Obesity Care

Obesity linked conditions in children projected to rise

Researchers have estimated that by 2025, almost 268 million children will be overweight, with 91 million obese in a new study. This is assuming that no large scale interventions prove effective at changing current trends. The researchers have also anticipated that obesity related conditions will sharply rise in children. By 2025, 12 million children will have impaired glucose tolerance, 4 million will have T2DM, 27 million will have hypertension and 28 million will have a build-up of fat in the liver.

Member states of the WHO have adopted resolutions aiming to achieve ‘no increase in obesity levels’ by 2025 for infants, adolescents and adults. The figures in this study are based on current trends and therefore the researchers are urging governments, health planners and service providers, to address these problems and take strong action against them. In conclusion, the researchers stated that the 2025 targets are unlikely to be met and service providers must plan for a significant increase in obesity-linked comorbidities as well.

Rise in obesity relates to rise in high-risk pregnancies

A review by an international team of doctors, based at the Center for Reproductive Health at MetroHealth has been undertaken to further our understanding of the worldwide impact of obesity on pregnancy. The team focused on the clinical management of obesity in pregnancy and how to reduce risks to mother and child. There are no standard guidelines on this management, however all pregnant women are recommended to follow a healthy diet and to consider at least half an hour of moderate physical activity per day. However, the team identified obese pregnant women as representing a relatively new high risk population that will call for the development of additional tools to reduce these risks.

The team suggest that clinicians working with overweight and obese women of childbearing age must offer pre-conception weight management to improve overall metabolic health and decrease the risks of early pregnancy loss. Furthermore, women should be instructed on how to maintain a healthy weight once pregnant. The study also suggested that clinicians should regularly screen for foetal abnormalities as well as for maternal complications such as gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia. The team also believe that the post-partum period is one of the most important when it comes to weight management, as it may decrease the risks in the next pregnancy. However, overall the team are looking to delve deeper into the complications of maternal obesity in pregnancy, so they can develop more effective management plans.

If you would be interested in learning more about the affect of obesity on reproductive health, follow this link.

Sleep deprivation increases weight in children

Sleep deprived pre-schoolers consume about 20% more calories than when they follow their regular sleep patterns. This is the conclusion from a study carried out at the University of Colorado and published in the Journal of Sleep Research. The children were all regular afternoon nappers, but kept awake for 3 more hours more than usual on the test days. It was found that they consumed 25% more sugar and 26% more carbohydrates than when they were given the full amount of sleep. On these ‘recovery days’ they returned to baseline sugar and carbohydrate consumption, however, they still consumed 14% more calories and 23% more fat.

The results help shed light on how sleep loss can affect weight gain. Furthermore, in the USA, it is estimated that about 30% of pre-schoolers do not get enough sleep. With rising levels of childhood obesity, this study helps to show how a variety of factors can contribute to the problem. Interestingly, in the study, parents were given no instructions regarding the kind or amount of food and drink to give to their children, and fed them the same as they would on any normal day. Although the study size was small, with five girls and five boys, the researchers are hoping to repeat their results in a larger sample and to continue their research using different diets and objectively measure activity in children.

Preventing childhood obesity must start before conception

A series of papers published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology has stated that the time before couples conceive is vital in the prevention of obesity in children. The researchers argue that more must be done to motivate future parents to lead a healthier lifestyle. There is a wide range of evidence showing that obesity can impact the developing baby. This study found that many people are becoming more obese and not planning ahead with pregnancies. One part of the paper aimed to determine the trends in global obesity amongst women and the consequences on their reproductive health. Another part of the study found that managing obesity during pregnancy, whilst being difficult was also a major concern, therefore showing that reducing the rate of obesity before pregnancy should be a priority.

The final parts of the series examined the effects that maternal obesity has on the child and possible overall interventions. These problems ranged from developmental to physical to genetic. The researchers called for a top-down approach from policy makers to improve opportunities for young people, especially those at risk, to lead healthier lives. However this must be accompanied by a bottom-up approach whereby communities and individuals create a demand for these services. Overall, the study aims to help future parents lead a healthy life, not only for themselves, but for their potential children too in order to stop the vicious cycle of obesity from generation to generation.

If you would be interested in learning more about childhood obesity, follow this link.

Stress can erase the benefits of choosing ‘good fat’ Researchers

Researchers from Ohio State University have found that a stressful event before eating can erase any benefits of a healthy fat choice, these results were published in Molecular Psychiatry. The researchers knew that diet and stress were related in some way however they were aiming to learn more about the interplay between stress, diet and inflammatory markers. In this study a group of women were given a breakfast with mostly saturated fats, and another group were given a similar meal but made with monounsaturated oil, which is known to be healthier. The women were then asked about the previous day’s experiences, and answers were assessed using the Daily Inventory of Stressful Events Questionnaire to determine whether they were under any stress. Blood tests were taken to assess inflammatory markers, and it was found that these were all raised in the women who had consumed the unhealthy diet. However this difference disappeared in the women who had had ‘stressful days’; the markers were high in both groups. The study has left questions regarding the specific relationship between stress and fat and the researchers are hoping to delve deeper into this field.

Location of fat important in predicting heart disease

A recent study has found that increased abdominal fat is associated with worsening heart disease risk factors. This study has added to the growing body of evidence that regional deposits of fat are harmful, in particular the study found that increased stomach fat and a lower fat density resulted in worsening heart disease risk factors. This is one of the first studies that has closely examined the density of fat, and the team are still working to understand the effect that density of fat truly has. Over 6 years the researchers analysed data from 1,106 individuals who were taking part in the Framingham Heart Study.

Increases in subcutaneous and visceral fat were measured over this period. Each additional pound of fat from baseline was associated with new high blood pressure and characteristics of metabolic syndrome. These changes were more pronounced with increased visceral fat rather than subcutaneous. There were even suggestions that higher levels of fat under the skin may actually be protective, as it serves as a ‘metabolic sink for storing excess fat particles’. An editorial accompanied the study and stated that the findings support a growing body of evidence that suggest that identifying the location and the type of fat provides important information about the risk of heart disease. The researchers want to continue their work to understand the role of fat density and how it is involved in the mechanism of obesity.

Is the increase in teenage obesity due to lack of calorie burning?

A new study has concluded that the increase in teenage obesity is due to the number of calories that they burn dropping dramatically in puberty. The 12-year-long study was led by the University of Exeter Medical School and is published in the International Journal of Obesity. Puberty is a time when calorie burning is expected to increase due to growth spurts; however this study found that 15 year olds burn a quarter fewer calories at rest than they do when they are 10. The study also found that the amount of physical activity that teenagers undertake also drops during the onset of puberty.
The team analysed data from 350 school children at 6-monthly intervals. Blood samples were also taken to assess metabolic health as well as measurements of size. The children were placed in rooms that measured the amount of oxygen that was consumed at rest, this was then used to calculate the number of calories that were burnt. At the moment the team can only speculate as to the reasons that there was a drop in calories used, with one explanation being a possible evolutionary change where calories are conserved for growth. The team are hoping to continue their research in order to provide further answers to this surprising conclusion.

Lasting mental effects of discrimination in adolescents

The bullying experienced by overweight adolescents can lead to significant emotional problems in later life. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology it has been found that the demeaning responses from overweight people’s peers cause them to feel distressed. The study itself included data from 5,128 individuals across schools in California aged 11-13, the analysis examined the relationship between BMI and emotional health using questionnaires about weight discrimination experiences.
About 1 in 3 students reported at least one weight-related discriminatory experience, and by age 13 many girls had reported feeling physical symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and nausea following episodes of loneliness after such experiences. At the moment, many school based programmes are aimed at reducing the overall prevalence of obesity, however this study highlights that many of these weight management programmes may be increasing the amount of stigma towards overweight individuals. Therefore, more must be done to increase weight acceptance and body-shape diversity, whilst also promoting healthy behaviours, a complicated compromise.

Genes aren’t to blame for inability to lose weight

Although individuals may be able to blame genes for weighing more, they may not be able to blame them for an inability to lose weight. This is the conclusion of a study published in the BMJ. Carriers of the FTO gene are known to be an average of 3kg heavier and 70% more likely to be obese than their counterparts without FTO, however after a review of studies analysing data from 9,563 people, it has been found that this gene did not prevent them losing weight.
The study has therefore found that people with the FTO gene respond just as well to weight loss interventions as everyone else, this was across all age groups, ethnicities and gender. However this study had few numbers of ethnic minorities, therefore the team have explained that further research must be conducted to assess the effect of the FTO gene in these groups.

Overweight affects different types of stroke in different ways

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide and this study found that overweight women are at an increased risk of ischaemic stroke – associated with blockages of blood in the brain, but at a decreased risk of haemorrhagic stroke – associated with bleeding and the more deadly type of stroke. This study, published in Neurology, included a large sample size of almost 1.3 million women from the UK over an average period of 11.7 years using data obtained from hospital admissions. It was found that for every 5 unit increase in BMI, the risk of ischaemic stroke increased by 21%, whereas the risk of haemorrhagic stroke increased by 12%.
Although overweight women had a lower risk of haemorrhagic stroke this did not relate to an overall reduced risk, a higher BMI was associated with increased risk of total stroke across all categories, with the number of ischaemic strokes higher than the number of haemorrhagic stroke in every category as well. The results from this study were found to be largely similar to previous studies examining the same factors.

Healthy diets boost reading skills

A recent study has found that consuming a healthy diet is linked to better reading skills at school. This is the conclusion of a study conducted at the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Jyväsklä. The study involved 161 children aged between 6 and 8, and diets were assessed with food diaries compared to the Baltic Sea Diet and Finnish nutrition recommendations. The findings showed that those whose diets were ‘healthier’ did better in standardised tests that measured reading skills. Furthermore, those with a better diet quality improved their reading skills more than their peers on a worse diet.
One of the authors of the study Dr Eero Haapala explained that the associations between diet quality and reading skills were also independent of many compounding factors such as socio-economic status, physical activity and fitness. With an improved availability of healthy foods the authors are hoping that improved diet quality will follow, leading to increased academic performances in school.

Children should eat less than 35 grams of sugars daily

New recommendations have suggested that children should limit their intake of added sugars to 25 grams daily. This relates to less than six teaspoons, these recommendations also suggest that children under the age of 2 should not consume food or drinks with added sugar. Dr Miriam Vos, lead author of the study that produced the recommendations, is a nutrition scientist and associate professor of paediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr Vos cited increased risk factors for heart disease, obesity and elevated blood pressure as main reasons for her recommendations.

Added sugars are defined as any sugars that are used in processing or preparation of food or beverages, even if added at the table. One of the most common sources of added sugars are sugar-sweetened beverages. The authors claim that there has been a lack of clarity and consensus regarding how much added sugar is considered ‘safe’ for children, and whilst the average consumption is high, so is the rate of childhood overweight and obesity. They hope that by performing this research and providing robust scientific evidence they can help to clarify what quantities of sugar should be consumed.