Not eating breakfast or getting enough sleep can make children overweight
Mothers smoking in pregnancy, children skipping breakfast, and children not getting enough sleep, all appear to be important factors in predicting whether a child will become overweight or obese. Researchers from UCL have published a paper in Pediatrics that calls for prompt intervention in order to slow the growth of overweight and obesity in children. The paper looked at data from 19,244 families over a 9 year period, using the Millennium Cohort Study. The researchers were using observational information, meaning that they cannot draw firm conclusions, however the sample size was large and they were able to take into account a range of lifestyle factors that could impact the results.
It is already known that children of obese parents are more likely to be overweight themselves; this could be due to their obesogenic environment, or a genetic predisposition. However, this research also highlights the importance of lifestyle choices that can greatly contribute to the risk of obesity. Disrupted routines, as well as a lack of sleep, can increase appetite and the consumption of energy dense foods. Overall, the researchers were hoping to increase parental education with their findings, so that the growth of overweight and obesity can be curbed.
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Gastric bypass patients have reduced risk of death after 10 years
Patients who have undergone gastric bypass surgery have a reduced risk of death from obesity or other disease by up to 48% after 10 years. In a Obesity. new study researchers followed almost 2,700 gastric bypass patients over a period of 10 years and found that mortality benefits became apparent after only two years post-surgery. The biggest reduction in risk was found in patients over 60 and in patients that suffered from diabetes before the surgery. The lead author of the study attributed this to the fact that improvements in long-term metabolic and cardiovascular health would be made
Bariatric surgery has been shown, previously, to be the most effective and long-lasting treatment for severe obesity, and the reduction in weight does result in lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, arthritis, high blood pressure and many other diseases and conditions. The results from this study show that rather than being discouraged from having surgery, people of an older age should be supported and offered the option of surgery.
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Does brain volume predict successfulness at weight loss?
Scientists at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre claim that they are able to predict an individual’s chances of success at weight loss with a simple brain scan and have published their findings in Obesity. The researchers used MRI scans to assess the amount of white and grey matter in the participants and were able to predict weight loss with 78% accuracy based on the brain volume. The study was performed with 52 people between the ages of 60 and 79, all participants were overweight or obese. They were scanned and then split into three separate groups, diet only, diet plus exercise, and diet plus resistance exercise. The scan results were then compared to their actual weight loss after 18 months.
The researchers hope to continue assessing people who want to lose weight, as those with a higher chance of losing weight may respond to less intensive treatments, whilst those with a lower chance may have to resort to more intensive routes. The study itself had a small sample size, therefore the researchers are hoping to perform follow-up studies with more people and to broaden the types of intervention used in order to improve the predictive nature of the scans.
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Canola oil reduces fat
In a new study, canola oil has been shown to reduce abdominal fat. A known risk factor for cardiovascular disease abdominal fat is also associated with increased risk for metabolic syndrome; canola oil is high in monounsaturated fat which is known to decrease abdominal fat. The researchers had participants adhere to using canola oil in their diets, and found that fat was not just redistributed in the body, but lost all together. Normally it is difficult to focus weight loss on particular areas, however monounsaturated fat seems to target abdominal fat, the mechanism for which is not yet fully understood.
The researchers tested the effect of canola oil in 101 participants over a period of four weeks. A range of different diet types were compared across all individuals. Canola oil was incorporated into the test diets so as to not exceed the participants’ daily needs. The researchers point out that further studies should be conducted in order to examine the long term effects of a diet high in monounsaturated fats, whose source could indeed be canola oil.
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Childhood obesity increases during the summer holidays
A new study published in Obesity has found that children are more likely to gain weight during their summer holidays than during the school year. Researchers examined the measurements from 18,000 kindergarteners over a period of two years, finding that rates of obesity increase in the summer and not at all during the school year. The results raise questions as to whether policy makers are doing enough to help children maintain healthy weights when they are not in school. Furthermore, they show that if efforts to curb the obesity epidemic are only made in school, it may not have the desired outcome, as many changes occur during the summer anyway.
The researchers hope that in the future school-based interventions will do more to positively shape out-of-school behaviours of children, as well as maintain improvements such as the changes to school meals and the amount of physical activity that occurs. Overall, the researchers are appealing to parents, teachers and public health advocates to increase the awareness of these significant findings, so that more can be done to limit the increase in childhood obesity.
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Genes identified that burn more calories
A new study has identified a pathway in muscle tissue that increases the rate at which we burn calories. The study is one of the first to actively look at the relationship between genetic variants and energy expenditure. Dr Paolo Piaggi, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, one of the authors of the study, explained that as obesity research continues, the area of genetic traits must be further explored to identify potential causes of, and treatments for, the disease.
Skeletal muscle biopsies were taken from 219 healthy donors and weight change was measured over 7 years. The researchers found that the expression of the THNSL2 gene in skeletal muscle had the strongest association with low energy expenditure and weight gain. They also found that the production of a cytokine (a type of chemical signaller) was heavily involved with energy expenditure. This has helped further research into the inflammatory process that underpins obesity. Overall, the research helps to further our understanding about how two people with similar diets may vary in weight, this study extends current research covering genetic traits and obesity, and even identifies a potential target for a treatment in THNSL2
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Differences in obesity between children with and without autism
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are more likely to become obese, and stay obese, than their peers without an ASD, a new study has shown. It has been shown before that children with ASD are more likely to become obese, however this study showed that during their adolescent years, the rate of obesity amongst children with ASD lowered, whilst the rate in children with ASD stayed the same. The researchers analysed data from 43,777 children aged between 10 and 17, factors such as race and socioeconomic status were taken into account and controlled for. They were expecting to see the rate of obesity increasing amongst the ASD group, and the rate staying the same in the non-ASD group, instead the ASD group rate stayed the same, whilst the non-ASD group rate lowered.
Obesity in childhood can have long-term effects for those with ASD and the researchers believe that many factors should be considered when looking at why children with ASD maintain their obesity. Some of these factors are alluded to by the last author, Dr Linda Bandini: the need for routine, behavioural rigidity, use of food as a reward, mealtime stress and parental stress. Furthermore, when it comes to exercise, many children take part in competitive sports, however this is uncommon for children with ASD. The researchers hope that further research will be undertaken, such as interviews with adolescents and caregivers, in order to better understand the behavioural factors that may contribute to the prevalence of obesity in the ASD population. Furthermore, children with ASD often have complex medical needs, and if these are not taken into account it can be very difficult to treat them, therefore more focus must be placed on understanding their needs and how this might affect them.
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GPs should not be afraid to recommend weight loss programmes
A recent study published in The Lancet has described how many doctors do not address some patient’s weight due to lack of time, fear of causing offence, and doubting that interventions will be effective. This is in spite of official guidelines recommending that doctors screen for obesity and direct patients to appropriate weight loss programmes. This trial, led by Oxford University, included 137 GPs and 1,882 people attending consultations that were unrelated to weight loss. The patients were split into 2 groups; the first being offered a 12-week weight management programme and follow-up appointments, whilst the second group were told by their GP that weight loss would be beneficial to their health and offered further follow-up appointments.
After follow-up it was found that the group who were offered a full programme lost on average 1.43kg more than those who were just given advice at the original consultation. Overall, patients were enthusiastic about the suggestion for help, in fact 81% across both groups found the post-consultation intervention appropriate and useful. Individuals across both groups had taken action, but is was found that five times more people in the ‘programme’ group had taken effective action. On average, people consult their doctor five times per year; this study highlights an effective way to address weight concerns in patients on a large scale, and – due to the fact that many of the patients felt it was appropriate at the time – doctors should not feel intimidated by approaching the subject.
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Weight discrimination doubles health risk
A new study based at Harvard University has analysed the effect of weight discrimination over a 10 year period. Using a long-term national study in the USA, the researchers approached respondents who reported regularly experiencing discrimination because of their weight, this included, discourteous treatment, being called names, and being made to feel inferior as well as other feelings. They found that those experiencing regular discrimination had twice the risk of allostatic load, the cumulative dysfunction of bodily systems from chronic stress. Stress such as this is likely to lead to heart disease, diabetes, chronic inflammation and other diseases.
This effect is added to the fact that these people are already overweight and already experiencing negative health effects as a result. The researchers are hoping to highlight that the way we treat people who are overweight is incredibly important and can have more of an effect than we realise. Further to this they urge people to be more sensitive and understanding, especially when an individual is clearly trying to lose weight. The authors are hoping to use this data to inform public health campaigns in order to support individuals with obesity and help them lose weight.
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Ability to successfully diet dependent on brain structure
A new research paper published in Cognitive Neuroscience. Thas examined the connections between executive control and the reward system in the brain to better understand why some people are more successful at dieting than others. It found that in some people, the white matter pathway connecting the two systems is ‘improved’, making it easier to diet.
It was already known to the researchers that chronic dieters have depleted cognitive control and over-reward with high-calorie foods. Therefore they used functional magnetic resonance imaging to get a real-time demonstration of the activity in the executive control and reward systems in 36 chronic dieters, who were all obese. The participants were shown images of food and control images, and it was found that dieters showed more activity in response to the food cues, further to this it was shown that those with lower body fat percentages showed greater white matter integrity between the two systems. The authors concluded that individuals with reduced integrity of white matter may have difficulty overriding their reward mechanisms. They urge other scientists to continue this research in order to establish whether repetitive dieting can cause changes in the white matter of the brain.
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Hormone involved in maturation of fat cells discovered
Researchers at Stanford University have identified a hormone that is involved with the maturation of fat cells. These findings help us understand why some stem cells differentiate into fat cells. The hormone itself is called Adamts1. It is produced by mature fat cells and is the switch for stem cells to begin the process of turning into fat cells; high-fat diets and glucocorticoid medications increase the production of Adamts1. The researchers firstly identified Adamts1 and then conducted experiments in both mice and humans. It was found that when mice and humans were fed a high fat diet, most of the increase in fat was seen in the visceral tissue, where there was a decreased amount of Adamts1.
The study’s findings suggest that there are many other hormones involved with the production and differentiation of fat cells, furthermore the researchers believe that stress must play an important role in this process. It remains to be seen whether Adamts1 could be used as a target for obesity medication, and more research must be undertaken in order to fully understand its role within the body
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New anti-obesity target identified
Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida have identified a protein that promotes fat accumulation in animal models. The protein works by slowing the breakdown of fat and promoting storage, the results have been published in the International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology. The researchers found that by deleting a protein called IP6K1 resulted in a higher energy expenditure and protected animal models from diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance.
A process called lipolysis precedes the expenditure of fat energy, and this is when fat is broken down to smaller products. The team found that by deleting IP6K1 the interfered with the protein interactions, causing lipolysis, and therefore this process, was enhanced. They then looked at introducing chemicals that would inhibit IP6K1, and found that an inhibitor known as TNP slowed the initiation of diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. The researchers are hoping to further this research to better understand the mechanisms behind both the protein and the inhibitor.
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