycling, gymnastics and golf—up to a third of all football players experience back injuries, for example.

To protect your back, “core” strength and training are paramount and in this article the core is defined broadly, roughly from the knees to the mid chest area.    All of the cores muscles and infrastructure are important in stabilizing the back. 

In addition to core strength, core endurance is critical as well as you have to have the capability to complete an athletic event without losing your core support.

Many athletes tend to concentrate their training too much on the specifics of the muscles and strength that they need for their individual sport and downplay the crucial importance of cross training and core conditioning.

Sit-ups are not the right answer for a strong back.

Surgery is only required in 3 to 5 % of the back problems.

Ms Reynolds goes on to catalogue and describe three distinct exercises that she feels are excellent for core conditioning and which will reduce your chance of back injuries. 

This is really a great article that has application for everyone, not just athletes.  Please read the full article.   Back injuries are prevalent and extremely painful.  Learn more about core conditioning and the interrelationship between a strong core and protecting your back. 

Obesity rates in US almost double those of Europe

Bloomberg reports that obesity and smoking add $100 billion annually to health care costs in the US.  The obesity rate in the US is 33% compared to 17% in Europe.  “Health policy makers can't rein in medical costs in the U.S. unless they reverse obesity trends, said lead researcher Kenneth Thorpe, an Emory professor of health policy.”

Obesity threatens to reverse the years of gains in improved health and life expectancy that the US has been enjoying over the last several decades.  It also threatens the solvency of the health care system.  The huge difference in obesity rates between the US and Europe are a ready refutation of the theory that individuals can’t control their weight, or that it is genetically determined. 

Mississippi dubious winner of fattest state contest

This LAT article is representative of many articles this week that reports on a study issued by Trust for America's Health regarding how America is losing the battle against obesity, state by state.  The actual study can be found here on Trust for America’s website.  The site also has an interactive feature that shows state by state results and information.

The results show that Mississippi is the number 1 state in obesity with a whopping 30% of its residents classified as obese.  The District of Columbia holds the dubious position of number 1 for childhood obesity with 22.8 % of its children obese.

The LAT article quotes Jim Marks, a senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a healthcare philanthropy group that sponsored the study as follows:

“The report is a devastating indictment and the nation is in the middle of a public health crisis that is deteriorating rapidly, and we are treating it like an inconvenience.”

“These children could be the first generation to live sicker and die younger than their parents,”

“Obesity costs $117 billion a year in preventable healthcare expenditures and “is pushing the healthcare system to the breaking point.”

The LAT article also makes clear that the data is based on self reporting, hence the results are probably much worse and people do tend to understate their weight.

This report is no surprise.  America seems content to ignore the obesity epidemic.  But by ignoring it, we will pay as individuals and collectively as a society in higher health costs and a lower quality of life.

Cranberries offer exceptional health benefits

Cranberries, eaten fresh or dried or consumed through cranberry juice, are one of the best fruits to eat that promote good health.  The number of positive health impacts from cranberries is truly amazing.

Here is information extracted directly from the Cranberry Institute Web page.

“The majority of physicians and other health professionals believe there is a clear association between a diet high in fruits and vegetables and a low risk of chronic disease. Phytonutrients (naturally derived plant compounds), particularly antioxidants, are increasingly being shown to help optimize human health.

Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins (PACs) that can prevent the adhesion of certain of bacteria, including E. coli, associated with urinary tract infections to the urinary tract wall. The anti-adhesion properties of cranberry may also inhibit the bacteria associated with gum disease and stomach ulcers.

Recent scientific research shows that cranberries and cranberry products contain significant amounts of antioxidants and other phytonutrients that may help protect against heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

Rats fed diets supplemented with cranberries are put through a series of tests to evaluate their neural function compared to a control group. Preliminary results indicate that there will be compelling evidence that cranberry can help protect the brain from neurological damage.

Atherosclerosis, in the simplest terms, is the accumulation of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad cholesterol”, in arteries resulting in restricted blood flow. In the advance stages of the disease blood flow may be decrease severely or cease completely resulting in angina (chest pain), a thrombosis (blood clot) and/or myocardial infarction (heart attack). Atherosclerosis is a primary cause of cardiovascular disease. Ongoing research continues to suggest that cranberries may offer a natural defense against atherosclerosis.

Researchers at the University of Western Ontario demonstrated, using an animal model, that human breast cancer cells showed significantly lower incidence of tumor development when the experimental group's diet was supplemented with cranberries. Although these results are very preliminary, compounds in cranberries may prove to be a potent cancer fighter.”

Here is more on the health benefits of Cranberries from WebMD.

“A plant compound, called proanthocyanidin A-1 is found in cranberries.  Herpes simplex-2 is one of the most common viral infections in humans. It causes genital sores or ulcers, as well as inflammation of the brain and infection of newborns and people with weakened immune systems.

Scientists' lab tests showed that proanthocyanidin A-1 helped combat herpes simplex-2: it interfered with the virus when it tried to latch onto and penetrate cells — a necessary step for infection by the herpes virus.”

 Buy a bag of Sweetened Dried Cranberries and keep it handy for snacks.  It’s one of the most healthful snacks you can consume.

Obesity: Birds of a feather flock together

This NYT article by the prolific health and fitness writer, Gina Kolata, is one of several in the national newspapers this week which reports on a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

The  study found that if you have a friend, spouse or relative who becomes obese, you are much more likely to become obese, or in the words of the study itself:  “Network phenomena appear to be relevant to the biologicand behavioral trait of obesity, and obesity appears to spreadthrough social ties.”

Some in the media have expanded this language “spread through social ties” interestingly saying that obesity is “contagious.” 

Clearly what is at work here is the reconfirmation of a very old phenomenon—we are influenced in many direct and subtle ways by the habits, actions and characteristics of those close to us—note that a neighbor’s obesity did not show causality because we aren’t necessarily socially close to our neighbors..

Americans do pay attention to the way their close friends act and live.  We tend to wear the same clothes, go to the same stores, take the same vacations, see the same movies and listen to the same music—to some extent.  For example, if a close friend or sibling returns from a European vacation, we are likely to follow.   And, if close friends or siblings become fat, well, gradually our norms for what is acceptable weight-wise may loosen and we are probably less resistant to gaining weight.

I think that all that is going on here is re-affirmation of  age old peer group pressure/influence as it pertains to obesity.  The study results are correct and meaningful in this respect.  However, the idea that obesity is somehow “contagious” is somewhat off the mark and summarizes the problem in an unhelpful way—because Americans are always searching for that reason why obesity is not their fault.

So, although your close friends may have an influence on your obesity norms, you certainly can’t blame them for your own obesity, anymore than you can blame them for your wardrobe, the kind of car you drive or your last vacation.

The first step in fighting obesity is take responsibility for your own BMI.

Diet sodas linked to heart problems

This AP article via the Washington Post is typical of many articles that have been reporting on a recent study of 9,000 observations of middle-aged men and women which was published Monday online in the journal Circulation.

The study has reported that “People who drank one or more diet sodas each day developed the same risks for heart disease as those who downed sugary regular soda.”

Needless to say this is somewhat of a surprising result since it’s definitely counter intuitive that the diet colas would have the same impact as fully sweetened sodas given the massive calories contained in the latter. Not surprisingly, a representative from the American Beverage Association opined:  “How can something with zero calories that's 99 percent water with a little flavoring in it … cause weight gain?”

Still, the study found those who “drank one or more sodas a day diet or regular had an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, compared to those who drank sodas infrequently. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that increase the risk for heart disease including large waistlines and higher levels of blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and blood fats called triglycerides.”

Some of the theories being put forth are as follows:

1.      Adverse selection problems.  One contingent of diet soda drinkers are already overweight and drink diet sodas in an attempt to keep from gaining more.  Their link to heart disease is due to their overweight status, not the fact that they drink diet sodas.

2.      Diet sodas condition the palette to sweetness and users over consume non diet sweetened products elsewhere in their dietary intake, increasing weight gain and heart disease.

3.      There is something about diet drinks that we don’t understand.

Still, according to the article, the American Heart Association still condones the use of diet sodas as part of a program to control weight.

In our opinion, the most useful function of diet drinks is to help wean yourself off of regular fully sweetened soft drinks.  If you are still drinking fully sweetened soft drinks you are definitely not serious about losing weight.  However, once you have successfully accomplished this goal, the next step should be to replace diet drinks with, yes you guessed it, water.  Over time, you can adjust your palette so that ice water or carbonated ice water is just as refreshing as diet sodas.  And when you drink water you don’t have to be concerned with the caffeine content, availability, or the risk that this recent study  may in fact be correct.  Dribbling a little orange juice into soda water over ice can also be a refreshing low calorie and healthful drink.

Stress linked to weight gain

This Times of India article reports on a study that links stress to obesity.  Money quote:  “the unexpected finding was that when stressed and non-stressed animals ate the same high calorie foods, the stressed animals utilized and stored fat differently….stressed mice on high calorie diets gained twice as much fat as unstressed mice on the same diet.”

The scientists from the study demonstrated that “neuropeptide Y (NPY), a molecule the body releases when stressed, can unlock Y2 receptors in the body’s fat cells, stimulating the cells to grow in size and number.”

Stress has long been known to have other deleterious effects on health as it raises blood pressure and heart rate and undermines sleep patterns.

We have the following comments:  Exercise is a well known stress reducer.  If you are stressed and gaining weight, the first thing you should consider is planning an exercise program.  See your doctor first.  The benefits of exercise should attack weight gain in two ways:  indirectly by reducing stress and directly by burning additional calories.    It also seems that stress linked weight gain is a self fulfilling prophecy as the more weight you gain, the more likely you are to be stressed, leading to a vicious circle.

Diets fail over time

This article from News-medical.net gives a solid dose of reality concerning the efficacy of various diets.  Bottom line, they are not large differences in the results from various diets and the benefits of all diets tend to dissipate over time.

“Those who are searching for the perfect diet can expect to be disappointed as the researchers say all diets have just about the same result, and none of them are brilliant.”

“Dr. Michael Dansinger of the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston and colleagues analyzed 46 trials that included 6,386 people who were participating in dietary counseling-based weight loss programs and 5,467 people not involved in formal weight loss programs.

They found that programs with more frequent meetings and greater calorie restrictions tended to produce greater weight losses over time but while around half the weight loss remained at three years, almost none of the weight loss remained at five years.”

The article also aptly summarizes the reason for dieting:  “Overweight and obesity are known risk factors for diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, hypertension, degenerative joint disease of the knees and hips, and some forms of cancer, among other conditions.”