Maine state senator delivers bill demanding better obesity care
The Maine state senator, Nate Libby, has recently presented a bill committed to reducing the obesity and chronic disease rate in Maine by providing better obesity care. By making nutritional therapies and obesity medications more affordable, Senator Libby is hoping to make the people of Maine healthier, whilst also saving money on treatments that they might have needed in the future.
The aim is to provide better access to evidence-based obesity care whilst also reducing the prices of a range of therapies available to the obese population of Maine. Whilst in many other US states costs for treating the complications of obesity are rising rapidly, it is hoped that Maine could act as a pioneer in the way it develops its obesity program, and that other states would soon follow in its footsteps.
Read MoreMobile health interventions – Improving youth health outcomes
A new meta-analysis has been published in JAMA Pediatrics that assesses the use of mobile-phone apps, and improved health outcomes, in children. Up until now, the only systematic review of mHealth intervention effectiveness focused exclusively on childhood obesity. The authors found that overall, smartphones can be extremely useful in not only promoting healthy behaviours such as diet and exercise, but also promoting the uptake of vaccines amongst children. They analysed 37 studies in total, looking at evidence that behaviours were changed in children (defined as 18 years old or younger). As many children now have access to mobile phones the authors wanted to thoroughly examine this modality as a form of education for children, parents and caregivers.
mHealth interventions can reach many people and can contain dynamic health-related data, further to this using certain algorithms these apps can deliver personalised advice at times when a caregiver may not be available. However the authors are keen to highlight that the best results were seen when a caregiver was still involved in the process and given the early stage of mHealth literature, these results must be replicated and furthered to fully examine the extent to which a caregiver should be involved, and what type of professional this is.
Read MorePreventing childhood obesity before conception
A research team from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, have recently received funding to determine if childhood obesity can be prevented even before a woman falls pregnant. They will specifically be analysing whether an exercise and nutrition program designed for mothers will have any effect on their future children’s health. Most studies up to this point have focused on programs after the woman has become pregnant, this is the first study of its kind. The Lifestyle Intervention in Preparation for Pregnancy Program (LIPP) will aim to reduce body fat and improve lipid and glucose metabolism in the body in women who are planning on having children.
For the study 200 women will be randomly assigned to two groups: usual care and LIPP, the women in LIPP will then be sub-divided into groups of 10 and receive varying amounts of education on nutrition, exercise programs and support groups. The team are currently seeking further funding so that they may be able to follow the women and any subsequent births in the future. The researchers are particularly excited as they might be able to prove that childhood obesity can in fact be prevented well before birth, and not simply treated after it has occurred.
Read MoreBrain signals dulled in obese children
The signals from our brain that tell us we’re full do not appear to work properly in obese children. This is the outcome of a study that is due to be presented at the Endocrine Society’s 99th annual meeting. The study used images of high-calorie foods and measured the brain activity of obese children after a meal, compared to their normal weight counterparts. Using a technique called Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) the researchers were able to measure the brain activity in real-time.
For the trial, 54 obese children and 22 lean children were included, they were each shown pictures of high-calorie foods and low-calorie foods and then fed the same meal. This was calculated as 33% of the weight-based estimated daily calorie intake for each child, so that they were all ‘equally full’. They were then showed the images again and provided with a buffet meal. It was found that before the meal, there was no significant difference in brain activity between the two groups; further to this, both groups had similar self-ratings of fullness after the meal. However, when shown the images again, the obese children showed more brain activation in the regions of satiety processing than the normal weight children. This suggests that obese children have a somewhat blunted satiety response that does not halt them from craving high-calorie foods. The researchers are hoping to repeat the experiment after providing a six-month behavioural weight loss program to the children, to examine what can be done to change their habits.
Read MoreIs being overweight in pregnancy associated with the development of cerebral palsy?
A new study published in JAMA has found increased rates of cerebral palsy in children whose mothers are overweight or obese. The study was conducted in Sweden and analysed data from 1,423,929 children born between 1997 and 2012. In total, 3,029 children were diagnosed with cerebral palsy during this time, and it was found that increasing BMI was associated with an increased reporting of cerebral palsy. It is estimated that 45% of these cases was due to asphyxia-related complications.
Maternal overweight can increase the risk of asphyxia-related neonatal complications, preterm delivery, and congenital malformations, all of which are in turn associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy. The authors want to highlight that whilst the effect of maternal obesity on cerebral palsy might be small when compared to other risk factors, the associated risk is relevant to public health due to the large number of women who are overweight and obese.
Read MoreWeight gain in a child’s first six months
Researchers from the University of Delaware have found that rapid weight gain in a child’s first six months could be a risk factor for obesity in later life. The researchers stated that nearly 10 percent of infants were considered ‘high weight for length’ and were keen to examine how infants could achieve a healthy weight as they enter childhood. It has been shown before that breastfeeding gives protection to babies against rapid weight gain and obesity, however in the USA around 60% of infants are exposed to formula as the exclusive form of nutrition or in combination with breast milk.
The authors of this study were aiming to examine how the various compositions of infant formulas affect energy balance, weight gain and growth. It was found that infants who received cow’s milk formula had a quicker weight gain, whilst those that received hydrolysed protein formula and breastmilk had a slower and similar weight gain. The researchers are hoping to conduct further research into the various effects of formula on weight gain, and the potential lasting effects. They also hope that parents are given more information in the future about what is best for their baby.
Read MoreAfrican genomic variant associated with obesity
An international team of scientists have identified a genomic variant which predisposes Africans and African-Americans to obesity. Many genomic studies thus far have focused on Europeans, whilst across the USA, African-Americans have the highest age-adjusted rates for obesity. The researchers used a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to investigate this, as well as the genomic effects in continental Africans. A GWAS compares the genomes of people with a health condition to those that do not. In this study, the gene semaphorin-4D (SEMA4D) was identified, which is absent in both Europeans and Asians.
Due to the dearth in research in people of African descent, this study has been recognised as one of the first to perform a GWAS for this particular issue. The findings may also help to explain how the African environment can influence specific genes in the context of obesity risk. The authors hope to replicate their findings in larger populations and use animal models to further assess the effect of SEMA4D.
Read MoreThe European change in fat metabolism from ancient to modern times
Recently, evolutionary biologists have been looking into how changes in diet have led to human adaptations to genes that regulate fat metabolism. There are two essential genes that regulate the synthesis of vital fatty acids, fatty acid desaturase 1 and 2 (FADS 1 and 2). They change dietary fats into components for use in the heart and brain. Previously, scientists have shown that the FADS genes are commonly targets of natural selection, as variants appear associated with changes in dietary patterns. In this study data from 101 Bronze Age individuals and present-day human data are examined. Recent adaptive mutations in the FADS genes were analysed to determine which mutations might have been selected for.
They found that certain single DNA mutations have been targeted to increase the production of the long-chain PUFAS, arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acid. This is similar to a change seen in the Indian population, whose diet is heavily vegetarian. It is therefore hypothesised that the European population may be in the process of adapting to a diet rich in fatty acids derived from plant sources, whilst moving away from those derived from animal sources. It is thought that the introduction of agriculture and its high uptake in Europe has contributed to this shift, as more people have been consuming grains and other plant-derived foods. They performed further research whose results suggested that these changes in PUFA production led to an improved cholesterol level. It is hoped that more research into the FADS region may help to develop individualised diets in the future.
Read More‘No fat’ and ‘no sugar’ labels are misleading the public
A new study led by the University of North Carolina has found that terms such as ‘no fat’ and ‘no sugar’ give consumers a false sense of confidence when purchasing such items, in fact they rarely reflect the actual nutritional quality of the food. The researchers found that foods with the ‘low fat’ or ‘low sugar’ claims often had a worse nutritional profile than those without. It was found that producers of these foods would make compromises in their manufacture. For example, they might lower the fat content of a drink, but then raise the sugar content in parallel, giving the illusion that the new drink is healthier due to a ‘lower fat content’.
The US Food and Drug Administration allow manufacturers to assign labels to their foods, however the researchers of this study suggest that these labels are confusing and misleading as they are relative and commonly only about one nutrient. Foods with the ‘low’ claim are even more confusing, as the FDA categorises that as food that has less than three grams per reference amount customarily consumed, however the reference point varies for different types of food (eg cheesecake against brownies). Data from more than 80 million food purchases was analysed in this study and the authors hope to continue their research into looking how these claims affect consumer choice and how they interact with other sales strategies.
Read MoreLong-term stress linked to higher risk of obesity
Research from University College London has concluded that people who suffer from long-term stress may be more prone to obesity. Researchers in this study analysed hair samples of 2,527 individuals aged 54 and older. They measured the levels of cortisol, known as the stress hormone, in these samples taking data over a four year period, they also measured BMI and waist circumference. They were then able to match the levels of cortisol to the persistence of obesity over time (as 2cm of hair represents approximately 2 months of growth).
They found that individuals with particularly higher levels of cortisol in their hair tended to have higher waist circumferences and BMIs. Chronic stress has been linked to obesity before, with people reporting overeating and ‘comfort eating’ high sugar and fat foods in times of stress, however this study has helped provide consistent evidence of this link. The study did have some limitations however, the data was from an exclusively older population, where levels of cortisol will be different to their younger counterparts, and causality cannot be interpreted from the results, only that there is a correlation. The researchers are therefore hoping to continue their research to further understanding in this area.
Read MorePhysical activity has higher benefit the older you are
The results of an observational study have been published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. They show that the benefits of physical activity may outweigh the impact of obesity on cardiovascular disease. Data was collected on 5,344 individuals aged between 55 and 97, who were all free from cardiovascular disease at baseline. At the time, information on BMI, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use, diet, and education was taken. Over the course of 15 years the participants were followed and 16% of them suffered a cardiovascular event.
When the data was analysed it was found that physical activity was associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, regardless of what the individual’s BMI was. The results show that physical activity plays a crucial role in the health of middle aged and elderly people and is protective against the harmful effects of overweight and obesity. As the participants were all taken from The Rotterdam Study there were already parameters set for ‘low’ and ‘high’ amounts of physical activity, this was translated to two and four hours of daily activity – which itself included anything from biking to housework. The researchers hope to show that any physical activity is beneficial in terms of cardiovascular risk, even in those that are already normal weight or elderly.
Read MoreThe Swedish decline in childhood obesity
Data from Sweden has indicated that childhood obesity may be on the decrease in Sweden. A study has shown that the percentage of overweight and obese boys of 8 years old has decreased to it’s lowest level since the early 1990s. The researchers used data from the BMI Epidemiology Study (BEST) in Gothenburg, which has been collecting measurements from school health care systems for children born in 1946 onwards. In total, the study analysed data from 13 age groups of children born at five year intervals from 1946 to 2006. Each group consisted of 425, but this number was expanded when the researchers began to notice the reduction in obesity rates.
It was found that there was a clear reduction in mean BMI, overweight and obesity, however whilst this trend has been observed, the overall rates are still very high. The researchers are keen to point out that whilst they are not sure what has caused the decrease, we must continue on this trend in order to bring rates down even further. They also plan to conduct a similar study on girls in the near future.
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