Obesity Care

New detoxifying diet results in significant weight loss

Researchers from Skidmore College have developed a new ‘protein-paced’ diet (P-CR) that is based on consuming a low number of calories and intermittent fasting. They found that P-CR not only helps weight loss, but also enhances heart health, releases toxins from the body and reduces oxidative stress. P-CR itself involves consuming four to six meals a day, each with 20-25 grams of protein. The lead author, Paul Arciero, has also found that P-CR demonstrated sustained improvements in body weight, heart health and toxins when compared to traditional ‘heart-healthy’ diets.

Previous research has shown that weight loss can in fact release toxins into the blood, which is a natural reaction; P-CR is able to counter this by subsequently releasing those toxins from the body. Importantly, Arciero wanted to highlight that scientific evidence is now available that confirms that the quality of your diet matters, and through P-CR you can address a range of metabolic issues through diet alone.

Does obesity affect your memory?

A new study from Indiana University has found that memory training has only a third of the benefit to older adults with obesity than it does to their normal weight counterparts. The researchers followed cognition over a period of 10 years and compared the trajectories of a sample of adults. They are unsure as to the specific mechanism of this, with one hypothesis being that obesity reduces the size of the hippocampus, so there is less capacity for new memories. Approximately 2,800 individuals with an average age of 74 took part in the study.

Whilst much research has been done to develop weight loss programs, this research highlights the importance of protecting memory function, especially with the growing age of the population and the ever increasing rate of obesity. Different types of memory training were used in the study, such as memory, reasoning and speed of processing, but the largest change was seen in the memory field.

Teenage gastric bypass surgery and future complications

In a long term follow up study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology it has been found that gastric bypass surgery helps severely obese teenagers keep weight off. The study aimed to assess the long-term effects of gastric bypass and any complications that were associated with this type of surgery. The study showed that whilst bypass surgery dramatically reduces teenagers’ weight, it could also lead to complications such as vitamin deficiencies. The researchers also found that, even though large weight loss had occurred, a third of the teenagers remained obese – meaning that earlier intervention may be needed along with lifestyle and dietary changes.

The lead author, Dr Thomas Inge, stressed that the study clearly showed the long-term benefits of bariatric surgery; however several nutritional risks have also been highlighted. The aim now is to focus on the health advantages whilst minimising these risks. It is clear that long-term follow up and care must be provided by centres that perform gastric bypass in teenagers, as the complications that follow could cause more problems in the future.

Inactivity breeds inactivity

A new study published in Cell Metabolism has found that inactivity leads to further decreased motivation to move. The study was conducted in mice and aimed to shed light on why people, or animals, with obesity were less active. The findings suggest that there is more to it than extra body weight being disabling. The study’s senior author, Alexxai V Kravitz, has a background in Parkinson research, and he was struck by how much Parkinsonian mice behaved like obese mice; he therefore hypothesised that the dopamine systems were dysfunctional in both groups. In this study, mice were fed either a normal or a high-fat diet for 18 weeks. They found that the high-fat diet mice began to move less before they gained the majority of their weight, suggesting that it was not excess weight alone that is responsible for this behaviour.

Dopamine is critical for movement and the researchers found that the obese mice had deficits in the D2 dopamine receptor. They were keen to point out that there are likely to be many other factors at play, but the deficit in D2 goes a long way to explaining the lack of activity. The researchers also studied the connection between inactivity and weight gain, to see whether it was causative. Kravitz explained that ‘in many cases willpower is invoked as a way to modify behaviour, but if we don’t understand the underlying physical basis for that behaviour, it’s difficult to say that willpower alone can solve it.’ Further to this, if we can discover the physiological causes as to why many obese people are less active, it may help reduce stigma towards them and help with the development of future treatments for obesity.

Sugar free drinks no better than full sugar drinks

With the UK introducing a levy on sugary drinks, expected to take effect in 2018, much research as to the effects of ‘sugar-free’ drinks is currently underway. One study from Imperial College London has found that sugar free drinks are no more helpful for maintaining weight than their full-sugar counterparts. Artificially-sweetened beverages (ASBs) are used as alternatives to full-sugar drinks and are often called ‘diet’ versions, to this end many consumers perceive them as the healthier option. However, this study found that there is no solid evidence to support this theory.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) make up a third of UK teenagers’ sugar intake, and nearly half of all sugar intake in the USA, they contain few essential nutrients and have been proven to increase levels of obesity and diabetes. ASBs make up a quarter of the global sweetened beverages market; however they are not taxed to the same extent as SSBs, perhaps because of their perceived ‘healthiness’. The researchers suggest that ASBs might trigger compensatory food intake by stimulating sweet taste receptors and resulting in overconsumption of other foods. Whilst there is no direct evidence for a role of ASBs in weight gain, the researchers did not find any evidence suggesting that they were involved in weight loss when compared to their full sugar versions. The authors clearly stated that ASBs may be contributing to the global obesity crisis and should not be promoted as part of a healthy diet.

Eating routinely may help shed fat

A recent study was conducted at the University of Alabama to determine whether changing a person’s eating schedule could help them lose weight. This is one of the first human tests of early time-restricted feeding (eTRF) and it found that this type of meal timing can reduce swings in hunger and alter fat burning patterns. With eTRF people eat their last meal of the day by mid-afternoon and do not eat again until breakfast the next morning; essentially, the study suggests that eating during a much smaller window of time than one usually does can lead to weight loss. eTRF is associated with an 18-hour fasting period, the researchers claim that this keeps appetite levels more even throughout the day.
It is known that many aspects of the metabolism function to their optimum level at the beginning of the day; this diet seeks to exploit that and align with the circadian clock of the body. This study was conducted in 11 men and women with excess weight over four days, food intake was monitored as was calorie burning. Although eTRF did not alter the number of calories burned, it did reduce daily hunger swings and increased fat burning levels during night. This study was performed in a small sample size, therefore more research must be undertaken in this area in order to better understand its mechanisms and reliability.

Does good-tasting food directly cause weight gain?

A new study from the Monell Center in Philadelphia has found that desirable food in and of itself does not lead to weight gain. The study used mouse models in order to research the effects of good tasting food on overeating. Previous studies have shown that mice will show an affinity for tasty human foods such as chocolate chip cookies and crisps. However, this study aimed to examine whether the taste of food actually drives overeating. The researchers designed a series of experiments that assessed what types of food the mice liked; they then placed different groups of mice on a variety of diets. They found that the mice that ate the sweet and oily foods were no heavier than those that ate the plain foods.

These results were repeated over a period of six weeks, however food choice and overeating are complex mechanisms, many factors come in to play and therefore these results must be understood as being part of a much larger area of research. The study authors are hopeful that the results show that it is possible to create foods that are both healthy and good-tasting; however this research must be furthered to get to that point.

Vitamin D improves gut flora and metabolic syndrome

A study published in Frontiers in Physiology has found that a high-fat diet alone is not enough to trigger metabolic syndrome, it must be accompanied by a Vitamin D deficiency. Metabolic syndrome is defined by a group of risk factors that can lead to diabetes and heart disease, these include obesity, high blood sugar levels, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The study itself was conducted in mice models and found that vitamin D deficiency caused an imbalance in gut flora, contributing to fatty livers and the symptoms that make up metabolic syndrome. Vitamin D deficiency can decrease the production of defensins, which are anti-microbial molecules that help to regulate gut flora.

If these outcomes can be repeated in humans it seems that exposure to the sun and consuming vitamin D supplements could be a feasible approach to preventing metabolic syndrome. The authors of the study are keen to continue this area of research so that more can be done to fully understand the role of vitamin D and vitamin D supplements in the development and prevention of metabolic syndrome.

Overweight affects DNA methylation

A new study published in Nature has found that overweight and obesity can lead to changes in your DNA, thereby changing how that gene is expressed. Whilst genes do not change over the course of our lives, the way that they are expressed can, and our lifestyles directly influence this, this is known as epigenetics. Up until recently, there have been few studies assessing the impact of overweight on epigenetics; however with increasing rates of obesity, this topic is becoming more and more important.

This research was carried out by an international team who examined possible correlations between BMI and epigenetic changes. Blood samples of over 10,000 European people were taken, and the team identified 207 different gene loci that were epigenetically dependant on BMI in the first group of individuals, and they then confirmed 187 of these loci in the next group. Further research confirmed that the changes were a consequence of being overweight, and were not the cause. Significant changes were also seen in the genes that are responsible for inflammation. The researchers are hoping that their results will aid the development of new strategies to predict and prevent obesity-related conditions, and also the consequences of obesity.

Leaving college with more than just a degree

A recent study has examined the weight trajectories of US college students and has found that, on average, a college student gains an extra 10 pounds during their studies. Published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour, the study measured student BMI at the beginning and end of their first and second years, then once again after their fourth year. Twenty three per cent of the students were overweight when they started college, whilst 41% were by the end of their senior year. The increase in weight was not the only worry for the study authors, who highlighted that obese young adults are at risk of a variety of health conditions.

The authors also found that weight gain was observed over all four years of college, not limited to a particular year. Meaning that weight loss interventions need to be able to target multiple cohorts of students, rather than just the first year, which is what many of the current interventions do. Fruit and vegetable intake of the students was also below the recommended intake. The study authors hope that new behavioural strategies will target the college population in order to help curb the obesity epidemic.

New potential therapeutic target receptor identified

A team of scientists from King’s College London and Imperial College London have identified a receptor called FFAR2 that may be used in the fight against obesity, publishing their study in Nature Reviews Endocrinology. They tested a high fat diet, containing fermentable carbohydrate, against a control diet on mice. The results showed that the mice on the fermentable carbohydrate diet were protected against obesity. However, this protection was lost in FFAR2 knockout mice; those with the FFAR2 receptor showed an increase of 130% in satiety, this was associated with increased levels of hormone peptide YY and PYY, which furthers the feeling of fullness.

It is already known that supplementation of a diet with non-digestable carbohydrates can reduce appetite, however this is one of the first studies to identify a specific receptor in relation to its role in reducing food intake and protecting against obesity in this way. The study authors are hoping to further explore this area, with the hope of creating either a dietary or pharmaceutical means to change the cellular make up and involved FFAR2 in a therapeutic way. Further to this, work can now begin on developing a food system, with this knowledge, that is attractive to the general population.

Untreated Obesity causing cost increase

The Milken Institute recently released figures that displayed the economic cost of obesity to the USA. Obesity now costs the USA $1.4 trillion dollars, the vast majority of the money arises from the complications that are associated with a higher BMI. This in turn relates to the diseases that are common for untreated obesity. Interestingly, the evidence-based medicine expenditure was negligible in comparison to the other costs. Furthermore, the $64 billion dollars spent on diet and weight loss products was seen to be having little impact in the long-term.

The data shows that more must be done in the way of evidence-based research so that the prevention of obesity becomes a reality as does the avoidance of complications. Whilst the report calls for a collaborative effort by stakeholder, it also acknowledges the complexity of the problem as a whole. Therefore, the report goes on to say that whilst big actors must develop preventative measures, it is also down to personal responsibility in order to help make the change within the world.